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6 Nov 2008
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aldanaVenadoTuerto
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Uffff, this is a sticky one!!!! I wouldn�t say it is stolen, really, because if you want to do a song; let�s say: New York New York by Frank Sinatra and then I also have the same idea to use the same song...our activities will probably look similar. And mind you, THE LYRICS will be exactly the same!!!! You know what I mean?
I�ve seen both things and the activities are not the same....I think it was just a coincidence!!!�
It is really sad when people steal somebody else�s work...but i think, as many colleagues have already said in this place, we should try to tone down our suspicion. I wouldn�t like to be blamed of stealing by someone who is not REALLY sure....these words really hurt and we should be careful.
However, if we do think somebody stole something and it is ABSOLUTELY OBVIOUS that somebody blatantly took someone else�s worksheet or that they copied and pasted from a webpage on the internet, then we should follow the proper course of action: report it to Victor and leave a message...that�s all we can do.
Let�s try not to point fingers at each other anymore. It really is exhausting and time consuming!!!!
BTW, this is my personal opinion....so if you have something to say about this, you are more than welcome to enter the debate. We should listen to all sides of the same coin before passing judgement.
 LOVE AND PEACE EVERYONE!!!!!�  |
6 Nov 2008
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aldanaVenadoTuerto
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MORE HEARTS TO SPREAD THE LOOOOOOVE
LET THERE BE PEACE AND HONESTY AMONG ALL OF US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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6 Nov 2008
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gloriawpai
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I totally agree with Aldana!!
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6 Nov 2008
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mena22
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Hi Ladybird! I�ve looked at both worksheets and if I were the teacher I would have written the source and between brackets "adapted". As the exercises are different (most of them), I would think it reasonable just to say inspired by...
Have a nice evening!  |
6 Nov 2008
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GIOVANNI
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Hi Ladybird:
I�ve looked at both worksheets as well and would agree with Aldana that both worksheets are not the same, although they do look alike. I think over the years, we have all accumulated hundreds of worksheets and stories and sometimes it is hard to remember where they have come from. Sometimes, when the story is just a couple of paragraphs and was written years ago, it is even hard to remember if we were inspired by another story or it is our own creation.
Like others have said, it would be great to make a note on our worksheets if we know the source came from elsewhere.
As noted above.
LET THERE BE PEACE AND HONESTY AMONG ALL OF US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
6 Nov 2008
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6 Nov 2008
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blizzard1
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Hello Ladybird, aldana
I�ve also looked at both worksheets. They do look pretty similar, but I agree with aldana and Giovanni�s viewpoint. One cannot avoid being inspired by others work. Mena22�s idea about writting "inspired" and the source on the ws sounds like a good solution to avoid misunderstandings.
LET THERE BE PEACE AND HONESTY AMONG ALL OF US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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6 Nov 2008
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crisholm
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With all this talk about stolen worksheets and copyright talk, I started thinking ... Well, what about our lyrics worksheets? We all use songs in the classroom (and probably show some videos from YouTube...) Of course the use is strictly educational, we are not making any money out of it, but still - the matter is a bit blurred in what authorship is regarded, to say the least. I think they put up with us teachers because in a way we are a kind of promotion, but I wouldn�t push it too far, anyway!
(Just musing...) |
6 Nov 2008
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aldanaVenadoTuerto
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Dear Ladybird and crisholm,
I think we are getting way off topic here. I don�t think using a song for a listening comprehension would infringe any copyright laws, because we are not doing it for economic purposes. Sure! If you have your own institute you DO make money out of your work, but so do the other teachers who work in schools or the places of the sort, but that doesn�t mean that they are making a profit OUT OF THE LYRICS. �We teachers, as in any other profession, work to earn a livelihood....using material in the classroom that is not of our own authorship is simply called MAKING A LIVING.
Be honest, who here produces the material they use in the classroom entirely from scrach? Do you really sit down to write articles and texts to use with students? I think we all take things to use as context in which to base our activities. The same happens with the songs. But I don�t think that means we are making a profit out of it, because we are not selling the material, or promoting our teaching simply based on that material alone, e.g. We are not publising anything.
The problem arises when people take things such as lyrics or articles and post them in a website like this one that, in spite of being intended for educational purposes only, publishes the material for many people to use and they sometimes do not site the source. THERE you have a copyright problem. I think it is just fine to use texts, articles and even songs to inspire your worksheets and activities, provided you ALWAYS mention the source whenever is possible.�
I hope I didn�t lose you "in translation" , because it is a very difficult topic to deal with; especially in a second language.
Cheers everyone!!!!�  |
7 Nov 2008
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crisholm
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In the matter of using songs, I think we are all equal - I mean, we all infringe copyright laws. The fact is I expected students to be far more into it than they are - I remember being a teen and writing down the lyrics from random listenings on the radio! Some students seem to be quite content being cool without knowing what they are listening to. There are some funny videos on YouTube referring to this, even a famous commercial (difficult to use in our lessons!)
Copyright is another matter. I work for a state school, but I really think there are no differences in this issue - both school and private language school teachers are infringing copyright laws (highly controversial as to distribution aspects, by the way...)when we publish lyrics OR articles, short stories, etc. written by others. We all do it in the privacy of our classrooms, but publishing the same materials on the web is something different.
So I feel some people should not feel so edgy about songs worksheets, after all! |
7 Nov 2008
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aldanaVenadoTuerto
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You are absolutely right�crisholm...i totally agree with you...i guess that was what i was �trying to say in my previous posts.
I guess in the realm of the�world�wide web anything is possible and accepted, so you have to use your own common sense and judge for yourself to discern what is actually GOOD or BAD, right?
wELL, PEOPLE....i�m off to bed...it�s been a really exhausting day!!! Farewell to you all!!!
BYE
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7 Nov 2008
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