Week 3 PLE Post

Copyright laws are important for teachers to understand so they know their boundaries and guidelines when it comes to obeying the law. The media used in the classroom has to be legitimately acquired. Also, the media has to be properly cited so the images, music, etc. can be easily found again. The factors for fair use include: character use (what the copyrighted material will be used for/educational purpose?), nature of the work (what the product was intended for), the amount and substance of the work used, and the effect on the market (are you diminishing the commercial value of that work you are using?). Common sense, as well as the official guidelines, are the biggest help when it comes to using copyrighted material correctly. If a teacher is helping kids learn, not compromising the value of the work, and not hurting the copyright holder, then using the material is fair :)