Some web sites freely grant
permission for schools to use graphics in educational projects, but some
do not, especially when projects leave the classroom for public viewing in
web pages or public performances. Since the law is
still being tested, when in doubt, it is always best to ask permission.
The letters below should help students with this writing task.
Choose the most appropriate phrases from one of the form letters below,
copy and paste your letter into an e-mail message, and mail it to the web
master. The Web master's e-mail address is usually found at the bottom of
the first page of a site.
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To Use a Graphic or Sound Clip
on your Web Page: To download
graphics or sounds from the Web, harvest them from a CD or other
source and display them on your Web Page. |
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To Use a Graphic or Sound Clip in Multimedia Projects:
Caution: Many educators claim
"fair use" when students save graphics from the Web and use them in
educational projects. As long as projects stay within your classroom,
you are often within your rights. However...Fair
Use Guidelines no longer apply if the project leaves your classroom.
You must get permission from the owner/creator of the graphic in
order to use it.
|
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To Link to a Web Site: Is it really necessary to get
permission to link to another site? In most
cases, it is probably NOT necessary IF you:
Clearly indicate that your link points to content created by
others. Be as specific as possible by giving the complete name of
the site/organization/author.
Do not include another web site within a frame. (i.e., your site's
navigation links are in the left hand frame and all main content is
on the right.) This makes it impossible for visitors to determine
the URL of the site, and it implies that you created the content.
There are lawsuits pending related to this scenario.
Check the site for any guidelines about links, copyright, or
permissions.
Play it
safe. If you're not sure, use the MidLink template and write for
permission.
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To Use a
Graphic or Sound Clip on an Educational Web Page
Dear
______________,
We are students at _______
School. We are creating an educational Web page, and we would like to
include the following image(s); sound(s) from (your web site;
CD-ROM; publication, etc.):
The file name(s) of the graphic(s) we wish to use is: ______.GIF;
_____.JPG. It is located at: http://__________ in Name of
publication or resource, etc.
Your graphic(s); sound(s) will be displayed on our educational
Web page as a resource for students and teachers. Our final product
will be on our school web site located at http://________. We intend to
honor your copyright by giving your organization full credit and citing
you as one of our sources.
Please respond to this
message and let us know if we may use this image in our project. Our
deadline for publication is ________, and we would appreciate your quick
response. If we do not hear from you by ________, we will include your
graphic, along with the proper citation. If at any time in the future
you should object, we will gladly remove the graphic from our Web at
your request.
Yours truly,
_______________
Name, e-mail address
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To
Use a Graphic or Sound Clip in Multimedia Projects for Display Outside
the Classroom
Dear ______________,
We are students at _______
School. We are creating a (research project; contest entry; electronic
portfolio, etc.) and would like to use the following images(s); sound
clip(s) from (your web site; CD-ROM; publication, etc.):
File name(s) of graphic: ____.GIFs - Location of web page
http://______.
Your graphic(s) will be displayed in our educational project for free
use by students and teachers. Our final product will be used
___________ (be as specific as possible). We intend to honor your
copyright by giving your organization full credit and citing you as one
of our sources.
Please respond to this
message and let us know if we may use this image in our project. Our
deadline for publication is ________, and we would appreciate your quick
response.
Yours truly,
_______________
Name, e-mail address
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To
Link to a Web Page
Dear _____________,
We are students at _______
School. We would like to place a link to your site (in our
multimedia project; in our educational web page at http://____________;
in our _________contest entry). Your link will be included in a
free resource for students and teachers. Our final product will be in
the form of a (web page, multimedia project, contest entry, etc.)
We will honor your copyright by giving your organization full credit and
citing you as one of our sources.
We wanted to let you know
how we will be using your material in our educational project. Thank you
for creating such a useful resource.
Yours truly,
_______________
Name, e-mail address