Fair Use & Online Images: A Digital Literacy Skill

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I really enjoy the practical, here's-what-you-really-need-to-know content of The Cult of Pedagogy and so much of it is very applicable to the school library world. After all, school librarians are teachers and a school library is a classroom.

In Teaching Students How to Legally Use Online Images you'll learn loads about how to teach students to locate and incorporate online images. Hello, digital citizenship! This is definitely a must in terms of digital literacy skills for students.

In the meantime, I will share the nuggets of goodness I took away from the read:

LICENSE YOUR IMAGES

If students create their own images, then they own the copyright and can license it through Creative Commons. This licensing process not only teaches kids about the importance of copyright and fair use, it also validates their own sense of independence and ownership.

USE OPEN LICENSE IMAGES

My favorite sites for free, open license images are Pixabay, Unsplash, The Noun Project, Creative CommonsPexels and Flickr. It nice to be nice! 😊 Give credit where it's due on these images - even if they are free to use. A simple copy/paste into a caption will do. Like this:

MAKE AN EFFORT

The best rule of thumb is to make a good effort to give credit where it’s due with citation, notation, and asking for permission when applicable. This is one step we can contribute to helping to make the Internet a more respectful and cooperative place.

EDUCATE YOURSELF

Sometimes, digital immigrants (yes, that's likely us!) feel a bit 'left in the dark' when it comes to digital literacy. It's true, we can't know it all but we can educate ourselves as best we can. To help, I've created a Pearltrees Collection titled Copyright & Fair Use that might help with your own knowledge of copyright, fair use, and attribution.

EXPECT USE

As students create more and more digital products -presentations, images, posts, videos, podcasts, e-books, etc.- they should be using images to enhance them. Images can grab an audience’s attention, illustrate key concepts, and set a certain tone. It's a given that visuals should be incorporated into learning and sharing.

IT'S OUR JOB

As educators, it's our job to prepare students for the day when these rules will carry more serious consequences. Students will leave school and as they 'adult', the understanding and practice of ethical habits will serve them well.

Disclaimer: The South Dakota State Library does not specifically endorse any service, product, or recommendation listed in this blog.

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