This week we covered a variety of topics in class, one of which particularly caught my interest, copyright law. Copyright immediately applies to all material created and there is no process or steps one must take to do so, it is automatic. Due to the internet and how accessible everything is nowadays; it can be difficult to know what you can and cannot use without infringing upon a copyright law. However, there are certain exceptions (luckily!) for educators and education institutions which allow the use of most materials found on the internet.
Under the Copyright Act and Fair Dealing in Canada (Bill C-11) it states that,
“An educational institution or a person acting under its authority for the purposes of education or training on its premises may reproduce, communicate by telecommunication and perform for students, works that are available on the Internet, subject to various conditions.”
It is important to follow copyright law for respect of the person whom made the material and also due to the fact that it is considered an illegal offence and you could be held liable to pay for damages to the copyright owner. Fortunately, there have been various sites made as online resources for educators to have access to all kinds of worksheets and classroom supplements. A very good example is the site Teachers Pay Teachers . I have spent some time navigating through the webpage and was amazed at how much material there is! The site is also well organized, for example you can search for material by grade and subject matter, or both simultaneously! A site all potential teachers should go check out.
Feature photo by Scott Graham on Unsplash
