• There’s a great text we want to use with students, and no funding to purchase a class set.
• We found the perfect graphic or photo pulled from the web to go with a presentation.
• That piece of popular music fits nicely as the theme for a classroom video. 

With digital tools now everywhere, it easy to copy and use the materials without a second thought. We are educators, after all, not making any money from the work. Isn’t that fair use?

Copyright Basics

The answer is not that simple. A copyright is the legal protection granted to a creator’s ownership of and control over the work he or she creates. If someone else wants to use that work, they must receive permission from the copyright holder to use, share or perform that work. Written material, including books, magazines, poems, news stories and more; websites, art, graphics, logos, architectural designs, photographs, music and lyrics, audio recordings, movies, TV shows, videos, and video games may be copyrighted.

The easiest way to tell if a work is copyrighted is to look for the © symbol or the word “copyright,” “all rights reserved,” or something to that effect. However, a work has copyright protection even if the © symbol and/or the word “copyright” are not included. If you aren’t sure if something is copyrighted or if the creator allows use by others, it is your responsibility to find out before you use it.

If you want to use something that is copyrighted, there are steps you must follow before you use it.

• Check to see who owns it
• Get permission to use it
• Give credit to the creator
• Buy it (if necessary)
• Use it responsibly

Considering Fair Use

There are times when you can use a small part of another person’s copyrighted material without permission or paying a fee – this is called fair use. Fair use only applies when using content in certain instances including schoolwork and education, news reporting, criticizing or commenting, and comedy or parody. It’s still a good idea to give credit to the creator of the work you use. Specific guidelines must also be followed:

• only use a small amount of the work
• add new meaning to the work to make it original
• rework it and use it in a totally different way
• use it for nonprofit purposes

Additional Definitions

Content that is classified as public domain is not protected by copyright and is free to be used in any way.  In general, government works are in the public domain as well as works where copyright has expired. The internet  is not the same as the public domain. Creative Commons is a type of license that allows work to be used for free as long as the creator is given credit for it. A work that says it may be used for commercial purpose that means the work may be used for a fee if the work will be used directly or indirectly for profit.

Examples of Practice

• There’s a great text we want to use with students, and no funding to purchase a class set. If that text is published online, you can give the students the direct link to read it digitally instead of making multiple paper copies. You could also use a short selection from the text, or ask the author for permission to use the whole piece.
• We found the perfect graphic or photo pulled from the web to go with a presentation. Check the copyright to see if it has a Creative Commons license for reuse, then cite the source in the final presentation.
• That piece of popular music fits nicely as the theme for a classroom video. If it is not copyrighted for reuse, find a different piece with permission, or use just a few bars as an intro instead of the whole piece.

Electronic technology includes devices and equipment such as cell phones, computers, and tablets as well as communication tools including social media sites, text messages, chat, and websites. Cyberbullies can be classmates, online acquaintances, and even anonymous users, but most often they do know their victims. The majority of cyberbullying incidents escalate over time because students do not report the situation to adults, according to StopBullying.gov.

According to a recent survey, more than one-third of U.S. teens say they have been cyberbullied or know someone who has. Cyberbullying can lead to low self-esteem and other negative emotional responses. Victims may feel scared, frustrated, humiliated, angry, and even depressed. They may become isolated, withdrawn, jumpy, or nervous when receiving a text or instant message, and may even stop going to school. There have been several reported cases in which cyberbullying victims have committed suicide.

Both boys and girls sometimes bully online, and just as in face-to-face bullying, tend to do so in different ways. Boys more commonly bully by sending messages of a sexual nature or by threatening to fight or hurt someone. Girls more often bully by spreading rumors and by sending messages that make fun of someone or exclude others. They also tell secrets. Victims and perpetrators of cyberbullying are twice as likely to be girls.

Examples of Cyberbullying:

• Sending someone mean or threatening emails, instant messages, or text messages
• Excluding someone from an instant messenger buddy list or blocking their email for no reason
• Tricking someone into revealing personal or embarrassing information and sending it to others
• Breaking into someone's email or instant message account to send cruel or untrue messages while posing as that person
• Creating websites to make fun of another person such as a classmate or teacher
• Using websites to rate peers as prettiest, ugliest, etc.

Basic Recommendations

• Model appropriate online behavior for students and encourage students to talk with adults about any online interactions or situations that are making them uncomfortable.
• Model and discuss social media situations that might involve cyberbullying and how students should get help in dealing with the situation.
• Refer to Saint Paul’s Bullying Policy for how to deal with cyberbullying situations in your classroom.
• Model for students how to create screen shots on devices to document cyberbullying and get help from adults.

Tools like Facebook, Twitter and Google Docs have transformed our opportunities to share and collaborate. Websites with log-ins or that track use have simplified personalizing our accounts. On the other hand, our concerns for protecting personal data are fueled by news stories about leaked access to government records, data breaches experienced by major corporations and personal experiences with information on social media sites being used for unintended purposes.

As adults, we make informed choices about what digital data to share and how much to trust applications, websites, and other users to use the data in the ways we intend.

To protect children, three federal laws govern the collection, use, and sharing of personal information. In an educational setting, this includes information contained in educational records, surveys, and the student data collected by websites, online services, and mobile apps. Understanding what data can be shared, with whom and for what purposes, is a critical aspect of teaching in the digital age.

Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)

This law governs the collection, use, sharing, and protection of personal information collected from children under age 13 when using website, online services, and mobile apps. Student personal information includes:

• full name;
• address;
• email address or screen name;
• geolocation information;  
• a child’s image or voice contained in a photo, video, or audio file posted online; and
• persistent device identifiers, such as IP addresses and cookies, that can be used to track a user over time and across multiple sites.

When a child is under age 13, COPPA requires sites or apps to obtain parent consent for use. School districts may act as the agent for the parents in providing consent. For this reason, SPPS reviews the data privacy and security policies for all apps in our Self Service app store and has a list of vetted websites that require access to student information, such as log-ins.

Basic Recommendations:

• Pictures, videos, and audio recordings of students may be posted on school and district websites or used in presentations only when there is a signed media release form on file with the school.
• For students who are under 13, SPPS educators must use only apps and websites vetted by the District if any personal information is shared.
• When creating student logins for online services and mobile apps, use only the student’s first name or a random means of identification. Do not use full names or student ID numbers.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

Basic Recommendations:

• Student data should only be shared with SPPS staff who need to know the information for legitimate educational purposes. Parents sign consent forms for sharing information with other agencies.
• Student records or data must be secured, and should not be left in an easily accessible location or open on a computer.
• Students should not record scores or grades of other students.

What contributes to your digital footprint?

A simple Google search of your name should give you a glimpse into your web presence. The following are examples of online sources that reflect your digital identity and contribute to your overall digital footprint.

• Classroom and personal websites
• Twitter account postings
• Facebook postings
• Instagram posts
• YouTube uploads and channel subscriptions
• Blog postings
• Social bookmarking
• Conference presentations
• Product evaluation comments
• Digital portfolio

From http://instructionaltechtalk.com/digital-footprints-what-to-look-for-when-hiring-teachers/

Web Permanence

What you post on the web and through social media is permanent. Even if you decide to delete the content that you posted later, anyone who has access to the internet and the same social media sites as you may have downloaded or copied your content and uploaded or re-posted it to other websites or social media postings over which you have no control. Internet engines and social media sites also regularly search the internet, archive content, and republish information.

Basic Recommendations

• Always think twice before posting any content or opinions on the internet or social media sites.
• Consider creating separate accounts for personal and professional use if you think anything you post might reflect poorly on you or your school, department, or SPPS.

This page includes text used with permission from Houston Public Schools.

For instance, allowing students to use staff computers and iPads provides them with access to your Lotus Notes email account and other important documents on your computer or device. Installing unknown software from the Internet might use a file-sharing program that passes along a virus to your computer.

Basic Recommendations:

• Create strong passwords. A powerful password does wonders to protect accounts. A password should be hard to guess; be a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols; and never include private identity information such as birthdays or addresses. Staff and students should be encouraged to never share their passwords with others.
• Think twice before downloading. Content downloaded from non-secure sources can plague a computer with problems. Free software may come with spyware and viruses. Fill out a Service Desk ticket to check with your Field Tech before installing any software that does not come from a secure site such as Self Service, the App Store, or the Chrome Store.
• Be careful when sharing information. Students and staff should be careful when sharing information such as full name, address, and account numbers. Messages that ask them to share private information are red flags for scams. If you suspect a scam, report it in a Service Desk ticket and do not reply or click on links in the message.
• Identify and deal with spam. Spam is internet junk mail that should not be opened because if you click on links or respond, you will just receive more of it. The best strategy is to delete spam email immediately.
• When sharing student work or images online, include only the student’s first name even with parent media permission.

This page includes text used with permission from Houston Public Schools.