Using Images from the Internet in your School Project
Canadian Copyright law allows you (K-12 teachers and students) to use any publicly available * internet image for educational purposes provided you cite the source.
The fine print: Publicly available internet materials are those posted on-line by content creators and copyright owners without any technological protection measures, such as password, encryption system, or similar technology intended to limit access of distribution, and without a clearly visible notice prohibiting educational use. (Copyright Matters, 4th Edition. 2016, page 19)
Finding Copyright Friendly images;
If you are not sure if the person who posted the image actually is the content creator and copyright owner, you have a number of choices to find copyright friendly images for your project.
The fine print: Publicly available internet materials are those posted on-line by content creators and copyright owners without any technological protection measures, such as password, encryption system, or similar technology intended to limit access of distribution, and without a clearly visible notice prohibiting educational use. (Copyright Matters, 4th Edition. 2016, page 19)
Finding Copyright Friendly images;
If you are not sure if the person who posted the image actually is the content creator and copyright owner, you have a number of choices to find copyright friendly images for your project.
- Use a WVSS library encyclopedia or database to access an image.
- Use an online library or archive like Collections Canada or Library of Congress (US)
- Use a Copyright friendly source like Creative Commons or Wikimedia commons or Flickr’s Commons
- Do a filtered search using Google to locate images licensed for reuse.
- Pay for the rights to use an image from a source like Getty Images , Shutterstock or other image provider.
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Example of a Google image filtered search.
Select images Select search tools from the menu bar From the usage rights menu on the lower menu bar, select labeled for reuse. Any image there is free to use but credit must still be given to the source. |
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Using Images in your Project
Each image should have a;
- Figure Number that is referred to in the text of your essay (see figure 1).
- Caption that describes the image.
- Citation that tells where you got the image from if you did not create it yourself. If you include a full citation in your caption, you do not always need to include it in your works cited list.
- Link to the source of the original image if you are reusing the image in digital format.
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This image of Grouse Mountain was found on Wikimedia Commons via a Google image search using a labeled for reuse filter.
The photographer has licensed this images in the Creative Commons allowing anyone to share or remix the work provided they attribute the source to him. A caption was added that describes the image. A citation is included after the description. A link has been provided to the page that shows the license information. Click on the image to see the license details. |
Figure 1. Paragliding at Grouse Mountain. Kohara, Yoshio. Grouse Mountain. 31 July 2017. Wikimedia Commons, 9 Feb. 2017, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grouse_Mountain,_North_Vancouver,_BC,_Canada_-_panoramio.jpg. Accessed 17 Nov. 2017.
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If you need more information about using images in MLA format, check out Purdue's Online Writing Lab. OWL.
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Watch the short video Creative Commons Kiwi to find out how Creative Commons licensing can help you find copyright friendly photos for your projects and contribute your own work for others to use.
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