Week1 Wimba

I am happy to see I will only have to watch two Wimba sessions in the archive. Thank you space shuttle!

My take-away from the Wimba session was that the Literature Review I had already turned in needed to be recalled to make some formatting changes. (Actually, upon checking, the only thing I needed to change was the file name). Drat!  I also noticed a lot of the content was the same as in the videos that I watched on Joe’s blog.  I tried making a web to keep track of all the assignments (blog posts, discussion posts, a post about Wimba because I had to teach that night).  I am still doing the “deer in the headlights” thing, trying to make sure I don’t miss anything. Will I end up in month 11 purgatory? 

By NASA, via Wikimedia Commons

The conversation was good. We have a great group of people in this class, and the comments are always interesting.  I would like to see Joe’s web of the class, though. Somehow I feel like, even with the long Wimba, I am putting something in the wrong place or forgetting to do something.  On the other hand, the calendar seems to help clarify things a bit.  I’m glad things are due on Sunday, so I have time to sort everything out each week. I am now going to go and reformat my Lit Review, double check my blog entries, and confer with my teammates to make sure I haven’t overlooked anything.

Week 1 Discussion: Copyright - Response to Rowdy

@ Rowdy Granado

Rowdy wrote:

Copyright has always been a major issue in my classes as I teach video production and broadcast classes.
I try to have a lesson on Copyright each year before we even start the course to try and explain the best I can to middle schoolers what Copyright actually is. Most adults don’t even understand Copyright law, so you see my struggle with teaching this to this age group.

In the video it was mentioned that a common misconception is “if I don’t charge for it, it’s not a violation.” This has been a common mistake in education and using it for “school purposes.” Many of our students and fellow teachers always seemed to try and use this excuse. One way I got around copyright when I was a producer for Texas Tech University, we actually had an ASCAP and BMI license that ended up covering the university as a whole, so we got to use several songs in our commercials without violating that Copyright.

A couple of areas that I still haven’t found a clear explanation are on parodies and fair use, the actual amount of footage you can use without permissions.

I liked all of the myths that were shown in the video. Maybe you can add the other violation of actually playing music you purchased to a house full of people or a classroom full of students being a violation of Copyright and distribution (unless of course, this has been changed again).

Rowdy-

There seem to be a variety of sources on the Internet that describe how much of a work can be used without permission. I printed out a Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for Teachers PDF from Technology & Learning earlier this year.  It can be found at www.techlearning.com. There is also information at www.halldavidson.net.

I think some of the restrictions are unenforceable. According to the Technology & Learning PDF, you can view video as long as it is legitimately acquired, used in a classroom or non-profit situation “dedicated to face-to-face instruction,” and used for instructional (not entertainment or reward) purposes. They go on to say that video used for integration into multimedia or video projects must give proper attribution to the copyright holder. Students are supposed to be able to use 10 percent, or 3 minutes (whichever is less) of “motion media.”

Personally, I respect people’s right to their intellectual property, but I find many of these rules stifling. They can paralyze.  The more I read and listen to discussions about freely sharing music, art, written works, and other things affected by copyright, the more I am motivated to contribute to that effort. I think there should be a sort of “commons” database put together by teachers to provide a wide range of resources that can be used for school projects. I’d be happy to contribute pics and video clips to something like that. It would even be cool to collaborate with other teachers so that someone could put out a request and others could help them out. For example, if you need 3-5 minutes of an instrumental music track in a particular genre, someone in the group might be willing to produce that.  I’m all for being a renaissance person, but I can’t draw, compose, or create everything we might want to use for class projects myself.  And I can’t always find what I need on Creative Commons.

By the way, the image on this blog post is another photo I took myself because I was freaked out about accidentally violating someone's copyright. Anyone who wishes to use this photo has my permission to do so.

Week 1 Discussion: Copyright - Response to Holly

@ Holly Loganbill

In response to the videos about copyright, Holly wrote:

Copyright has been a very hot topic at school this year. I’ve been able to share the requirements with our teachers, who were very surprised to see some of the limits. It was distressing to learn that having students draw or write to a particular piece of music is an infringement, and “fair use” goes just so far. I’ve had to introduce my students to Wikimedia Commons for their images rather than Google Images, and they’re becoming pretty savvy about reading the copyright statements. It has pointed up a need to do more instruction on paraphrasing and giving credit for any new information gleaned from reading, even if the student feels they now know it themselves. We’re making progress, but it’s going to take time to get everyone on board. Awareness is an important first step.

Holly-

Even before technology became an issue, copyright was a sore spot with educators. There has also been confusion over the years about what we can do and what we can’t. This is not surprising, as different industries have sometimes tried to restrict the use of their materials to a ridiculous degree.  For example, when my sons were little, the movie industry wanted to prohibit day care centers from being able to show movies to the kids without paying a fee.  Really.

You are absolutely right about the instruction in paraphrasing. I have pushed mine to document all of their sources.  I plan to develop a more organized way of keeping track of that for next year. Are you developing specific sets of lessons to support the skills, like paraphrasing, that you spoke of?  You’ve done some good video with your kids. Have you thought about having them help you produce a video role-playing correct and incorrect use of intellectual property? 

By the way, the image with this entry is a photo I took myself so that I would not violate anyone's copyright. Anyone who wants to is free to use this picture.

Week 1 discussion: Copyright

Used by permission of Matthew White

I think teachers really get squeezed when it comes to copyright because many don’t know where to look for copyright free material that is also cost free.  The Internet is a really big place, and resources that seem obvious to some are not all that easy to find for others. FSO has really helped me with that this year. As other students have shared resources, I have finally begun to find places to get music that my students can use and which don’t cost me anything.  I still need to broaden that list of resources, though.

The drive to integrate technology into the classroom puts teachers and students in situations where they may need music or images they can’t make themselves.  Digital natives resist the idea that they can’t share the things they find on in the Internet freely, and in any way they like. I have spent all year reinforcing the idea that you can’t use someone else’s work without their permission.  We are doing better, but often kids have a specific image or piece of music in mind when they think up a project.  When they find out they can’t use those things, they have a hard time coming up with alternatives.  Actually, sometimes so do I.  I needed medieval music for my class movie.  I did purchase some music from iStock Photo, but it was a very limited selection. And no. I can’t make that in Garage Band.

I use online videos a lot, embedding them in my school web pages or blog.  I could never create all of that myself.  The rules about copyright can be a little slippery, too. Colleges, for example, can do some things that K-12 can’t, and vice-versa. And the rules change.  I have required my students to use copyright free sources and to document their sources.  However, it is still hard to be sure every item is safe and to check every student’s sources.

Week 1 discussion Topic 2

Topic #2: Tech in your workplace: How has your workplace kept up with tech or not kept up with tech? What kinds of tech things have you bought to use in your classroom/presentation?Please give examples (and have a little fun with the idea…).

 We have a really great tech director, Janene Kosman. She brought in a course called 21Things4Teachers, in collaboration with a local university, and offered many, many workshops to assist staff in learning how to use Web 2.0 and other technologies. Without the training I received from her, I would never have been ready to participate in the EMDT program. She is all about 1-to-1 and integrating tech into the classroom.  It was Janene that inspired me to get an iPhone and become more adept at using it as a tool for my classroom. She introduced me to Skype, but EMDT gave me a practical reason for using it. Janene is always offering more opportunities for staff to learn - although I got to a point where I had taken some workshops 2 and 3 times. EMDT was my answer to taking the next step in my learning.

Everything I have learned through EMDT I have used in my classroom, and many of them I have taught to my students.  I have even bought an iMac to take to school so kids would have a chance to experience using Garage Band, iMovie, and some of the Adobe software. Before EMDT, I had begun to explore digital storytelling using a Flip camera, Audacity and Movie Maker software. I have had my students create blogs, and have used them myself to deliver class content.  I used the Moodle LMS, and have gotten deeply involved in creating and collecting things I need to create class movies.  As part of my ARP, I have had my students do story boarding, find creative commons music, create their own video and voice-overs, and have had them use video equipment and a green screen to create a class movie.

Week 1 discussion Topic 1

Topic #1: Briefly share an experience about using media (visual and/or auditory) in class or during a presentation, focus your comment on any work-arounds or solutions you used when the tech wasn’t quite working or when the tech wasn’t adequate to do what you had originally planned.

Sometimes in my school I have felt like I was trying to build a rocket ship with sticks and rocks. Going through the EMDT program has helped a lot, especially since I have acquired some software and equipment along the way. One problem I have worked around is Moodle access. I loved Moodle, and used it quite a lot for 3 years, but there were always access problems for roughly 25% of our students.
This year, in addition to using blogs created on blogger to deliver content, I have used Google accounts to share files with students and as a place for them to turn in work. My blog pages contain videos and links, as well as an embedded Google calendar. Having students turn in work through their Google accounts has really helped, especially in the creation of our class digital storytelling project. It has also facilitated feedback as I email back and forth with my students about their assignments. Next year I intend to teach them how to use Google to create their own PLEs.
I have also used my school web pages for surveys, videos, and links, but the blog also has the advantage of allowing for comments. I think if I have students set up iGoogle accounts and create tabs for things, including my class, I can have them embed the links they would need for my course so they are all in one place. Also, if they have their own iGoogle accounts, they will continue to have their PLE after they graduate.

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