Scenario #1:  Mrs. Urdvardy, a music teacher, downloads MP3 files from the Web and uses them to instruct her students in the various kinds of music.  She allows the students to copy the files and take them home, listen to them, and complete a worksheet.
   
        Mrs. Urdvardy doesn't have an easy job, so anything she can do to  make the class more interesting is worth her time.  Her latest idea of downloading MP3 files from the Web and having the students use the music to complete a worksheet sounds pretty good.  As long as she follows the guidelines of Fair Use she should be OK and not have to worry about infringing on the rights of the copyright holder(s).  Specifically, she needs to make sure she doesn't copy any more than 30 seconds  or 10% (whichever is less) of music and lyrics from a single musical work. She may use the copyrighted material for face-to-face student instruction and for directed student self-study. However, according to what I read about the fair use of multimedia projects, no more than two copies of the multimedia project can be made (one for the creator and one for the school's media center) and students cannot make their own copies of multimedia projects.  If the downloaded music is considered a multimedia project then she should not let them copy the music and take it home.


Scenario#2:  A teacher in your school (who has a really rowdy bunch of monsters) makes an agreement with them that they learn how to make Power Point presentations on sports, war, hunting, rock music, and such.  She lets them get graphics from anywhere on the Internet.  She recommends sites such as Sports Illustrated, ESPN, DOD, and the Rock and Roll Music Hall of Fame.  They make great presentations and become great kids.  What are the copyright implications?

        The copyright implications shouldn't even matter!  This teacher uses one assignment and turns "monsters" into "great" kids?  She should be awarded sainthood.  (What? That's her job? Oh. Well, then, she probably doesn't want to lose it over a copyright infringement)  

        The teacher is using the students' personal interests to motivate them to use the Internet to research their topic and prepare a presentation so that they can share it with their peers (and have the students meet Information Literacy Standards).  There are some Fair Use limitations to the amount of copyrighted graphics the students are allowed to copy of which she should be aware.  The Fair Use Guidelines limit the amount up to five photographs or illustrations by one person and no more than 15 images or 10% (whichever is less) of the photographs or illustrations from a single published work.  The guidelines also require that the copyrighted graphics be credited and display the copyright information.  There should also be a slide in the presentation that indicates that the graphics are included under the Fair Use exemption of copyright law and are restricted from further use.  Finally, the presentations cannot be reproduced or distributed for any other purposes other than those covered under the Fair Use guidelines without obtaining permission from all copyright owners.   Otherwise, the teacher should just sit back, enjoy the great presentations, and sleep well at night knowing that her little monsters are on their way to becoming great kids.