Technology Integration

Part 4: Multimedia in Projects (Page 3 of 3)

Copyright, Fair Use, Plagiarism

Copyright and Fair Use

What do you need to know about copyright?

As projects often contain multimedia elements captured from the Internet, you and your students should learn about copyright issues related to intellectual property and multimedia law.  In particular, teachers and students should know the four characteristics to determine copyright infringement: the purpose and character of use (commercial or non profit educational), the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount of the work that can be used in relation to its whole, and the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the work (Chiles, Riddle, & Rich, 2003, p. 37) 

What is considered fair-use of multimedia in projects?

There are limitations on time and the amount of copyrighted material that can be incorporated into educational multimedia projects, used without permission.  Developers should credit all sources and consult the Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia established by the Congress of the United States (1996).  In brief, this document indicates the following (section 4.2):

• Motion media: up to 10% or 3 minutes, whichever is less, in the aggregate.
• Text: up to 10% or 1000 words, whichever is less, in the aggregate.
• Music, Lyrics, and Music Video: Up to 10%, but in no event more than 30 seconds, of the music and lyrics from an individual musical work (or in the aggregate of extracts from an individual work).
• Illustrations and Photographs: No more than 5 images by an artist or photographer; No more than 10% or 15 images, whichever is less, from a published collective work.
• Numerical data sets: Up to 10% or 2500 fields or cell entries, whichever is less, from a copyrighted database or data table.

How can I minimize problems with copyright when using multimedia projects for teaching and learning?

Seeking permission to use copyrighted works for multimedia projects can be time consuming and permission might not always be granted.  Creative Commons (http://creativecommons.org/) has been developed to minimize concerns.  This non-profit site was "built within current copyright law, that allows you to share your creations with others and use music, movies, images, and text online that's been marked with a Creative Commons license" (section: Learn More about Creative Commons).  Four types of licenses are available to designate the level at which material can be used without seeking permission from the copyright holder: attribution, non-commercial, no derivative works, and share alike.  These licenses are particularly relevant for content that you develop and post on the Internet. They help you to retain copyright while sharing your work "with some rights reserved."  Creative Commons has an icon that you would post with your content. 

When users search for media using the Creative Commons Search tools, they will automatically know the terms of use.  When searching you have an option to find works that you can use for commercial use and/or adapt, modify, or build-upon.  This latter is the key for appropriate use of the media in projects for teaching and learning.  Educators will also benefit from the database of lessons, course packets, textbooks, and other research material.  Wesley Fryer discusses the importance of Creative Commons in K-12 Education.  

American Library Association's Copyright Advisory Network: http://www.librarycopyright.net/ has numerous copyright resources, plus a blog where educators can post their questions about copyright issues and get replies.

Anti-Piracy from the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) and CyberSmart!: http://www.siia.net/education/piracy.asp  This free education resource for grades K-8 will help educators make students aware of various software and Internet-related copyright issues and how they can avoid problems. Standards-based teacher lesson plans and downloadable, printable worksheets are included.  There are also several resources on computer ethics, respecting the law, and cyber citizenship.

B4UCopy from the Business Software Alliance is a free education curriculum for grades 3-8: http://www.b4ucopy.com/kids/index.html  and grades 9-12: http://www.b4ucopy.com/teens/index.html  to help students learn about copyright and online etiquette.  There are lesson plans and teacher guides.  The kids curriculum also has information for parents.

A Visit to Copyright Bay: http://www.stfrancis.edu/cid/copyrightbay/ uses a multimedia game-like format to assist learners with understanding fair use of copyright materials for educational purposes.  Visit “Fair Use Harbor” with its Background Beach, Multimedia Wharf, Single Copy Inlet, Cove of Multiple Copies, Audio Visual Lagoon, and Distance Education Point.  When ready, test your knowledge on a Shakedown Cruise.  A bonus feature is a streaming video update for educators on the TEACH (Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization) Act of 2002, which is particularly relevant to clarify fair use of multimedia for distance and online learning.

Copyright from the United States Copyright Office:  http://www.copyright.gov/ Learn copyright basics, read about the laws, register a work and record a document, search copyright records, and get publications, forms, and fact sheets.

Copyright and Fair Use from Stanford University: http://fairuse.Stanford.edu 

Copyright and Fair Use in the Classroom, on the Internet, and the World Wide Web from the University of Maryland University College: http://www.umuc.edu/library/copy.html The document contains an introduction to copyright and fair use, including fair use guidelines for educational multimedia.  There is also a sample letter for requesting permission to use copyrighted materials.

Copyright.com from the Copyright Clearance Center: http://www.copyright.com/ccc/home.do See copyright for academia. This site contains extensive resources for copyright issues and organizations concerned with copyright.  There are guidelines for creating a copyright compliance policy, registering a copyright, rights management information, and multimedia law.   

Copyright Essentials from the Copyright Management Center at Indiana University: http://www.copyright.iupui.edu/quickguide.htm 

Copyright Website: http://www.benedict.com/ Get the basics of copyright law; read about cases of visual and audio copyright violations. Learn about Web site protection, linking issues, and Web design issues.  The site also includes discussion of the Internet Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Copyright Kids!: http://www.copyrightkids.org/ is brought to you by the Copyright Society of the U.S.A. The goals of this Web site are to provide:"an educational tool to define, explain, and apply copyright issues in language understandable to Middle School students; an educational resource on copyright issues for teachers and parents of 5th - 8th graders who are engaged in a creative process; instructions about how to protect your own creations by registering them with the U.S. Copyright Office in the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C."

Copyright with Cyberbee: http://www.cyberbee.com/copyrt.html  Cyberbee.com has resources and lesson ideas for teachers on this topic.  There is also an interactive question and answer activity suitable for upper elementary through high school students to learn the basics about copyright (http://www.cyberbee.com/cb_copyright.swf).  

Crash Course in Copyright from the University of Texas: http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/cprtindx.htm If you want to use images, videos, words, songs, designs, layouts, illustrations, diagrams, charts, and graphs or create things with them, then you should learn the copyright basics using this resource.

Creative Commons: http://creativecommons.org/ Legally share your work with others.  Four types of licenses are available to designate the level at which material can be used without seeking permission from the copyright holder: attribution, non-commercial, no derivative works, and share alike.

Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia from the Congress of the United States (1996): http://www.libraries.psu.edu/mtss/resources/copyright.html

Hall Davidson's Copyright Resources: http://www.halldavidson.net/downloads.html  Numerous resources of value to educators are included: copyright quizzes/answers, charts, articles, and handouts for classroom planning in multimedia and video.

Podcasting Legal Guide: Rules for the Revolution: http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Welcome_To_The_Podcasting_Legal_Guide This guide, based on U.S. law, deals with copyright and fair use in relation to the development and distribution of podcasts, and trademark issues.   It includes a section relevant for librarians and teachers.

Questions & Answers on Copyright for the Campus Community: http://www.nacs.org/public/copyright/ from the Software & Information Industry Association, Association of American Publishers, Association of American University Presses, National Association of College Stores, and the Copyright Clearance Center. This guidebook in question and answer format discusses the Copyright Act: copying print and digital works, getting permissions to copy, how to get electronic versions from publishers for students with disabilities including a form for requesting the e-version, guidelines for making classroom copies, and a form for seeking permission to use copyright materials.

Taking the Mystery out of Copyright: http://www.loc.gov/teachers/copyrightmystery/#  from the Library of Congress is an interactive site in Flash for students and educators to learn about copyright.

Teacher's Guide to Fair Use and Copyright: http://home.earthlink.net/~cnew/research.htm 

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Plagiarism

Below are resources that define plagiarism, help you prevent plagiarism, and plagiarism detection services. 

What is plagiarism?

The Internet has made it easy for students to cut a paste content from others into their work, particularly in their written papers.  Many students are not even aware of what constitutes plagiarism.  Simply stated, "In an instructional setting, plagiarism occurs when a writer deliberately uses someone else’s language, ideas, or other original (not common-knowledge) material without acknowledging its source" (Council on Writing Program Administrators, 2003).

How can you deter plagiarism?

The best way to deter plagiarism is to prevent its occurrence in the first place by teaching students about plagiarism, copyright and fair use, and how to paraphrase.  Readers might be interested in the article Plagiarism: Prevention is the Name of the Game by P. Deubel (2005), which appeared in English Leadership Quarterly and is available at this site.  ReadWriteThink.org also has an excellent 3-part lesson to use with students, Exploring Plagiarism, Copyright, and Paraphrasing.  The premise is that students need time to practice and must see examples of correct paraphrasing and citation methodology.

Unfortunately, however, the burden of proof for suspected plagiarism lies with the educator.  Arthur Sterngold (2004) indicates that conventional lecture-based teaching practices invite cyber-cheating.  Deterring plagiarism calls for a paradigm shift toward more learner-centered teaching approaches, which incorporate "more hands-on, active, and collaborative learning methods" (p. 21).  While no methods are foolproof, Sterngold provides the following strategies for preventing plagiarism in research papers:

• Break up major research papers into smaller assignments.
• Require students to write about course-specific topics.
• Choose some required course material for your students.
• Incorporate assignments into class discussions and tests.
• Meet with students to discuss their research.
• Require students to submit printouts [marked-up/highlighted copies] of source materials.  (pp. 18-20)

Sterngold's strategies "allow instructors to treat most instances of plagiarism as fixable errors rather than fatal violations of academic policies" (p. 18).  They are equally applicable for multimedia projects, which are developed over time and for which instructors can provide learner feedback in stages.

Plagiarism & Academic Integrity at Rutgers University: http://www.scc.rutgers.edu/douglass/sal/plagiarism/intro.html,produced by the Rutgers University Libraries, is a multimedia play with eight scenes, suitable for use with high school/post-secondary learners.  The tutorial is presented using video clips of university students modeling good and bad behavior in regard to plagiarism.  At the end of each scene, interactivity is provided in the form of user options to address the question, “What would you do?” A squawking parrot and various street signs provide voices of reason. 

The Plagiarism Resource Site: http://plagiarism.phys.virginia.edu/ "The goal of this web site is to help reduce the impact of plagiarism on education and educational institutions. At present, it distributes free software to detect plagiarism and provides links to other resources. This site’s sole author is Lou Bloomfield, Professor of Physics, University of Virginia."

Plagiarism Today: http://www.plagiarismtoday.com/  was created by a victim of plagiarism who decided to fight back.  Thus, the site is devoted to webmasters and copyright holders and contains resources for detecting plagiarism, content theft on the Web, learning about legal issues, copyright, contacting the plagiarist, plagiarism help, a blog for discussion, and more.

Plagiarism-You Can Avoid It: http://wally.rit.edu/instruction/dl/cptutorial/presentation/presentation.html  is a copyright, fair use, and plagiarism tutorial in three parts, designed by Wallace Library of the Rochester Institute of Technology for post-secondary learners.  Streamed audio accompanies a captioned presentation.  Middle and high school learners will benefit.

Prentice Hall Companion Website: Understanding Plagiarism: http://wps.prenhall.com/hss_understand_plagiarism_1/0,6622,427064-,00.html is a text-only comprehensive tutorial appropriate for high school and post-secondary learners.

The Fraud of Plagiarism: http://www.cte.usf.edu/plagiarism/plagindex.html is an online interactive multimedia tutorial developed by Dr. Eleanour Snow with support from the University of South Florida. Examples with decision-making opportunities are presented to help learners understand the difference between plagiarism and paraphrasing.  Feedback clearly explains what is acceptable and not acceptable writing.  A summary quiz is included.  Reading level in examples is more appropriate for secondary and post-secondary learners.

VAIL (Virtual Academic Integrity Laboratory) Tutor: http://www.umuc.edu/distance/odell/cip/vail/home.html is a high end multimedia tutorial with graphics, animation, and music, provided by the Center for Intellectual Property at the University of Maryland University College.  Faculty and administrators learn to detect plagiarism, provide strategies for reducing cheating, and promote academic integrity.  Students learn how to avoid plagiarism.

What is Plagiarism? from Georgetown University: http://www.georgetown.edu/honor/plagiarism.html Plagiarism is defined and issues that students commonly raise are discussed, such as paraphrasing, getting help from others, not having time to do it right, denial of plagiarism, my friends get stuff from the Internet.  Information on acknowledging the work of others and examples of plagiarism are provided.

You Quote It, You Note It!: http://library.acadiau.ca/tutorials/plagiarism/  (2004) is a very engaging, multimedia, interactive plagiarism tutorial brought to you by Vaughn Memorial Library at Acadia University in Canada.  In about ten minutes, middle school to post secondary learners will learn how to avoid plagiarism and pick up some research tips, too.

Writing Tutorial Services at Indiana University (Bloomington): http://www.indiana.edu/%7Ewts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml Plagiarism: What it is and how to recognize it and avoid it.

Plagiarism Detection Services:

DOC Cop: http://www.doccop.com/ for K-12, higher education, researchers, and anyone interested in ensuring that work is plagiarism free.  This fee service creates reports "displaying the correlation and matches between documents or a document and the web" to help you determine if plagiarism has occurred.  Documents are not retained by the service. 

EVE2: http://www.canexus.com

Glatt Plagiarism Services: www.plagiarism.com

My Drop Box: http://www.mydropbox.com/ provides an easily customizable service to detect and prevent Internet plagiarism.  The technology will assist universities, colleges, high schools, and other education providers ensure that "no single sentence is copied from the Internet without proper reference."

Turnitin.com: http://www.turnitin.com/static/home.html has a product to help detect plagiarism.  Examine the research resources for students and teachers.  You will find plagiarism and key research terms defined, help to identify different types of plagiarism, help with citations, and suggestions for developing good research and writing skills.  Teachers will appreciate the printable handouts.

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References:

Chiles, L., Riddle, N., & Rich, L. (2003, Oct.). Are you breaking the law? Copyright guidelines for video streaming and digital video in the classroom. T.H.E. Journal, 31(3), 36-39.

Council on Writing Program Administrators (2003). Defining and avoiding plagiarism: The WPA statement on best practices. Available: http://www.wpacouncil.org/node/9

Deubel, P. (2005). Plagiarism: Prevention is the name of the game. English Leadership Quarterly, 28(1), 6-11.  [Also available at this site. Click on the title.]

Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia established by the Congress of the United States (1996). Available: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/mtss/resources/copyright.html 

Sterngold, A. (2004, May/June). Confronting plagiarism: How conventional teaching invites cyber-cheating. Change, 36(3), 16-21.

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See other Technology Integration pages:

Part 4: Multimedia in Projects: Page  1  |   2   |  3  | 

Part 1: Essential Questions  |  Part 2: Technology Integration Resources  |   Part 3: Web Page Design   

To cite this page, use the following format:

Deubel, P. (fill in year from last revised). Technology integration: Multimedia in projects [Online]. Retrieved [fill in date] from Computing Technology for Math Excellence at http://www.ct4me.net/multimedia_in_projects.htm