News & Blog

Summer is nearly here! As faculty work to develop online courses for the summer semester, questions may arise about copyright and fair use. Common questions about online classes and copyright include:

• Can I scan a book chapter and post it in Canvas?
• Am I allowed to add a PDF journal article to Canvas that I downloaded from UCF Libraries?
• Can I link to a YouTube video?

Whether you have a question about journal articles, e-books, or streaming video, UCF Libraries is available to assist you with any copyright, fair use, or licensing questions that you have.

The Office of Scholarly Communication offers a variety of resources and services to help you navigate the complexities of copyright in your online courses. Visit the website for more information about copyright: https://library.ucf.edu/about/departments/scholarly-communication/

If you have questions about copyright and fair use for your summer courses visit UCF Libraries Guide on Academic Resources during COVID-19 Situation: https://guides.ucf.edu/covid/home. It provides excellent resources and copyright clarifications to aid you in this process.

If you have additional questions, Scholarly Communication Librarian, Sarah Norris, is available to provide general guidance to faculty and staff about copyright and transitioning their classes online. For the month of May, Sarah is providing online office hours, Tuesday & Thursday, 11:30 a.m. – Noon. You can also reach her through email or phone.

University of Central Florida, through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), has established the Federal Emergency Grant to support students negatively impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Technology is one of the items for which CARES Act funds can be used. Two specific examples are new technology for online classes and the purchase of laptop/desktop as a result to classes moving online due to COVID-19.

Students who need assistance meeting these unexpected financial challenges should apply for CARES Act funds by submitting a federal emergency grant request.

The form to apply for funds is available at https://ucf.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_86rDdVwFnV1Rj0h

Application window will be open until 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, May 19. Assistance is subject to availability of funds, and applicants must meet eligibility criteria.

UCF has a CARES Act FAQ at https://www.ucf.edu/coronavirus/question/how-can-students-apply-for-cares-act-funds/.

For additional resources, the UCF CARES office provides assistance in connecting students with mental health services, support groups, sexual and domestic violence support, and concerns about wellbeing such as financial and housing crises.

Library Support for Course Materials

Whether you’re teaching online or face-to-face, UCF Libraries provide access to a variety of materials that can support your courses — from journal articles, streaming videos, e-books, and more. But, these materials have a wide variety of access models that are not always evident. In this session, UCF Librarians Sara Duff, Rich Gause, and Sarah Norris will share how to navigate the plethora of resources available to support teaching and learning with a particular emphasis on resources that can be used during remote teaching during emergency circumstances. How to access these materials and ensure they’re accessible by students, as well as copyright and licensing will also be explored in this session. 

Faculty Session: May 28, 2020 – 1:00 -2:00 pm

Copyright and Student Works

Copyright is an important part of student works. As UCF students, they not only use copyrighted content but are also creators of copyrighted content. That’s because when a student writes a research paper, thesis, or dissertation, creates a presentation, or produces any other original and creative work, students own the copyright of those works — without having to apply for copyright. In this session, we will explore copyright as it applies to students and will provide context and recommendations that faculty can use to help foster students to be good stewards of copyright and intellectual property and to aid in ensuring student copyright is protected. 

Open to all: June 16, 2020 – 1:00 – 2:00 pm

Sarah Norris, UCF Scholarly Communications Librarian, and Rich Gause, UCF Government Information Librarian, will provide a session on Copyright, Fair Use, and Online Teaching During Emergency Circumstances. This session will be held via Zoom on Thursday, May 7^th at 3 p.m. All UCF faculty are welcome to attend. The session will provide a bit of information on fair use (exploring the four fair use factors in depth) and other components that will be helpful as you consider the materials you need when teaching online. 

Specific copyright and fair use questions can be directed to Sarah Norris and Rich Gause ahead of time or during the session. 

Zoom Link for the online session

See also our online guide “Academic Resources during COVID-19 Situation: Copyright Clarifications”

Streaming videos are a great way to add engaging content to online courses in a broad range of fields beyond film studies. Everyone from Sociology and LGTBQIA+ Studies to Environmental Studies and Mental Health Counseling can benefit. Luckily, UCF Libraries has many options for you. Today we are featuring Swank Digital Campus.

Swank Digital Campus offers many popular films and current releases as well as HBO documentaries and TV series for use in online courses. UCF currently has 143 Swank films licensed for use including recent releases like Bombshell (2019) and The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019) to classics such as Cool Hand Luke (1967) and Greed (1924). Links for these films can be sent the same business day as the request.

If none of those great films fits your course, you can search the full Swank catalog for specific films or browse by discipline. New film requests generally have a 24-48 hour turn around time. Please note that some films and TV shows are listed as needing “additional fees & time.” These requests need special permissions for the extra cost and have a turn around time of 4-6 weeks.  

If you see anything you like, submit a request through the form on our guide.