Code of Best Practices
Educators from 10 major cities in the U.S. came to consensus on principles that reflect the fair use of copyrighted materials in education. This consensus is called the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education and was adopted by several national organizations including the National Council of Teachers of English and the National Association for Media Literacy Education. The five principles, each with some limitations, were reviewed by legal scholars and copyright lawyers.
The principles are:
1. EMPLOYING COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL IN MEDIA LITERACY LESSONS
Under fair use, educators using the concepts and techniques of media
literacy can choose illustrative material from the full range of
copyrighted sources and make them available to learners, in class, in
workshops, in informal mentoring and teaching settings, and on
school-related Web sites.
2. EMPLOYING COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL IN PREPARING CURRICULUM MATERIALS
Under fair use, educators using the concepts and techniques of media
literacy can integrate copyrighted material into curriculum materials,
including books, workbooks, podcasts, DVD compilations, videos, Web
sites, and other materials designed for learning.
3. SHARING MEDIA LITERACY CURRICULUM MATERIALS
Educators using concepts and techniques of media
literacy should be able to share effective examples of teaching about
media and meaning with one another, including lessons and resource
materials. If curriculum developers are making sound decisions on fair
use when they create their materials, then their work should be able to
be seen, used, and even purchased by anyone—since fair use applies to
commercial materials as well as those produced outside the marketplace
model.
4. STUDENT USE OF COPYRIGHTED MATERIALS IN THEIR OWN USE
Because media literacy education cannot thrive unless learners
themselves have the opportunity to learn about how media functions at
the most practical level, educators using concepts and techniques of
media literacy should be free to enable learners to incorporate, modify,
and re-present existing media objects in their own classroom work.
Media production can foster and deepen awareness of the constructed
nature of all media, one of the key concepts of media literacy. The
basis for fair use here is embedded in good pedagogy.
5. DEVELOPING AUDIENCES FOR STUDENT WORK
Educators should work with learners to make a reasoned decision about
distribution that reflects sound pedagogy and ethical values. In some
cases, widespread distribution of students’ work (via the Internet, for
example) is appropriate. If student work that incorporates, modifies,
and re-presents existing media content meets the transformativeness
standard, it can be distributed to wide audiences under the doctrine of
fair use.
For further information on the development and interpretation of this code, please see:
http://mediaeducationlab.com/intro-video-code-best-practices-fair-use-media-literacy-education
The Code of Best Practices in Fair Use
for Media Literacy Education. Center for Social Media. School of
Communication American University. 2010. Web. 04 Aug. 2010.
Hobbs, Renee. Copyright Clarity. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin & NCTE, 2010.
Last Updated: August 5, 2010
