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.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
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
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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
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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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