Comments on: Schools: The Next Frontier for Battles Over Copyright? http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/schools-the-next-frontier-for-battles-over-copyright/ News & views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics Fri, 24 May 2013 22:21:06 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: david http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/schools-the-next-frontier-for-battles-over-copyright/comment-page-1/#comment-1238329 david Fri, 08 Feb 2013 13:28:39 +0000 http://www.teleread.com/?p=78088#comment-1238329 This is standard polict in the uk. I know a teacher with a hugeky successful website (40m hits) who hasnt made a penny because the school says it owns it This is standard polict in the uk. I know a teacher with a hugeky successful website (40m hits) who hasnt made a penny because the school says it owns it

]]> By: Frank Lowney http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/schools-the-next-frontier-for-battles-over-copyright/comment-page-1/#comment-1237211 Frank Lowney Tue, 05 Feb 2013 13:37:39 +0000 http://www.teleread.com/?p=78088#comment-1237211 Shameful but not surprising. Schools are expected to do more and more while budgets become smaller and smaller due to lowered tax revenue at all levels. Thus, school administrators are driven to desperate and questionable measures such as this. In higher education, we see the effects of reduced tax revenues in the form of higher tuition, mounting student debt and increased dissatisfaction with the ROI (return on investment). The evidence for this can be seen in a recent report from Moody's Investment Services discussed here: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/01/17/moodys-report-calls-question-all-traditional-university-revenue-sources In the midst of all this, textbook publishers are actually trying to make digital learning materials MORE expensive. They are doing this by folding the eTextbook into the Learning Management System. This, they hope, will have the effect of re-cornering the textbook market that threatened to escape their grasp when it became possible for teachers and their students to create and disseminate their own eTextbooks and study them in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Shameful but not surprising. Schools are expected to do more and more while budgets become smaller and smaller due to lowered tax revenue at all levels. Thus, school administrators are driven to desperate and questionable measures such as this.
In higher education, we see the effects of reduced tax revenues in the form of higher tuition, mounting student debt and increased dissatisfaction with the ROI (return on investment). The evidence for this can be seen in a recent report from Moody’s Investment Services discussed here: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/01/17/moodys-report-calls-question-all-traditional-university-revenue-sources
In the midst of all this, textbook publishers are actually trying to make digital learning materials MORE expensive. They are doing this by folding the eTextbook into the Learning Management System. This, they hope, will have the effect of re-cornering the textbook market that threatened to escape their grasp when it became possible for teachers and their students to create and disseminate their own eTextbooks and study them in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).

]]> By: Sarah Park http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/schools-the-next-frontier-for-battles-over-copyright/comment-page-1/#comment-1237185 Sarah Park Tue, 05 Feb 2013 09:33:06 +0000 http://www.teleread.com/?p=78088#comment-1237185 Looks like this is not a good policy to be implemented. School is a place where people teach and learn. It is a place where information and knowledge are shared and not to be exclusively owned. Looks like this is not a good policy to be implemented. School is a place where people teach and learn. It is a place where information and knowledge are shared and not to be exclusively owned.

]]> By: Joanna http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/schools-the-next-frontier-for-battles-over-copyright/comment-page-1/#comment-1237066 Joanna Tue, 05 Feb 2013 01:27:01 +0000 http://www.teleread.com/?p=78088#comment-1237066 Frank, I agree that there were need to be a mutual understanding on this. For example, my contract says that they can expect me to attend a limited number of fundraiser evenings, school plays, parent interviews and so on during non-school hours for no extra pay because it's part of the job. We all know that, and we all signed off on that in our contracts, so nobody complains (much!) when they come up. But it says nothing about curriculum development in there. There is no prohibition against creating one's own materials, nor is there permission explicitly granted. It just isn't in there at all. Now, technically, the principal does have curriculum approval---if I created my own stuff and she asked me not to teach it in favour of something else, I would of course comply. But I don't think she would have any grounds to claim ownership of it by any means, especially if I were extra-cautious and did it at home during my personal time :) Frank, I agree that there were need to be a mutual understanding on this. For example, my contract says that they can expect me to attend a limited number of fundraiser evenings, school plays, parent interviews and so on during non-school hours for no extra pay because it’s part of the job. We all know that, and we all signed off on that in our contracts, so nobody complains (much!) when they come up. But it says nothing about curriculum development in there. There is no prohibition against creating one’s own materials, nor is there permission explicitly granted. It just isn’t in there at all. Now, technically, the principal does have curriculum approval—if I created my own stuff and she asked me not to teach it in favour of something else, I would of course comply. But I don’t think she would have any grounds to claim ownership of it by any means, especially if I were extra-cautious and did it at home during my personal time :)

]]> By: Frank Lowney http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/schools-the-next-frontier-for-battles-over-copyright/comment-page-1/#comment-1237008 Frank Lowney Mon, 04 Feb 2013 23:17:18 +0000 http://www.teleread.com/?p=78088#comment-1237008 This is shameful on many levels. Clearly, students are not compensated so work-for-hire is not even remotely applicable. As for classroom teachers, I think that there would need to be at least a memorandum of understanding signed by both teacher and an officer of the school system. That document would have to specify both the product expected and the compensation for such work. Schools can pay for such things in various ways. One popular option is "released time" which is a label for the practice of reducing the number and/or variety of courses taught in exchange for sone alternate duty such as developing curriculum materials, serving as department chair, etc. Another option is "extra compensation." The difference being whether the work is done during regular work hours (released time) or outside of that time frame (extra compensation). Although this is a K-12 example, the same principles apply in higher education although grading papers and class preparation is often done outside of normal working hours. This is shameful on many levels. Clearly, students are not compensated so work-for-hire is not even remotely applicable. As for classroom teachers, I think that there would need to be at least a memorandum of understanding signed by both teacher and an officer of the school system. That document would have to specify both the product expected and the compensation for such work. Schools can pay for such things in various ways. One popular option is “released time” which is a label for the practice of reducing the number and/or variety of courses taught in exchange for sone alternate duty such as developing curriculum materials, serving as department chair, etc. Another option is “extra compensation.” The difference being whether the work is done during regular work hours (released time) or outside of that time frame (extra compensation). Although this is a K-12 example, the same principles apply in higher education although grading papers and class preparation is often done outside of normal working hours.

]]> By: Michael W. Perry http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/schools-the-next-frontier-for-battles-over-copyright/comment-page-1/#comment-1236989 Michael W. Perry Mon, 04 Feb 2013 22:17:34 +0000 http://www.teleread.com/?p=78088#comment-1236989 Keep in mind what Wikipedia notes about this county, that it is, " immediately north, east, and south of Washington, D.C. " The political culture is that of the federal beltway--a mindset that all you and I have is theirs. They're on very dubious grounds with what teachers create even on school time. When I took a media law course ages ago at the University of Washington, the professor said precisely the opposite about his class notes. Because the state paid him to create them, he told us, they were in the public domain. And they're completely out to lunch with students, who've not been hired and thus can't be said to be doing work for hire. I suspect a school district's lawyer put them up to this. It's just the sort of underhanded behavior lawyers thing is clever. And the school board members weren't bright enough to see how silly it is for the county to be claiming ownership of what the kids in their district write on their own time at home. A school district whose board wasn't so clueless would be delighted to have a teacher talented enough that his class notes would be of value and at the same time not being foolish enough to claim that value for themselves. Keep in mind what Wikipedia notes about this county, that it is, ” immediately north, east, and south of Washington, D.C. ” The political culture is that of the federal beltway–a mindset that all you and I have is theirs.

They’re on very dubious grounds with what teachers create even on school time. When I took a media law course ages ago at the University of Washington, the professor said precisely the opposite about his class notes. Because the state paid him to create them, he told us, they were in the public domain.

And they’re completely out to lunch with students, who’ve not been hired and thus can’t be said to be doing work for hire.

I suspect a school district’s lawyer put them up to this. It’s just the sort of underhanded behavior lawyers thing is clever. And the school board members weren’t bright enough to see how silly it is for the county to be claiming ownership of what the kids in their district write on their own time at home.

A school district whose board wasn’t so clueless would be delighted to have a teacher talented enough that his class notes would be of value and at the same time not being foolish enough to claim that value for themselves.

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