Being Authentic Legally

Today was one of those days with 6.5 hours in the classroom. That gives little time to formulate a good entry for the blog. I thought I just might add an idea of how using technology while teaching may affect copyright.

I'd suggest that good teachers have always brought the real world into their classrooms. Photocopiers made it easy to carry in a relevant snippet from the day's newspaper. Using authentic materials is not only easy but often quite effective.

Now, I am able to copy segments from science programs while watching them on TV. The capture card in my PC is directly connected to an output on the satellite receiver. After getting a number of clips, I have copied to various DVDs for quick, in-class listening comprehension exercises. Now, with our robust computer network at BCIT, I can easily post streaming video segments to the class storage. These could be made available in the Institute's labs or even from a home computer.

There are many educationally sound things I can do. What I'm unsure of is the legality of many of those actions.