Case+63+-+Ms.+Mac's+Movie+Dilemma

Ms. E. McSeesquared ‘s Challenge A High School Science teacher is attempting to personalize the great scientists for her students. The students have viewed the teacher’s personal copy of the PBS documentary “Einstein’s Big Idea,” in class. The students are asked to take notes during the viewing. Ms. “Mac” has created a Wiki that presents a page a piece for 7 of the scientists discussed in the movie. Each student must participate on the Wiki at least 10 times with original thought and for at least 4 of the 7 scientists. Policing and/or correcting others work will be considered favorably according to the rubric, but will not contribute to the 10 original postings. The opening discussion for each scientist presents a situation that the scientists found themselves in during the course of their work, as seen in the movie, and asks students to relate, investigate or hypothesize an alternate resolution. Friday morning Ms. Mac receives an e-mail asking her to meet with her supervisor on her prep. When Ms. Mac arrives she finds her department head and the technology director waiting. Her supervisor informs her that IT came upon her wiki while doing a network review and it raised some red flags. The Tech director was concerned about the use of a copywritten work being accessed through the schools site and that the published nature of the wiki, which includes summaries of the movie, makes it an additional copywrite violation.

//Ms. Mac is quick to inform her supervisors that the video was watched in the classroom and is not available for viewing online. The teacher’s website offers a link to the publisher’s site where the students can view trailers for the film or even purchase their own copy, but no illegal downloading has taken place. She sites fair use guidelines, 1 and 4 claiming that the sole purpose for the viewing was educational in nature and the online dialog and website presentation might encourage a new market for the product rather than discouraging it. Ms. Mac reassures the worried administrators that the “summaries,” she provided on the wiki were based on a very small percentage of the content presented in the video. They were based upon historical information available from any number of sources and no information was lifted directly from the production without proper citation. She cited fair use guidelines 2 & 3 claiming that the program was educational in nature and students were asked to discuss brief moments as presented in a feature length film.//
 * //Is she right?//**