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What is OER? Use it.

By Fair Use, General 2 Comments

In the world of information texts and fiction, there are three schools of thoughts when using information. 

Some educators believe that all information is copyrighted and will not breach copyright, and will purchase everything to use. Some educators believe that everything on the Internet is free to use and will use what they want for education or personal use. Some educators take the time to learn about the various licences by Creative Commons and look carefully at the accessibility of the resources. 

Many educators and librarians play it safe by using copyrighted materials or completely free websites but hardly venture out to use OER (Open Education Resources) because we know very little about the OER. 

What is OER?

OER is Open Education Resources. According to Unesco, “Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching, learning and research materials in any medium – digital or otherwise – that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open license that permits no-cost access, use, adaptation and redistribution by others with no or limited restrictions. OER form part of ‘Open Solutions’, alongside Free and Open Source software (FOSS), Open Access (OA), Open Data (OD) and crowdsourcing platforms.”

 What is the difference between Copyrighted Material and OER?

The publishing world believes that a lot of talent, creativity, and work goes into producing new ideas and products. Therefore, it is only fair for the creators and the publishers to receive a price for their work, just like any other services. Publishers business expect all copyrighted, published texts to be purchased. Through copyright laws, publishers can help protect the creator’s intellectual property, whether they are words or music or videos.

According to UNESCO: Open access means that 

  • “Its content is universally and freely accessible, at no cost to the reader, via the Internet or otherwise;
  • the author or copyright owner irrevocably grants to all users, for an unlimited period, the right to use, copy, or distribute the article, on condition that proper attribution is given;
  • it is deposited, immediately, in full and in a suitable electronic form, in at least one widely and internationally recognized open access repository committed to open access.”

Benefits of OER:

  • With an increase in technology use in India, the OER can cater to students educational needs, especially for the disadvantaged society 
  • Open educational resources include complete courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques to support access to knowledge and learning to all at any time.

Nayantara Padhi’s research paper describes how college professors and educators are open and respectful of OER. Due to the lack of technology resources and lack of understanding of copyright and plagiarism, there is a hesitation to use OER in India. Little experience and support from the Heads of Institutes also reduce the opportunity to use OER.

Many developed countries like the USA and Australia are very serious about promoting open educational resources. India is working very hard to build an OER and are serious about it, and is developing. Currently, OER in the school education field hardly exists since textbooks drive school education. The OER sites by the government are hard to navigate. They are not as robust as the Khan Academy and others.

Does traditional teaching stifle intellectual growth?

The new National Education Policy 2020 has encouraged collaborative, conceptual teaching and learning, emphasizing communication, critical thinking, deep literacy connections, learning science and mathematical concepts. In a fast-changing world, traditional schooling does not work. All memorization is not the answer to the practical use of education in the real world. 

So, when teachers are encouraged to use OER instead of textbooks, creativity and information learned can become valuable. For example – learning about different waste management systems from various sources and finding alternatives, solutions and advocating for their use is far more valuable than simply memorizing waste management methods. 

How can Librarians & Educators support OER?

Technology with information has taught us that learning does not stop in schools and universities. Having the right mindset and the desire to learn can propel the individual to grow in knowledge and skills. Librarians and educators who continue the lifelong habit of learning inspire others to succeed. All education is available on the Internet with zero fees. So, therefore there is no excuse for learning. Sharing success stories of OER teaching and learning can help others grow and learn.

Misunderstanding of OER?

Some individuals believe that OER is not authentic or the information is incorrect. Some are also of the belief that the OER value of learning is not up to the mark. If you take a Harvard Certificate and do not put the education into practice, it is not worth it. If you develop skills and knowledge through an OER, transform and practice, there is nothing to stop one from growing and learning. All soft skills or knowledge put into practice is the only way to succeed. Therefore, looking carefully into the OER and the sources can be important too. 

Wisdom is not a product of schooling, but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.” – Winston Churchill.

Teacher Resources

Diksha Platform for CBSE Schools (Indian)

World largest lesson plans based on SDG (Unesco)

Storyweaver stories for students in school (Pratham eBooks)

Teacher Education School-based support (TESS Indian)

American English resources

Neptel (MHRD Project)

CK-12 Curriculum Resources (Indian)

Ed-X Resources (A collaboration of International Universities)

Google Scholar

Phet Interactive Simulations for Math and Science (US)

Enrich Math (University of Cambridge)

Edutopia – Educational Pedagogy (Trusted sources for education pedagogical views)

Role of School Librarians in Curating OER

Dr. Ambedkar University OER

 

Understanding Copyright and Fair Use

By Copyright, Fair Use 2 Comments

License: CC0 Public Domain

Let’s Understand Copyright and Fair Use

Last week, I attended an online session by Advocate Anirudh Hariani to understand Copyright and its implications for a librarian in an education world.  

What is copyright?

Here is the Copyright Handbook (India) which should not be replaced for the copyright rules and law. According to the copyright handbook of India,  “Copyright is a right given by the law to creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works and producers of cinematograph films and sound recordings. In fact, it is a bundle of rights including, inter alia, rights of reproduction, communication to the public, adaptation and translation of the work. There could be slight variations in the composition of the rights depending on the work.”

In short, the creator of any creative original works is the copyright owner of the works and he/she has certain rights over their creation.

What do creative original works mean? 

In short, creative works include:

  • Original literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works;
  • Cinematograph films; and
  • Sound recordings.
  • Painting, a sculpture, a drawing (including a diagram, map, chart or plan), an engraving or a photograph, whether or not any such work possesses artistic quality;
  • Work of architecture; and artistic craftsmanship.

How does information and knowledge in our society grow?

Society’s knowledge and growth take place on the creative works of others.  What one scientist does, or an author writes, becomes an inspiration for others to create and help take the society forward. 

Therefore, ideas need to be acknowledged, appreciated so that society can flourish. Therefore, creators like writers, artists and software programmers and others are acknowledged, appreciated and this is done by giving them the protection and ownership of his/her works through copyright.

What are the exclusive rights given to the creator of the original work?

What can the copyright owner do with the rights? The copyright laws give exclusive rights to the creator:

  •  To reproduce the work
  • To issue copies of the work to the public
  • To perform the work in public
  • To communicate the work to the public.
  • To make cinematograph film or sound recording in respect of the work
  • To make any translation of the work
  • To make any adaptation of the work.

And he/she has copyright rights for approximately his life span + 65 years (time span differs depending on the creative works). It protects the creator of the artistic work.

Strict application protecting the copyright may hamper economic and social development. So, therefore, the government has provided necessary exceptions and limitations to ensure a balance for the creators and growth of the community. 

What are the exemptions?

Can we use works of authors without the permission of the owner of the copyright, and, if so, what are they? And How?

  • We can use the copyright works 
  • For the purpose of research or private study
  • For criticism or review
  • For reporting current events 
  • In connection with a judicial proceeding 
  • Performance by an amateur club or society if the performance is given to a non-paying audience, and 
  • The making of sound recordings of literary, dramatic or musical works under certain conditions.

What about Education and Copyright?

Educators and schools use purchased copyrighted materials like textbooks and teacher resources to teach students. Points to know:

  1. India often refers to TRIPS – Article 13 and Berne Convention whereby people can use the creative works of others but must not unreasonably prejudice the interests of the copyright holder (author/creator)
  2. Fair Dealing must balance the rights of “Pool of Ideas” to create a robust and vibrant domain and not be an impediment to social growth.
  3. ‘‘Substantial’ Materials can be photocopied to support independent research and learning of school (however, we must be careful not to infringe on the interests of the copyright holder as far as possible.)
  4. The copied work must be transformative in nature.

For more information, check out this 1 hr explanation of the Vidhya Mitra Or the Recording of Copyright discussion with Advocate Anirudh Hariani

So, the question arises – what does ‘substantial’ amount mean? What does it mean by ‘unreasonable prejudice’? This varies on a case by case. For example, a jingle is a short phrase, if you use a substantial part? Will it be an infringement of the creator’s copyright or can we use a part of it under Fair Use?   Therefore, it is necessary to understand infringement based on various criteria mentioned below.

What is Fair Use?

Fair Use is a part of copyright law that enables people to make legal  use of copyrighted materials without payment or permission under some circumstances, especially for uses related to broad and important social goals to the development of innovation and spread of knowledge including teaching and learning, news reporting, scholarship, criticism and commentary

4 factors that determine  or tell you that you are using the copyright materials under Fair Use Guideline

  1. Check – Purpose of the use
  2. Check – Nature of the copyrighted work
  3. Check – The amount and substantiality of the portion 
  4. Check – Whether it affects the market for the original?

What about educators/librarians in the Education Space?

Technology has made is very easy for us to copy & paste from the Internet and so what is my job as an educator and/or librarian

What is my responsibility as an educator? As an educator, I need to:

  1. Learn the facts about copyright
  2. When in doubt, get permission
  3. Demonstrate respect for copyright material 
  4. Learn about Fair Use
  5. Demonstrate use of Fair Use by evaluating and thinking critically
  6.  Understand the Creative Common Licenses 

Individuals/educators have 4 choices when using copyrighted material (texts and images)

  1.  Pay a license fee (Ask permission)
  2.  Claim fair use ( Just use it – analyse it under the 4 criteria)
  3.  Select public domain or royalty-free or creative commons licensed content
  4.  Don’t use it

Please know that everything is written or online is copyrighted. attached to all work. Even if the sign does not exist – it is still copyrighted.

What does it mean to our Students:

  • Students will learn and need to respect the work of others by paraphrasing and not copy & paste
  • Students will acknowledge the works of others and  learn to cite their sources using  citation tools like easybib.com or citation machine 
  • Young students in the primary section could at least cite the title and author of the book, magazine and/or websites and develop the habit of making references

You may use this Common Sense Media – Copyright and Fair Use video to teach students about Copyright & Fair Use. 

There are many Open Education Projects that support open education. They are: 

Understanding Fair Use and Infringement may be unclear. Using for educational purposes does not necessarily make a use fair. Nor does using a portion of a copyrighted work for commercial purposes make it unfair.

Therefore THINK and  ASK? –  Is it TRANSFORMATIVE?

Frequently asked questions about Copyright & Fair Use?

Q1. Can I take information and ideas from the internet to create my lesson plans and do I need to cite it all the time?

Answer: Yes, you can take ideas and information to create lesson plans. You do not have to cite it all the time. You are creating the lesson plans under the fair use guidelines for education, and not for personal gain, and the purpose is to educate students, you can use them as lesson plans. 

Q2. Can I take information and ideas from the internet and create my own book and sell?

Answer: Yes, you can take information but you will need to cite your sources. Your new work must be transformative in nature and can exist without impediment to the sale of your source. It needs to be different. However, you can add hyperlinks to other known sites and information to your work.

Q3. Can I circulate pdfs of books like Magic Tree House, Two States,  Meluha, Tinkle magazines, Amar Chitra Katha, books by Enid Blyton etc for educational purposes?

Answer: No, you cannot circulate these books which are copyrighted, even if it’s for educational purposes because it directly affects the sale and market of the creator. You may circulate books that are in the public domain and available directly by the publishers or authors?

Q4. How do I know that the information is free to use on the Internet?

Answer: You will need to look at the licenses of the author/illustrator/photographers provided by them. You will need to learn about Creative Common Licenses.

Q5. When can I teach students about fair use and copyright?

Ans: You can teach students about fair use and copyright,  right from Kindergarten choosing appropriate examples and opportunities especially when they are doing projects. For example, KG and Std 1 students can show and tell where they got the information from – whether it is a book, from people or from the internet. As they move into the upper primary section, they can write the title of the book, write the website name and finally move them into citing their sources appropriately. And, most important is that students will need to paraphrase and share their views and opinions based on her/his research.

Q6. Can I use an image from the internet under the Educational Fair Use Guidelines?

Answer: 1. As an ethical user of information, it is necessary for you and the students to use images from stock photos, Google images  — after you have used the filter for copyright-free images, Pic4Learning Creative Commons Search

2. Playing ignorant and using copyright images under fair use guidelines, is not being ethical.

Q7. I want to use a copyrighted image or text – Could I still use it?

Answer: Yes, you can use it however, you will need to justify the use under these guidelines: 

  1. Am I using it for educational purposes?
  2. Ask what license is the present work that you are taking
  3. How much are you taking – all or some?
  4. Does it have an impact on the market value of the original?
  5. Have I repurposed the work?

The concept of copyright in Education is a moral and ethical matter.  As an ethical educator, it is necessary, especially when the educator is showcasing, or running a professional discussion, or sharing learning and teaching in the public space outside the classroom it is a good practice to cite the references, thus adding credibility to your work while acknowledging the work of others

Works Cited: 

Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education. Media Education Lab, Center for Social Media, 2008.

“A Handbook of Copyright Law.” Hand Book of Copyright Law, Government of India Department For Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade Ministry of Commerce and Industry, copyright.gov.in/Documents/handbook.html.

Hobbs, Renee, and Donna E. Alvermann. Copyright Clarity: How Fair Use Supports Digital Learning. Corwin, 2010.

 

Habit of Giving Credit – Citation

By Fair Use, General, Information Literacy, Librarian's Role No Comments

Giving credit to others contribution is important. And why is it important? Many businesses tycoons of successful projects know that success comes when it is built on other people’s ideas or ones own with others help. These leaders give credit to all those who have been a part of the endeavour.  Giving credit where credit is due is a very rewarding habit to form. Its rewards are inestimable –  Loretta Young, an American Actress.

Acknowledging and giving credit is one of the key aspects of any project or research. We all need to know, learn and practice giving credit when we create our presentations and work. As librarians, we are constantly reminding our students to cite their sources. When we give credit to the resources we use for teaching, we are not only modelling it for our students but also valuing other peoples work. This only establishes our credibility and reinforces what Google Scholar’s Mantra states: Standing on the shoulders of giants.

Learning and giving credit to all our images, using copyright free images or sharing ideas from others in our own creative way is a part of the Creative Commons and understanding the licenses are a part of being Information Coaches/Librarians. The IBO office recently released – An Ideal Libraries/Librarians putting a huge emphasis on the ethical use of information, protecting the environment and being respectful of all races, religions, and sects. Using any form of citation, be it MLA, Chicago or APA style, it is important to teach students to recognize others work. And, not copy and paste – which is outright plagiarism. Students need to paraphrase, add their own perspective and cite their sources of information. This practice will help all become critical thinkers and ethical users of information, and one must know that simply copying and pasting information out from the internet is not learning. Let’s model, practice and support the ethical use of information.

Copyright & Fair Use

By Copyright, Fair Use No Comments

The Purpose of Copyright Law is to protect the interests of the authors/creators, but also to promote the progress of science and the useful arts—that is—knowledge. 

Remember ideas are not copyrighted – content is. For example, if an author uses a Whale in his story, can’t we also use the animal whale in our story? BUT we cannot copy the same story as our own. Remember, people, create ideas from other people’s ideas.

Copyright law is an attempt to balance public interest with the rights of the individual author/creator

Let’s understand Fair Use. Fair use is an Exemption in the Copyright law. Indian Copyright Law and easier interpretation of Indian Copyright

Fair Use is a part of copyright law that enables people to make legal  use of copyrighted materials without payment or permission under some circumstances, especially for uses related to broad and important social goals to the development of innovation and spread of knowledge including teaching and learning, news reporting, scholarship, criticism, and commentary

To know you are following the FAIR USE- consider these 4 Factors that determine Fair Use

Purpose of the use – For education, research or public viewing (not permitted)
Nature of the copyrighted work – published or unpublished, fiction or nonfiction?
The amount and substantiality of the portion –Whether you are using 10% or 1/2 or the main plot of the writing piece (fiction or nonfiction
Effect of the use on the market for the original – effect on the marketing and sales of the produced work.

Please do not use this as a checklist, use critical skills to analyze using all of these four factors.

  1. Make copies of newspaper articles, TV shows, and other copyrighted works and use them and keep them for educational use
  2. Create curriculum materials and scholarship with copyrighted materials embedded (Credit/Attribute)
  3. Share, sell and distribute curriculum materials with copyrighted materials embedded                                                                                                                                                             Using for educational purpose does not necessarily make a use fair Nor does using a portion of a copyrighted work for commercial purposes make it unfair – Inspired by Renee Hobbs

                      Therefore THINK and  ASK? –  Is it TRANSFORMATIVE