Legal issues within technology use in education are at a forefront of many discussions and court battles within the United States. As a future teacher, we must be extremely careful in how we use specific types of media and technology, and specifically the amount of the media that we do use. In terms of ethical uses of technology by both myself and by my students when completing projects, we must remember a few key facts. When utilizing film and video in the classroom, schools and specifically teachers have the legal right to use 10%, or up to three minutes of work. An example could be using small portions from Monty Python and the Holy Grail to discuss the effects of the Bubonic Plague, as long as three minutes or less is used the teacher is legally safe. Another example is when using musics, lyrics, or a music video within the classroom. Many teachers have students use popular songs and have students change the melody of the work to what the lesson entails. Legally, teachers can use up to 30 seconds of the song, and cannot change the melody or the fundamental character of the work.
When discussing my personal feelings about downloading and listening to music that I did not pay for, I have realized as I have gotten older the legal ramifications of using Peer to Peer networks to obtain music in a free way. Without paying for the music, any use of copyright material without specific legal consent, is illegal. As future teachers, we must realize that if we have not purchased the material we could be putting both ourselves and the school district in harms way due to illegally obtaining the work of a specific artists.
Within the realm of my usage of technology and media content in the classroom, I need to make sure that I have some ethical restraints in place to ensure the safety of my students, myself, and my district. If I have presenting material or having students create a project, my expectations of what I want to use need to be clearly explained. If I am sharing a song to talk about any type of social norms, I need to stress why I am only utilizing a certain amount of the song for legal purposes. If my students are creating a project, within the rubric must stress the legality of what the students can and cannot do.
Internet security is also a debatable topic that this new generation is extremely familiar with. I have made sure that my computer is protected with certain security systems such as Norton Antivirus to help protect what I have on my computer. Within my classroom, I need to make sure that the sites I want my students to use have been checked, and these sites will be available for my students to use. I have found that many students do not know how to properly do research until they get to college, so by providing the sites for them and allowing them to make the choice of what they want to use, students will in fact be more effective and safe when researching all together.
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