Michigan OER Virtual Summit

Open education has tremendous potential to build tailored resources that reflect the diverse experiences of students. In order for open education to meet its potential, creators must have access to the most current and relevant materials even when those materials are protected by copyright. Reliance on copyright exceptions such as fair use and fair dealing is critical for creating the most effective and inclusive materials.

In order to meet these needs we have developed a Code of Best Practices for Fair Use in Open Education. Building on interviews and focus groups with creators, publishers, and legal experts in the open education community, we have developed a resource that explains how fair use and fair dealing can empower educators and publishers to live up to our aspirations and build open resources based on pedagogy and inclusivity, unencumbered by legal uncertainty and anxiety.

This session introduces the Code and invites participants to explore the opportunities and challenges it creates for open education across the Michigan OER Network. We will lead an interactive discussion about the Code and walk through strategies for applying it to a variety of situations in creating and using OER. These will include common scenarios that are clearly permitted under fair use and fair dealing as well as edge cases that require special consideration.

Next, we will invite participants to share their own ideas and reflections on the amazing things they can do when empowered by fair use and fair dealing in OER and to discuss how the Code may or may not fit in their own practices. By grounding this discussion in the practices and concerns of participants we hope to make the Code more accessible as a resource and to make it more reflective of the needs of actual practitioners.