Finally, after many years, we have some clarity in Canada about how we as educators can make fair and appropriate use of materials that we find on the Web for our learners.

Many educators have blithely relied on “Fair Use” (the USA term, more accurately known as “Fair Dealing” in Canada) as an excuse to copy parts of materials for educational use. The original Fair Dealing provision was designed for paper copies and it was only in 2012 that the Supreme Court of Canada finally made a ruling on Fair Dealing as it pertains to electronic materials, and parliament finally amended the Copyright Act in 2013. And it’s a pretty good one.

Now, fair warning: I am not a lawyer and this is not an official legal opinion. The comments that follow are based on writings in this area and consultations with colleagues. If you want an official ruling, fire up your own lawyers.

(… read more…) – this covers the several ways that you can include images in your cases.