Frequently Asked Questions
Uppercase’s mission is to facilitate the sharing of knowledge, best practices, and high-quality resources among teachers. When you upload lesson plans, instructional material, or other content to the Uppercase platform, that content will be available to other teachers on the Platform for educational and instructional purposes only. Other teachers will use your content in two primary ways: First, other users may edit or “fork” your lesson plans within the platform and share their own version with the Uppercase community on our platform. Second, other teachers may use your content for instructional purposes in their own classrooms. Other users are not permitted to sell or use your content for commercial purposes. You retain ownership of your teaching materials, and Uppercase does not control or direct what you upload onto the platform.
For more information on how your content may be used, please see the Uppercase Terms of Service.
Uppercase is developing a tool that allows users to generate lesson plans using artificial intelligence (AI). We may use your content to train and improve our AI lesson plan generator, and some teaching materials on the platform may be generated or enhanced using our AI algorithms.
We encourage teachers to post only their own original work created on their own time and outside of their job duties at school. Uppercase respects the intellectual property rights of teachers and other publishers of educational materials. Users may not post infringing content to the platform. If you want to post material that is not your own original work, you must have the right to use it, which typically means getting permission from the creator of the work, or posting materials under a license that allows you to do so. If you are not sure whether the material you want to post is infringing, please refrain from posting it or consult with an attorney familiar with intellectual property issues. Finally, it’s best to avoid using trademarked brand names in your materials to avoid trademark infringement.
Linking to an outside source is generally safe as long as you don’t have reason to believe that the material itself is infringing. For example, if you want to link to a news article, you should link directly to the original news source’s website, rather than to a third-party website that has copied the article, who may be using the article without permission. If you link to an outside website, please comply with that website’s policies and terms of service. This means that if a website has a policy of prohibiting links, you must get permission from website’s owner before posting a link on the Uppercase platform.
No, at this time, users are prohibited from posting videos showing themselves teaching in the classroom. Classroom videos are prohibited both to protect the privacy of your colleagues and students, and to avoid violating the privacy policies of many school districts where teachers work. Teachers may not post any content that contains personal information, photos, or videos of minors.
Teacher contracts vary widely, but school districts often claim ownership over any resources created by their employees using the districts’ time, money, or resources. We encourage teachers to post only their own original work created on their own time and outside the scope of their employment. School districts have their own policies and practices regarding intellectual property ownership, so you should review and be sure to comply with your school’s specific policies and contracts. Additionally, all Expert Teachers should ensure that participating in the Expert Teacher Program aligns with their school’s policies on receiving compensation for extracurricular activities.