Copyright and Fair Use Principles
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Copyright in the School Environment
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Identify and Avoid Plagiarism
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Plagiarism
In today’s technological world, information is everywhere. Newspaper articles, Facebook posts, YouTube videos, and more are only a few clicks away. With such easy access to information, it can be hard to remember to that the very simple steps of copying and pasting information may be illegal. Plagiarism is a form of stealing where someone unlawfully takes the ideas of others. There are various forms of plagiarism.
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The most basic form of plagiarism is the simple copy/paste where none of the information is altered in any way. The information is presented as the original ideas of the thief. The next form is referred to as “copying verbatim with citation” by Shmoop. This form of plagiarism uses the copy/paste format but adds a citation. Wait. Credit has been given; the citation gives the credit to the source. How is this still plagiarism? Because the stolen information is not surrounded by quotation marks, the original creator is not truly receiving credit for their information.
Quoting by nature tells another that the words were originally stated by someone else. Without quotation marks, the citation implies that the source only inspired the thief who went on to develop the information independently. The final form of plagiarism is paraphrasing or rewording information. Paraphrasing can occur by changing a few words of another’s work and presenting it as your own. It is possible to paraphrase longer information, too. By the way, the information provided in this paragraph can be found using the link below. Shmoop’s Editorial Team also has more information about plagiarism.
Quoting by nature tells another that the words were originally stated by someone else. Without quotation marks, the citation implies that the source only inspired the thief who went on to develop the information independently. The final form of plagiarism is paraphrasing or rewording information. Paraphrasing can occur by changing a few words of another’s work and presenting it as your own. It is possible to paraphrase longer information, too. By the way, the information provided in this paragraph can be found using the link below. Shmoop’s Editorial Team also has more information about plagiarism.
Visit Shmoop...We Speak on Student at www.shmoop.com/help/plagiarism/ for more information on Plagiarism
Avoiding Plagiarism
To avoid plagiarism, make sure your provide the sources of your information, properly quote information from others, and avoid rewording what another has said without giving credit for the original ideas of others. If you would like to learn how to cite information, view the various forms of citations on Purdue OWL by clicking the link below. Purdue OWL is a useful resource for understanding and creating citations.
Visit the Purdue Online Writing Lab at owl.english.purdue.edu/ for an excellent resource on citing sources
Copyright
Copyrights are a way to protect the ideas of a creator. By law, materials that are copyrighted cannot be sold, reproduced, published, or dispersed to anyone or anything without the permission of the copyright holder. Copyright holders can give permission to allow others to use the copyrighted materials, but if no permission is granted, use of the materials would be illegal unless the materials fall under the fair use guidelines. If ever in question about violating a copyright, ask the copyright holder for written permission to use the copyrighted material. For more information about how copyrights and fair use apply to the classroom, check out Education World’s five part series, “The Educator's Guide to Copyright and Fair Use,” using the link below. To watch a video about copyrights, view Copyright Clearance Center’s video related to schools and copyright laws.
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Visit Education World at www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr280.shtml for an excellent resource on Copyright
Fair Use
Fair use allows for others to use copyrighted materials but in an altered or limited state. If material falls under fair use, no payment or permission is needed from the copyright holder for the material to be used. Because there are various forms of media used in a classroom, Hall Davidson made a table to help teachers, students, and parents know what and how much information can be shared according to the medium’s copyright.
Visit Hall Davidson's Copyright Chart at www.halldavidson.net/copyright_chart.pdf for additional help