Week 10-Final Thoughts

I have been thinking about the take away message from the readings this term in Big Thinkers and, more important, I have been contemplating how I might implement what I have learned in my role as an advisor. The main thing I think I have learned is that copyright has a purpose and that purpose is not to solely protect the work of the creator but to encourage creativity in both the arts and the sciences. This perspective has changed how I view copyright and its importance in our culture. From Boyle’s (2008) The Public Domain, I learned about the importance of the public domain. How with the implementation of the DMCA the culture of our life time may be locked up and unavailable to create new works. That this change to the copyright law may prevent material from being changed into digital formats even when the copyright holder cannot be located. From Lessig’s (2008) Remix, I learned about the hybrid economy where people create and give their rights away and the economy of creating viable markets by sharing knowledge. In Levine’s (2011) Free Ride, there was the message about the destruction of our media culture by those who think music, movies, and other digital works should be free and the affects of piracy on the media economy.

While all of these provided a context that will help me teach good digital citizenship and why it is important to respect copyright, I think the most important aspect of the readings is my increased understanding of the other part of the copyright mandate which is the right of fair use as discussed by Aufderheide and Jaszi (2011) in Reclaiming Fair Use. With an understanding of fair use, I hope to be able to create more engaging materials for students. As advisors, we want to create information that students will use. In the past, most of my self-help materials have been handouts on paper with no images. The idea when creating support materials is to ensure no copyright laws are infringed upon. I think I now understand that I can use the current culture to create handouts or videos that may attract the attention of students that, if read, will help students be successful.

In addition, I feel an understanding of copyright could impact the classes I teach. Knowing that I can incorporate culture within my teaching, will increase the connection students have with the materials. With a better understanding that fair use is implemented only when there is a questioning of my right to use copyrighted materials, I feel more confident in myself as I use the culture created by others to create materials that will assist me with advising and teaching. The knowledge that I need to document my thought processes so that if questioned I can explain why I think fair use can be claimed will help me think logically about my use of copyright protected materials.

So the take away for me is that copyright is complex because it has two provisions that are in direct conflict with each other. That both parts of copyright support the purpose of copyright which is to encourage the growth of knowledge within our culture and encourage creativity along with the right to use that knowledge and the products of other’s creativity to continue to build on that knowledge base.