This week's course dealt with a variety of issues, one of which was copyright usage. To me, this is an issue that potentially scares me down the road, and I think that the reason is due to the negligence of copyright usage in the real world.
Take a look at a good number of profile images used for blogs, posting and discussion threads, and other forms of displaying one's personality. There are a large number of images pulled right from other sites or threads, and I doubt that the original artist gave consent. Is this copyright infringement? Or should it not count, because it's only an image? It's a question that I hope I have the right answer to, but that's not a big confidence booster...
Furthermore, as a teacher, I assign various projects throughout the year for my students using Publisher, Power Point, and other forms of media. Part of me gets concerned every time that my students pulled images onto their reports. I become more nervous because I publish their work online so that their families can see what their child creates. I have to really go through a child's work to make sure that it's legal. This week alone, I caught one kid who tried to turn in a project that was COMPLETELY copied from a website. I can only imagine what would happen with a teacher that isn't technologically savvy.
Overall, I worry because I dread getting that letter in the mail from an angry author or photographer demanding payment for usage of their likeliness or work, even if it wasn't me. I guess that I'm more worried that it could happen to one of my kids (you see those people who get nailed for downloading music, so never say never...)
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Safety
This week's session dealt with safety issues. We spoke at length about all of the factors to take into consideration when dealing with safety. For me, the timing of the class was creepy, in the wake of all of the allegations going on at Eisenhower in New Berlin. I'd like to elaborate a bit on that today.
I spoke about this is class, but my biggest concern is educating the parents. Last year, for example, I had quite a few students who were the primary English-speaking people in the house. On student, in particular, had been posting on mySpace, and using language and attitudes that I doubt the parents would approve of. However, since they didn't speak English, they couldn't read or know what she was saying, and HAD NO CLUE what their child was posting.
For me, as a parent and as a teacher, that scares me. I would think that at the 6th grade level, you would want to know what your child was doing on a computer. I've found a very non-plussed attitude in a few cases. I have kids who are on mySpace and YouTube, and other than me bringing it up in a conference, I'm not sure that the parents are fully aware of what their kids are doing online. I can remember as a kid having to constantly check in with my family to tell my whereabouts--rarely were there times in which I could get away with something at home (trust me, I tried...) I'm afraid that some students nowadays are walking a very fine line between safety and tragedy.
Again, in the past, I can remember taking classes in "Stranger Danger" every year to prepare for situations that might occur. I think we need to do this on a more updated level. The idea of Internet Safety needs to be presented, and I think it's something that you should bring in the police for, to really show the seriousness of the topic.
My only other question is, when, as a society, did we become so trusting? It's scary how much people post about themselves and leave in full view of the public. That's something else that I think needs to be addressed.
The reality is, technology and computers are going nowhere anytime soon. We need to make sure that we keep that in mind as we prepare our students for the real world. The story of a stranger in a car trying to tempt you with candy has been updated; we need to update as well to combat that.
I spoke about this is class, but my biggest concern is educating the parents. Last year, for example, I had quite a few students who were the primary English-speaking people in the house. On student, in particular, had been posting on mySpace, and using language and attitudes that I doubt the parents would approve of. However, since they didn't speak English, they couldn't read or know what she was saying, and HAD NO CLUE what their child was posting.
For me, as a parent and as a teacher, that scares me. I would think that at the 6th grade level, you would want to know what your child was doing on a computer. I've found a very non-plussed attitude in a few cases. I have kids who are on mySpace and YouTube, and other than me bringing it up in a conference, I'm not sure that the parents are fully aware of what their kids are doing online. I can remember as a kid having to constantly check in with my family to tell my whereabouts--rarely were there times in which I could get away with something at home (trust me, I tried...) I'm afraid that some students nowadays are walking a very fine line between safety and tragedy.
Again, in the past, I can remember taking classes in "Stranger Danger" every year to prepare for situations that might occur. I think we need to do this on a more updated level. The idea of Internet Safety needs to be presented, and I think it's something that you should bring in the police for, to really show the seriousness of the topic.
My only other question is, when, as a society, did we become so trusting? It's scary how much people post about themselves and leave in full view of the public. That's something else that I think needs to be addressed.
The reality is, technology and computers are going nowhere anytime soon. We need to make sure that we keep that in mind as we prepare our students for the real world. The story of a stranger in a car trying to tempt you with candy has been updated; we need to update as well to combat that.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Social Networking...And ALL of the drama that comes along with it...
This week, a lot of our out-of-class activities included researching different social aspects of technology. More important, we were to look at their accessibility and importance in the school setting.
For me, it's mixed. I think there's a positive side to it--the fact that kids could be in a supervised setting I think has merits. Of course, justifying why a kid is on mySpace or Facebook, for example, is easier said than done. If I were to look for a positive purpose, I think it's being in a "safe" environment, where if a child makes a mistake, the adult in that setting can help the student troubleshoot how to get out of it. Because, to be honest, I have quite a few kids who are on these sites, and definitely without parent supervision or knowledge (I think my parents would notice if I was online at 3 or 4 in the morning...)
However, I can see the negative side as well. I like the idea of social networking, but I could see staff taking advantage of this, and necessarily in a good way. My wife is also an MPS teacher; imagine how happy she'd be to know that we could keep a running conversation for the whole day. That might be fantastic for our marriage in the long run, but at the expense of me neglecting my duties as a teacher? We have to face it; we're not that far removed from the students that we teach. For every student that's trailed off when I've taught, I've been guilty of the same for every staff meeting that I've been at. If I could see myself taking advantage of it, I could definitely see others doing the same.
I think it's going to be an eternal question with no right answer. For me, I know I can teach my kids to instant message with Moodle. I can keep contact with parents with the website I currently have. But I may have to wait a bit before my class Facebook page is up and running....
For me, it's mixed. I think there's a positive side to it--the fact that kids could be in a supervised setting I think has merits. Of course, justifying why a kid is on mySpace or Facebook, for example, is easier said than done. If I were to look for a positive purpose, I think it's being in a "safe" environment, where if a child makes a mistake, the adult in that setting can help the student troubleshoot how to get out of it. Because, to be honest, I have quite a few kids who are on these sites, and definitely without parent supervision or knowledge (I think my parents would notice if I was online at 3 or 4 in the morning...)
However, I can see the negative side as well. I like the idea of social networking, but I could see staff taking advantage of this, and necessarily in a good way. My wife is also an MPS teacher; imagine how happy she'd be to know that we could keep a running conversation for the whole day. That might be fantastic for our marriage in the long run, but at the expense of me neglecting my duties as a teacher? We have to face it; we're not that far removed from the students that we teach. For every student that's trailed off when I've taught, I've been guilty of the same for every staff meeting that I've been at. If I could see myself taking advantage of it, I could definitely see others doing the same.
I think it's going to be an eternal question with no right answer. For me, I know I can teach my kids to instant message with Moodle. I can keep contact with parents with the website I currently have. But I may have to wait a bit before my class Facebook page is up and running....
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Finding Curriculum Resources...The HARD WAY...
This week's assignment-use the web to find resources for the class. That, in itself, is easy. You can pretty much type in anything, and you'll get what you're looking for. You may have to do a little bit of searching around, but you should be able to get what you want.
For me, though, that wasn't the hard part. The hard part was finding an authentic source to validate using this. I'll tell you what--one thing that's changed since I was in college is the huge number of online sites, blogs, etc. that have the same information that articles might have. In other words, man, it took FOREVER to narrow down some searches, and in some engines, I was nowhere near what I was looking for. I'm all in favor of using all of this technology, but it scares me just a tad to think that anyone could access this blog and CITE it!!! I think that's a careful line to walk; I wouldn't want to have my citations end up being some 13 year old's mySpace blog for support.
No matter how much information is out there, we still have to be careful about what information that we use. Even Wikipedia isn't the most trusted source; don't tell that to the students, though. They find it very easy to get the information that they need, without the thought of whether or not it's accurate.
So what am I rambling about? No matter how easy teachnology has made life, we still need to take the time to ensure that what we use is accurate and faithful to the source. If not, I shudder to think of future term papers peppered with LOL and BFF, with citations to back it up...
For me, though, that wasn't the hard part. The hard part was finding an authentic source to validate using this. I'll tell you what--one thing that's changed since I was in college is the huge number of online sites, blogs, etc. that have the same information that articles might have. In other words, man, it took FOREVER to narrow down some searches, and in some engines, I was nowhere near what I was looking for. I'm all in favor of using all of this technology, but it scares me just a tad to think that anyone could access this blog and CITE it!!! I think that's a careful line to walk; I wouldn't want to have my citations end up being some 13 year old's mySpace blog for support.
No matter how much information is out there, we still have to be careful about what information that we use. Even Wikipedia isn't the most trusted source; don't tell that to the students, though. They find it very easy to get the information that they need, without the thought of whether or not it's accurate.
So what am I rambling about? No matter how easy teachnology has made life, we still need to take the time to ensure that what we use is accurate and faithful to the source. If not, I shudder to think of future term papers peppered with LOL and BFF, with citations to back it up...
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Technology in Review
Well, my class has completed its course (so to speak...) As I sit here, avoiding the impending shoveling that I have to do, I decided to reflect upon the last 6-8 weeks of class (tough choice, huh?)
Anyway, here's what I'm walking away with...
1. Technology is a tool, a tool that has numerous uses, so long as we use them.
2. Assess the path the students take to get to their end product, not just the end product.
3. I may have to adjust some of my styles in order to help the students reach their goals (i.e. Conversation can be good!)
4. All the tools in the world can't help if you don't know how to use them (i.e. TRAINING!!!)
5. There will be times where I'll be learning from the students.
6. Take the time to evaluate what you use before you use it.
I could go on and on, but that's just a start. I think the one thing that scares me is that some of what I'm learning NOW might be obsolete in 1 1/2 years when I graduate. That's how quick technology evolves, and we must always be ready for that next wave of learning. If not, it's not we that suffer, but our children. Deep, huh?
Have a great holiday season!
Anyway, here's what I'm walking away with...
1. Technology is a tool, a tool that has numerous uses, so long as we use them.
2. Assess the path the students take to get to their end product, not just the end product.
3. I may have to adjust some of my styles in order to help the students reach their goals (i.e. Conversation can be good!)
4. All the tools in the world can't help if you don't know how to use them (i.e. TRAINING!!!)
5. There will be times where I'll be learning from the students.
6. Take the time to evaluate what you use before you use it.
I could go on and on, but that's just a start. I think the one thing that scares me is that some of what I'm learning NOW might be obsolete in 1 1/2 years when I graduate. That's how quick technology evolves, and we must always be ready for that next wave of learning. If not, it's not we that suffer, but our children. Deep, huh?
Have a great holiday season!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
The future...
This week's focus-The future of technology, and more importantly, how does that affect me as a teacher?
First and foremost, I think the reality is that technology has advanced at a scary rate over the last 10 years. To just think about what is slowly disappearing (floppy disks, CD players, etc) and what is rapidly growing (iPod, Blogs, mySpace/Facebook) makes me think that today's teacher has to be immersed in today's technological world. From my standpoint, I see a lot of resistance; there are a lot of teachers out there who are more than happy to let "next year's teacher" deal with it. On top of that, there's the reality that kids are exposed to things that teachers aren't, and might not have any clue what to do. How can a teacher prepare a class to do a podcast if they have no clue of knowing what it is?
The main thing that worries me is that we may spend so much time prepping for items like this when the next wave is approaching. What to do? Part of me isn't sure; I want my kids to be aware of everything that they can do, but how can I build onto the future when I don't know what the future holds? I remind you, iPods didn't exist when I was in college, and I graduated in 1997! My, how things have changed...
First and foremost, I think the reality is that technology has advanced at a scary rate over the last 10 years. To just think about what is slowly disappearing (floppy disks, CD players, etc) and what is rapidly growing (iPod, Blogs, mySpace/Facebook) makes me think that today's teacher has to be immersed in today's technological world. From my standpoint, I see a lot of resistance; there are a lot of teachers out there who are more than happy to let "next year's teacher" deal with it. On top of that, there's the reality that kids are exposed to things that teachers aren't, and might not have any clue what to do. How can a teacher prepare a class to do a podcast if they have no clue of knowing what it is?
The main thing that worries me is that we may spend so much time prepping for items like this when the next wave is approaching. What to do? Part of me isn't sure; I want my kids to be aware of everything that they can do, but how can I build onto the future when I don't know what the future holds? I remind you, iPods didn't exist when I was in college, and I graduated in 1997! My, how things have changed...
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Just....InTime
This week's agenda: Look at some videos online about incorporating technology with the classroom. After 3 days of pain-inducing discomfort of trying to get Real Player to work, I was finally able to pull a video or two to watch and observe. Once I was actually was able to watch it, I was able to pull some decent ideas from it. I watched a high school video (might as well see what my kids are expected to know in a few years...) and felt comfortable about what I'm doing. The idea that I pulled was incorporating technology as a tool to make projects. In this case, they were making a museum of information about the ocean. I would've liked to see more creative examples of what the kids were doing, but then again, who knows what I'd do with a camera on me.
Anyway, could this be a good tool? Sure, if you have staff interested in learning from it. My problem is that I still have staff that don't want to use the computer for minimal usage; I don't exactly see motivation to observe ideas online taking flight. Doesn't mean I'll give up, but I can foresee some resistance down the road...
Anyone else out there used InTime? How'd it work for you?
Anyway, could this be a good tool? Sure, if you have staff interested in learning from it. My problem is that I still have staff that don't want to use the computer for minimal usage; I don't exactly see motivation to observe ideas online taking flight. Doesn't mean I'll give up, but I can foresee some resistance down the road...
Anyone else out there used InTime? How'd it work for you?
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