Exciting news on the educational front! Yesterday I received my acceptance email to edX’s Copyright course.
What the heck is edX?
EdX is the platform through which MIT and Harvard deliver online, open courseware education for free. Berkeley has joined as well. I have been lurking for awhile for Biology or Chemistry coursework but have not yet taken a class.
CopyrightX
In late December I began reviewing course options for 2013 at edX and Coursera (another free learning platform). I was incredibly excited to see a call for applications to the Copyright pilot course. To be perfectly frank, I did not expect my application to be accepted. This course would be limited to 500 participants. For comparison, some edX courses have seen initial enrollments of 50,000+. You can see a description of the course at HLS1x: Copyright
Copyright in Genealogy
I have read extensively, attended lectures and participated in webinars on copyright in an effort to understand this complex subject. As a blogger I have certain rights to the content I create for this, and my personal genealogy websites. As a genealogist, I have no copyright to genealogical facts. But, as a genealogist and a paid researcher I retain certain rights to my analysis of genealogical facts.
The real heart of the matter for most of us in this field, though, is photographs. Collections of family photos we share help our genealogy come alive. We have less rights of use for those photos than I think many of us realize. I hope to utilize this course to keep myself on the right side of that line. But I also hope to bring value to my clients through a better understanding of this important topic.
Wish me luck,
Rorey Cathcart
Copyright (c) 17 January 2013
URL for this post is: http://whohunter.com/accepted
Citation for this post:
Rorey Cathcart, “Accepted” posted 17 January 2013, The Who Hunter, (http://www.whohunter.com accessed [DD Month YYYY])
C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S on your acceptance into this course! This course sounds very interesting and I certainly understood why you’re taking it. I look forward to hearing more about your discoveries with the completion of this course!
Liv,
I’ve done my best to learn what I can on this topic. I’ll admit though, the pretest we had to take once accepted to the course was pretty intimidating. Moving from theory to application of copyright law forces me to realize how nuanced the topic can be. Thanks for the well wishes!
Rorey
Hi Rorey- it’s so nice to meet you. Although I now live in NC, all my family lines ended up in Orange and Ulster County in NY…I’ve spent lots of time at the OCGSNY library….I have a couple of brick walls, 1 in Orange County, 1 in Ulster County and have been trying to decide whether or not to utilize professional help, so it’s nice to find someone that’s based right in that area, although I wonder whether you’d have time in 2013. Ambitious goals, but worthwhile ones!
Thank you Judi, for stopping by and taking the time to comment.
I love OCGSNY’s research library! It is one of the best, most organized, local repositories I’ve had the pleasure to work in. I’ve been meaning to highlight the society in a blog post. Thanks for the reminder.
I certainly understand your dilemma. My personal genealogy is spread all over the eastern half of the United States: TX, LA, MS, MO, SC, PA and IL. The frustration of not being near the area you need to research in is one of the reasons I hung out my shingle. I hope to help folks like you by being your ‘feet on the street’. Please be aware I offer a free initial consultation. I’d love the opportunity to discuss your projects.
Email: rac@whohunter.com
Phone: 845-325-5978
Something to consider, in case you are not familiar, OCGSNY has a Yahoo group where you can pose questions about your local research. OCGSNY also has a correspondence committee that might be of service to you as well. I’ve included a direct link here for your convenience: http://www.ocgsny.org/familyquestions/familyquestions.htm
Thank you for considering my service.
Rorey Cathcart
Hi again, Rorey– I am going to be in Orange County from April 5 to April 15, and was wondering if you would have time to meet with me for a consultation. I’ve written up a case study of 1 of my brick walls, and would appreciate any guidance on where to look next, although I’m beginning to wonder if there is anywhere else! thanks, Judi