Legal and Ethical Issues

Resources: Copyright, Fair Use and Creative Commons

The following is a list of resources to use when teaching copyright, fair use and creative commons:

1. The Teaching Copyright website provides information and class lessons about copyright and fair use. It can be used as a reference for teaching about copyright and includes exercises for use in the classroom to teach students about acceptable practice. https://www.teachingcopyright.org/
2. The Creative Commons website provides both information about creative commons and open resources as well as the resources themselves. This is a great place for students to go to find resources for their projects and to learn about appropriate use of shared material. https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/
3. This collection of videos can be shared with students to illustrate the principles and importance of fair use and copyright law. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/film-festival-copyright-fair-use
4. Here is a straightforward list of what you can and cannot do when using materials found on the web. It includes written rules and videos that can be shared with students when teaching lessons. https://www.theedublogger.com/2017/01/20/copyright-fair-use-and-creative-commons/
5. This guide is created by CUNY to guide their teachers and students through the complex issues of fair use. When in doubt, this tool can guide you through a series of evaluations to decide if something can be used. http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/tutorials/copyright/

Student Data Privacy and FERPA:

1. This article covers the important elements and risks for student data privacy. Additionally, it provides specific actions to ensure that you are protecting student data in day to day activities. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/starting-point-ensuring-student-online-privacy-anne-obrien
2. This is a summary of the FERPA bill that explains simply what the requirements are for collecting and retaining personal data. In this specific article, the author calls out the impacts to teachers and what and how we may collect and must dispose of data. http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/DigitalEducation/2014/05/draft_overhaul_of_federal_stud.html
3. This PDF was produced by the US Department of Education to clearly outline the requirements of data privacy, confidentiality and security as it relates to students. http://ptac.ed.gov/sites/default/files/Student%20Privacy%20and%20Online%20Educational%20Services%20%28February%202014%29.pdf
4. Common Sense Media created a school privacy campaign to ensure students' rights to privacy are being considered. While this website is aimed at parents, it asks critical questions that we must consider and be prepared to answer to ensure we have our students' best interests at heart. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/kids-action/our-issues/a-positive-media-and-technology-world/school-privacy-zone
5. This is an excellent video that shows how to teach the importance of privacy to students. In this video, students are learning to protect their own privacy when online. https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/discussing-internet-privacy-with-students

Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty:

1. Read, Write, Think provides a comprehensive guide and set of lessons on teaching students about the need for citations and how to avoid plagiarism. http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/research-building-blocks-cite-158.html
2. This website helps teachers build curriculum and activities to get students to identify academic dishonesty and plagiarism themselves. By identifying what is wrong in the work of others, students are in a better position to do their own work correctly the first time. http://www.literacymatters.org/content/research/develop.htm
3. Plagiarism.org provides extensive resources from videos to exercises to teach students about the importance of citing their resources. http://www.plagiarism.org/
4. This Plagiarism Prevention Guide helps us to understand what constitutes plagiarism. It is a good way to kick off a lesson with students so they understand what the word means and why it matters. http://www.findingdulcinea.com/guides/Education/Plagiarism-Prevention.html
5. This is a great video that explains how best to approach teaching plagiarism and academic dishonesty in the classroom. https://elearningindustry.com/teaching-plagiarism-in-the-online-classroom

Editorial: The Digital Divide

In the United States' capitalist society, access to better resources for school children is an issue that far predates technology. Students from these families have historically performed better in school due to many factors including access. In the information age, however, the gap in access is amplified and is growing exponentially each day. Students with increased digital access literally have a world of information, collaboration and tools at their disposal. As teachers in our present day, we have an obligation to lead all students, regardless of economic or social status, to use the digital technology that is critical to their future success. The question is: What can we do to promote equity and ensure that all students have a fair, if not equal, opportunity to learn?

In 2015, Navarrow Wright launched his "Close the Divide" campaign at the TEDx event recorded in the video below. His website, http://closethedividefor.me/, provides resources for teachers and communities to use to make opportunities equitable for all.

First, we must recognize that we will not be able to create equal access. Parents with means to do so will provide tools for their children that others will not have. Here are a few things we can do:

• Advocate: We can play a critical role in advocating in our community for shared resources our students can use inside and outside of the classroom. In school, we can apply for grants to buy digital tools for our students. Outside of the classroom, we can work with city government on access in libraries and even on public and/or school buses where students can work beyond the school day. In some communities, WiFi buses are parked in neighborhoods to serve as access points for the residents. PBS did an excellent video on how WiFi buses are being used to bridge the digital divide (see video below).

• Give authentic tasks. Rather than using technology for rote tasks and drills, we can give our students projects that require a mix of technology for research and creation and non-technology tasks. Students are then required to plan their time themselves and can plan around their access constraints. They learn far more than simply computing when required to organize their time. Edsurge provides some excellent suggestions and resources in their May 2016 article on bridging the digital divide.
• Plan for limited access. It is critical for teachers to plan lessons according to access limitations. In other words, if a student simply does not have the opportunity of another student, we must be careful that the assignment not require more. This does not mean that the assignment should not be rigorous, just that we must plan accordingly with ample time and realistic expectations.