Copyright

Today, I learned a bit about copyrights...and found that there are many people not paying attention to this stuff. This was the best of the sites that I visited. It contains a nice little chart to help you figure out just how legal you really are. Cathy Newsome put together a nice writing about the fair use for educators and copyrights
Her writing got me to thinking about some things that I've seen and done since starting teaching. I've also seen that teachers will be prosecuted for infringing on these rights. Just because we teach doesn't give us the ability to misuse the work of others. In the past, I've requested permission to use things in my class and have had no issues. Most people seem quite happy to have their work known by as many people as they can. Ask permission, give credit and keep on the right side of copyrights. It's not as difficult as it seems and does allow for those "wow, that's cool, I'll show the kids" sort of things.
Just something to think about when you're planning your next year. How much questionable stuff do you have in your filing cabinet?