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Free and Legal: Copyright Advice and Training OnlineAs mentioned in the "Copyright and Information Security" article in this issue, October is "National cyber security awareness month." In keeping with that theme, we decided to reprint this article from the May 2007 issue of Benchmarks Online. - Ed. By Dr. Elizabeth Hinkle-Turner, Student Computing Services ManagerI n my capacity of manager of computer-based training here at UNT, I do not only administer our SkillSoft training but also seek out other online training resources for a variety of topics relevant to the UNT community which are not available through our SkillSoft service. This article which features online offerings about copyright, is a continuation of my series on 'free CBT' which also includes past articles about Adobe Education Online here and here) and the many online titles available at the UNT Library.Personally, I encounter and deal with copyright and 'fair use' issues nearly every day, not only in my job here at UNT but also in my 'other life' as an author and composer. One of the final things I did when completing my book was run it through turnitin.com to make absolutely sure that I had not unwittingly paraphrased content in my field without proper acknowledgement. I have also had to ask permission of record companies before in order to use samples from existing entertainment in my music and video work. A recent story on National Public Radio about fair use recommended the Stanford Copyright and Fair Use Center as an important resource about copyright issues.
I went to this website and found a wealth of materials providing background, training, commentary, and advice on copyright and fair use of copyrighted materials. The site provides valuable core documentation such as the U.S. Constitution and the full contents of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization Act (TEACH) which should form the foundation of any research on copyright and fair use that a UNT community member is doing in connection with his or her work here at the university. Other helpful links from the home page include the Copyright Crash Course originating from the University of Texas which explains a lot of confusing copyright issues in 'plain English'. So, next time you have questions about anything regarding copyrighted materials especially as they relate to 'fair use' in education, this is definitely the site to check out! Consider it an important part of your 'free CBT' resources!
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