Privacy Issues

The use of video inside and outside of the classroom brings up some intellectual property and privacy issues that need to be addressed with students, parents, teachers, and outside community members who agree to be videotaped for an assignment.  For example, if video shot in the classroom is going to be posted to the Internet, a parental consent needs to be signed prior to videotaping and posting.  It’s a similar idea to acceptable use forms for student Internet use in schools.  Without the consent of the parent, students simply cannot be videotaped if the video is going to be posted for the public to view such as on YouTube.  Also, students need to understand that they cannot simply go out and shoot video of people and places without first asking for the appropriate permissions and release forms.  If the goal of the lesson is to shoot an interview that will ultimately be posted on YouTube and the permissions are not signed in advance, the full potential of the lesson cannot be realized (Caves, 2009).