Five Resources for Teaching and Learning About Copyright
I’m taking the week off to do a bunch of fun things with my kids. While I’m away the most popular posts of the year so far will reappear. In no particular order, here are some of my go-to resources for helping students and teachers understand the importance and the key concepts of copyright as […]
Five Good Resources for Teaching and Learning About Copyright
In no particular order, here are some of my go-to resources for helping students and teachers understand the importance and the key concepts of copyright as it relates to school projects. Stanford University LibrariesStanford University Libraries offers the most comprehensive collection of resources about copyright and fair use that I know of. You could spend […]
Why That Image Link Won’t Work in a Flippity Template
Earlier this week I wrote about and published a video about making memory games with Flippity. Almost every time I write about Flippity I get an email from someone who has run into a problem with images not rendering. This week was not an exception to that pattern. There are generally two reasons why an […]
My Updated Guide to Media for Classroom Projects
Over the last year some of my old favorite sources of media for classroom projects changed or completely disappeared. They’ve been replaced by some new and updated sources for free sound effects, music, videos, pictures, and drawings to use in classroom projects. That’s why I created an updated guide to finding media for classroom projects. […]
How to Find the Source for Images in Google Slides
A couple of weeks ago I published a video about using the explore function in Google Slides to find images to use in presentations. Since then I’ve had a few people ask for clarification about how to use the image source when using the other image search option in Google Slides. The process of finding […]
Best of 2022 – Can I Use That Picture?
As I do at this time every year, I’m taking the week off to ski and play with my kids, shovel snow, and generally not think about work. I have some of the most popular posts of the year scheduled to republish this week. New posts will resume in the new year. A couple of […]
Can I Use That Picture? – A Short Guide to Using Pictures from the Web
A couple of weeks ago in my Practical Ed Tech Tip of the Week newsletter I included a PDF guide to use in determining whether or not you can use a picture you’ve found on the Internet. To accompany that guide and provide some clarifications I then recorded a short video presentation in Canva. In […]
The DMCA Scam Returns in the Form of Nationwide Legal Services
As you may recall, last spring I unravelled a scam in which someone pretending to be an attorney sent out phony DMCA takedown notices. That scam was centered around a website that pretended to be the law firm of Arthur Davidson Legal. Eventually, that website was suspended by its web hosting company. Well it appears […]
What I Do When a Website Steals My Work
I’ve been writing this blog for fifteen years this year. For most of those years I have been battling with people about copyright. Some people think that because it says “Free Technology for Teachers” that they can take anything they want and republish it wherever they want. Other people have a misunderstanding of what fair […]
Watch Me Unravel an Email Scam
As you know, I am a huge advocate for teaching students and teachers to respect copyright. To that end I always advocate for using your own media or media that is in the public domain whenever possible. So when an email with the subject line “DMCA Copyright Infringement Notice” landed in my inbox this morning, […]
Why You’re Seeing More of My Face
You may have noticed that my face is appearing in more of the cover images for my blog posts and in more of the cover images for my videos. There is a reason for that and it’s not that I’ve discovered a new vanity in my mid-40’s. The reason is that in my on-going battle […]
If You Care About Copyright, Stop Using Blog Lovin’
As long time followers of my blog and Twitter account know, copyright is a topic that I am passionate about. That’s largely due to the quantity of websites that steal my work on a daily basis. Some of them, like the popular Bloglovin’ service, claim that they’re not doing anything wrong and are actually helping […]
Transcribing Early Copyright Applications
By the People is the Library of Congress project that was formerly known as the Crowd project. The name changed at some point in the last year, but the purpose of the project remains the same. That purpose is to enlist the help of the public to transcribe historical documents housed the by the Library […]
New Copyright Compliance Checks in YouTube
Last night I uploaded a new video to my YouTube channel. Everything was normal for the first few steps. I added my description, added a custom thumbnail, and added the video to a playlist just as I normally would. Then I clicked the button to state that I didn’t include any controversial topics that […]
Oh, The Irony! – The Websites That Plagiarized My Posts About Copyright
I knew this would happen. I also know there’s not much I can do to prevent it other than file DMCA takedown notices when it happens. The “it” I’m referring to is the plagiarism of my blog post announcing my free webinar about copyright and the one containing the recording of the webinar. As an […]
Webinar Recording – Copyright & Creative Commons for K-12 Educators
Yesterday afternoon I hosted a free webinar titled Copyright & Creative Commons for K-12 Educators. The recording of the webinar is now available to view here on my YouTube channel. The recording is also embedded below. Here’s a list of the resources that I included in the webinar: Lessons from the $9.2 million copyright judgment […]
Copyright & Creative Commons for K-12 Educators – Free Webinar on Monday
Copyright is a topic that I’ve written about many times over the years. It’s a topic that I’m passionate about and I’m always happy to answer questions about. In the last few weeks I’ve had a lot of questions about copyright and Creative Commons. So to answer those questions and more I’m hosting a free […]
Tozzl, Tozzl, Tozzl, Tozzl, Tozzl – How to Search for a Trademark
Back in October I received an email from the owner(s) of the domain Tozzl.com. It was a cease and desist notice for using the word “Tozzl” in some of my old blog posts and videos. Today, I received a second one from them. In both cases I’m telling them to take a flying leap…here’s why. […]
An Unplanned Benefit of Using Your Own Pictures in Blog Posts and Presentations
Last week I went on a bit of a rant about copyright and fair use. If you didn’t read it, the gist of it was “no, you can’t use any picture you find on the Internet and call it Fair Use because it’s school-related.” The best way to avoid accidental copyright infringement is to just […]
Addressing Two Common Copyright Misunderstandings
Long time followers of my blog know that over the years I have fought many many many battles with people who think it’s okay to republish my blog posts in their entirety without permission. I’ve been doing this for so long that at times I feel like I’m preaching to the choir. Then at other […]
An Overview of the New Google Images Search Options
Earlier this week Google updated and simplified the way in which you can find Creative Common licensed images through Google Images. I wrote an overview of those changes yesterday. I made this short video to bring a bit more clarity to the new way in which you can find Creative Commons and public domain images […]
From the Archive – A Webinar on Copyright for Teachers
Twice today I hosted webinars in which the topic of copyright in the classroom came up. Since the webinars weren’t specifically about copyright, I referred people to the recording of a webinar that Dr. Beth Holland and I hosted a couple of years ago in which we addressed a whole bunch of nuanced questions pertaining […]
Five Resources for Teaching and Learning About Copyright
In this week’s Practical Ed Tech Tip of the Week newsletter I shared a short guide to finding and using media for use in classroom projects like videos, slideshows, and podcasts. This morning I’ve already had a few requests for more information and more resources to help students understand copyright, Creative Commons, and fair use. […]
Plagiarism Explained by Common Craft – Updated
Plagiarism and issues around copyright are topics that I am passionate about. That’s why I was happy to see my friends at Common Craft release an updated version of their video explanation of plagiarism. Plagiarism Explained by Common Craft does a good job explaining what plagiarism is and how to avoid unintentionally plagiarizing a work. To […]
The Practical Ed Tech Podcast Episode #17 – Ninjas, Gladiators, and Copyright
It’s Friday afternoon and I’ve just finished recording the seventeenth episode of The Practical Ed Tech Podcast. In this episode I address some questions around a Tweet I made last Saturday, discuss my infuriating experience of defending my copyright rights, and share my thoughts about talking with students about topics that can be a bit […]
Three Lessons to Learn from the $9.2M Copyright Ruling Against Houston ISD
Thanks to an email from Jay Schwermer over the weekend I learned about a federal court’s ruling against Houston ISD for violating the copyright of a small company called DynaStudy that sells study guides. You can read a good summary of the ruling including the $9.2 million in damages awarded to DynaStudy in this Houston […]
What is RSS? How Can You Use It?
This is the last thing that I’m going to publish about this ridiculous copyright infringement debacle I’ve been dealing with for a week. But as I said earlier today, I am going to try to make the best of it by sharing some pertinent and related resources about copyright. The owner of the site that […]
How to File a Copyright Claim With Google
In my previous post I detailed the copyright debacle that has consumed way too much of my mental energy and way too much of time over the last week. As I mentioned in that post, I am trying to make something good out of it by creating and sharing resources about what to do if […]
How to File a Copyright Infringement Complaint With Facebook
I frequently deal with websites that are plagiarizing my work. Usually, I deal with sites that are plaigiarizing my work by simply sending them a notice that they’ve been caught and that they should stop. Seven times out of ten it ends there. If it doesn’t end there I’ll send a formal DMCA takedown notice. […]
This is a Copyright Infringement
If you have been following my blog for more than a few months, you’re probably already familiar with my ongoing battle against copyright infringers all around the world. I recently took the step to truncate all of my RSS feeds which has helped in substantially cutting down on the number of sites publishing my work […]
Copyright and Plagiarism in Blogging – What Can Be Done?
My plan for today didn’t include writing about or making a video about copyright and plagiarism. However, this morning I found five blatant examples of websites republishing my entire blog posts without permission. The most annoying offender of all was the Milton S. Eisenhower Library at Johns Hopkins University! So in a moment of frustration, […]
An Extensive Guide to Copyright and Fair Use
On Sunday I published a guide to locating media for use in classroom projects. In that guide I provided basic summaries of the concepts of public domain, Creative Commons, and fair use. In the section on fair use I referenced Stanford University Libraries’ Copyright & Fair Use guide. That guide should be bookmarked by anyone […]
Two Good Video Explanations of Fair Use
Less than an hour after I posted this chart of alternatives to Google Image search I had two emails and one Facebook message with questions about fair use. One asked about music, the others asked about exceptions to copyright. But really all three messages were essentially asking the same theme of “what about fair use?” […]
Animations, Screencasts, and Podcasts – The Week in Review
Good morning from Maine where I’m home for a while after nearly four weeks of speaking at conferences and consulting with schools. When I started my little tour there were leaves on all of the trees in my yard. This morning I woke up to discover that one of those trees is completely bare. In […]
Two Detailed Presentations About Copyright for Educators
Earlier this evening I answered an email from a teacher who was looking for some resources about copyright that she could share with colleagues in her school. There were two resources that immediately came to mind when I read her question. The first resource is a presentation by Dr. Wes Fryer called Copyright for Educators. […]
Share This Letter With Students to Show Them the Cost of Copyright Infringement
Getting students, and some teachers, to understand the importance of honoring copyright restrictions can be a challenging task. You’ll often hear comments like, “it’s no big deal,” “no one is going to enforce it,” and “it’s for a school project so it’s okay.” The problems with all of those statements are that it is a […]
Publishing an Example of Copyright Infringement
Update: after filing a DMCA takedown notice, this copyright infringement issue was resolved. Thanks to a friendly reader, I was tipped-off to the latest case of an educational technology “expert” committing an egregious copyright violation. It has been a few months since a good example like this has come across my desk. In this latest […]
YouTube Makes Copyright Clear as Mud
Larry Ferlazzo recently shared a video that YouTube produced about options for using music in videos. The video started out well but quickly became a muddy pile of confusion. While I was able to follow it, I think that a lot of people who aren’t already familiar with copyright regulations would tune it out. But, […]
One of the Biggest Violators of YouTube’s TOS Changes Its Tune
As I shared in a post earlier this month, downloading videos from YouTube via a third party tool is a violation of YouTube’s terms of service (TOS). Despite that fact there are many teachers who do attempt to use third party tools to download YouTube videos. One of the most popular of those tools, KeepVid […]
Why I’ve Stopped Making My Public Google Docs Printable
In a word, theft. In the last couple of weeks I’ve published a handful of charts that compare the features of popular ed tech resources. The most recent of those is this chart of 12 alternatives to Google Image search. I publish the charts in a Box.com widget that includes a download link. I also […]
What is Hotlinking?
This morning I received an email from a reader who had a question about my article on making bingo game boards in Google Sheets. Her question was essentially, “why won’t Pixabay images show up on the board?” The answer is that Pixabay doesn’t allow hotlinking its images. The following is from an article about image […]
Copyright Lessons for Students and Teachers – Best of 2017
As I do during this week every year, I am taking some time off to relax and prepare for the new year. Every day this week I will be featuring the most popular blog posts of the year. This was one of the most popular posts in September. As many of you know, I spent […]
FAQs About Copyright and Blogging
My post on Monday about plagiarism kicked off a wave of comments and questions. To address some of those questions I published this list of resources for teaching and learning about copyright. Then yesterday afternoon I went live on my YouTube channel to address some questions too. That video is embedded below. An unplanned bonus […]
But I Gave You Credit… Lessons About Copyright
The blog post that I published yesterday in which I listed people and organizations who have recently stolen my work has elicited quite a few responses already. A couple of those responses have included, “you were given credit at the end.” That comment shows a baseline misunderstanding of copyright. Copying and pasting entire blog posts […]
Copyright for Teachers – Webinar Recording
Last night Beth Holland and I hosted a free webinar in which we talked about copyright concerns that frequently appear in schools. As you can see the video of the webinar (embedded below) it was a casual conversation during which we shared some stories, fielded some questions, and shed some light on common misconceptions about […]
Next Week is Free Webinar Week!
Next week I am hosting three free professional development webinars. I hope that you can join me for one, two, or all three of them. Help Kids Discover New Information On Tuesday at 4pm ET I am hosting 7 Ways to Help Kids Discover and Analyze New Information. In the webinar you will learn how […]
Kahoot, Fractions, Copyright – The Week in Review
Good afternoon from Maine where it is a gorgeous late summer day. I started the day with a fun hike with my daughter and dogs. These days my hikes are little slower than they used to be, a 30lb child on your back will do that, but they are sweeter because I enjoy them with […]
Copyright Lessons for Students and Teachers
As many of you know, I spent much of my week dealing with a copyright infringement issue. As a result of that I have been doing more reading about DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) than ever before. One piece that I read was this article from attorney Sarah F. Hawkins. The article didn’t have much […]
What To Do When Your Pictures, Text, and Videos are Stolen Online
For years I’ve written and ranted about websites committing blatant copyright violations. Some of you have been supportive of my rants, thank you. This morning I am madder than ever about a website stealing blog posts. That’s because this morning I found a website that was not only stealing my writing, it was stealing my […]
Three Reasons to Maintain a Photo Gallery With Your Students
We are all taking so many more pictures today than we did fifteen to twenty years ago. Thanks to cloud storage we can save and share thousands of images from our phones. No one knows this better than our students who will never understand the agonizing waits we used to endure after dropping off rolls […]
Creative Commons Explained In Simple Terms
Whenever I give a presentation or run a workshop about student video projects, I spend time explaining what Creative Commons licensing is and its benefits for consumers and producers of media. Sometimes in my workshops I use Common Craft’s explanation of Creative Commons licenses and what they mean for consumers and producers of media. I’ve […]
Clarifying Canva
Last week I received an email from a reader who had seen my video about how to use Canva. She had questions about copyright regarding graphics made in Canva. Here’s what she wrote, I just read your post on Canva and was trying to get their contact info to ask if I could use Canva […]
The Problem With Automating Your Blog
The web is great. Everyday a new tool appears that makes some task easier than ever to accomplish. But not every task that can be automated should be automated. For example, let’s say you decide that your organization (perhaps SETDA) needs a blog, but you cannot find time to have someone actually write blog posts […]
Check the Source Before You Subscribe or Buy
The online education community has a problem. We want our students to be aware of copyright and respect the work of authors yet we don’t respect the work of our colleagues. Three times this month I have found my blog posts re-used in their entirety on other blogs. Those are just the obvious examples that […]