We all know
that there is much information available on the Internet. This includes
textual information as well as audio, photographs, graphics and other images.
It is important for you and your students to realize that these things
are usually the property of someone else, and using information or materials
that belong to someone else can be an infringement of copyright law.
If an image or other artefact is copyrighted
(or if you are unsure if it is or not), sending an email requesting permission
to use it is smart, and providing links to the author or source in the
project’s bibliography is courteous. In fact, providing links back to all
of the resources used in the project is highly recommended. In addition,
there are established formats for citing Internet resources that students
should practice at all times.
Dig Deeper
into Ethical Use and Copyright Issues
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| Copyright
Checklist
 Check
to see if the image or other item is royalty free (if it can be used free
of charge).
See if the author can be emailed to obtain permission to use the artefact
or content, and make provisions for an acknowledgement.
Do your homework and provide students with a comprehensive list of royalty
free sites related to their project work.
Encourage students to create their own original images, maps, photographs,
etc.
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Suggested Ways
to Cite Internet Resources
Creator's name (if available). Web Page
Title. Institution or organization (if available). [Online] (state image,
audio, etc. or simply ‘online’ to indicate an online resource) Date of
access. URL: <(the Internet address)>.
For example:
Alistair
B. Fraser. The Flags of Canada. [Online] 20 January 2002.
<http://collection.nlc-bnc.ca/100/200/300/flags_canada/FlagsCan/toc.html>
To learn
more about citing:
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All students must realize that their Internet
access at school is a privilege – not a right! In addition to the Board’s
Information Technology Acceptable
Use Agreement, some teachers may wish to send home a special Internet
project permission form. Parents will have concerns about their son’s or
daughter’s work, names, photos or other personal information appearing
on the Internet. They also want assurance that email,
pen pals, etc. will be monitored for safety.
Use discretion. A group or class photo
may be acceptable to publish, provided that names do not identify individual
students. Older students may be afforded more responsibility. When in doubt
as to whether to use a permission form or not, it’s best to play it safe.
Check out SchoolNet's
permission form as an example of an additional form that your may choose
to use. As you will see from this form, a number of issues concerning safety,
privacy, ethical use and personal copyright are addressed.
 Another
somewhat related concern in this area is plagiarism. It may be very tempting
for some students to simply cut and paste material into their project and
then claim it as original. If plagiarism is suspected, using a good search
engine, such as www.yahoo.com,
and putting quotation marks around the text in question, will usually locate
the original online work. You must make it clear that using someone else’s
words or ideas without attribution is grounds for failing, and that you
can easily do a search online to catch them if it is suspected.
Let’s face it – anyone can publish just
about anything on the Internet these days. Students must understand this,
and realize the importance of questioning and verifying the quality of
information that they obtain over the Internet. Get your students to research
the city of Mankato
(any popular search engine should bring it up) and have them discuss their
findings. Then instruct them to read the disclaimer at the bottom of the
site's main page. B. Farnsworth created this fictitious city to prove
the importance of questioning and validating information on the Internet.
Many Internet sites are also created by
organizations trying to sway opinions, or by individuals lacking proper
authority or qualifications to speak on certain topics. Everyone seems
to be selling something as well. Some Internet sites are just plain crazy
altogether!
In our high-tech, fast paced world today,
information can become outdated very quickly. Take technology for instance.
What was considered cutting edge 5 years ago may be totally antiquated
by today’s standards.
Validating information is an important
component of student project work. By doing a little research of your own,
you can recommend several sources of valid information to your students,
or at least suggest resources or ways in which they can validate what they
discover online themselves.
To address both copyright and validation
concerns, there are many varieties of ways for students to create their
own original content, and you may want to consider this an actual prerequisite
in certain instances. Interviews, diaries, drawings and photos, correspondence,
presentations, surveys or even audio and video clips can all be used to
create interesting and original content. Students will actually enjoy creating
their own content much more than synthesizing it from outside sources alone,
and have a much richer learning experience! |
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| Validation
Checklist
Check
to see if the page or site has an author, and whether or not they are qualified
to provide information on the topic. If the creator is a company or organization,
find out if it is valid and reputable.
Is
the page designed to sway opinions, sell something, or provide a one-sided
or bias point-of-view?
Can
the information on the page be verified by other sources (i.e.- either
online or in a library)?
Is
the information current? Is there a date somewhere indicating when the
information was created or updated?
Encourage
students to always question the validity of what they come across on the
Internet. |
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