This week I got an email from a follower of this blog that someone on "Teachers Pay Teachers" was selling a lesson that used my blog imagery without credit. When I contacted "Abby" (Not really her name), she claimed she just found it on the internet, so she thought it was okay to use. Yet she labeled it as "cartoon drawing project I did with my 7th grade students." She didn't understand why I would be upset. My blog post is below and clicking the image will take you to the actual post.
Even my lesson was inspired by another artist who I do credit and link back to his work, Michael Paulus. I did not however use his imagery. I could have claimed I came up with the idea all by myself, but I didn't. Michael's work was the seed for this art lesson. Attribution is just the right thing to do! "Do unto others..."
Even my lesson was inspired by another artist who I do credit and link back to his work, Michael Paulus. I did not however use his imagery. I could have claimed I came up with the idea all by myself, but I didn't. Michael's work was the seed for this art lesson. Attribution is just the right thing to do! "Do unto others..."
As an art teacher, we should be the most knowledgeable people about the fair use of images. It's important to teach our own students about it. We speak about plagiarism when students write reports, but do we also cover the idea of "fair use?" Here's a good short video on the topic:
A more detailed FREE online course is available HERE. "This is a course on copyright law offered for free through Harvard Law Berkman Center. All the lectures are avaliable free on YouTube. It was set up by Sheppard Fairey after the Hope (Obama photo) copyright lawsuit." (Thanks Remy E. for this info!)
I put a lot of content on this blog to help other art teachers. I have nearly 30 years of classroom experience. I have a lot to offer new teachers, and for seasoned teachers who may want to try something new or in a different way. I am most inspired by my State and National Art Ed Conventions. When I see what others do, it inspires me to try new things, even after 30 years!
I am honored if part of what I do makes it into your classroom and helps students grow. I hope that credit is given, (Like when using images and not cutting off any attributes like my authorship or webpage address if it is within the image) but in a classroom setting I am not going to lose one minute sleep if something is not properly attributed in that setting. HERE is my copyright policy for this blog.
You probably know too that I have written more than 50 books, many of which are meant for use in the art classroom. You can see most of them at Firehouse Publications. If you like the content I post here, these books provide a ton more, AND purchases help support my hard work. When you buy direct, you get 30% off the retail price, and most give you copy-rights to make tons of copies for your own students!
However, if someone uses my material for their own profit or to promote their own blog without permission and attribution, that, I do have a problem with. Most people though "do the right thing." As a newbie teacher, I probably made similar mistakes, taking shortcuts, etc. We learn as we grow. I also think though, we should take at least one day of our teaching year to speak about this issue with our students. If you know of another good yet short video on this topic, please comment below.
As for "Abby," her store is closed. I heard from others, they too found their imagery in "her products." I appreciate all who follow this blog and the person who alerted me to the intellectual theft.
I put a lot of content on this blog to help other art teachers. I have nearly 30 years of classroom experience. I have a lot to offer new teachers, and for seasoned teachers who may want to try something new or in a different way. I am most inspired by my State and National Art Ed Conventions. When I see what others do, it inspires me to try new things, even after 30 years!
I am honored if part of what I do makes it into your classroom and helps students grow. I hope that credit is given, (Like when using images and not cutting off any attributes like my authorship or webpage address if it is within the image) but in a classroom setting I am not going to lose one minute sleep if something is not properly attributed in that setting. HERE is my copyright policy for this blog.
You probably know too that I have written more than 50 books, many of which are meant for use in the art classroom. You can see most of them at Firehouse Publications. If you like the content I post here, these books provide a ton more, AND purchases help support my hard work. When you buy direct, you get 30% off the retail price, and most give you copy-rights to make tons of copies for your own students!
However, if someone uses my material for their own profit or to promote their own blog without permission and attribution, that, I do have a problem with. Most people though "do the right thing." As a newbie teacher, I probably made similar mistakes, taking shortcuts, etc. We learn as we grow. I also think though, we should take at least one day of our teaching year to speak about this issue with our students. If you know of another good yet short video on this topic, please comment below.
As for "Abby," her store is closed. I heard from others, they too found their imagery in "her products." I appreciate all who follow this blog and the person who alerted me to the intellectual theft.
PS: I just learned that published author and art teacher, Ian Sands did a similar lesson with his students back in 2010! He's pretty awesome and uses the TAB method of art education in his high school classes.
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