guidelines for creating "live"
or video story times online
Since schools across the world have had to switch to remote learning due to safeguards set up to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus,. many book publishers are revising their permission requirements to allow teachers to create and share story time and read-aloud videos for their students.
However, there still are certain guidelines that teachers need to follow as they do this. While each publisher may have some specific requirements (which can be found on their respective websites), there are some common guidelines that all publishers are asking teachers to follow when providing remote learning to students.
Please remember that these are basic guidelines. It is your responsibility to check to see if the publisher of the materials you are considering using has any additional and/or different guidelines before creating your event.
When creating a story time or read-aloud video
If the book is read aloud and/or illustrations are displayed, the video can be uploaded to closed educational platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Google Classroom, and Safari Montage, etc..
When performing a live event
If a book is read out loud and/or illustrations are displayed, the event may be streamed on social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook Live, Twitter, and Instagram.
Introducing the video or event
At the beginning of your video or live event, introduce the book you are reading and make sure to include the publisher's name in your introduction.
Reporting requirements
The majority of publishers ask that educators notify them by email (refer to the individual publisher’s website for the appropriate email address) each time you post or stream a read-aloud video or live event, providing the following information:
However, there still are certain guidelines that teachers need to follow as they do this. While each publisher may have some specific requirements (which can be found on their respective websites), there are some common guidelines that all publishers are asking teachers to follow when providing remote learning to students.
Please remember that these are basic guidelines. It is your responsibility to check to see if the publisher of the materials you are considering using has any additional and/or different guidelines before creating your event.
When creating a story time or read-aloud video
If the book is read aloud and/or illustrations are displayed, the video can be uploaded to closed educational platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Google Classroom, and Safari Montage, etc..
- If the school plan is to share story time videos by recording staff record videos, uploading it to a YouTube channel, and posting a link to that YouTube video inside a closed educational platform, that YouTube video must be designated as “Unlisted” (not “Public”) when uploading.
- These videos may be hosted on the educational platform and/or YouTube (as an “Unlisted” file) until the end of the current school year, after which it needs to be removed.
When performing a live event
If a book is read out loud and/or illustrations are displayed, the event may be streamed on social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook Live, Twitter, and Instagram.
- These live events may not be maintained in the archive of the social media platform and appropriate measures should be taken to ensure that videos of the live events are not retained.
- These events will become part of your timeline on your social media platforms, please remember to locate the recorded live video in your account (YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) and delete it.
Introducing the video or event
At the beginning of your video or live event, introduce the book you are reading and make sure to include the publisher's name in your introduction.
Reporting requirements
The majority of publishers ask that educators notify them by email (refer to the individual publisher’s website for the appropriate email address) each time you post or stream a read-aloud video or live event, providing the following information:
- Name and address of the school
- Title, author and ISBN of the book that is read
- Contact information for the individual responsible for the reading
- The educational or social media platform on which the video or live event is posted or held and a link to that video or live event
