Most of what I have believed to be true about copyright restrictions is WRONG! Don't use a movie in class, you can't post that excerpt, we need to get permission to use that song. It's refreshing to know that educators and students have the right to use copyrighted materials to learn about and become aware of the world today. Just as page four of The Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education stated, I struggled with wanting to use copyrighted material that would enhance learning but feeling like I shouldn't and couldn't do so. Just like anything else, students need to be taught about media literacy, and how well can that be done without access to media resources?
I found it very interesting that those who own copyrights don't own them absolutely. Eduction is one of those situations where using a media source can be extremely beneficial, overshadowing the owner's right. Educators are hired as professionals and should be trusted to know what will best illustrate a point in a lesson or unit.
Now that I know the realities, I could reinstate my lesson on types of conflict. Of course this can be taught many ways, but I loved pulling clips from movies to succinctly illustrate the different types of conflict in a story. I had done this one year and another teacher asked me if it was legal to use all those movie clips. Since I wasn't 100% sure, I figured it would be too much work to get permission for all of them and that I would simply find another way to teach that point.
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