We are reading and discussing chapter 3 of Copyright and e-learning: A guide for practitioners which looks at Using Digital Media, Videos, Images, Sound and Software
Chapter 3 can be accessed here blog post here
After reading this chapter I became aware of how little I actually know about copyright. We must remember that COVID-19 has changed things so these questions are based on things being ‘normal’ rather than at the moment.
1. As someone who works in a school library did you find this chapter useful?
Yes it definitely increased my knowledge of the digital copyright mindfield
@hp Thanks for joining in. You made me smile by your minefield comment. It certainly is...
Yes, I have always been slightly apprehensive when looking at copyright rules, particularly the digital side. I agree totally with the' minefield' comment - that was my exact thought when I started reading the chapter!
2. Would you feel comfortable talking to teachers about copyright and if so which area would you feel the most comfortable with?
I would be comfortable encouraging teachers to use the options for accessing copyright free resources to use. And encouraging them to always credit sources used
@hp I agree that this is where the school librarian's role in copyright is important. Pointing out copyright free resources and referencing is a perfect link to our skill set.
I feel teachers know they should be aware of copyright rules, but it's easier to overlook them, particularly when their workload is already high. They don't necessarily see copyright infringes as their priority. I have a printer/photocopier in the library, and often remind staff of copying guidelines, to be greeted with a wry grin and ssh! comment.
3. Do you know what guidance; procedures and licences are in place for your school or who is responsible for them?
Last time I enquired about the general licenses I was told that it is taken care of by the finance department. As far as I'm aware there is no specific guidance for teachers
@hp I know when I worked in a school this was the same. I think it is standard procedure that schools know what licences they need and buy them. I don't think however that any teacher is given guidance about what they can and can't do. Is this something that school librarians could get involved with in a small way with copyright free and referencing guidance during INSET or twilight training. Do you think anyone would turn up voluntarily?
@Elizabeth Much the same here. I'm not sure teachers see this as a priority. Their workload already demands so much of them, and feel they would see this as an addition. They know the basic rules, (and are aware of legal requirement) and to be fair, some do check with me, before copying, but I'm not convinced they'd do this voluntarily. It would have to be part of INSET, I agree.
4. Do teachers get any training or advice on what licences the school holds and how they can be used? Is this something you could get involved with and if not why?
Almost certainly not - although I think most teachers are aware of the using for educational purposes idea, which they tend to exploit.
Not specifically. Although, everyone has an awareness they are rules to adhere to.
In Australia there is no real training offered formally - you don't get it at university and then it is up to the individual school to offer training, and with crowded schedules, it often gets neglected. This is one area where TLs can be proactive. I have seen job descriptions for teacher-librarians where copyright compliance is one of their areas of responsibility.
5. If you were going to offer training on copyright where would you start to create a positive session?
I think a basic reminder overview of what is permissible in terms of copying/uploading with an introduction in to trickier ground with discussion of using images
@hp Yes, definitely focus on the positives, the can-do rather than rules. (it's kidology, isn't it?)
I think, whilst highlighting the really important don'ts to be safe, the main thing would be to focus on what people can do. I think people take more aware from training sessions if they are provided with useful ideas that they can use. So it would seem better to focus on things like where they can find creative commons material and so on.
6. What was your biggest take away from this chapter?
That in particular the use of VLE's to disseminate lessons although perhaps viewed as OK due to password security restrictions can and does prove problematic for licensing agreements
@hp Agree with this and the useful examples of free copyright sites.
That the use of digital learning environments, whilst providing opportunities for alternative styles of learning, also come with their own set of legal complications which need to be taken into consideration. The opportunity to share documents to far more people in one time means that VLEs can unwittingly infringe copyright if they are just treated in the same way as a real world classroom.
7. Do you think that school librarians need to involve themselves with copyright at all?
Interestingly I have just had a conversation with Emily Stannard on twitter, she is known as @copyrightgirl and I thought I would share her comments to see what you thought...
".. priorities for school librarians that I’m not convinced any school librarian (esp. state schools) would need to get involved with it. Changes to the law in 2011 made improvements to using copyright materials for teaching which was good."
Although she also said
"I think probably something they should keep an eye on, especially if they are making the resources and making them available (eg storytelling, making extra copies, etc)"
I think that librarians should make themselves aware of the legislation so that they are adhering to it in their own dealings, but to police an entire school's academic output especially in these times of remote teaching would be unattainable and make quite a few enemies.
@hp I would agree with you here. I think it is important that school librarians have an awareness and lead by example through best practice. It is definitely important not to be the copyright police :) but would be nice to be known as the go-to person if any teacher had a question...
I would agree with @hp . I think it is unrealistic to be the 'copyright police' , especially for a large school. In my case, I have little or no oversight over what is being copied. Teachers have access to multiple printer/photocopiers, none of which are located in the library, and our reprographics department is responsible for the rest. However, I do think librarians need to be aware of copyright legislation as it impacts their own sharing of materials with students.
This is a slight tangent with regard to the chapter under discussion, but still relevant to the subject of copyright and e-learning... but the issue of e-reading devices such as kindles.
Many people read books these days on e-readers, be it kindle, kobo, nook or whatever. I believe, however, there may be an issue with a school library buying an e-reader, loading it with a book, and loaning it to students. I'm sure I remember reading somewhere that that was actually an infringement of the licence on the device, which was written assuming said device was for personal use only.
Our school has an e-library which students can access through their web browser or through downloading an app to their personal device. I know a lot of local authority libraries have a similar set up through apps like Borrowbox. These seem to be okay because they are deliberately set up for library-style borrowing and the books automatically return themselves after a set time period, usually a couple of weeks.
However, the e-readers are apparently a different situation and are a good example of how the digital copyright and licencing situation may be different to the paper copy version. You could buy a hard copy of a book for the school library and issue it to however many students you wished, but you can't, I believe, buy an e-book version on an e-reader and loan out the e-reader in the same fashion. Unless someone has re-written the small print for kindles and such like recently, that is also perhaps something to be aware of when we're considering digital copyrights. It seems that in some instances digital copyrights and licences can be stricter than those applied to 'normal' copyright.
An interesting issue @Stephanie Vann I can see why the loaning of a kindle is a problem and against copyright. e-book borrowing is really troublesome for public and school libraries and is not as straight forward as it would first seem. Publishers do not seem to have worked out how to allow e-book borrowing. Mainly because e-books never need re-buying. It is a bit of a minefield and very difficult to compete with the likes of Amazon who seem to be able to sell e-books really cheaply.
When I was buying e-books the cost was huge and very difficult to justify without a lot of promotion and making sure that these resources were used. Schools still preferred to use the physical copies but I think that this might change now...
@Elizabeth Yes, the cost of the e-book is not always less than the cost of the hard copy and can be a lot more than the cost of the book in paperback particularly. That's not the case with every single e-book, but with some it definitely is, so I have to be a little selective about what I buy for our e-library. Fortunately, older books can be quite cheap, so I can balance out the expensive new books with some much cheaper classics.
@Stephanie I found the latest popular fiction to be extraordinarily expensive in e-book format. However you are right the older books were cheaper. Did you find that your e-book collection was well used before lockdown? Many schools seem to say that the physical copies get used more...
I don’t think it always occurs to them - I think we all need to be reminded of things and it should be included in training or staff inductions maybe ?