IT_Guy

Wheras it takes a royal wedding to distract us ahem......

The hard part is getting the other guys sent emails into the sent items box - only way I can think of is to Bcc each other on all emails and add a rule moving the emails into the sent items box.

The page at DofE Link seems to be asking for volunteers to host the files, I think their getting desperate!

If you think the comments are bad you should see the PM's I'm getting! The problem with the Copyright law as it relates to Schools is I don't think it's really been tested in court - or I can't find any information on any cases, please feel free to let me know of any - and any advisors will always err on the side of caution, so we end up with draconian policies not related to actual law. A similar approach that leads to school trips being banned and pupils wearing goggles when playing conkers. (Yes, I know it was a joke by the Headmaster) I wouldn't presume to know what would be acceptable in a court of law myself but I'll follow the relevant Law on Fair dealing in Good Faith and throw myself on the mercy of the court when I get grassed up to the Copyright Police. They'll never take me alive!!

I got the email as well. The link on the email goes to a DofE page saying: "The Department is making all 3,500 15min Teachers TV programmes and related content freely available on a non-exclusive basis. In return for undertaking to stream the programmes free at the point of use, you would be allowed to use the Teachers TV content commercially in the UK and in other countries. A full copy of the distribution agreement will be available to download. Details of where you can access digital versions of the programmes will be published here shortly. If you are interested in entering into an agreement with the Department and the National Archives to distribute the Teachers TV archive please contact [email protected] for more details." So as long as someone agrees to distribute/host the programmes its looking good.

OK, when I said "I'm not a lawyer and I suspect your not either" I was trying to be nice, I'll be a little more blunt. I wasn't asking for opinions from random strangers on the internet, I was asking for the Law relating to Copyright. I've found the relevant documents so if you don't mind I'll use them as my reliable source rather than your sweeping generalisation that copying is an offence. The fact that I was requesting the source documents would suggest that I fall into the 'checking the facts' point of view rather than either of the points of view you have created. Do you look after Health and Safety in your school? You should, you'd fit right in.

I wasn't suggesting that all the exceptions were relevant, I was merely suggesting that your statement that "Copyright law is standard, copying a file etc... without copyright permission is an offence" highlights your ignorance of the Law rather than mine.

Wow, very general statement there, what if I'm copying it for; i. Private and research study purposes. ii. Performance, copies or lending for educational purposes. iii. Criticism and news reporting. iv. Incidental inclusion. v. Copies and lending by librarians. vi. Acts for the purposes of Royal Commissions, statutory enquiries, judicial proceedings and parliamentary purposes. vii. Recording of broadcasts for the purposes of listening to, or viewing, at a more convenient time. This is known as “time shifting”. viii. Producing a back up copy for personal use of a computer program. ix. Playing sound recording for a non profit making organisation, club or society. (Profit making organisations and individuals should obtain a license from PRS for Music.) My point is that I'm not a lawyer and I suspect your not either, I'm not going to remove swathes of material being used for non-profit educational purposes so lightly. I have enough to do without setting myself up as the Data police, I'm here to provide a service to the Teaching staff, not hinder them. I don't 'own' the Data on the servers, my role is to maintain the safety and security of that Data, not police it. It reminds me of our Caretaker who will claim Health and Safety 'Law' prohibits something when on closer inspection it turns out that firstly, He couldn't be bothered to do it and secondly, he enjoys the power trip on the Teachers. If by chance we (as a school) do overstep the rules on Fair Dealing I suspect Sony will send us a letter 'Stating that the infringement must stop' as it suggests in the Copyright Act rather than dragging me off kicking and screaming to the local nick. Then again, I've heard stories about Sony.....

My wife was recently made redundant from a secondary school and we are many thousands of pounds richer and the school/taxpayer subsequently poorer due to a basic lack of understanding of employment law by the schools SLT, the expansion of academies is likely to exacerbate these type of issues as they are no longer under the Councils 'wing'. A Head lacking flexibility sounds like a Leadership rather than a Management issue. Teachers may see themselves as a special case as do most professionals but a Manager has basically the same responsibilities in a factory, on an oil rig or in a school.

So the bottom line is that I am not resposible by an act of law but might be responsible by an act of delegation via school policies or procedures. Our school policies state that everyone is responsible for ensuring copyrights on material they use are adhered to. Interesting link here by the way: UK Copyright Law Section 8 on Fair dealing is quite interesting. I accept I'm responsible - as my Job description states - for the safety and security of the data stored within the school but I draw the line on being the Copyright police - Sony don't pay me enough! As for the 'manglement' you refer to, I must admit to being surprised at the employment of people who are unqualified as managers. My previous (private sector) employer wouldn't dream of employing a mid-level manager (such as a headmaster) without a MBA and I was pleased to see my son's new headmaster was actually qualified as such.

My schools policies aren't 'Law', localzuk stated 'in the eyes of the law', I'm just looking for the 'Law' - not having much luck so far. I've found lots of info on Copyright 'Fair dealing' and whats allowed and plenty on data protection but nothing to suggest that I'm responsible for another adults actions - as you state their ignorance is no excuse - and surely it shouldn't pass the buck onto me! The bottom line is that I don't fancy setting myself up as the school thought police, its such a cliche!

Anyone know where I would find the actual legal information relating to this? Am I really 'legally responsible' for 'everything' on my servers? How many years am I looking at if a teacher uploads the latest lady gaga track to their dropbox!

36.2% of the British or English?

Its a farce that two countries with their own parliaments (Wales and Scotland) hold sway over the English, the English have voted decisively for a Conservative government. I believe its time for a referendum on Scottish and Welsh devolution.

Surely basic essay writing requires the citing of references, teachers need to be aware of plagiarism and the (very easy) ways of checking for it. I do think Wikipedia is getting a raw deal on this thread, no source can be trusted in isolation but the ability to hyperlink between articles brings subjects such as history and science to life in a way that no book ever could. As for accuracy, as an example take a look at the 'adolf hitler' article on wikipedia, it has over 300 footnotes, over 50 references and an ongoing discussion tab. You can even browse the articles history to check every single change made to it since its creation in 2001. As for the school library, I suspect it will be replaced by ebooks once the readers are cheap enough, its already happening in California I believe. Save a tree, read a ebook!