Reproduce more than 10% of this post...go on, I dare you.

Like Elizabeth and Nikki, I have had similar fears regarding fair use, copyright, and students possibly running amuck with images, videos, or music that has not been used with permission. Consequently, as a result of these fears, I have traversed through the three methods of restriction Westbrook outlines pertaining to students and visual production: simple exclusion from creating or using visuals in favor of honing critical reading or viewing abilities through an analytical essay (462); prompts involving hypothetical scenarios and students imagining or describing in alphabetic texts some visual creation that never comes to fruition (462); and the creation of multimedia texts that are purely for the classroom setting and not for dissemination outside of the academy (463). Interestingly enough, I still have students write an analytical essay (I’m actually in the middle of that particular unit right now), and yes I do use the piece to foster critical thinking among the students, but I’m of the disposition that having students view examples of visual rhetoric and engaging with images (whether static or in motion) in a meaningful way will allow them to be more aware of the rhetorical choices they make when constructing the collaborative multi-genre piece at the end of the term (see my February 13th posting for a description of this assignment). Although Westbrook doesn’t seem to demean the analytical essay, he clearly feels it is not enough if it is constructed in isolation (i.e. not tied to future assignments or pedagogical goals)…

But therein lays the paradox Westbrook is trying to illuminate, that the capitalist/consumerist structure of our society forces isolationism upon us and our students, even when we attempt multimedia projects. It is frustrating when I tell my students that what they learn (or hopefully learn) in my classroom can be utilized in their future careers and then have to tell them not to show or post their projects to outside entities. In other words, they know something is rotten. I will say that the BSU library links helped me understand some of the subtleties of using copyrighted materials and fair use (indeed, many of my fears stemmed from receiving various pieces of information and not knowing which tidbits were correct), but even these links seem to reaffirm that the use of copyright materials is restricted to academic settings and secure networks. *Sigh*