Of course, the film industry didn’t offer up this exemption on their own accord. In fact, they argued against it, stating that professors could surely get what video footage they require from videotapes and DVDs without copy protections. For those of you who did not follow this story when it broke last year, I have provided a bit of play by play here for your review, courtesy of AP News write Anick Jesdanun:

“The exemption granted to film professors authorizes the breaking of the CSS copy-protection technology found in most DVDs. Programs to do so circulate widely on the Internet, though it has been illegal to use or distribute them.

The professors said they need the ability to create compilations of DVD snippets to teach their classes — for example, taking portions of old and new cartoons to study how animation has evolved. Such compilations are generally permitted under “fair use” provisions of copyright law, but breaking the locks to make the compilations has been illegal.

Hollywood studios have argued that educators could turn to videotapes and other versions without the copy protections, but the professors argued that DVDs are of higher quality and may preserve the original colors or dimensions that videotapes lack.

‘The record did not reveal any alternative means to meet the pedagogical needs of the professors,’ Billington wrote.” — Taken from U.S. Copyright Office Issues New Rights, by Anick Jesdanun. November 28, 2006

While that’s a bit of good news for my Intro to Humanities and Contemporary Humanities courses at PCC, what does this mean for elementary, middle, and high school classrooms?  Well, I’m going to step out on a limb and apply the same reasoning to my own middle school classroom. This added freedom to copy and compile studio DVD material, coupled with the advent of rich media resources licensed under Creative Commons licensing, provides educators with a rich collection of material indeed!  Though, there is at least one other item to consider.

How do we approach this issue when developing content for our online courses? I propose that, for walled courses via say, the Drupal or Moodle platforms, this fair use ruling for DVD material applies. However, I am not sure whether fair use covers course materials offered freely via “guest” status on these sites.  I am not a lawyer and have no particular expertise with copyright legislation.  However, this is what seems reasonable to me.  I’m sure there are those of you who might be better suited to make this call, and I welcome any feedback you might provide.

Technorati Tags: copyright, education

His post reads as follows:

Podcasts, or more generically, downloaded media, run the gamut from network TV shows to grade school class projects. In most instances, no one knows for sure how many people listen to any particular podcast. There are also issues like royalties, advertising, ratings and professional conduct that are cropping up as the relatively new medium finds its legs. Now, to help chart the new territory, two associations of podcasters are forming. One, the Association of Downloadable Media requires individual dues of $150 and corporate dues of $1,000. It’s guided by people from Apple and National Public Radio, among others. Another group formed as an answer to ADM under the working name, the Association of Podcasters and Online Media Producers and hopes to charge no annual dues.

Scott Bourne, president of Podango Productions in California is on the steering committee to build the APOMP according to members’ ideas. Organizers plan to conduct an online survey to gauge members’ interests and priorities.

Now I’m sorry. Did I catch that right? Apple and National Public Radio teaming up to protect the interest of podcasters? Some pretty big guns from this listener’s point of view. Will be interesting to see how the APOMP folks stand up against the ADM group.

One: Podcasting stands today as one of the last bastions of audio broadcasting delivered to mass audiences via free or nearly free channels. How will podcasters who hold true to this ideal react to these two groups and their calls for representation?

Two: Assume for an instant that one, if not both of these organizations attracts podcasters to represent. I would have to assume that from a basic monetary basis, some folks are going to side with the Apple/NPR group (ADM) and others with the APOMP folks. Will money be the only deciding factor in their selection? What other issues may come into play?

Three: To those of you who function primarily as ‘educational podcasters’ – that is, the majority if not all of your podcasts deal with topics in education: Would you consider collecting advertising dollars and royalties for your podcasts, or do you consider them to be more valuable as freely accessed educational tools? Is there a fine line one might walk between these two camps?

I have yet to record a podcast, so I cannot speak to these issues from experience. If you are an active podcaster, please consider responding to these issues. Your input would be greatly appreciated.

Technorati Tags: podcast, NPR, Apple, representation