Student and Parent Resources

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Links:

• Most Frequently Used KSD Links
• Teacher Share
• KSD Curriculum Center
• KSD Staff Link
• Kent School District Website
• ITS Team Site
• Library Media Team Site
• Assistive Tech Team Site

Copyright and Plagiarism Resources

With the convenience of technology allowing individuals to transfer, copy, and digitize learning materials faster and easier than ever, understanding copyright law becomes even more important. We have an obligation to practice integrity and trustworthiness. All of us should honor the law when it comes to fair use and copyright and in so doing protect ourselves from legal liability.

On this page you will find:

• KSD resources for printing

• Link to copyright free music

• Definition of "copyright"

• Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education

• Printable information and more links

 

Kent School District resources available for printing:

• Copyright Permission Form – quick form for using someone else's work in your project.
• Copyright brochure – explains copyright and fair use for students.
• Copyright flyer – contains useful but concise information for students.
• Copyright sign – explains Fair Use in a just-the-facts style.
• Plagiarism brochure (elementary) – explains to elementary students the rules and importance of citing their sources.
• Plagiarism brochure (secondary) – explains to middle and high school students the rules and importance of citing their sources.
• Personal Sites Flyer – explains the copyrights of MySpace, FaceBook, etc.

Copyright free music to use in multi-media projects

Copyleft and Creative Commons-licensed music is available online. With this music and video you may use as much or as little from the sites listed as you want to, but you MUST be sure to cite your source! Read each site's "Terms of Use" if you have questions about how to use their music.  There are also a couple copyrighted music sites listed ... be sure to follow Fair Use if you use music from those sites!

What is copyright?

• Copyright grants an author or creator exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute, adapt, perform, or display their protected work. Unless you have the creator’s permission you may not use, copy, or alter the work. A copyright gives the author or creator the right to control all forms of reproduction, including photocopies, slides, and all recordings on cassettes, videotapes, compact disks, and other digital formats.

When may I use a copyrighted work?

• If a work belongs to the public as a whole it is called public domain and may be used. This includes government documents and works, works with an expired copyright or no existing protection, and works published over 75 years ago. If the copyright owner grants permission or if a legal exception has been made, such as in parody, you may use a copyrighted work. Fair use of copyrighted materials is allowable for educational purposes according to certain restrictions.

Fair Use and Education

Fair Use guidelines are rules (called exemptions) that make it acceptable for students and teachers to use copyrighted material in certain situations. Copyright law provides four standards to determine fair use: purpose of use, nature of the work, proportion/extent of the material used, and effect on marketability. All four standards must be met when copying for educational purposes. These standards are further described in the resources below.

Note:  The principal reference for copyright information for Kent schools is the January 2003 edition of "Copyright Condensed" by Heartland Area Education Agency 11. A copy is available in every Kent School District library. Links below are supplemental sites for copyright information.

Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education

Five principles to make it easier for students and teachers to understand and use media in projects.

• The five principles
• The complete document and explanation

Printable information and additional Web links:

• Funny Fair Use video using clips from Disney movies (Stanford University)
• Copyright and Fair Use Pyramid chart from BYU
• Fair Use form to fill out when using copyrighted material
• Digital Citizenship and Creative Content – Four downloadable curriculum resources to create awareness of intellectual property rights and foster a better understanding of the rights connected with creative content.
• Copyright Website – terrific examples of cases brought against current movies, artists, etc.
• Copyright Tutorial for Teachers and Parents
• Model Plagiarism Policy (Kent School District)
• Kent School District Policy Manual (click on "Policies" in tool bar at top, then navigate to #2025 on the left)
• USA Copyright Office
• Copyright Bay
• Copyright Kids
• Copyright Resources for Education (from Hall Davidson) – Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines chart for Teachers
• Teacher's Guide to Fair Use and Copyright with printable charts