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Happy New Year! We're happy to report that we closed out the year with a successful roster of workshops, conferences and publications under our belts. All that combined brainpower continues to enhance our knowledge bank and secure the Sloan Consortium's reputation as the "go to" organization when it comes to online learning.Data culled from our website during 2005 indicates that within virtually each section, hits and unique visitors continue to climb. Overall traffic to our sites grew by nearly thirty percent, however, the real increase took place in how thoroughly we're engaging our visitors. They're clicking to more pages, signing up for more emails and checking out membership specifics. As for the Sloan-C View, this year we'll continue to deliver it as a monthly digest for our membership, along with a new (and very brief) mid-month update called the Sloan-C NOW. We're committed to helping you win the war on email, so we appreciate the time you take to read them. Thanks. Battles Continue Over 'Fair Use' Linda K. Enghagen, J.D. While the Kinko's course pack decision is almost fifteen years old, battles continue over the contours of fair use. Most recently, a group of publishers filed separate lawsuits against two Massachusetts copy shops. Boston based Gnomon Copy and Amherst based CopyCat stand accused of copyright infringement for allegedly reproducing copyright protected materials for academic course packs without obtaining necessary permissions and paying required royalties. The Massachusetts cases, filed in November of 2005, mimic the facts of Kinko's. The individual publishing companies (which includes Elsevier, Ltd., Pearson Education, Inc., Princeton University Press, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., SAGE Publications, Inc., Thomson Learning, Inc., the University of Chicago Press, the American Psychological Association, Houghton Mifflin Company, and Harvard Business School Publishing) claim their copyright protected materials were illegally reproduced for course packs to be used in college classes at local colleges and universities. Unless the publishers are wrong on the facts, it's hard to imagine how the copy shops will prevail. Kinko's already fought and lost this one. As a national franchise, Kinko's provided a highly visible target. Clearly, the willingness of the publishing companies to go to the trouble of pursuing smaller local shops means the battle isn't over. Even though the photocopying cases continue, photocopying is old news. The newest battleground over fair use involves e-reserves. This time it's not individual publishing companies but one of their trade associations, the Association of American Publishers (AAP), that is pursuing allegations of copyright infringement. By letter (to date, no lawsuit filed) the AAP notified the San Diego campus of the University of California that it believes their library's electronic reserves systems is little more than electronic course packs that, like their hard copy counterparts, constitute copyright infringement. (The AAP's position on e-reserves is explained on its web site (FAQ's: E-Reserves). Essentially, the AAP argues that e-reserves and printed course packs are legally identical. Consequently, since Kinko's established that permissions must be obtained and required royalties paid for hard copy course packs, the same is true when course packs take the form of electronic files. In a further attempt to advance their members' interests, along with the Association of American Universities, the Association of Research Libraries and the Association of American University Presses, the AAP just released Campus Copyright Rights and Responsibilities: A Basic Guide to Policy Considerations. While the AAP and individual publishing companies advance their interpretation of the proper application of fair use, others argue for greater latitude in its application. Undoubtedly, representatives of the University of California at San Diego believe their e-reserve system satisfies fair use. Looking beyond the significance of fair use to educational institutions, the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law takes an even broader view. In its recently released public policy, report entitled Will Fair Use Survive? Free Expression in the Age of Copyright Control, it makes the case that fair use is "crucial" not only to creative and educational undertakings but to the "free exchange of ideas" central to a democracy. Taking on what it characterizes as a "clearance culture," it calls on everyone to "bolster fair use and free expression." Perhaps it shouldn't surprise anyone that the battles continue. In the short span of thirty-two words, "The Congress shall have Power...To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries," the Constitution established a system in which the paramount goal of collective progress is fueled by the prospect of individual reward. It is a system wherein the greater good is advanced at a faster pace precisely because some individuals earn a living through their efforts. Tension is inherent in the design and its contours are inherently imprecise. Understood in this light, it can be seen for what it is - a battle over competing interests wherein everyone stands to lose if it is resolved with intractable absolutes.
Linda Enghagen, J.D. will be hosting Sloan-C's Copyright Compliance Online Workshop from February 22-March 1. She is an attorney and Associate Professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. It's Kickoff Time for this Year's Sloan-C Workshop Series Be sure and check out the 2006 roster of online workshops for the coming year. Each contains the latest and best in online learning methods and practices. If you are interested in inviting groups, be sure and check out our College Pass program - includes up to 15 attendees for each workshop in the series for under $2,000.
February 22 - March 1: Copyright Compliance for Online Educators Are you worried about copyright infringement? You're not the only one. In this workshop, Linda Enghagen, of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, will take you through one of the most pressing issues facing online educators today. You'll learn about the latest in copyright law and which issues you and your colleagues should be most aware of when delivering your online courses. Click here to learn more about this workshop, and to view a schedule of each of our 2006 Sloan-C workshops. Don't miss out on workshop companion publications, now available for purchase. Designed specifically to augment this course, these two publications are the perfect complement to the Copyright Compliance workshop. They also provide a convenient reference and permanent record for you and your colleagues. Copyright Compliance Made Simple - Six Rules for Course Design: Linda K. Enghagen, J.D. Copyright law may be complicated, but copyright compliance can be simple. This short pamphlet distills copyright law into six rules organized around how faculty members actually create and deliver courses. Whether in a traditional bricks and mortar class room, or via an online learning management system, these six rules guide you through the maze of copyright law in the information age. Each rule is followed by practical suggestions to make the process even easier. $2.99 each (5 unit minimum), Premium Members receive a 20% discount. Fair Use Guidelines for Educators - Compiled By Linda K. Enghagen, J.D. This publication - takes the mystery out of copyright law and its fair use rules. If you've been working under the hope (or misconception) that as long as the use is educational it's a fair use, this short book explains and simplifies the basic framework of copyright law and the fair use rules. In addition, this handy resource contains all the fair use guidelines, which while not laws themselves, offer concrete advice about the limits of fair use for using material from books and periodicals, music, off-air recording of broadcasts (i.e. copying TV programs), multimedia, distance learning, digital images and software. The entire manual, including the guidelines, is indexed for easy reference. $24.95 each, Premium Members receive a 20% discount. New: Sharable Content Objects The Academic ADL Co-Lab announces that the sharable content objects (SCOs) developed for a FIPSE grant for instructors teaching online are now available for Academic ADL Co-Lab partner review and academic use within the Creative Commons license. The repository enables searching, browsing and downloading for partners who request a user name and password. A list of the SCOs is at http://www.academiccolab.org/partners/SCOs.html. The Academic Co-Lab requests any feedback. Also, a new ADL Newsletter for Educators and Educational Researchers quarterly publication is now available. You can reach the initial issue and subscribe to future editions at http://www.academiccolab.org/newsletter/ADLnewsletter.html.
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The Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C), sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, is composed of institutions and organizations dedicated to continually improving the quality, scale, and breadth of their online programs, according to their own distinctive missions, so that education becomes a part of everyday life, accessible and affordable for anyone, anywhere, at any time, in a wide variety of disciplines. The Sloan-C View is published by Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C™). Responsibility for the contents rests with the authors and not with Sloan-C™. Copyright ©2005 by Sloan-C™. If you have a question or comment, would like to submit an article for publication, or would like to suggest an event to be listed on the Sloan-C View Calendar, please email publisher@sloan-c.org. Materials in the Sloan-C View, unless otherwise noted, may be distributed freely for educational purposes. However, if any materials are redistributed they must retain the copyright notice and use the proper citation. Kindly send an email to publisher@sloan-c.org indicating how you are using the material for distribution. Your privacy is important to us, you can view our privacy policy at www.sloan-c.org/aboutus/privacy.asp | ||||