Administration

Daviess County Public Schools expects students, faculty and staff to respect the integrity of intellectual property and follow copyright laws. The following are guidelines to aid you in creating research products using technology. They summarize and quote from the Fair Use Guidelines for Multimedia produced by the Consortium of College and University Media Centers in 1996. http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/ccmcguid.htm

Multimedia Projects (using PowerPoint, Hyperstudio, etc.)

In creating academic multimedia products, students may use the “lawfully acquired copyrights” works of others with proper credit and citations. Any violation of not crediting sources is subject to AHS and DCHS Honor Code Policy. They may perform and display their own educational multimedia projects in the course for which they were created. They may also retain them as examples of their academic work for later personal uses such as job and college interviews.

The rule of thumb for multimedia projects is to be conservative. Use only small amounts of the works of others. Do not make any unnecessary copies—no more than two use copes and one additional back-up copy. If a group created the project, each major contributor may make his or her own copy but only for the purpose for which the project was originally created.

Crediting Sources

Students should include a note on the closing screen of their project stating that some materials in the presentation are included in accordance with the Multimedia Fair Use Guidelines and are restricted from further use.

Students should credit all sources of copyrighted information with full bibliographic citations including author, title, publisher, and place and date of publication, URL, etc. This bibliographic information may be combined and shown in a separate section of the project, for instance a works cited card or slide. If the copyright notice Ó and copyright ownership information is shown in the original source, students must show it in the credits.

If there is a possibility that students will later use their multimedia project in another way, for example dissemination on the Web or on Cable Channel 54, they should take steps to obtain permissions for all copyrighted portions while the project is being developed rather than waiting until the project is completed.

Used by permission of Joyce Valenza, Springfield Township High School, Oreland, PA.

DCHS and AHS have defined plagiarism as follows.

Plagiarizing encompasses, but is not limited to, the following:
Presenting as one’s own, the works or the opinions of someone else without proper acknowledgement.
Borrowing of the sequence of ideas, the arrangement of materials, or the pattern of thought of someone else without proper acknowledgement.
Some examples are: having a parent or another person write an essay or do a projects which is then submitted as one’s own work; failing to use proper documentation and bibliography.
The DCHS and AHS Honor code applies to all assignments. (See student agenda handbook for Honor Code Policy).

Portions Used

There are very specific guidelines limited the portions of copyrighted works students are allowed to use in a multimedia project. Portion use varies according to information format:

Medium	What you can do.	The Fine Print
Text: includes poems, articles, stories, essays, scripts, slogans	Use up to 10% or 1000 words, whichever is less of a copyrighted work.	Poems: the entire poem if less than 250 words. No more than 5 poems or excerpts of different poets from an anthology. No more than 3 poems or excerpts by one poet.
Titles	If a program is being broadcast or exhibited outside the classroom, it may cause concerns if it slanders or refers to a recognized title of a movie, book, television show or other product. The safest approach is to avoid any connection.
Music, Lyrics, or Music Video	Use up to 10% of a copyrighted musical composition, but no more than 30 seconds from an individual musical work.	Any alterations cannot change the basic melody or the fundamental character of the work.
Illustrations and Photographs	One photograph, chart, diagram, cartoon, graph, or illustration per book or periodical may be used in its entirety	No more than 5 images by an artists or photographer. No more than 10% or no more than 15 images of a collective work.
Motion Media: includes Videotape, TV, DVD, Laser Discs, QuickTime Movies, CD-Rom Encyclopedias	Up to 10% of a copyrighted work or 3 minutes, whichever is less.	Up to 10% or 2500 fields or cell entries, whichever is less, from a copyrighted database or data table.
Internet (use in multimedia projects)	Students should seek authorization from the copyright holder.	Images, sound, or music files may not be reposted onto the Internet without permission.

Integrity of the copyrighted work : Alterations

Educators and students may make alterations in the portions of the copyrighted works used in an academic multimedia project only if the alterations support specific instructional objectives. All alterations must be noted.

Permission is required:
For multimedia projects used for non-educational or commercial purposes.
For duplication or distribution of multimedia projects beyond limitations outlined above (posting on the Web, for example).
When distributing the project over an electronic network.

Publishing on the Web

The Fair Use Guidelines do not extend to Web publishing. They end when the creator of the multimedia project loses control of his product’s use, such as when it is accessed by others over the Internet. Student may choose to search for images in databases that are with the Public Domain. Students should obtain permission for all copyrighted portions of a web product, unless it is very clearly noted that these materials are in the public domain and available for free use. Requests for permission should begin while the project is being developed.

When works pass into the Public Domain

Date of Work	Term
Created 1-1-78 or after	Life of author + 70 years
Published before 1923	In Public Domain
Published from 1923-1963	28 yrs.(+ 67 years if renewed)
Published from 1964-1977	95 yrs.
Created before1-1-78 but not published	Life + 70 yrs. or 12-31-2002, whichever is greater.
Created before 1-1-78 but published between then and 12-31-2002	Life + 70 yrs or 12-31-2047, whichever is greater.

Adapted and used by permission of University of North Carolina.

Requesting Permission of a Copyright Holder

When writing for permission you are more likely to get a positive response if you:
            Make it easy for the copyright holder to respond.
            Are very clear and specific about what materials you want to use.
            Are very clear on how you plan to use them.
            Make your request politely and intelligently.

Remember to:
Ask only for what you really need.
Write early so that you have a better chance of getting a response before your
deadline.
Include a stamped, self-addressed envelope with a request via U.S. Mail or
E-Mail address.

Date
Publisher’s Name (if available)
Publisher’s Address (if available)

Dear Sir or Madam,
I am a student at _______________, and I am writing to ask permission to use
__________________________________________________________________
(a quote or picture or music or video clip--be specific about exactly what piece of copyright material you are asking for) in my assigned school project.

Thank you for considering my request. If you agree, I will properly cite the source on my project. Please let me know if you would like me to follow any special instructions for acknowledging this material.

Please sign below and return this form to me.

            Sincerely,
            Your Name
            School
            School Address
            E-Mail Address

            Permission granted
            ________________________________________signature
            Full Name:_______________________________
            Title:____________________________________
            Date:____________________________________
            Conditions/Instructions (if any)_________________________________

Adapted and used with permission from Joyce Valenza, Springfield Township High School, Oreland, PA.

Web Site Evaluation Criteria:
How do I know if this is an acceptable source for my paper or project?

Intention:
Why was the Web site created?
People put up Web pages for many reasons. The information on the Web site may be slanted by a group or person’s personal point of view. Ask yourself the following:
            What purpose does the site serve? Information, entertainment, or profit?
            What does the author get out of it?
            What does the purpose tell you about the accuracy of the information?
            What can the Web address (URL) tell you about the site?
What opinion does this page represent?
Every page represents an opinion, but some are less reliable than others. Some “facts” can simply be someone’s idea. Do you trust the information you are reading?
            What is the point of the Web site? Does it sound reasonable?
            Does the Web site seem objective?
            Are there logical errors or conspicuous absences of data.
Try to get more than one point of view on your topic.

Relevance

When was the page created?
Old information can be worse than no information.
            Is there a date for the creation and/or updating of the Web site?
            Is your topic an issue that has changed over time?
Who created this Web site?
            Is the author stated?
            What credentials does this person/s have?
            Is this someone you have heard of?

Reliability
How Good is the information?
            Does this information contradict what you know about the topic?
            Are there grammar and spelling errors on the Web site?
            Do the graphics distract you or enhance the text?
How well documented is the work?
            Is there a bibliography or scholarly reference?
            Do the links work?
            Do the links take you to additional reliable sources?

Adapted from the University of Michigan.

Citing Sources for Research Projects Please Refer To: www.mlahandbook.org