Scenario #1
A teacher in your school (who has a rowdy bunch of monsters) makes an agreement with them that they learn how to make power point presentations on sports, war, hunting, rock music, etc.. She lets them get graphics from anywhere on the Internet. (For example: Sports Illustrated, ESPN, DOD, and the Rock Music Hall of Fame) They make great presentations and become great kids. What are the copyright implications?

According to the Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia, these students might be in compliance. Since the students have done this assignment for school under the direction of their teacher, it would be considered directed student self-study, which is acceptable. However, they would have to credit their sources using the correct method of documenting it. As well, the credit must be given on every slide that something is used on. They also cannot have more than two copies of the project. As long as their teacher has made sure they have followed these guidelines, they shouldn't have any problems.

Scenario #2
You create a web link to the CBS David Letterman web page, the Right to Life page, and the Right to Choose web page on your school's home page. Your principal instructs you to remove them from the school links.

In this scenario, you are dealing more with ethics, rather than copyrights. Since I am the person who does our school's web page, I can speak from the perspective of Howard County Public Schools. As the web master, I am to have my principal monitor the school website and she has the final word on everything. I am at an elementary school and the sites listed in this scenario would be inappropriate for the age level of our students. However, two out of the three sites listed above are very political and could get the school involved in dealing with moral issues. The third site is to a late night television show that is meant for adults. Common sense should tell you that none of these sites would be appropriate links to place on a school-based web site. The web space that is provided to the schools in our county is to be used to promote the academic and social aspects of our schools. They are not to be used to discuss moral values or the latest top ten list.