Author Certification and Permissions
Before the APS can publish your lab/activity, you are required to sign the Author Certification form (pdf) to certify compliance with copyright transfer and authorship responsibilities.
Before signing the Author Certification form and submitting the final version of your activity, you need to secure permission to use borrowed text or graphics. Generally, other teachers and folks in academia are pleased to share as long as you give them credit. See below for an example from "The Sense of Touch" WISE unit. This is not so true when it comes to textbook publishers or companies that have developed the text/graphic as part of a commercial product (for example, textbooks or curriculum guides).
If you have borrowed from another source, you should email the person or organization to request permission. Feel free to use and adapt the text on the right (in the green box). If the author is unwilling to share, let Mel know as soon as possible and we'll figure something out.
From "The Sense of Touch" Project WISE unit:
...The Two-Point Discrimination Test is one of the the first neurological tests taught to medical students. This test helps determine the spatial separation between nerve endings. Two instruments used to determine receptor density are shown below...
Disk-CriminatorŽ
ŠNeuroregen, LLC (www.neurotube.com)
Reproduced with permission.
Sample permission language
Dear _______,
I am a ____ grade teacher at _____ School in _________, ___. As part of a year-long professional development fellowship with the American Physiological Society, I developed a new classroom lesson called _________.
This activity is designed as an inquiry-based lab in which students .....
<describe activity>
Your __<web site/graphic/activity>__ is an excellent resource for students to learn __________. I would like your permission to include your ______ in my activity (with the proper credits). My activity will be distributed to other teachers free of charge via the APS "Works in Progress" publication and the APS website.
The APS website provides resources that have been developed through APS K-12 education programs. These resources focus on inquiry-based learning, hands-on exploration of science topics, authentic assessment, equity and diversity issues, and effectively integrating Internet resources into the science curriculum.
For more information on APS programs, see the Frontiers in Physiology web site at http://the-aps.org/education/frontiers/index.htm and the main APS web page at http://www.the-aps.org. Frontiers in Physiology is a nationwide federally funded professional development program.
If you have any questions, please contact me at _______ or Mel Limson, APS K-12 Programs Coordinator (mlimson@the-aps.org or 301-634-7132).
I appreciate your consideration of this request and I look forward to hearing from you soon. If you agree to allow me to reference your materials, please let me know how you would like the credit language phrased.
Sincerely,