Module+3+Reflection

Describe something important you learned this week that will help you in the field of technology.
 * Prompt **

I read chapter 6 in my ISTE'S Technology Facilitation and Leadership Standards book. I read a wide variety of articles including: Beyond the Use of New Technologies in Adult Distance Courses: An Ethical Approach Technology and People with Disabilities: Ethical Considerations Technology Standard III: Legal, Social and Ethical Issues Case Study I engaged in an amazing online copyright resources called "Copyright Bay" and read many, many more articles about copyrighting I read a lot more than this, but these are the readings that all influenced me to write this particular journal.
 * Description﻿ **
 * Description﻿ **

This week was **extremely** beneficial for me. I really learned A LOT about something very valuable: technology and the law. This is information that I need to know in order to be a true technology facilitator or leader. I remember learning a little bit about this during my undergraduate coursework, but it was more of an "in one ear and out the other" topic.
 * Impact **

Although I was inspired by all of the above readings, the most valuable piece of information that I took away from this module was the do's and don'ts of copyrighting. My goodness, there are a lot of "don'ts"! It really made me stop and think: "Do I do this? Do my co-workers do this? What about that? Uh oh!" I spent a lot of time reviewing the laws and provisions, and then even assessed myself with a little quiz that I found on the "Copyright Bay" website. How do I feel about what I've learned? It's really bittersweet. I am slightly intimidated by all of the laws and regulations, because there are so many and it is a true crime to use someone else's work, whether you did it by accident or not. However, I'm also walking away feeling great because I've learned something so valuable...something that I NEED to know and that I need to make sure my students know.

I now know exactly what I'm allowed to make copies of, how many copies I'm allowed to make, what I'm allowed to make single copies of versus what I can make multiple copies of, and under what circumstances I'm even allowed to make copies- period. I know how many minutes or what percentage of motion media or text I'm allowed to use, how many seconds of a song I'm allowed to use, how many words of a poem I can borrow, how many photo's and how much database information I can use. I know what I can take from chapters, articles, charts, diagrams, newspapers and ..............EVERYTHING under the sun! Get my point, or should I keep listing things? :)

I learned about specific laws, and I learned all about "fair use" provision. <-Thank goodness for that! "The Copyright Act of 1976 defines intellectual property rights and what constitutes violations of these principles, and section 107 of this act discusses the fair use defense for teaching, scholarship, and research" (Williamson & Redish, 2009, p. 131). I think that a lot of educators don't read these laws because, let's face it, there's a lot of them and they are tedious! I now truly understand how important it is to become familiar with these laws and practices...it could cost me my job! I've worked too hard to become a teacher to let that slip away over something that I CAN control.

I will speak up about this issue in my building. This was very eye-opening for me. It's really scary to think about all of the instances that put us in jeopardy and about people that are unintentionally breaking copyright laws. I plan to not only inform my peers, but my students as well so that we're all protected!
 * Intent **