Library and Intellectual Property Issues in Distance Education

DETT 611

Description

An overview of the development and delivery of digital resources for distance education. Discussion covers the intellectual property issues affecting the use of copyrighted works in distance education, developing and delivering library resources online to a faculty and student population, and the future of digital information delivery and the impact of digital rights management (DRM) technologies and social networking.

Papers

• Teach Act Impact on Distance Education
• Ownership Policy Critique – Dartmouth College
• Fair Use Analysis
• Copyright Law, Teaching and Libraries in the Digital Age PowerPoint ~ Group Project
• Copyright Law, Teaching and Libraries in the Digital Age ~ Group Project

Reflection

The Library and Intellectual Property Issues in Distance Education course introduced me to the Teach Act, Copyright Law, and Fair Use Doctrine of the Copyright Law as they apply to teaching and learning in an online environment. Prior to taking this course, I had little knowledge of Copyright Law and its Fair Use Policy. Since taking this course, there have been multiple occasions where I’ve had to assess the use of copyrighted material for work projects against the four factors of the Fair Use Doctrine. Prior to this class, I would have dived right into the assignment, which could have possibly resulted in a lawsuit against my employer. The assignments contributed to my overall knowledge of Copyright Law by scaffolding from one assignment to the next. The assignments allowed me to analyze and assess scenarios against policies within distance education settings which I am now able to do as a regular part of my job.