Wk2 Wimba Blog Post

This week's my cohorts and the professor discussed the definition of copyright ownership. The area of copyright is one where lawyers are waiting on the wings, like a flock of vultures (did I went a little strong?), for anybody who violates the rights of an artist or filmmaker. Then, what are the options that we as educators have to engage our students to learn? Although, we can create our own productions, either in music or audio, sometimes, time and budget limitations can prevent us for creating content for classes. Students can identify more with content made by their favorite singer/musician or by visual content that is already filmed.

Yes, there are options. We can use a small portion of a song or film for education, criticism, parody, as long we get permission from the artist or filmmaker and ask for their permission.  There's also the Creative Commons solution, which is content that is shared on the Internet.  This content is available to the public as long as is credited on the website/blog/production/content we created.  However, some of the content on Creative Commons are restricted and fall on the copyright law.  There are different combinations of how to use Creative Commons.

It's very easy to violate copyright law. We must be aware of the content that we use or we create. You can avoid using a work that is already done and create one yourself.  But beware, don't copy the same notes, melody, dialog or visual, you are violating copyright law.