I’m constantly getting questions about what educators can and can’t do with copyrighted material. Some instructors are so terrified of copyright restrictions that they totally forgo using any copyrighted material. That’s sad, because many copyrighted resources are excellent tools for learning and teachers really needn’t feel so restricted. Thankfully, one of my friends, a media specialist’s media specialist by the name of Paula Galland, recently sent me a link to a great resource that’s designed to discern whether a teacher’s intended use of copyrighted material meets U.S. legal requirements. Exceptions for Instructors presents straightforward questions that teachers can answer in order to find out if their intended use of copyrighted material will be problematic.

Thanks, Paula!

Related resources:

• If copyright bothers you, consider going copyleft instead.
• Hall Davidson has a great deal of information that helps educators get straight on what they can and can’t do with copyrighted resources.
• Like their teachers, students need to understand how copyright works. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has an informative set of resources called Teaching Copyright that are designed to help teachers present (in a sane, balanced manner) information about the laws surrounding digital rights.
• Where would a discussion about copyright be without the views of Cory Doctorow? In addition to being a noted blogger, science fiction author, and co-editor of the Boing Boing blog, Doctorow is also a leading proponent of the non-profit Creative Commons organization and a tenacious advocate for the revision of copyright laws so as to allow for free sharing of all digital media. He’s all about copyfight.
• According to Wired, Victoria A. Espinel, a visiting scholar well-versed in intellectual property and international trade, became our nation’s first copyright czar.