Once you begin researching online, you'll be thrilled at how often you'll discover perfect photos, graphics, charts, and other materials to illustrate your projects.  But, even though it is easy to find, copy, and use these wonderful resources, you must follow specific standards for copyright and fair use.

For most projects that will only be used within the classroom, you will just need to properly cite your sources in your bibliography.  But, any project that will be viewed outside your classroom, or any project that is posted on the World Wide Web will need to follow more detailed guidelines for securing permission and giving credit to the sources used.  

If you plan to use any graphics you found online to illustrate ideas in  your project, you will first need to determine if they are copyrighted or not.  Some sites give permission for you to use their graphics in school projects.  If you don't see a notice giving you permission, take time to write to the author of the website explaining exactly which graphic you would like to use and how you plan to use it.  Then graciously ask for permission.  There are wonderful sites online to help you with this process.  In fact, Midlink Magazine has sample letters for students to use if they are requesting permission to use graphics or link to specific websites in their school projects. Click on the envelope below to view their outstanding sample letters. 

A template generator that produces e-mail letters for teachers or students to send, asking permission to use online materials can be found at the Landmark for Schools web site. 

Once you are ready to actually type your bibliography, you will want to use one of the following sources to find the most current recommendations for citing.  Yahooligans has a great section of specific guidelines organized by grade levels. Yahooligans Great Teacher Guides for Citing Online Resources. Or, you may choose to use the guidelines from Classroom Connect's Citing Internet Resources Guide.

If you are looking for official, detailed information you will want to visit the Modern Language Association site and click on the button labeled:  MLA Style.  Then click on "Frequently asked Questions about MLA Style."  You will find several questions with answers that outline the official guidelines for documenting resources from the World Wide Web. You may also use the MLA Style Sheet from Kingwood College.  For a site that creates MLA Style bibliographies for any type of media resource, visit NoodleBib.com.

The laws regarding fair use, copyright, and permission regarding internet resources are still being written. For the best current discussion of these issues, all teachers and many students will want to read Copyright in a Digital World
by Caroline McCullen, Instructional Technologist, SAS inSchool and Mary Musacchia, Legal Counsel, SAS Institute Inc. October 1999.  This article is a "must-read" for students as they begin to gather graphics and articles for any project.  It suggests that great online researchers always keep a word processing program open in the background while they are searching so they can copy critical information that will be needed for the bibliography upon completion of the project.

Additional Resources:

Midlink Magazine maintains a list of current resources for  internet copyright and fair use information on their Before You Post Your Work page.  

For a clear and concise discussion of this issue from the Consortium of College and University Media Centers, take time to read their excellent article,  Copyright in an Electronic Environment.

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