Internet Resources: What Is Legal Use?

As our building has progressed further into our 1:1 iPad initiative and technology is now being used extensively in our learning spaces, students have almost unlimited access to images, audio and video from the web.  I have become increasingly aware that even with the Fair Use Copyright Law (1976), students and educators do not have free rein to use these resources as they wish.  Educational leaders have a responsibility to use these resources correctly and to teach our students to do the same.

Creative Commons is an organization that attempts to maximize legal, digital sharing and innovation.  They have created six licenses designed for this purpose.  The video below gives a brief, easy to understand explanation of the process.



There are several ways that educational leaders can direct students toward internet resources that authors and artists want to be shared and reused.  Some tools and strategies that I am currently trying...

• At the elementary level, sharing a google folder with a variety of teacher-selected images for students to choose from can often be effective.
• Whenever possible, have students take and use their own photos and videos.
• Pixabay and  Pics4Learning provide free images for students that require no attribution.  Here are some other useful links:
• http://www.redjumper.net/blog/2015/12/the-top-5-sources-for-images-and-photos-on-your-ipad/
• http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2013/08/5-good-places-for-students-to-find.html#.Vo6F8cYrLIU
• http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic98.htm
• https://edublogs.org/2010/09/17/edublogs-weekly-review-top-5-sites-to-find-images-for-student-use/
• Creative Commons provides their own search engine. 
• Flickr:Creative Commons  and Wikipedia Commons provide usable media files for student use.

I still have so much to learn in this area.  Please share in the comments below if you have found useful strategies or tools to use with your students.