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Copyright and Media EducationCopyright and Media Education

Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media in a variety of forms

COPYRIGHT -- WHY IS IT AN ISSUE FOR EDUCATORS?

Media literacy education aims to develop students' critical thinking skills, the skills to analyze today's media rich culture -- the sounds and images that surround us everyday. It is also about teaching students to create their own media, and through hands-on work, explore their creativity and understand how media is constructed. But there are complex copyright issues here. Rights to using images and sound from popular culture are protected by the Government Copyright Law of the United States of America, Circular 92.

Did you know there is a legal difference between viewing a video with your students for the information it contains and viewing a video with your students for the purpose of teaching media literacy? The laws create opportunities for media to be used in a variety of ways in educational settings. The laws cover many topics including, but not limited to:

  • Viewing TV, Videos, Streaming
  • Downloading Media
  • Media Creation
  • Media Literacy

For detailed guidance on the complex issues around copyright and media education, see The Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education

For further information on your rights and responsibilities as an educator, please visit the following sites, all filled with useful resources designed for you: 

PBS TEACHERS
A reference guide for educators who use PBS television programming and multimedia in the classroom

EDUCATION WORLD
The Educator's Guide to Copyright and Fair Use

EDUTOPIA
Copy Wrongs: Teachers Looking Online for Material, Be Warned: Know what you can -- and can't -- download for the classroom

CENTER FOR SOCIAL MEDIA
The Cost of Copyright Confusion for Media Literacy

CREATIVE COMMONS
Provides free tools that let authors, scientists, artists, and educators easily mark their creative work with the freedoms they want it to carry

CREATIVE COMMONS LEARNS
A division of Creative Commons which is dedicated to realizing the full potential of the Internet to support open learning and open educational resources (OER); the mission is to minimize barriers to sharing and reuse of educational materials -- legal barriers, technical barriers, and social barriers