Copyright Law & Technology in the Classroom

As 21st century educators & learners, have all been exposed to the internet. Many do research strictly online and are not aware of copyright infringement. We have heard the term "plagiarism' when we are writing a paper, etc. But do we also know that we are breaking the law when we use software, programs, or videos that are downloaded from the internet? Here is a great website that has answers to what are copyright laws.

According to an article in  Education World, anything posted on a school's website page, should include a "website concerns" section to address any possible copyright infringement. It's important to note that you should always give credit to any source you use.

So how do copyright laws affect our use of technology in the classrooms? It affects our use greatly.
We should be careful to not use anything that needs permission before being used. Know when to ask permission and always give credit to any resource you are using. For example, if you wanted to have each student take some pictures home you found on the internet for homework, is it legal for you to distribute those photos without permission from the original author? You could possibly be committing copyright infringement. Or maybe you want to put a video you found on a DVD for students to take home. You should ask yourself if you are taking the necessary steps to distribute the video properly.