Week 2 Wimba Session: Copyright Issues

I listened to the Wimba archive for Week 2 regarding Copyright issues, Fair Use, and Creative Commons. As I listened to the interaction and the discussion, I couldn't help but think of how these copyright laws make things very difficult for us as educators to enhance our teaching with media that increase student engagement. However, I am extremely thankful for organizations like Creative Commons that are making an attempt to enable educators a way to integrate forms of copyrighted material into their teaching.

I also enjoyed listening to several of the questions brought up by my colleagues. The two that stand out was Cheryl's question regarding karaoke and Saray's question regarding the use of lyrics to teach Spanish. As I listened to the answers from Mr. Bustillos, the most important thing to consider is whether or not the lesson can be taught without the media used to teach the lesson. If it can, then the media must be removed according to Fair Use policy. As hard as that might be to swallow, I do understand that that is the right thing to do when it comes to what the law states and how it operates in the classroom. The other thing that I found fascinating was the fact brought up about the use of a DVD purchased for private use. I was shocked to hear that if one was watching a DVD in the private confines of one's home, and the volume is loud enough for outsiders to hear, there could be copyright violations! What? That blew me away. It made me want to go out and by sound tight windows immediately. Above anything, the Wimba session really caused me to realize and understand the seriousness of copyright and how to consider the legalities of how it effects my integration of specific forms of media in my lessons. Great Wimba session for Week 2. Thank you.