To copy or not to copy....

As a future educator, copyright and fair use are terms that I am going to need to be familiar with.  My understanding of these concepts are that any information that I did not write myself could be subject to copyright laws, meaning I cannot reproduce it, or alter it, without the permission of the author.  This includes information found in books, newspapers, magazines, and Internet sites, just to name a few.  As a teacher, I probably at some point will want to use information that I find from some of these sources to help supplement my lesson plans.  So, do I need to contact the author of each piece of work that I want to use?  Not necessaraly. There is a provision to the copyright law that is called the fair use doctorine.  This clause states that if I am reproducing the material for educational purposes then I may not need permission.  If I want to use a small part of a larger piece, temporaraly, then that is typically ok.  That is, provided that I am using it for education, or research as opposed to something where I might profit from the use of the materials.  If I were planning on using a large portion of some piece of work, for an extended period of time (such as year to year) then I would most likely need to obtain permission.  Copyright laws are serious.  As an educator, I will need to be aware of the ins and outs of the fair use doctrine, and if I am in doubt, then I will need to check before I use something.