I have been reading David Warlick’s “Raw Materials for the Mind.” I like his work and would recommend this resource. We share many beliefs concerning the educational potential of Internet resources and have a similar model that involves finding, evaluating, harvesting, processing, and applying online information.
I must admit some of the specific suggestions for “harvesting” online information give me some trouble. To me harvesting can mean a range of things describing both note taking and wholesale copying. In the writing I do, I stay away from describing resources and techniques for “whacking” web pages and sites. Warlick is careful to acknowledge that he is not a lawyer or expert on Internet copyright issues and he does suggest that you should contact web authors for permission (Landmark-Project permission form). He lists some of the situations that might encourage “harvesting” – e.g., classroom computer does not have Internet access, conference presentation may not involve Internet access. Still, most of the suggestions seem about convenience. Authors seem reluctant to say – DO NOT COPY MATERIAL UNLESS YOU HAVE PERMISSION. It always seems like authors are hedging. To me, the message for teachers is unclear.
Any thoughts on this situation?
