Educational Technology and the Fair Use Doctrine

The use of technology in the school, especially the social networking applications, has dramatically changed the way educators gather and remix information. This fact makes restructuring copyright regulations a necessary component for school revisions in ethical use of digital media. Until the last two decades, written information mainly was distributed through textbooks and publications under the watchful eye of a publishing company. The people within these textbook companies had great influence on copyright policies; therefore, the publishers made copyright policy arrangements with the district at the time of purchase. However, today, educators and students can often obtain educational materials directly from the creator, especially through use of the Internet. While this increases access to educational resources, it also can make people less likely to abide by copyright laws and regulations. Because of this, schools now are faced with a new problem which can only be remedied by developing and educating related users to copyright policy and the remixing of digital media.

For more information on the ethical use of technology, fair use and creative commons go to Tech N TuIt.