Week 1 Discussion – Response to Patricia Ort

Pat wrote: 
I think teachers really get squeezed when it comes to copyright because many don’t know where to look for copyright free material that is also cost free. The Internet is a really big place, and resources that seem obvious to some are not all that easy to find for others. FSO has really helped me with that this year. As other students have shared resources, I have finally begun to find places to get music that my students can use and which don’t cost me anything. I still need to broaden that list of resources, though.

The drive to integrate technology into the classroom puts teachers and students in situations where they may need music or images they can’t make themselves. Digital natives resist the idea that they can’t share the things they find on in the Internet freely, and in any way they like. I have spent all year reinforcing the idea that you can’t use someone else’s work without their permission. We are doing better, but often kids have a specific image or piece of music in mind when they think up a project. When they find out they can’t use those things, they have a hard time coming up with alternatives. Actually, sometimes so do I. I needed medieval music for my class movie. I did purchase some music from iStock Photo, but it was a very limited selection. And no. I can’t make that in Garage Band.

I use online videos a lot, embedding them in my school web pages or blog. I could never create all of that myself. The rules about copyright can be a little slippery, too. Colleges, for example, can do some things that K-12 can’t, and vice-versa. And the rules change. I have required my students to use copyright free sources and to document their sources. However, it is still hard to be sure every item is safe and to check every student’s sources.


Hi Pat, 
As always, an interesting and thought-provoking post from you on the copyright and other issues you face as a teacher who is actually trying to be creative in your endeavors to teach in your challenging environment. I can see where students might get frustrated with having to come up with alternatives to their ideas of things they want to use that they ‘can’t’ without permissions, etc. I know what you mean about Garage Band. Although, you can create some nice loops by using your own keyboards, get your ‘musically inclined’ son to make some for you that would fit the genre of music you seem so drawn to, the medieval stuff. It’s funny, I hear quite a bit of that type of music each night as I quest my way through Warcraft with my partner, and I think of you and how you would probably enjoy it. I know you use video a lot, and that is a great way to reach today’s kids as they are so inundated with media on the web. As far as what the different institutions and grade levels can do, you practically need a degree in order to be able to keep up with the different laws, rules and regulations, not to mention all the hoops you have to jump through, both virtually and in ‘real life.’