Copyright and the digital age
Imagine (or for some of you, reflect!) on what it would have been like to teach a post-secondary course prior to the Internet age. You may have written on the board, displayed some carefully copied transparencies on an overhead, or, perhaps rolled in a VHS/TV cart combination to show a video clip. You still had to think about copyright of course, but the sheer effort involved in bringing other people’s work in limited what media you and your students had access to.
These days, the majority of students carry some sort of mobile device with them wherever they go. Be it a smartphone, tablet or laptop, they have access to the non-stop data that is being created and archived every day. And while much of this data is entertainment and a potential distraction, much of it is also rich content that has great potential in adding to the learning experiences across campuses. As an instructor, you now have the ability to link and/or embed fantastic material produced by others. The catch is, how to do this without infringing copyright. And that’s a big catch!
And that’s a catch that you can relate to – as copyright owners. The curriculum materials and intellectual property you develop – whether it is part of a course or not, is also protected by copyright. So while it might be tempting to think ‘what happens in my class, stays in my class,’ and quietly use copyrighted works in a way that might border on infringement, it behooves you to think about your use of other works in that light – as if it were your own. You can integrate good copyright practice while at the same time embracing the idea of using copyrighted works that build your learner’s critical thinking and strengthen achievement of learning outcomes.
What we’ve learned when developing this resource is that many instructors shy away from adopting more innovative instructional practices simply due to their confusion around copyright, fair use and fair dealing – all of the copyright terms. And while that in itself is a shame, we’ve also found that instructors do not know where to turn for help when they need it, become frustrated and abandon any plans on integrating high quality materials created by others.
This guide will provide a quick overview of important steps you need to take with ensuring your teaching materials are in line with copyright law. This resource is small – and is not meant to be the be-all and end-all for everything copyright in higher education. We will be looking at how instructors can use video, audio, images and text-based digital media in their teaching and learning practices – all while abiding by copyright law. We’ll take the perspective of using these media formats both within – and without – a password protected learning management system (LMS). There are many high-quality resources authored by other wonderful copyright-minded individuals, which we will include in the (surprise!) ” One-Stop Copyright Resources” chapter, and our intention is to keep adding new content and advice as they develop, and as suggested by you. Copyright is nuanced and ever-changing, and we are committed to providing new material to help demystify what can be a complicated issue.