Pause Before Downloading: Rules and Resources for Reusing Digital Content in the Classroom

“Duke Ellington Visit” by U.S. Department of Education / CC BY 2.0

“Why can’t I use this picture?” This is a question my students often ask whenever they are looking for images on the Internet for projects they create in my class.

My response is always this: “If you go into a store and you see merchandise you like on the sales floor, can you take it without paying for it?”

In this era of digital media, where almost everything is searchable and downloadable, it’s easy to see why students, and even teachers, think that it’s perfectly fine to reuse another’s creator’s work. However, this is not always true.

Myths and Facts

Let’s look at some commonly held misperceptions of copyright law.

Myth No 1: You can always claim fair use.

Fact: Fair use isn’t a legislative right, it’s a legal defense you can use in a court of law. However, that doesn’t mean you will avoid legal repercussion simply by using this argument. To learn more, read Harvard University’s guide on copyright and fair use.

Myth No. 2: If it’s copyright protected, then you can’t use it.

Fact: The creator of the work owns the copyright. If you are able to obtain permission from the creator, then you can reproduce it.

Myth No. 3: It’s not copyright protected because it doesn’t say that it is.

Fact: It depends on when the work was originally created. Copyright laws have been amended a few times over the course of the 20th century, so you’ll have to check the work in question. However, as of March 1, 1989, all work is automatically copyright protected, and a copyright notice isn’t necessary for work to receive this protection. The United States Copyright Office explains this in more detail here.

Myth No. 4: As long as you cite the creator of the work, you don’t have to worry about copyright.

Fact: Citing work avoids plagiarism, but you can be in danger of copyright infringement. Check out this explanation from Duke University Libraries’ Web page for further clarification.

Solution

How can students incorporate media into their projects without violating copyright laws? Luckily, there are three options:

1. Use creative work that is accompanied by a Creative Commons license. Creative Commons is an organization dedicated to helping creators share their work with the world. People who publish their work with a Creative Commons license are allowing others to reuse their work on their terms.
2. Use work in the public domain. These creations are not subjected to copyright laws because either the copyright has expired or the creator has decided to give up his or her rights to the work. In the latter example, creators will declare this on their work.
3. Create original work. Students are incredibly creative. Depending on their talents and inclinations, they can create hand-drawn illustrations, make their own computer graphics or take their own photographs. With the right digital tools, students can create their own original videos, music, images or audio.

Project Resources

I’ve gathered a few resources for students to use when incorporating media created by others. Don’t forget to tell students to verify the usage rights of all works before using them. In addition, keep in mind that when searching on the Internet, there is always the potential to come across inappropriate content. Before using any of the following search engines, check that it has been vetted by your school’s content filters. Also, tell your students to turn on SafeSearch — if it’s an option on the website.

1. Creative Commons Search allows you to search for Creative Commons–licensed images, videos and music.
2. Google Advanced Image Search allows you to filter your search, by image size, aspect ratio, color and more. The most important thing to remember is to scroll down to the end of the search fields and choose the correct “Usage rights” option.
3. Pixabay is a website with many beautiful public domain images. Remember not to click on the sponsored links (those are not in the public domain), and you’ll find many great options.
4. Photosforclass is fantastic for the classroom. All photos are all Creative Commons licensed, filtered for appropriate images and come with an automatic citation when you download a photo.
5. Openclipart provides clipart that is all in the public domain
6. Flickr This link will take you to Flickr’s search portal. You must click on “any license” to filter for the correct license.
7. Wikipedia usually features work with Creative Commons license or those in the public domain.
8. Pics4learning states on its homepage that it offers “a curated image library that is safe and free for education. Teachers and students can use the copyright-friendly photos and illustrations for classroom projects, websites, videos, portfolios or any other projects in an educational setting.”
9. Foter has free stock photos. When choosing an image, users are guided through an attribution process that could be helpful for students.
10. Library of Congress is the government’s website of online prints and photographs.

Giving Credit Attribution

As with textual research, giving credit is always something we should teach our students. However, most students are unsure how to cite images in their projects. Though MLA or APA citations are appropriate for academic papers, these look clumsy in a project or in published media. When providing attribution, include the name of the work (if known), the name of the creator and the usage rights. Also, include hyperlinks to the creator and the Creative Commons license in the citation. Here is an example of how to cite images with hyperlinks: “Beach” by Sean MacEntee / CC BY 2.0. To download an infocard to show students how to include credit attribution, click here.

Time to Get Students Creating

In the 21st century, understanding how to properly use digital content is an essential skill. Following copyright laws isn’t difficult if students follow guidelines and use the right resources. Isn’t it time we showed them how?

Originally published on KQED's "In the Classroom" blog. Reproduced courtesy of KQED.

Reaching New Heights in Learning

How do you deal with that anticlimactic lull that you inevitably feel after spending three fantastic days at the Annual CUE Conference in Palm Springs? The answer is simple. You stay for the CUE West Coast Summit Featuring Google for Education (GIEWC), of course!  

Circle of Friends #selfiewithselak

The GIEWC Summit, which took place on March 22-23, was a high-energy, fun-filled conference hosted by CUE, and it was one of those must-attend events of the year. CUE, co-producer of the Google Teacher Academy, sure knows how to satisfy your desire to become a Google Apps ninja in the classroom.

On Saturday, the GIEWC Summit kicked off with a keynote from the amazing Vint Cerf, one of the founders of the Internet. Cerf is the reason why we use the phrase “surf the Internet” when going online because “Cerf” is pronounced “surf.” Vint Cerf showed us a map of the Internet, and it was so intricate that it left me in awe of how much we take for granted.

(L to R) Beth Fisher, Kara
Lawler, and Kimberly dos Santos

After the keynote was the shred sessions, where all the speakers gave a 90-second pitch of their presentations so that attendees could more accurately plan out their schedule the next day. All presenters enthusiastically showed off their talents and kept the audience engaged with their various styles. One particularly humorous moment occurred when Scott Moss asked, “Do you like to party?  If so, then you might not make it to my hangover session tomorrow,” as he jokingly referred to his 7:45am session on Sunday.

The next day, all sessions were in full swing as attendees filled the rooms, fully ready to embrace more new knowledge. You really have to applaud these educators who were so willing to give up their Sunday to soak in more professional development. These are the real rock stars in the education world!

Following the entertaining shred sessions, CUE really brought out the white-gloved service as we all meandered over to the East Lawn for some appetizers. It was a wonderful way to unwind and socialize with other attendees after spending three mind-blowing days at the CUE conference.

The sessions at GIEWC Summit were all taught by Google Certified Teachers and/or Google Apps Certified Trainers. The sessions offered ranged from Kate Petty’s fantastic smorgasbord of Project-Based Learning ideas to Diane Main’s “Drawing: No Longer Drive’s Ugly Stepchild.” Some super cool hacks were also shared, like when Danny Silva showed how to create a QR code for a Google calendar event that will automatically add that event to your own personal Google Calendar. Everyone oohed and aahed over Brandon Wislocki’s trick of adding hotspots in Google Drawing.  If you wanted to learn about Google scripts, then JR Ginex-Orinion had you covered, and if you want to fully utilize YouTube’s many functions then Lisa Highfill showed you how to do it right. I presented on “The Google-Powered Classroom,” showing how I use Google Apps to meet the literacy and technology standards required by the Common Core.

I heard many compliments from the attendees on the concurrent sessions I missed that I truthfully wished I could’ve gone to every one. Where’s Hermione Granger’s Time-Turner when you need one? Even as a Google Certified Teacher, I don’t presume to know every hack, and I’m always pushing the boundaries of my own knowledge. To me, it isn’t just about the technology tools, but how different educators apply them in a classroom setting.

After a full day of intense learning, we all gathered for Demo Slams from the presenters. Bill Selak showed the audience how to find and curate artwork, historical events, landmarks and digital exhibits with the Google Cultural Institute. Sean O’Neil demonstrated how to use the Color Picker Eyedropper Chrome extension and in his words “… how it makes us designers instead of just ‘posters’.”

Then the conference ended on a high note as Jaime Casap, Google’s Global Education Evangelist, shared his wisdom in the Closing Keynote. He challenged us with the question, “When did collaboration become cheating?  Working together is important.” Casap also stated, “Technology is not the silver bullet.  It’s there to support and enable students.” Before he left the stage, he graciously took questions from the audience. Mike Lawrence, in true geeky-style, threw out a Catchbox, a wireless microphone enclosed in a soft cube, to audience members so that they could participate effortlessly.

The GIEWC Summit definitely left you with many brain-overload moments that all educators should experience. Not only was it very fulfilling in a geeky sort of way, it was also way too much fun, as evidenced by the candid photos that surfaced from this event. Conferences should never be dull. If the GIEWC Summit returns next year, I’ll be there. Will you?

This post originally appeared in the CUE Blog on April 20, 2014.

Misconceptions of a 1:1 Classroom

Photo Credit: Kai Schreiber 

Maybe I should have a sign that hangs outside my door: "These aren't the droids you're looking for."

In my school, I am the only one who teaches with 1:1 devices in an academic content area, and it has come to my attention that some believe my students must sit in front of their screens all period, typing away at their keyboards in silence and never talking to each other.

Perhaps this is my fault.  After all, I shared that I don't subscribe to the "sage on the stage" philosophy, that I'm a facilitator of learning, and that my students work hard every day to create content, not just consume it.  I told them that my students use their Chromebooks every day in my class.  Intensely.

To them, it means that my students are zombies, sitting in invisible cubicles, deprived of their ability to practice their social skills.

To me, it means that my classroom is a vibrant, noisy place where students are analyzing text (loudly), leading their own discussions (verbally and online), and constructing meaning among themselves (animatedly).

My students write to explain, deconstruct, reflect, and argue their viewpoints.  They use web 2.0 tools to collaborate on projects and create multimedia presentations.  They present in front of the class to share their findings.  They stand by their Chromebooks at their team tables, showcasing their Google slides while other students circulate around the room listening to their poster-style presentations.

My students blog with the world, and they're building their ePortfolios using Google Sites.  While they work, they are far from quiet, as they are regularly asked to view each other's work, give each other feedback, and compete against each other in teams.  Peer editing and peer nominations are encouraged and required in my classroom.

My students are prolific writers, intellectual thinkers, and inquisitive learners.  No, they are not droids, and using technology in my class will never turn them into robots.

My Google-Powered Classroom

Students in my class working on their Chromebooks
Copyright 2013 Alice Chen

This year we deployed Google Apps for Education for all staff and students in my district, and I was given the opportunity to pilot 1:1 Chromebooks in my classroom.  To say that I am ecstatic is to put it mildly.

Why? Because Google Apps and Chromebooks are truly a winning combination.  First of all, Google Apps for Education (GAFE) is entirely free for schools and districts.  Secondly, Chromebooks are inexpensive and with the Management Console, very easy to manage.  Paired together, it is a good solution for schools on a tight budget.  For me, it gave me the means to put a device into the hands of all my students and the ability to bring my classroom into the 21st Century.

Yes, I understand that Chromebooks are largely Internet-dependent and are not laptop equivalents.  At the same time, everything I need my students to create in an English language arts classroom could be accomplished with web applications - and the 10 seconds it takes to boot up these devices are probably less time than how long it usually takes for students to unpack their backpacks and take out their learning materials.

We've only been using Chromebooks for a couple of months, but here are some ways in which Google Apps have made my classroom more efficient, collaborative, and rigorously demanding.

My students use Google Docs to...

• Work on a project together - Its real-time, group collaboration capability is fantastic.  Students love seeing their contributions fly across the page alongside their peers.
• Brainstorm and organize ideas together - Students use one document to build on each other's ideas and knowledge.
• Peer edit each other's work - Students invite their peers into their documents, and these extra pairs of eyes are extremely helpful in pinpointing simple grammatical and mechanical errors.
• Collaboratively annotate a text together - Students read short texts in groups and insert comments as they read, asking each other for clarification and posting analytical questions to scaffold each other's understanding.
• Motivate each other - All my students' work are "public" within my classroom.  By expanding beyond a one-teacher readership, my students have learned to step up their game.  I regularly ask for peer nominations on assignments, and students love to be nominated and recognized in this way.

My students are using Google Slides and Google Drawings to...

• Create multimedia presentations
• Design their own computer graphics for projects
• Publish digital books
• Generate mind maps and organize information
• Create flow charts and understand organizational structure

My students are building Google Sites to...

• Showcase their work and share it with their friends and families
• Write to an authentic audience
• Embed multimedia on webpages
• Learn digital citizenship and create a web persona

With Google Apps, my students are far more prolific than those from previous years.  It is very motivating for students to produce work for a larger audience.  The collaborative nature of Google Apps is what sets this suite of web tools apart from the competition.  It's only been a couple of months, but my students and I are having a great time.   And this is just the beginning.

Giving Up My iPads for Chromebooks

I teach in a 1:1 iPad classroom, and I asked to pilot 1:1 Chromebooks for the next school year.

Truthfully, it wasn't an easy choice to make.  Secretly, I tried to squelch my nagging desire to do more with my students.  After all, I loved teaching with iPads, and I'm proud of all the work, creativity, and fun that came out of using them.  Besides, iPads are cool.

But I had to be truthful.  I had to be creative to use the iPad as a creation tool, and I had to find workarounds.  And there were things my students just couldn't do on them.

I teach four classes of 8th grade ELA, and in my classroom, I heavily emphasize writing, analysis, and critical thinking.  A keyboard obviously would've been nice, especially since my students pounded out over 2,600 blog posts over the course of six months alone (in addition to the essays, responses, and online discussions they write for me).  Many of my students cite the lack of a keyboard as a shortcoming, but my school couldn't justify this additional expense, seeing that thousands of dollars have already been spent to build our iPad carts.

Also, I wanted my students to fully utilize all the features of Google Docs - annotating text, commenting, and all the social and collaborative aspect that makes Google Docs - Google Docs.  But these features weren't available on the iPad.  (Note: some months after the writing of this post, the Google Drive app has been updated to include the ability to add comments. However, this iPad version is still lacking when compared to its full web capability.)

Additionally, I'd like my students to create Google Slides, which isn't possible so I had to resort to using other apps.  Then, I had to teach them how to export their work in order to import it to a LMS or a Dropbox folder.  Export work just to import it again?  It seems silly to me...and an efficient use of instructional minutes.

I also wanted my students to create content on Glogster, Nanoogo, Storybird, GoAnimate, and many of the myriad of apps out there that don't work on the iPad.  (Read my blog post on "Using GoAnimate to Fight Bullying" on how we used this great video animation tool in the classroom.)

I can see iPads, with its learning apps, having a greater role in the elementary classroom, and though there are also some great apps for the secondary classroom, it's still a device designed to consume content rather than to create it.

For secondary students, this isn't enough - not for a rigorously, academic curriculum called for by the Common Core.  I've always believed that writing should be a shared, cross-curricular responsibility, and using Google Docs with its full potential is better suited to meet this essential need.

Can students fully utilize Google's core productivity apps with the iPad the way they can on a computer/laptop/netbook?  No.  That's why I wanted to bring Chromebooks into my classroom.  But will my students still use iPads?  Absolutely.

Luckily for me, my current iPad cart will become available for checkout, and I'll book it when I want my students to create digital media projects - on iMovie, Audioboo, Zoodle Comics, and J&C's PhotoStory to name a few.  (Read my blog post on "How to Use Zoodle Comics in the Classroom" for ideas.)  However, for every day use, I plan to fully utilize Google Apps for Education on the Chromebooks, the way it was meant to be used.