Top choices for publication are the The AACE Journal (AACEJ) and the International Society for Technology in Education as I felt these two best fit the area of my research in accordance to their audience as well. Along with the audience and subject content they targeted, entries seemed to fit well with what i wish to accomplish with my research and publication.
Think Out-Loud Blog #1
Think Out-Loud Blog #2
Rowdy Granado_PLP Presentation
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Wk 4 - Free Post
After listening to this week's Wimba sessions, I felt a bit more confident in my AR project. Listening to Jim Farmer's presentation on how he is looking at technology in the school's was great in that I saw his perspective on how to integrate technology, as well, as several of the other students like, Amanda's and Karl's and the different perspectives that we all had when dealing with the incorporation of technology in the classroom.
Great sessions and great practice for our presentations to come in Month 12.
Great sessions and great practice for our presentations to come in Month 12.
Wk 4 Comment #2 - Tricia Atkinson
Wow, these last chapters were a lot to take in! Just when I thought my personal reaction could not possibly be more profound, the Zander’s prevailed with more stories and more implications of living a life of possibility. Most notably were chapters 10 and 11 when adversity was discussed in more detail, including the analogy of self as a game board (versus the typical interpretation as a participating piece). I will admit, when the idea of mutual responsibility in every situation was introduced, I felt some indignation. I mean, who doesn’t want to ostracize the drunk driver or the blatantly rude reaction or the frequent absentee. But how fascinating to think about their perspective and how it will not improve attitude and happiness by being upset and throwing blame.
As easy as it is to get into a downward negative spiral towards my students, blaming them for their negative, rude, and apathetic actions. But what about what I have done to contribute? What about my negative sarcasm or mediocre effort? Not to mention what they have eaten lately or when the last time is that they got a hug or “good job” from a parent? Trying to remember myself in each other person’s shoes will help me to react with a more enlightened attitude, just as Ben did when his students partied in South America. What would it have helped to “go off” like so many of us teachers are expected to do. Instead, the kids understood, felt enabled, apologetic, regretful, and still valued. Amazing. This Art of Possibility stuff is definitely not second nature in the world of modern education, but I feel like a breath of fresh air, a reminder of options and how to go with the flow, giving students and others in my life the benefit of the doubt, has been given to me…I am inspired and grateful.
Original Artwork, detail of tapestry from "A Perspective on Eastern Design in Threadwork", 2007
Posted by Tricia Atkinson at 10:07 AM
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Rowdy319 said...
Tricia-
Great blog. I loved all the comments as well. Great to hear the story of the "tough" kid in your class.
I found that when I moved into my current school district it was so much hard to get the students to "buy into" the fact that I cared for them not only as my students, but as the people they are. When i ask them about their parents, their families, their life at home and how they are, I always get a weird look like, "why do you care?" The kids are "used" to me now and know that I really do care about their lives. One young lady calls me her dad and just this past Friday I had another kid sign my yearbook, "Thanks for being like a dad to me." Long story short, i understand your plight and frustration with the "bad" kids who you just want to lose your patience with, send them to detention, or whatever, but when you know the back story, the perspective always changes.
Again, great reading your blog. Great job by the way in not giving up on that student. Awesome!
May 29, 2011 7:42 PM
As easy as it is to get into a downward negative spiral towards my students, blaming them for their negative, rude, and apathetic actions. But what about what I have done to contribute? What about my negative sarcasm or mediocre effort? Not to mention what they have eaten lately or when the last time is that they got a hug or “good job” from a parent? Trying to remember myself in each other person’s shoes will help me to react with a more enlightened attitude, just as Ben did when his students partied in South America. What would it have helped to “go off” like so many of us teachers are expected to do. Instead, the kids understood, felt enabled, apologetic, regretful, and still valued. Amazing. This Art of Possibility stuff is definitely not second nature in the world of modern education, but I feel like a breath of fresh air, a reminder of options and how to go with the flow, giving students and others in my life the benefit of the doubt, has been given to me…I am inspired and grateful.
Original Artwork, detail of tapestry from "A Perspective on Eastern Design in Threadwork", 2007
Posted by Tricia Atkinson at 10:07 AM
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12 comments:
Rowdy319 said...
Tricia-
Great blog. I loved all the comments as well. Great to hear the story of the "tough" kid in your class.
I found that when I moved into my current school district it was so much hard to get the students to "buy into" the fact that I cared for them not only as my students, but as the people they are. When i ask them about their parents, their families, their life at home and how they are, I always get a weird look like, "why do you care?" The kids are "used" to me now and know that I really do care about their lives. One young lady calls me her dad and just this past Friday I had another kid sign my yearbook, "Thanks for being like a dad to me." Long story short, i understand your plight and frustration with the "bad" kids who you just want to lose your patience with, send them to detention, or whatever, but when you know the back story, the perspective always changes.
Again, great reading your blog. Great job by the way in not giving up on that student. Awesome!
May 29, 2011 7:42 PM
Wk 4 Comment #1 - Anne Alsup
As I read the Art of Possibility this month I felt torn. The last year was undoubtedly one of the toughest years of my life. I faced a difficult teaching assignment and an intense master's program, shuffled my personal commitments and tried to appease my children, all the time telling myself that it was almost over. Shear exhaustion had put me in survival mode and I was riding the downward spiral. The Art of Possibility helped me to start looking up again. I have never been the type of person to accept defeat. I loved reading the chapter, It's All Invented. It allowed me the opportunity to redefine my accomplishments and rise above the downward spiral. I had allowed myself to sit in my seat and play my part, instead of leading. I have too much to contribute to sit quietly in my chair.
It is easy to talk about what is wrong with education, but that is the downward spiral. We must start talking about the possibilities and the framework for change. Everyone deserves the opportunity to play their part with so much passion that they become a one-buttock player. We must start the conversation that allows individuality and personal freedom to prevail in the educational system.
Zanders made an important point about the calculating and the central self. I believe we have a limited window in education to influence a child's mind, before the calculating self within that child fights back to gain control. If we haven't helped them find their passion by the middle grades, we need to start looking harder, because force feeding the same education to them beyond that point will be met with pure resistance. Traditional education may work perfectly for some, but it does not work for everyone. We need to encourage young people to find the plan that works for them, without painting them as failures. Choosing a different route is just that; a different route.
Particularly, in light of our country's economic woes we need to find alternatives to forcing a child to take courses over and over again that they don't want to take and make no effort to pass. Even if the child eventually passes the class; what have we taught that child? Unless that child assigns some value to being in the seat, we are wasting everyone's time. Virtual school, blended education, magnet schools, career academies, technical and trade schools are all viable options that would allow the child the opportunity to discover the central self and nurture their passion. A child that has discovered his passion can inspire others and contribute to society. A child that is not allow to discover his passion can destroy society.
Posted by Anne Alsup's Anecdotes at 6:28 PM
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2 comments:
Rowdy319 said...
Anne-
Totally agree. It is so easy to talk about what is wrong with education. I hear so many teachers talk about it and the students hear it too. I hear the students say things like, "well, Mrs. So-and-So thinks this is dumb" and so the kids are disengaged as well. I loved this book and trying to get the mindset of what possibilities are out there for the students, for education, even us as people.
And I agree, a child with passion truly inspires others. I see it in class when I let those with a passion for my class hep teach their peers in the same class.
Great post.
May 29, 2011 7:30 PM
It is easy to talk about what is wrong with education, but that is the downward spiral. We must start talking about the possibilities and the framework for change. Everyone deserves the opportunity to play their part with so much passion that they become a one-buttock player. We must start the conversation that allows individuality and personal freedom to prevail in the educational system.
Zanders made an important point about the calculating and the central self. I believe we have a limited window in education to influence a child's mind, before the calculating self within that child fights back to gain control. If we haven't helped them find their passion by the middle grades, we need to start looking harder, because force feeding the same education to them beyond that point will be met with pure resistance. Traditional education may work perfectly for some, but it does not work for everyone. We need to encourage young people to find the plan that works for them, without painting them as failures. Choosing a different route is just that; a different route.
Particularly, in light of our country's economic woes we need to find alternatives to forcing a child to take courses over and over again that they don't want to take and make no effort to pass. Even if the child eventually passes the class; what have we taught that child? Unless that child assigns some value to being in the seat, we are wasting everyone's time. Virtual school, blended education, magnet schools, career academies, technical and trade schools are all viable options that would allow the child the opportunity to discover the central self and nurture their passion. A child that has discovered his passion can inspire others and contribute to society. A child that is not allow to discover his passion can destroy society.
Posted by Anne Alsup's Anecdotes at 6:28 PM
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2 comments:
Rowdy319 said...
Anne-
Totally agree. It is so easy to talk about what is wrong with education. I hear so many teachers talk about it and the students hear it too. I hear the students say things like, "well, Mrs. So-and-So thinks this is dumb" and so the kids are disengaged as well. I loved this book and trying to get the mindset of what possibilities are out there for the students, for education, even us as people.
And I agree, a child with passion truly inspires others. I see it in class when I let those with a passion for my class hep teach their peers in the same class.
Great post.
May 29, 2011 7:30 PM
Wk4 Reading: Art of Possibility Chapters 9-12
In Chapters 9-12 of the Art of possibility I found myself reflecting on all the things that I do and don’t do that reflected the authors thoughts presented in this book.
In Ch. 9, right off the bat, he hit a home run in the second paragraph. Being a technical gadget junkie and always needing to have the latest and greatest of any device, I often find that in all reality, in person is the best way of communication. When he told the story of his father and the wonderful quote, “certain things in life are better done in person,” I could see myself nodding in agreement at this. The ability to get someone enrolled in an idea or practice is best started this way, with involvement. Loved reading this. I wholeheartedly agree with what he said about creating that spark. That person to person meeting, to me, is a spark. It shows that other person that you are willing to go above and beyond a simple email or phone call, or quick text. It shows involvement and caring. It opens up possibilities that you otherwise could not have seen through the phone or in an email.
I know I will surely use his example of the kaleidoscope, not only in my class, but in my personal life. If something seems wrong, impossible or unchangeable, I will simple change the perspective. I also believe that this goes into the next idea of becoming the board. By becoming the board, you are doing just that, changing perspectives. You are no longer seeing these things as the player or game piece, but the total space in which all movement takes place. You are the board, change the way the pieces move. Great. So simple, yet, pretty moving words. The very IDEA of possibilities creates more ideas.
I was actually able to practice these theories with one of my students. I saw him in the hallway, visibly upset and pulled him inside the class to ask what was wrong. He then proceeded to tell me that his father, whom he had not seen in the last 12 years is back in his life. I asked him why he was upset about this? Was he abusive? Did he not want his father there? Why was he so upset? He simply told me, no, that he wanted his father there. He was upset because he felt like he only had a few more years with him until he went off to college and how could he make up 12 years of absence in only 5 years. I gave him the example from the kaleidoscope story, I said, “you need to shift your view of how you see this. If you only have 5 years, or 5 minutes, you need to take this opportunity to embrace whatever time you are given.” I also told him that instead of questioning “why” he had been gone for 12 years (not playing the blame game), that he should ask him how he has spent the last 12 years, where has he lived, what places has he visited, where did he work. I wanted him to try and understand that reasoning of creating that “WE” in my student wanting to know and be a part of his father’s life. The talk went on for a little while longer and my student left feeling much better and told me that he felt so much better and it made him understand things a bit clearer to where he didn’t feel hurt or angry, but felt like this was a new door to walk through. A new set of possibilities? Maybe.
In Ch. 9, right off the bat, he hit a home run in the second paragraph. Being a technical gadget junkie and always needing to have the latest and greatest of any device, I often find that in all reality, in person is the best way of communication. When he told the story of his father and the wonderful quote, “certain things in life are better done in person,” I could see myself nodding in agreement at this. The ability to get someone enrolled in an idea or practice is best started this way, with involvement. Loved reading this. I wholeheartedly agree with what he said about creating that spark. That person to person meeting, to me, is a spark. It shows that other person that you are willing to go above and beyond a simple email or phone call, or quick text. It shows involvement and caring. It opens up possibilities that you otherwise could not have seen through the phone or in an email.
I know I will surely use his example of the kaleidoscope, not only in my class, but in my personal life. If something seems wrong, impossible or unchangeable, I will simple change the perspective. I also believe that this goes into the next idea of becoming the board. By becoming the board, you are doing just that, changing perspectives. You are no longer seeing these things as the player or game piece, but the total space in which all movement takes place. You are the board, change the way the pieces move. Great. So simple, yet, pretty moving words. The very IDEA of possibilities creates more ideas.
I was actually able to practice these theories with one of my students. I saw him in the hallway, visibly upset and pulled him inside the class to ask what was wrong. He then proceeded to tell me that his father, whom he had not seen in the last 12 years is back in his life. I asked him why he was upset about this? Was he abusive? Did he not want his father there? Why was he so upset? He simply told me, no, that he wanted his father there. He was upset because he felt like he only had a few more years with him until he went off to college and how could he make up 12 years of absence in only 5 years. I gave him the example from the kaleidoscope story, I said, “you need to shift your view of how you see this. If you only have 5 years, or 5 minutes, you need to take this opportunity to embrace whatever time you are given.” I also told him that instead of questioning “why” he had been gone for 12 years (not playing the blame game), that he should ask him how he has spent the last 12 years, where has he lived, what places has he visited, where did he work. I wanted him to try and understand that reasoning of creating that “WE” in my student wanting to know and be a part of his father’s life. The talk went on for a little while longer and my student left feeling much better and told me that he felt so much better and it made him understand things a bit clearer to where he didn’t feel hurt or angry, but felt like this was a new door to walk through. A new set of possibilities? Maybe.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Wk 3 - Think Out Loud Post #2
These are the places that I researched when trying to find places that my research would be most beneficial to their viewers/audience. I felt that these two journals and one conference best fit the area that i wanted to focus on.
http://www.aace.org/pubs/aacej/
The two education journals I reviewed as possible choices to publish my AR presentation/paper seemed to flow along the lines of what I wish to accomplish with my AR project. The first journal is The AACE Journal (AACEJ). This online periodical is devoted to the issues and applications of educational technology to enhance learning and teaching. While my focus is looking at finding ways to enhance learning and teaching through technology, I felt this journal fit well for possible publication.
http://www.iste.org/welcome.aspx
My second choice is International Society for Technology in Education. I chose this site as it is not only online, but sends out a magazine that goes out to it’s members who are educators and administrators alike. I like the ability to contribute current content fast and efficiently located in a blog form under a title ‘Connect’ for viewers to access immediately. I also liked the idea of the mobile application available for access anytime users may be on the go.
http://www.region10.org/instructionaltechnology/
One place I would like to make a presentation would have been our very own Region !0 conference on technology planning entitled, “To Technology and Beyond.”
I thought presenting closer to home and at a smaller setting, the idea of integrating technology in the manner presented in my AR project would be more accepted.
http://www.aace.org/pubs/aacej/
The two education journals I reviewed as possible choices to publish my AR presentation/paper seemed to flow along the lines of what I wish to accomplish with my AR project. The first journal is The AACE Journal (AACEJ). This online periodical is devoted to the issues and applications of educational technology to enhance learning and teaching. While my focus is looking at finding ways to enhance learning and teaching through technology, I felt this journal fit well for possible publication.
http://www.iste.org/welcome.aspx
My second choice is International Society for Technology in Education. I chose this site as it is not only online, but sends out a magazine that goes out to it’s members who are educators and administrators alike. I like the ability to contribute current content fast and efficiently located in a blog form under a title ‘Connect’ for viewers to access immediately. I also liked the idea of the mobile application available for access anytime users may be on the go.
http://www.region10.org/instructionaltechnology/
One place I would like to make a presentation would have been our very own Region !0 conference on technology planning entitled, “To Technology and Beyond.”
I thought presenting closer to home and at a smaller setting, the idea of integrating technology in the manner presented in my AR project would be more accepted.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Wk 3 - Think Out Loud Post #1
Paper vs Presentation
When looking at the pros and cons of a paper vs presentation, I simple had to go with a presentation. As a paper certainly has it's places, with my AR research and trying to show ways in which teachers can get students more engaged through technology use, I felt a presentation would be the logical choice.
How else can you convince viewers of the benefits of using technology to keep students engaged then actually showing them the use and examples?javascript:void(0)
When looking at the pros and cons of a paper vs presentation, I simple had to go with a presentation. As a paper certainly has it's places, with my AR research and trying to show ways in which teachers can get students more engaged through technology use, I felt a presentation would be the logical choice.
How else can you convince viewers of the benefits of using technology to keep students engaged then actually showing them the use and examples?javascript:void(0)
Friday, May 20, 2011
Wk 3 - Free Post
In reading this weeks chapters, I found myself trying to really take it to heart. I have had probably one of the craziest and hectic weeks I have had in years.
So many plans, schedules and other things have changed, that for once in a really long time, I began to feel stress.
So, I looked at the reading and one line stood out to me, "the more light you shine on a particular subject, the more evidence it will grow."
This stood out because in this last week I had to make sure our final broadcast of the year was going to be ready to go by week's end (I have had most of my students absent all week due to field trips, sickness, band/choir stuff) so, i didn't think it would get done. I was supposed to close on my house on Tuesday (didn't happen until Thursday), last soccer game of the season on Thursday, lots to do to end the season, had a formal school dance tonight that I was in charge of running a huge portion of it. Needing to finish a video edit for a local church before tonight, have a senior portrait session tomorrow evening and a baccalaureate to shoot on Sunday along with all my assignments in EMDT-MAC due Sunday.
So, needless to say, the light I was shining was shining on all the "obstacles" and "how much" I have to get done in what seems to be a very small window, only getting smaller.
I guess I need to learn to ski over those patches of ice and enjoy the view. ;)
So many plans, schedules and other things have changed, that for once in a really long time, I began to feel stress.
So, I looked at the reading and one line stood out to me, "the more light you shine on a particular subject, the more evidence it will grow."
This stood out because in this last week I had to make sure our final broadcast of the year was going to be ready to go by week's end (I have had most of my students absent all week due to field trips, sickness, band/choir stuff) so, i didn't think it would get done. I was supposed to close on my house on Tuesday (didn't happen until Thursday), last soccer game of the season on Thursday, lots to do to end the season, had a formal school dance tonight that I was in charge of running a huge portion of it. Needing to finish a video edit for a local church before tonight, have a senior portrait session tomorrow evening and a baccalaureate to shoot on Sunday along with all my assignments in EMDT-MAC due Sunday.
So, needless to say, the light I was shining was shining on all the "obstacles" and "how much" I have to get done in what seems to be a very small window, only getting smaller.
I guess I need to learn to ski over those patches of ice and enjoy the view. ;)
Wk 3 Comment #2 - Hunter Looney
First off let me address this rule. This author could have gotten the same response without using "gd". I believe this author could have changed the wording of this and reached a lot more people with his point. If you have no idea what I am referring to then here it is.
Rule Number 6: "Don't take yourself so 'gd' seriously" by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander in The Art of Possibility.
I know authors can't make everyone happy but cursing in a book is generally not the way to go.
Besides that I like the point of not taking yourself so seriously. I just wish it was worded differently.
Disclaimer: If this post offends someone because I am offended by 'gd' then I am sorry that I could not make everyone happy with this post.
Posted by Hunter at 10:04 PM
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1 comments:
Rowdy319 said...
Haha Hunter, I agree. But, does saying something about it negate practicing Rule No. 6? ;)
Yeah, I do know what you are saying though. Just like in the following chapters, choosing the right words can transform a total situation. Like the young man and his father and the "walls" they were talking about. I think maybe the author's use of the words 'gd' may have placed some walls for you in the reading.
But words are important in communication, where some may have just glanced by those words and not even be phased, they meant something to you.
Great video to show that:
"It's not what you say, but how you say it"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzgzim5m7oU
Glad I read your post today. Stay Awesome.
May 21, 2011 12:46 AM
Rule Number 6: "Don't take yourself so 'gd' seriously" by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander in The Art of Possibility.
I know authors can't make everyone happy but cursing in a book is generally not the way to go.
Besides that I like the point of not taking yourself so seriously. I just wish it was worded differently.
Disclaimer: If this post offends someone because I am offended by 'gd' then I am sorry that I could not make everyone happy with this post.
Posted by Hunter at 10:04 PM
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1 comments:
Rowdy319 said...
Haha Hunter, I agree. But, does saying something about it negate practicing Rule No. 6? ;)
Yeah, I do know what you are saying though. Just like in the following chapters, choosing the right words can transform a total situation. Like the young man and his father and the "walls" they were talking about. I think maybe the author's use of the words 'gd' may have placed some walls for you in the reading.
But words are important in communication, where some may have just glanced by those words and not even be phased, they meant something to you.
Great video to show that:
"It's not what you say, but how you say it"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzgzim5m7oU
Glad I read your post today. Stay Awesome.
May 21, 2011 12:46 AM
Wk 3 Comment #1 - Monica Heaney
Chapter 5. Leading from Any Chair:
I can specifically remember what it felt like to have a leader (principal) who believed in his staff’s enough to let us lead. I remember being more excited about going to work each day and willing to take risks. There were times when he would present us with ideas that were new and although we were a little scared to take on the challenge, we did it because he assured us that he believed we could. Even when he spoke of the staff or introduced us at Back to School Night, he would say things that made us feel valued. I imagine that the way he spoke about us to the parents also made them see the best in us and gave them a sense of comfort to know that their children were in the best hands.
Chapter 6. Rule Number 6:
Joining the river rather than resisting it is something I have learned to do. Living a very regimented life then having children taught me this very quickly. When I look back at what I thought parenting would be like I think I made my plans with my calculating self. That was how I would measure my successful parenting. Reality is that when you have children, your actions come from a place of love, the central self. You almost don’t have a choice. It might not be perfect, but it is so much more joyful and honest this way. I will have to let you know how it works our in about 18 years.
Chapter 7. The Way Things Are:
I can completely understand the block in communication and the attention to the wrong thing in the relationship between the father and his son. It seems so obvious when you are discussing relationships, but the difficulty comes when there are situations in your life that you wish to change. Trying not to focus on the way things are is so difficult when each day reminders appear. I consider my self a very optimistic and lucky person, but I also feel that I have to work to be that person. I consciously focus on the bright side and always move forward. I’m not sure if that counts.
Chapter 8. Giving Way to Passion:
I cannot begin to express how BTFI is exactly what I needed to hear today. I absolutely love that expression and I think it’s my new motto. As I approach some new goals I have in mind, I will be in the BTFI frame of mind. I will have to let you know how it goes.
Posted by Monica Heaney at 6:02 PM
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1 comments:
Rowdy319 said...
Monica-
Great to read your posts. I would agree with your comments on Ch5. Our Principals are exactly like that as well. They believe and encourage us so much. Even when there is change or redirection of what they would like to see, it still feels very encouraging. Glad to hear there are some others out there that are appreciated for what they do.
In regards to Ch 6., my best friends' wife and I always have our "talks" on parenting. I feel like you felt in the calculating self of thinking, "this is how I will raise my children." and she always informs me that isn't always the case. I tend to always remind her that in raising kids, it's like playing a piano. First, you must learn to play by the rules; then, you must learn to play from the heart.
Ch7, I agree. Staying positive truly does help. My faith does the most part of that for me. As a Christian, I used to struggle with it a long time ago, but now, I stay positive and believe that He has the plan and I will be fine, things will be fine, no worries.
I too enjoyed Ch. 8. BTFI sounds like a good mantra to practice as well.
May 20, 2011 9:36 PM
I can specifically remember what it felt like to have a leader (principal) who believed in his staff’s enough to let us lead. I remember being more excited about going to work each day and willing to take risks. There were times when he would present us with ideas that were new and although we were a little scared to take on the challenge, we did it because he assured us that he believed we could. Even when he spoke of the staff or introduced us at Back to School Night, he would say things that made us feel valued. I imagine that the way he spoke about us to the parents also made them see the best in us and gave them a sense of comfort to know that their children were in the best hands.
Chapter 6. Rule Number 6:
Joining the river rather than resisting it is something I have learned to do. Living a very regimented life then having children taught me this very quickly. When I look back at what I thought parenting would be like I think I made my plans with my calculating self. That was how I would measure my successful parenting. Reality is that when you have children, your actions come from a place of love, the central self. You almost don’t have a choice. It might not be perfect, but it is so much more joyful and honest this way. I will have to let you know how it works our in about 18 years.
Chapter 7. The Way Things Are:
I can completely understand the block in communication and the attention to the wrong thing in the relationship between the father and his son. It seems so obvious when you are discussing relationships, but the difficulty comes when there are situations in your life that you wish to change. Trying not to focus on the way things are is so difficult when each day reminders appear. I consider my self a very optimistic and lucky person, but I also feel that I have to work to be that person. I consciously focus on the bright side and always move forward. I’m not sure if that counts.
Chapter 8. Giving Way to Passion:
I cannot begin to express how BTFI is exactly what I needed to hear today. I absolutely love that expression and I think it’s my new motto. As I approach some new goals I have in mind, I will be in the BTFI frame of mind. I will have to let you know how it goes.
Posted by Monica Heaney at 6:02 PM
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1 comments:
Rowdy319 said...
Monica-
Great to read your posts. I would agree with your comments on Ch5. Our Principals are exactly like that as well. They believe and encourage us so much. Even when there is change or redirection of what they would like to see, it still feels very encouraging. Glad to hear there are some others out there that are appreciated for what they do.
In regards to Ch 6., my best friends' wife and I always have our "talks" on parenting. I feel like you felt in the calculating self of thinking, "this is how I will raise my children." and she always informs me that isn't always the case. I tend to always remind her that in raising kids, it's like playing a piano. First, you must learn to play by the rules; then, you must learn to play from the heart.
Ch7, I agree. Staying positive truly does help. My faith does the most part of that for me. As a Christian, I used to struggle with it a long time ago, but now, I stay positive and believe that He has the plan and I will be fine, things will be fine, no worries.
I too enjoyed Ch. 8. BTFI sounds like a good mantra to practice as well.
May 20, 2011 9:36 PM
Wk3 Reading: Art of Possibility Chapters 5-8
Art of Possibility Ch 5-8
In this part of the book, we are looking at the leadership aspects of people and what really exemplifies a good leader. It was mentioned in the reading that the ability to make others feel empowered is a sign of a good leader.
I can attest to this from both sides in gaining the respect of your peers/coworkers as well as being given this power. I have had two great “bosses” before I became a teacher who really empowered me as an employee and made me feel like what I did and what I contributed mattered to the growth of our company.
While I was at Texas Tech, my supervisor informed me of the job/task at hand, got my input on it and then either approved it or we tweaked it together. After this, she pretty much let me take care of the job with little or no supervision. Once the job was complete, we sat down again and she provided feedback and/or let me know what changes needed to be made. She trusted me to get the job done, she gave me the tools and support needed, and supported my ideas.
My other supervisor empowered me much in the same way. The best way she did it, was she took a shot when everyone else advised against her move. She made me one of the youngest Market Managers for Sprint at the ripe old age of 24. I was in charge of a market that included Southeast Missouri and Southwest Illinois. I had 6 retail stores, 3rd party and business-to-business channels and over 75+ employees as well as in charge of profit and loss of millions of dollars. Lot’s on the line for someone so young. But she let me know, she wouldn’t have put me in that position if she didn’t think I couldn’t do it. Like it said in the reading, she made me feel powerful,
Neither one of these leaders had any type of superiority complex or ever made me feel belittled, micromanaged or like they were better than me. I always felt acknowledge, listened to and respected. Many times I never felt like their employee, but in the truest sense, their colleague.
I have also done this with my students. I give them the tools and support and allow them to put their input into what we are learning, how we learn it and what they create. I give them that empowerment and they understand that for their projects to be good, it relies more on their effort, understanding and cooperation than me just “teaching” them what I want them to know.
Some of my fellow teachers and even my principal have recently visited my class during a live production of the broadcast and mentioned afterwards that they never knew how much work the kids do and how hard it is to get a live show done. This actually made me feel better because many times other teachers think all we do is the “fun” stuff and press record on a camera, that it isn’t too hard to do that. Now they know.
The reading asked “How much greatest are we willing to grant some people?” I feel like I allow all of my students to achieve as much as they can. Sometimes it does bite me in the rear because I may give some too much credit or freedom/flexibility, but I would rather quell that, then stifle the possible growth.
I loved when he spoke about allowing the Cuban musicians to lead the American musicians. I will tend to do this as well. I see which students are better at shooting, or editing or writing and use them to help their peers when they have questions. I see more being accomplished this way then if I tried to help each one individually. Plus, the students helping love being able to help, they feel important now.
My school should adopt saying “Remember Rule No. 6” as well, our principals and staff are all pretty amazing and I feel as though we may have that tattooed on our arms. None of us take ourselves too seriously and promote such a comfortable work environment that I heard various amount of other teachers and parents talking tonight from other schools how they wish they were at our school. Rule No. 6 rules.
In this part of the book, we are looking at the leadership aspects of people and what really exemplifies a good leader. It was mentioned in the reading that the ability to make others feel empowered is a sign of a good leader.
I can attest to this from both sides in gaining the respect of your peers/coworkers as well as being given this power. I have had two great “bosses” before I became a teacher who really empowered me as an employee and made me feel like what I did and what I contributed mattered to the growth of our company.
While I was at Texas Tech, my supervisor informed me of the job/task at hand, got my input on it and then either approved it or we tweaked it together. After this, she pretty much let me take care of the job with little or no supervision. Once the job was complete, we sat down again and she provided feedback and/or let me know what changes needed to be made. She trusted me to get the job done, she gave me the tools and support needed, and supported my ideas.
My other supervisor empowered me much in the same way. The best way she did it, was she took a shot when everyone else advised against her move. She made me one of the youngest Market Managers for Sprint at the ripe old age of 24. I was in charge of a market that included Southeast Missouri and Southwest Illinois. I had 6 retail stores, 3rd party and business-to-business channels and over 75+ employees as well as in charge of profit and loss of millions of dollars. Lot’s on the line for someone so young. But she let me know, she wouldn’t have put me in that position if she didn’t think I couldn’t do it. Like it said in the reading, she made me feel powerful,
Neither one of these leaders had any type of superiority complex or ever made me feel belittled, micromanaged or like they were better than me. I always felt acknowledge, listened to and respected. Many times I never felt like their employee, but in the truest sense, their colleague.
I have also done this with my students. I give them the tools and support and allow them to put their input into what we are learning, how we learn it and what they create. I give them that empowerment and they understand that for their projects to be good, it relies more on their effort, understanding and cooperation than me just “teaching” them what I want them to know.
Some of my fellow teachers and even my principal have recently visited my class during a live production of the broadcast and mentioned afterwards that they never knew how much work the kids do and how hard it is to get a live show done. This actually made me feel better because many times other teachers think all we do is the “fun” stuff and press record on a camera, that it isn’t too hard to do that. Now they know.
The reading asked “How much greatest are we willing to grant some people?” I feel like I allow all of my students to achieve as much as they can. Sometimes it does bite me in the rear because I may give some too much credit or freedom/flexibility, but I would rather quell that, then stifle the possible growth.
I loved when he spoke about allowing the Cuban musicians to lead the American musicians. I will tend to do this as well. I see which students are better at shooting, or editing or writing and use them to help their peers when they have questions. I see more being accomplished this way then if I tried to help each one individually. Plus, the students helping love being able to help, they feel important now.
My school should adopt saying “Remember Rule No. 6” as well, our principals and staff are all pretty amazing and I feel as though we may have that tattooed on our arms. None of us take ourselves too seriously and promote such a comfortable work environment that I heard various amount of other teachers and parents talking tonight from other schools how they wish they were at our school. Rule No. 6 rules.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Wk 2 Free Post
Some more Copyright questions.
So, after reading and talking about Copyright this past week, I have come up with a new question to pose. As I am sitting at the public library doing my current reading and research, I always pass the section downstairs that has all the media and periodicals. Well, in our library we can check out DVDs, and CDs as well. These CDs and DVDs are of current popular televisions shows, movies and popular music CDs.
My question is, how does this not violate any copyright laws as it is a public library, checking out copyrighted material to people. Also, what is to prevent people from checking out said media and creating copies for themselves?
Just some thoughts about my tax dollar and copyright at work.
So, after reading and talking about Copyright this past week, I have come up with a new question to pose. As I am sitting at the public library doing my current reading and research, I always pass the section downstairs that has all the media and periodicals. Well, in our library we can check out DVDs, and CDs as well. These CDs and DVDs are of current popular televisions shows, movies and popular music CDs.
My question is, how does this not violate any copyright laws as it is a public library, checking out copyrighted material to people. Also, what is to prevent people from checking out said media and creating copies for themselves?
Just some thoughts about my tax dollar and copyright at work.
Wk 2 Comment #2 - David Hotler
wk2 reading – The Art of Possibility: 1-4
In The Art of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander the reader is confronted with an interesting spin on self help for life adjustment. The main story line of the book is actually broken into stories that help support the through line and theme. After reading the introduction and first four practices I have been impressed with the authors’ abilities in sharing moving, eye witness stories about life and the obstacles of human nature. The book is meant to be a guide for practice and each story supports the need for or outcomes of each practice.
I like that the purpose is to identify in my life the examples shared and then practice ways to see the world differently. I have always been a believer in the notion that the world around me is created by my thoughts and desires. The reality I live in is simply my perception of the world and I have built into me a set of filters that allow me to see things based on my tendencies. I think the first part of the book is hinting at the idea that these filters are many times uncontrollable and learned from family, friends, and the many communities in which we belong.
The ideas presented by the authors about giving an A are most interesting to me. I work in an environment where students are unmotivated by the success of good grades in school. Parents are less interested in celebrating academic achievements and students in turn take things less serious. This environment presents many challenges that I think this book can help to address. To this point I have been using grades as the only factor of success in my courses. In the reading the authors share ideas about grades by telling a story of a pedagogical technique for motivating students to work hard to earn a grade. The idea is that students write a letter to the instructor as if they had just received an A at the completion of the course. The students are to outline everything they did during the time of the course to earn that A. The instructor then uses that criteria to challenge the students by saying they will earn that grade if they complete their own list. I am moved by this because the student takes control of their education and is motivated by the ability to learn what they want.
I am very excited to continue reading and finding ways to use these practices in my everyday life. Check out the book here!
Posted by David Hotler at 11:27 PM
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1 comments:
Rowdy319 said...
David-
I was thinking the same thing when reading your post, many of my students don't care what they make. Half of them don't care because they see my course as an elective, in that it doesn't really "count" and so they don't care as much about making a good grade.
So, when grading them, I always have them explain the techniques they used, why they chose the shots they did, or make the cuts they made. I also ask them to show or describe any shots they left out of their videos and tell us why these were cut. In this way, I can truly asses that they are learning and don't have to rely so much on the measurable A.
May 14, 2011 2:43 PM
In The Art of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander the reader is confronted with an interesting spin on self help for life adjustment. The main story line of the book is actually broken into stories that help support the through line and theme. After reading the introduction and first four practices I have been impressed with the authors’ abilities in sharing moving, eye witness stories about life and the obstacles of human nature. The book is meant to be a guide for practice and each story supports the need for or outcomes of each practice.
I like that the purpose is to identify in my life the examples shared and then practice ways to see the world differently. I have always been a believer in the notion that the world around me is created by my thoughts and desires. The reality I live in is simply my perception of the world and I have built into me a set of filters that allow me to see things based on my tendencies. I think the first part of the book is hinting at the idea that these filters are many times uncontrollable and learned from family, friends, and the many communities in which we belong.
The ideas presented by the authors about giving an A are most interesting to me. I work in an environment where students are unmotivated by the success of good grades in school. Parents are less interested in celebrating academic achievements and students in turn take things less serious. This environment presents many challenges that I think this book can help to address. To this point I have been using grades as the only factor of success in my courses. In the reading the authors share ideas about grades by telling a story of a pedagogical technique for motivating students to work hard to earn a grade. The idea is that students write a letter to the instructor as if they had just received an A at the completion of the course. The students are to outline everything they did during the time of the course to earn that A. The instructor then uses that criteria to challenge the students by saying they will earn that grade if they complete their own list. I am moved by this because the student takes control of their education and is motivated by the ability to learn what they want.
I am very excited to continue reading and finding ways to use these practices in my everyday life. Check out the book here!
Posted by David Hotler at 11:27 PM
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1 comments:
Rowdy319 said...
David-
I was thinking the same thing when reading your post, many of my students don't care what they make. Half of them don't care because they see my course as an elective, in that it doesn't really "count" and so they don't care as much about making a good grade.
So, when grading them, I always have them explain the techniques they used, why they chose the shots they did, or make the cuts they made. I also ask them to show or describe any shots they left out of their videos and tell us why these were cut. In this way, I can truly asses that they are learning and don't have to rely so much on the measurable A.
May 14, 2011 2:43 PM
Wk 2 Comment #1 - Spencer Lunsford
EDM613 - WK 2 Reading - Measurement and Survival
Hearing the TED talk and reading these first four chapters was quite eye opening. The hardest idea for me to hear was that of the "universe of possibility". Being a mathematics teacher makes measuring the world around me the natural thing to do. I am constantly concerned with understanding the world around me, so measuring things, people and resources is my daily habit. The challenging thing for me in this aspect is to realize that infinity can be more than a concept and can speak to the revolving nature that giving produces. I give to you and you give to me, and on and on and on. We are both taken care of and do not need to fight against each other for survival.
Another difficulty in changing my mindset to one of infinite possibilities is that my students are usually in survival mode. The thought I had while reading this chapter was that it must be easier for those who do not have to worry about their basic needs to move into such a thought process. But once again I fall into the world that has limitations.
Posted by Spencer Lunsford at 7:44 AM
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1 comments:
Rowdy319 said...
Spencer-
I can totally see your point of view in being a math teacher and seeing things that always have to be measured. I struggle with this always. I truly enjoyed this read, and totally understood all that it was talking about, opening up to a world without measures and being creative, but I struggle with this as I am also equally logical in my thinking.
When I see all the possibilities out there and all the many ways things can be done, my logical side kicks in and begins to set parameters and measurables on all my ideas and why they could or couldn't work. So, I can feel your pain about having those limits...or at least half the time. ;)
May 14, 2011 11:37 AM
Hearing the TED talk and reading these first four chapters was quite eye opening. The hardest idea for me to hear was that of the "universe of possibility". Being a mathematics teacher makes measuring the world around me the natural thing to do. I am constantly concerned with understanding the world around me, so measuring things, people and resources is my daily habit. The challenging thing for me in this aspect is to realize that infinity can be more than a concept and can speak to the revolving nature that giving produces. I give to you and you give to me, and on and on and on. We are both taken care of and do not need to fight against each other for survival.
Another difficulty in changing my mindset to one of infinite possibilities is that my students are usually in survival mode. The thought I had while reading this chapter was that it must be easier for those who do not have to worry about their basic needs to move into such a thought process. But once again I fall into the world that has limitations.
Posted by Spencer Lunsford at 7:44 AM
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1 comments:
Rowdy319 said...
Spencer-
I can totally see your point of view in being a math teacher and seeing things that always have to be measured. I struggle with this always. I truly enjoyed this read, and totally understood all that it was talking about, opening up to a world without measures and being creative, but I struggle with this as I am also equally logical in my thinking.
When I see all the possibilities out there and all the many ways things can be done, my logical side kicks in and begins to set parameters and measurables on all my ideas and why they could or couldn't work. So, I can feel your pain about having those limits...or at least half the time. ;)
May 14, 2011 11:37 AM
Wk2 Reading: Art of Possibility Chapters 1 – 4
In reading “The Art of Possibility” I found some great ideals and practices that I wholeheartedly agreed with. I loved the positive nature and aspect of it.
I never really looked at what I did as working in that manner, but when I teach my class, I suppose that I give my students an ‘A’ to begin with, even though I do not openly express this to them by saying, “Each of you has an ‘A’ this semester,” I do give them that freedom and flexibility to learn and grow according to their style of learning.
When instructing in my course, I enjoy showing the students real world examples, but challenge them to don't copy these ideas, come up with their own, create their own path and don't be afraid of making something bad. I show them several videos I created that were horrible, but then show them what I learned from making such terrible videos. And to not worry about the critique they will receive as they are being creative in their writing or shooting. I encourage them to try new things, new techniques. When I show them the basic rules of shooting and editing, the basic shot types, I let them know that these are not rules to me, they are guidelines and it is ok to color outside the lines. I tell them that there will always be critics, but to always allow open mindedness, hear what is being said and take from it what you can to help you grow.
When Roz told the story of how she waited until the very last moment to turn in her paper, but still received an A, I found myself thinking back to my days in college and how I did that exact thing. When I see my students today do the same thing, I find that I do not look at them as Roz’s teacher looked at her. I see that the students, or my few that work in this manner, are very creative and passionate for the subject at hand and are simply assessing which direction they wish to take their project. They relish in the pressures of last minute and the fire of creativity and pushing themselves, almost a challenge to be under the gun. Now, do I think this should be done with each project, no. but as Roz stated in the book, her teacher should have challenged her to begin work earlier, plan a little better and make it a challenge to see what could have grown from this type of work. I have found myself doing the same with my students, looking at their good work that was turned in at the very last minute and have challenged them to expand on it, see how they can make it better, more creative, can they incorporate more elements, go deeper with the subject, the characters.
This book is great in the sense that it puts into words many of the things that I feel are natural in learning and fostering learning that I could never express in words myself and sometimes don’t even notice I do in this manner until reading it on paper, or computer screen. In a sense I feel validated in my approach and manner in which I teach my students.
I particularly enjoyed the chapter on contribution as I felt the same feelings Ben felt when he spoke of his visit to the elderly home. I am involved in many things in my school and take on many roles, wear lots of hats. Often I feel over extended and feel like I have no time to get anything else done. But, as the old man at the end of his story asked why Ben would bother to come there and waste time with a bunch of old folks, he gave them a great answer, “But so much has happened since…” I had a couple of people come to me recently and ask, how do you stay so positive, and have so much willingness to help with everything you take on?” I simply said, “because the kids see that I do it without complaining of feeling that I have to be here, but I do it because I want to help, be there for those that may need help.” After reading this chapter, I see that it is my contributions to my school and my students that make others notice how they can be involved and help. And when that student comes up and says, “Coach, do you need any help with anything?” and then it turns into a handful of students willing to help and volunteer their time without being asked.
They are learning to contribute without even knowing what impact they are providing.
I never really looked at what I did as working in that manner, but when I teach my class, I suppose that I give my students an ‘A’ to begin with, even though I do not openly express this to them by saying, “Each of you has an ‘A’ this semester,” I do give them that freedom and flexibility to learn and grow according to their style of learning.
When instructing in my course, I enjoy showing the students real world examples, but challenge them to don't copy these ideas, come up with their own, create their own path and don't be afraid of making something bad. I show them several videos I created that were horrible, but then show them what I learned from making such terrible videos. And to not worry about the critique they will receive as they are being creative in their writing or shooting. I encourage them to try new things, new techniques. When I show them the basic rules of shooting and editing, the basic shot types, I let them know that these are not rules to me, they are guidelines and it is ok to color outside the lines. I tell them that there will always be critics, but to always allow open mindedness, hear what is being said and take from it what you can to help you grow.
When Roz told the story of how she waited until the very last moment to turn in her paper, but still received an A, I found myself thinking back to my days in college and how I did that exact thing. When I see my students today do the same thing, I find that I do not look at them as Roz’s teacher looked at her. I see that the students, or my few that work in this manner, are very creative and passionate for the subject at hand and are simply assessing which direction they wish to take their project. They relish in the pressures of last minute and the fire of creativity and pushing themselves, almost a challenge to be under the gun. Now, do I think this should be done with each project, no. but as Roz stated in the book, her teacher should have challenged her to begin work earlier, plan a little better and make it a challenge to see what could have grown from this type of work. I have found myself doing the same with my students, looking at their good work that was turned in at the very last minute and have challenged them to expand on it, see how they can make it better, more creative, can they incorporate more elements, go deeper with the subject, the characters.
This book is great in the sense that it puts into words many of the things that I feel are natural in learning and fostering learning that I could never express in words myself and sometimes don’t even notice I do in this manner until reading it on paper, or computer screen. In a sense I feel validated in my approach and manner in which I teach my students.
I particularly enjoyed the chapter on contribution as I felt the same feelings Ben felt when he spoke of his visit to the elderly home. I am involved in many things in my school and take on many roles, wear lots of hats. Often I feel over extended and feel like I have no time to get anything else done. But, as the old man at the end of his story asked why Ben would bother to come there and waste time with a bunch of old folks, he gave them a great answer, “But so much has happened since…” I had a couple of people come to me recently and ask, how do you stay so positive, and have so much willingness to help with everything you take on?” I simply said, “because the kids see that I do it without complaining of feeling that I have to be here, but I do it because I want to help, be there for those that may need help.” After reading this chapter, I see that it is my contributions to my school and my students that make others notice how they can be involved and help. And when that student comes up and says, “Coach, do you need any help with anything?” and then it turns into a handful of students willing to help and volunteer their time without being asked.
They are learning to contribute without even knowing what impact they are providing.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Wk2 Discussion Deeper: Podcasts in Education
I think using podcast in the classroom is a great way to change up the dynamics of the classroom. Students today just aren’t the types that want to sit and listen to lectures all day every day. So, using Podcasts to break up a lesson, add to it or reinforce it is a great alternative.
Just last week, we used the audio recording of a book and played it while the students read along, they loved this so much better than listening to the teacher read or taking turns reading. They felt the characters more and felt more involved in the story as they heard it and read along with it.
Some of the podcast that I like are:
Just because there are a variety of talks that I can use for all my classes or even just to get the students motivated to learn.
http://www.ted.com/talks
I use this site in my broadcast journalism class to show examples of real news and how to tell a story when reporting news. Great resource.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8132577/
These sites have a lot of great examples when it comes to video production and editing, nice tips and tricks to use and overall nice video to supplement, especially should I ever need to be absent and a sub has to take over.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bacons-media-centre-podcasts/id331137148
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/mastering-videography/id179237037
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/teach-with-video/id285975506
Just last week, we used the audio recording of a book and played it while the students read along, they loved this so much better than listening to the teacher read or taking turns reading. They felt the characters more and felt more involved in the story as they heard it and read along with it.
Some of the podcast that I like are:
Just because there are a variety of talks that I can use for all my classes or even just to get the students motivated to learn.
http://www.ted.com/talks
I use this site in my broadcast journalism class to show examples of real news and how to tell a story when reporting news. Great resource.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8132577/
These sites have a lot of great examples when it comes to video production and editing, nice tips and tricks to use and overall nice video to supplement, especially should I ever need to be absent and a sub has to take over.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bacons-media-centre-podcasts/id331137148
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/mastering-videography/id179237037
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/teach-with-video/id285975506
Wk2-2 DB Quickies: CD Ownership, Music Sharing or Spontaneous Listening
Topic a:”I wanna Hold Your Hand” – Beatles and Shawn Cassidy “Da Do Run Run” in Kindergarten were two that I listened to at school all the time. As I grew up, I remember listening to a lot of Neil Diamond, Simon & Garfunkel. “Evrybody’s Talking” was a great one. I remember my first Walkman cassette player I purchased and the “Footloose” soundtrack was the cassette I purchased with it. Crazy, I know. In middle school Prince’s ’1999′ was the album of choice. And Prince reigned after that. I could give you an important song or album for almost every period in my life, times I remembered and the song that related to that memory or moment in time. I once remember back in 2001 I was drug to a Sheryl Crow (not a huge fan, she was ok) concert. Well, the opening act was this guy named Joe Firstman. Oh my, he rocked the place and it was at Red Rock’s in Colorado (if you’ve never seen a concert there you are missing out). I checked every music store for almost 2 years until this guy’s album dropped and it was worth it. Awesome singer/songwriter.
b. I do remember when CD first came out and the price of them. It was costly, especially when you were in college. Not too many of my friends had a CD player or anything like that. So I built up my collection of CDs really quick when Columbia House came out. I made a deal with all the guys on my floor in the dorm that I would make them dubs or even cassette copies if they opened up a Columbia house under their name and allowed me to receive and place the orders of music. Well, with over 30 guys on our dorm floor, I racked up a ton of CDs quickly, so I didn’t pay too much attention to the prices after it was all said and done.
b. I do remember when CD first came out and the price of them. It was costly, especially when you were in college. Not too many of my friends had a CD player or anything like that. So I built up my collection of CDs really quick when Columbia House came out. I made a deal with all the guys on my floor in the dorm that I would make them dubs or even cassette copies if they opened up a Columbia house under their name and allowed me to receive and place the orders of music. Well, with over 30 guys on our dorm floor, I racked up a ton of CDs quickly, so I didn’t pay too much attention to the prices after it was all said and done.
Wk2-1 DB Quickies: CD Ownership, Music Sharing or Spontaneous Listening
Man, music is a passion, a hobby, lifestyle. Sometimes I think I have entirely way too much music. I currently own 4 iPods (some have some of the same music, nut mostly different). On my 160GB iPod, I have 9714 songs on it. I have 2TB of hard drives with music. I love music.
I started out loving music in kindergarten. I can vividly remember that when everyone else went to play with the toys and blocks, I went to the back of the room where there was a record player. i remember playing the Beatle’s “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” and Shaun Cassidy’s “Da Do Run Run” over and over on the 45s.
I had 45s, LPs, 8-tracks (I could tell you when to switch tracks exactly to get to the start of a new song), when CDs came out I had hundreds. And now with mp3s it gets so much easier to find and buy music. I currently have $835 of music in my iTunes wish list. I do however, feel I am old school in the fact that I enjoy record stores and hunting for my music. I recently spent over $200 on albums (vinyl) in one of my favorite stores in St. Louis and about $125 in this awesome music store in LA called Ameoba music on the strip. love music.
I don’t ever listen to the radio though. I find new music through concerts, listening to background songs in TV shows or movies (producers nowadays have really been good about finding new artists and using their stuff in shows), and really used to find a lot of new and upcoming artist way before their time on MySpace.
I should stop now. i could talk about music forever.
I started out loving music in kindergarten. I can vividly remember that when everyone else went to play with the toys and blocks, I went to the back of the room where there was a record player. i remember playing the Beatle’s “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” and Shaun Cassidy’s “Da Do Run Run” over and over on the 45s.
I had 45s, LPs, 8-tracks (I could tell you when to switch tracks exactly to get to the start of a new song), when CDs came out I had hundreds. And now with mp3s it gets so much easier to find and buy music. I currently have $835 of music in my iTunes wish list. I do however, feel I am old school in the fact that I enjoy record stores and hunting for my music. I recently spent over $200 on albums (vinyl) in one of my favorite stores in St. Louis and about $125 in this awesome music store in LA called Ameoba music on the strip. love music.
I don’t ever listen to the radio though. I find new music through concerts, listening to background songs in TV shows or movies (producers nowadays have really been good about finding new artists and using their stuff in shows), and really used to find a lot of new and upcoming artist way before their time on MySpace.
I should stop now. i could talk about music forever.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Wk 1 Free Post
After this first week in EMDT_MAC and reading about Copyright, Public Domain and Creative Commons as well as reading classmates' comments, I have found that I am rethinking how I feel about Copyright in general.
We mostly talk about Copyright when it pertains to music and movies, but as one of my classmates posted, what about art? What about web pages and original images, buttons, menus created for the web? Are these worthy of Copyrighting? Will people be able to take what they want from websites.
I was looking over several videos that my class as well as others in my district do, and some of the really creative videos were students making parodies of popular songs and making them fit their subject area or something specific to school. Some examples were using the hip hop song, "Teach Me How To Dougie" and rewriting it to fit studying habits calling it, "Teach Me How To Study." Sir Mix-A-Lot's popular "Baby Got Back" becomes "Baby's got Books" and creating a nice library promo, and many more.
So, with parodies, does this help foster creativity or does it stifle it and create a manner that seems to be the only way to express yourself. Does life imitate art or does art imitate life?
If you look at all the videos online, all the "viral" videos, you see a trend of people, "artists" taking that original viral video and creating a parody of their own. Look at one of the originals, "Lazy Sunday" and see how many parodies it created, Rebecca Black's "Friday" is the latest. Even with taking clips from the news and adding a beat behind the voice and auto-tuning it has become a huge part of our media world. Ask Antoine Dawson. Where does Copyright come into play here?
We mostly talk about Copyright when it pertains to music and movies, but as one of my classmates posted, what about art? What about web pages and original images, buttons, menus created for the web? Are these worthy of Copyrighting? Will people be able to take what they want from websites.
I was looking over several videos that my class as well as others in my district do, and some of the really creative videos were students making parodies of popular songs and making them fit their subject area or something specific to school. Some examples were using the hip hop song, "Teach Me How To Dougie" and rewriting it to fit studying habits calling it, "Teach Me How To Study." Sir Mix-A-Lot's popular "Baby Got Back" becomes "Baby's got Books" and creating a nice library promo, and many more.
So, with parodies, does this help foster creativity or does it stifle it and create a manner that seems to be the only way to express yourself. Does life imitate art or does art imitate life?
If you look at all the videos online, all the "viral" videos, you see a trend of people, "artists" taking that original viral video and creating a parody of their own. Look at one of the originals, "Lazy Sunday" and see how many parodies it created, Rebecca Black's "Friday" is the latest. Even with taking clips from the news and adding a beat behind the voice and auto-tuning it has become a huge part of our media world. Ask Antoine Dawson. Where does Copyright come into play here?
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Wk 1 Comment #2 - Meghan Bassett
Wk1-Blog#1: Reading- Copyright Issues
Being an Art Teacher, I always worry about my students copying work. In fact, one of my 4 rules in my classroom is no copying or ‘borrowing’ previously created characters. I do allow my students one project where they can use what they want, but that doesn’t get published anywhere.
The film brought up a great point when it comes to music. I sometimes hear a song and could swear I had heard it before. At times I have taken the time to think about it, at pinpoint what part of the song I recognized in the other song. They use such similar elements that it has to be so complicated to make a copyright infringement decision.
That being said, how much more recognizable would our work be, and how more into our work would our students be, if we could use samples of music that they can relate to? Not saying we should or could use them, but I think as far as education goes, it would be extremely useful if we could. For my screenflow videos, I use the tools taught to me in Music Theory and try to create my own music. In theory this is a great idea, but it’s time consuming and not always what I want.
I have to look a little more into artwork copyright laws at least for my students sake. My students aren’t obviously trying to steal anything from other artists, but are trying to emulate them to learn their techniques.
Posted by Meghan Bassett at 5:36 PM
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5 comments:
Rowdy319 said...
Meghan-
Good questions. I mentioned to Jim Farmer that we talk so much about Copyright when it deals with media, music and movies, but very little seems to be discussed dealing with art. I am not sure if you read that article on the Obama poster, or about how everyone creates art based on Wahol's 4 color pop art. Is that copying the technique or the art? And like music or movies, can we take parts of art, and piece them together and say it s our own work?
May 5, 2011 10:14 PM
Being an Art Teacher, I always worry about my students copying work. In fact, one of my 4 rules in my classroom is no copying or ‘borrowing’ previously created characters. I do allow my students one project where they can use what they want, but that doesn’t get published anywhere.
The film brought up a great point when it comes to music. I sometimes hear a song and could swear I had heard it before. At times I have taken the time to think about it, at pinpoint what part of the song I recognized in the other song. They use such similar elements that it has to be so complicated to make a copyright infringement decision.
That being said, how much more recognizable would our work be, and how more into our work would our students be, if we could use samples of music that they can relate to? Not saying we should or could use them, but I think as far as education goes, it would be extremely useful if we could. For my screenflow videos, I use the tools taught to me in Music Theory and try to create my own music. In theory this is a great idea, but it’s time consuming and not always what I want.
I have to look a little more into artwork copyright laws at least for my students sake. My students aren’t obviously trying to steal anything from other artists, but are trying to emulate them to learn their techniques.
Posted by Meghan Bassett at 5:36 PM
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5 comments:
Rowdy319 said...
Meghan-
Good questions. I mentioned to Jim Farmer that we talk so much about Copyright when it deals with media, music and movies, but very little seems to be discussed dealing with art. I am not sure if you read that article on the Obama poster, or about how everyone creates art based on Wahol's 4 color pop art. Is that copying the technique or the art? And like music or movies, can we take parts of art, and piece them together and say it s our own work?
May 5, 2011 10:14 PM
Wk 1 Comment #1 - Jim Farmer
Week 1 Reading: Copyright Issues
http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/174373#
I was really intrigued by the documentary when they spoke about the Brazilian, Nigerian, and Swedish laws and how they were almost trendsetters. Laurence Lessig and many of the other interviewees spoke very well about the need to adapt our current laws to the new technologies that so many people have access to. We are no longer protecting printed materials that were produced on a printing press. Everyone has the capability to be a producer and I think this is a fundamental change in all societies and how they handle copyright laws. Many of these laws, were conceived before the ease of file sharing and collaborating became the norm for many. I think the point that Mr. Lessig made about being more open with sharing would increase the revenue for many artists that do not see a dime from their works being distributed was right on target.
The idea that suing your customer base to keep pirates at bay (pun intended) is ridiculous. Sending someone to jail and fining them tens of thousands of dollars is not a way to endear yourself to the public that you want as paying customers. There are lots of examples of artists trying new methods and being quite successful. Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails started his own record label, The Null Corporation, in which he released his album as a free download with options for purchasing extras. The Grateful Dead toured for decades and encouraged recording and sharing of their music. There are many examples of musicians that have done well in the new economy of the information age.
I am not arguing for pirating and the blatant disrespect for others hard work, but I do feel that times have changed and we must adapt to the new methods of distribution and sharing or we will stifle the artistic possibilities that these new technologies afford us. Just as education is dealing with how to handle smart phones, tablets, and mp3 players that have more computing power than the Apollo spacecraft, so to must society adjust to this new world.
P.S. I am not a Nine Inch Nails fan, just a fan of Trent Reznor's willingness to try something different and put his fans first.
Sources:
First picture - http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/174373#
Second picture - http://www.flickr.com/photos/39698489@N00/145765624/
Posted by KnowledgeFarmer at 11:32 PM
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Labels: FSO MAC EDM613
Rowdy319 said...
Jim-
I hear what you are saying. I think the laws should reflect today's digital age, but I still think it should be fair to the artists. File sharing and Bit Torrents are exactly what kills it for the artists. I can truly see the argument that if you allow some sharing and word of mouth, it will get fans to want to buy more of their work. However, they still lose out. I think artist can now become distributors themselves, just as you mentioned with Trent Reznor. Prince has done this as well. When he came out with his last two albums, he released the CD free in Europe in every copy of the local paper. He controls his own distribution and controls the copyright pretty closely. I think artists can now all do this themselves.
I think we mostly focus on media copyright, but what about copyright for the web and documents online, websites.
Great points nonetheless.
May 6, 2011 12:56 AM
http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/174373#
I was really intrigued by the documentary when they spoke about the Brazilian, Nigerian, and Swedish laws and how they were almost trendsetters. Laurence Lessig and many of the other interviewees spoke very well about the need to adapt our current laws to the new technologies that so many people have access to. We are no longer protecting printed materials that were produced on a printing press. Everyone has the capability to be a producer and I think this is a fundamental change in all societies and how they handle copyright laws. Many of these laws, were conceived before the ease of file sharing and collaborating became the norm for many. I think the point that Mr. Lessig made about being more open with sharing would increase the revenue for many artists that do not see a dime from their works being distributed was right on target.
The idea that suing your customer base to keep pirates at bay (pun intended) is ridiculous. Sending someone to jail and fining them tens of thousands of dollars is not a way to endear yourself to the public that you want as paying customers. There are lots of examples of artists trying new methods and being quite successful. Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails started his own record label, The Null Corporation, in which he released his album as a free download with options for purchasing extras. The Grateful Dead toured for decades and encouraged recording and sharing of their music. There are many examples of musicians that have done well in the new economy of the information age.
I am not arguing for pirating and the blatant disrespect for others hard work, but I do feel that times have changed and we must adapt to the new methods of distribution and sharing or we will stifle the artistic possibilities that these new technologies afford us. Just as education is dealing with how to handle smart phones, tablets, and mp3 players that have more computing power than the Apollo spacecraft, so to must society adjust to this new world.
P.S. I am not a Nine Inch Nails fan, just a fan of Trent Reznor's willingness to try something different and put his fans first.
Sources:
First picture - http://www.morguefile.com/archive/display/174373#
Second picture - http://www.flickr.com/photos/39698489@N00/145765624/
Posted by KnowledgeFarmer at 11:32 PM
Email This BlogThis! Share to Twitter Share to Facebook Share to Google Buzz
Labels: FSO MAC EDM613
Rowdy319 said...
Jim-
I hear what you are saying. I think the laws should reflect today's digital age, but I still think it should be fair to the artists. File sharing and Bit Torrents are exactly what kills it for the artists. I can truly see the argument that if you allow some sharing and word of mouth, it will get fans to want to buy more of their work. However, they still lose out. I think artist can now become distributors themselves, just as you mentioned with Trent Reznor. Prince has done this as well. When he came out with his last two albums, he released the CD free in Europe in every copy of the local paper. He controls his own distribution and controls the copyright pretty closely. I think artists can now all do this themselves.
I think we mostly focus on media copyright, but what about copyright for the web and documents online, websites.
Great points nonetheless.
May 6, 2011 12:56 AM
Wk1 Reading: Copyright Issues Part 3: The Creative Commons Solution
I find myself on the fence many times when it comes to Copyright laws. I know for a fact if I were an artist, I would not want anyone copying my work and profiting from it. I am by no means an artist, but I can see the side of those who are always having their copyright violated. When I create content for our school’s website, I can usually find images or graphic buttons I created popping up on other sites within our district because other school’s webmaster’s are taking my work and using it on their site.
And today, it seems as if creativity tends to be how far can we take what’s already out there, tweek it, change it up a little and call it our own. I know with the world getting smaller, in a global network sense, there are so many opportunities to find new “inspirations” for creativity. With creative commons, I like that artists and creators of content are willingly giving the rights to their work to use. And if there were more places like this, then maybe there could be a revamping of the current Copyright laws to take this into account and be more black and white with the laws now that there are more places to get content.
And today, it seems as if creativity tends to be how far can we take what’s already out there, tweek it, change it up a little and call it our own. I know with the world getting smaller, in a global network sense, there are so many opportunities to find new “inspirations” for creativity. With creative commons, I like that artists and creators of content are willingly giving the rights to their work to use. And if there were more places like this, then maybe there could be a revamping of the current Copyright laws to take this into account and be more black and white with the laws now that there are more places to get content.
Wk1-1 DB Quickies: DIY Classroom/Presentation Solutions_Media Use Experience
Rowdy Granado says:
May 2, 2011 at 11:12 pm
I have been around technology and it’s uses for quite some time. i guess I can say that many times I over prepare for a presentation because I was so expecting something to go wrong with it.
Growing up, I was always fascinated with technology and how it worked. However, I didn’t have the money to have the latest and greatest stuff, so I would come up with solutions.
I once created a video presentation for a class using two VCRs and a cassette player to make my own linear editing system to edit my videos.
I always try to asses what technology is available to use and if I am unfamiliar with it, I try to figure out it’s limitations and what it is capable of. This helps me figure out what I can or can’t do when it comes to presentations.
I have also had the same hang-ups as others on here with my district restricting what the students are able to view. I find it frustrating when they are unable to gather images for their projects.
May 2, 2011 at 11:12 pm
I have been around technology and it’s uses for quite some time. i guess I can say that many times I over prepare for a presentation because I was so expecting something to go wrong with it.
Growing up, I was always fascinated with technology and how it worked. However, I didn’t have the money to have the latest and greatest stuff, so I would come up with solutions.
I once created a video presentation for a class using two VCRs and a cassette player to make my own linear editing system to edit my videos.
I always try to asses what technology is available to use and if I am unfamiliar with it, I try to figure out it’s limitations and what it is capable of. This helps me figure out what I can or can’t do when it comes to presentations.
I have also had the same hang-ups as others on here with my district restricting what the students are able to view. I find it frustrating when they are unable to gather images for their projects.
Wk1-1 DB Quickies: DIY Classroom/Presentation Solutions_Response Post 3
Kristi Swartz says:
May 2, 2011 at 2:01 pm
Great solution Michael. I know it is always important to have a backup plan for class when technology is involved! I often use the computer on the LCD screen as the television sets still require VHS tapes and are hung in one small corner of the classroom! They are also all of 20 some inches! The projector allows for the class to see the movie in large form! My only issue is that with one laptop in the room, that means I can not record grading, update files, etc. while the movie is playing. This, of course, is not an issue if I bring my MacBook with me to class! Planning ahead and alternate plans are essential!
I would have loved to see the students write their own versions of the beginning of Wuthering Heights based on the imagery and music alone. Then, you could have replayed it on the LCD screen and let them see how close, or far off they were based on the foreign language part and the subtitled part!
Reply
*
Rowdy Granado says:
May 2, 2011 at 11:28 pm
Kristi-
I just purchase one of those inexpensive VCR/DVD combo units for such situations. I have it hooked up through an AV switcher to the projector and can use it to show videos and still get work done.
Maybe this might be a possible fix.
Rowdy
May 2, 2011 at 2:01 pm
Great solution Michael. I know it is always important to have a backup plan for class when technology is involved! I often use the computer on the LCD screen as the television sets still require VHS tapes and are hung in one small corner of the classroom! They are also all of 20 some inches! The projector allows for the class to see the movie in large form! My only issue is that with one laptop in the room, that means I can not record grading, update files, etc. while the movie is playing. This, of course, is not an issue if I bring my MacBook with me to class! Planning ahead and alternate plans are essential!
I would have loved to see the students write their own versions of the beginning of Wuthering Heights based on the imagery and music alone. Then, you could have replayed it on the LCD screen and let them see how close, or far off they were based on the foreign language part and the subtitled part!
Reply
*
Rowdy Granado says:
May 2, 2011 at 11:28 pm
Kristi-
I just purchase one of those inexpensive VCR/DVD combo units for such situations. I have it hooked up through an AV switcher to the projector and can use it to show videos and still get work done.
Maybe this might be a possible fix.
Rowdy
Wk1-1 DB Quickies: DIY Classroom/Presentation Solutions_Response Post 2
Kristi Swartz says:
May 1, 2011 at 4:17 pm
Topic #1
I would like to share an experience with using technology in the classroom last year as I was completing a long-term substitute job. 5th grade students were using computers to create preposition examples through visual images. Students were to go online and find 10 images relating to a main image of their choice, and create sentences with prepositions to go along with the positioning of the visuals on the page in relation to the main image, to show understanding of prepositions.
During work time, students found images, and cut and pasted them onto a word document surrounding one main image of their choice. For example, one student had an image of a horse in the middle. They found an image of a cloud, pasted it above the horse, and wrote, “The cloud is above the horse.”, underlining the preposition “above” in the sentence. Once students found 10 images, and used them along with the images on the page, they were to show me, and print the paper. This is where technology went terribly wrong. Students were pressing the print button, and when the page did not print immediately, they kept hitting the print button time and again. Students expressed frustration, and I soon found that the printer was out of paper; when I added paper, I saw that many, many copies of their documents were coming and coming with no end in sight! We were inundated with preposition papers! Upon noticing this, I instructed students to only use the print button once! I now, never, have students print documents without first reminding them of the importance of pressing the print button only once- I share this experience, and students connect to examples of this happening in their own home, or in another class with giggles.
My solution to the many, many extra pages of preposition examples you ask- I saved the preposition papers and used them as a pre-assessment for preposition understanding in my class this year. This is just one of many technology mishaps in the classroom. I anticipate many more as I do more and more technology for and with my students! Technology, gotta love it!
Reply
*
Josh Tolar says:
May 1, 2011 at 8:04 pm
Kristi,
I have had this happen to me so many times at work. Most of the time I am printing to a high quality printer for CD and DVD artwork and this usually includes 50 to 100 copies. I have made the mistake more than once of thinking the artwork was final and starting the print job and after 10 pages I noticed an error. For one computer this is an easy fix, but for a whole classroom that can be quite a challenge. Hitting the print button once was a great solution to fix this. I learned that in my case to always start with one page so I don’t waste any ink or paper.
Reply
o
Jim Farmer says:
May 3, 2011 at 12:33 am
Ink and toner are such expensive extras that I have tried my best to avoid printing whenever possible. I have used sribd.com, slideshare.net, google docs and presentations, glogster.edu, and too many other web 2.0 tools to list. I know it’s not always feasible, but I always try to find a non-printer way of doing things first and I find that most times I can do what I need to without having it on paper.
Reply
*
Rowdy Granado says:
May 2, 2011 at 11:24 pm
Kristi-
This has happened so many times in my class, so now, I have my kids ask me before they can print. Once they get permission they can only hit the print button once and then have to have their print monitor up so they can see the progress of their print.
May 1, 2011 at 4:17 pm
Topic #1
I would like to share an experience with using technology in the classroom last year as I was completing a long-term substitute job. 5th grade students were using computers to create preposition examples through visual images. Students were to go online and find 10 images relating to a main image of their choice, and create sentences with prepositions to go along with the positioning of the visuals on the page in relation to the main image, to show understanding of prepositions.
During work time, students found images, and cut and pasted them onto a word document surrounding one main image of their choice. For example, one student had an image of a horse in the middle. They found an image of a cloud, pasted it above the horse, and wrote, “The cloud is above the horse.”, underlining the preposition “above” in the sentence. Once students found 10 images, and used them along with the images on the page, they were to show me, and print the paper. This is where technology went terribly wrong. Students were pressing the print button, and when the page did not print immediately, they kept hitting the print button time and again. Students expressed frustration, and I soon found that the printer was out of paper; when I added paper, I saw that many, many copies of their documents were coming and coming with no end in sight! We were inundated with preposition papers! Upon noticing this, I instructed students to only use the print button once! I now, never, have students print documents without first reminding them of the importance of pressing the print button only once- I share this experience, and students connect to examples of this happening in their own home, or in another class with giggles.
My solution to the many, many extra pages of preposition examples you ask- I saved the preposition papers and used them as a pre-assessment for preposition understanding in my class this year. This is just one of many technology mishaps in the classroom. I anticipate many more as I do more and more technology for and with my students! Technology, gotta love it!
Reply
*
Josh Tolar says:
May 1, 2011 at 8:04 pm
Kristi,
I have had this happen to me so many times at work. Most of the time I am printing to a high quality printer for CD and DVD artwork and this usually includes 50 to 100 copies. I have made the mistake more than once of thinking the artwork was final and starting the print job and after 10 pages I noticed an error. For one computer this is an easy fix, but for a whole classroom that can be quite a challenge. Hitting the print button once was a great solution to fix this. I learned that in my case to always start with one page so I don’t waste any ink or paper.
Reply
o
Jim Farmer says:
May 3, 2011 at 12:33 am
Ink and toner are such expensive extras that I have tried my best to avoid printing whenever possible. I have used sribd.com, slideshare.net, google docs and presentations, glogster.edu, and too many other web 2.0 tools to list. I know it’s not always feasible, but I always try to find a non-printer way of doing things first and I find that most times I can do what I need to without having it on paper.
Reply
*
Rowdy Granado says:
May 2, 2011 at 11:24 pm
Kristi-
This has happened so many times in my class, so now, I have my kids ask me before they can print. Once they get permission they can only hit the print button once and then have to have their print monitor up so they can see the progress of their print.
Wk1-1 DB Quickies: DIY Classroom/Presentation Solutions_Response Post 1
Sue Parler says:
May 2, 2011 at 11:03 pm
Hi all.
As one of the folks that manage blocking and unblocking sites (along with the appliance content database), I just thought I’d throw in my two cents here – and I understand that our situation may be unique. We block sites not only for content, but also because of high bandwidth usage. For example, I block mlb.com, nfl.com, nhl.com, etc. Since we are a 1:1 computer school, we have a potential of 900 simultaneous users. Now the stats say that at peak time, it never goes past 400, but even so – that’s a ton of bandwidth consumption. So imagine me, trying to get my class of 25 out to do some sort of webquest while 100 users are watching last night’s game highlights or the latest viral youtube video.
When unitedstreaming.com wanted us to entertain the thought of acquiring their services, even they admitted that seven simultaneous streams would choke a T1 to the point that no one could get out. Since Discovery has taken over, they offer different download options for schools with bandwidth issues, but with the number of users we have, we still have everything blocked to accommodate the majority.
I’ve taught our staff about browser plug-ins like Download Helper and sites like KeepVid, and it all works. Could it be better? Sure. But it also could be worse – much worse.
Reply
*
Rowdy Granado says:
May 2, 2011 at 11:17 pm
Sue-
Great point. I think that is such a vital thing for teachers to try and understand, how the bandwidth works and if everyone is using it, it can crash it all.
I sometimes have to post videos onto our share drives for the teachers to distribute to their classes. I always remind them to pull it down off of the share drive and save it locally on their drive because the potential of crashing our server if they all played the videos at the same time.
Glad there was someone here that deals with it on the backside.
Thanks.
Rowdy
May 2, 2011 at 11:03 pm
Hi all.
As one of the folks that manage blocking and unblocking sites (along with the appliance content database), I just thought I’d throw in my two cents here – and I understand that our situation may be unique. We block sites not only for content, but also because of high bandwidth usage. For example, I block mlb.com, nfl.com, nhl.com, etc. Since we are a 1:1 computer school, we have a potential of 900 simultaneous users. Now the stats say that at peak time, it never goes past 400, but even so – that’s a ton of bandwidth consumption. So imagine me, trying to get my class of 25 out to do some sort of webquest while 100 users are watching last night’s game highlights or the latest viral youtube video.
When unitedstreaming.com wanted us to entertain the thought of acquiring their services, even they admitted that seven simultaneous streams would choke a T1 to the point that no one could get out. Since Discovery has taken over, they offer different download options for schools with bandwidth issues, but with the number of users we have, we still have everything blocked to accommodate the majority.
I’ve taught our staff about browser plug-ins like Download Helper and sites like KeepVid, and it all works. Could it be better? Sure. But it also could be worse – much worse.
Reply
*
Rowdy Granado says:
May 2, 2011 at 11:17 pm
Sue-
Great point. I think that is such a vital thing for teachers to try and understand, how the bandwidth works and if everyone is using it, it can crash it all.
I sometimes have to post videos onto our share drives for the teachers to distribute to their classes. I always remind them to pull it down off of the share drive and save it locally on their drive because the potential of crashing our server if they all played the videos at the same time.
Glad there was someone here that deals with it on the backside.
Thanks.
Rowdy
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Wk1 Reading: Copyright Issues part 2: What the Heck is Fair Use?
Fair Use and Copyright are like the Mythological Hydra, once you cut one of the heads off it, there are new rules and restrictions from being able to use, reproduce or remix media.
I know Michael George III stated that it was hard to track down ownership and establish how works are actually Copyrighted. Well, about 12 years ago (obviously, may have changed) I spoke to someone in the offices that dealt with legal Copyright. There is a proper form and manner in which to fill out. However, they also informed me that if I simply placed the Copyright symbol (the ‘C’ within a circle) and the year of production, my work would “legally” be copyrighted even without proper documentation in their office. So, I can clearly see where Michael’s frustration comes from when dealing with ownership or tracking them down.
I know Michael George III stated that it was hard to track down ownership and establish how works are actually Copyrighted. Well, about 12 years ago (obviously, may have changed) I spoke to someone in the offices that dealt with legal Copyright. There is a proper form and manner in which to fill out. However, they also informed me that if I simply placed the Copyright symbol (the ‘C’ within a circle) and the year of production, my work would “legally” be copyrighted even without proper documentation in their office. So, I can clearly see where Michael’s frustration comes from when dealing with ownership or tracking them down.
Wk1 Reading: Copyright Issues Part 1: Intro to Copyright
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).
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).
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