At this point (about midway through the course), I am pleased at how smoothly the course is going for me. Not that I do not have challenges - I am still stymied by my technological deficiencies at home - but in general, I am "getting" the new concepts, and I see remarkable application possibilities in my content area of world languages.
To recap, to date we have learned about Inspiration software, manipulation of digital imagery, copyright issues, blogging, web design, and digital storytelling. Of these, I find web design to be the most challenging by far (and I think I am not alone!). I think this is because, in web design, you have to use both the right and left sides of your brain at the same time to satisfy the technical and aesthetic requirements - it becomes overwhelming.
I can see excellent opportunities to use most of the new technologies we have learned to add value to the foreign language classroom. Blogging has lots of possibilities. A class blog could be used to gather thoughts on and clarify challenging aspects of the curriculum, and individual blogs could be used as weekly journals to reflect on progress or practice writing skills. My favorite idea is to use a class blog to create a continuing story in French. The story could be started by the teacher, and each student could be required to go on the blog at assigned intervals (maybe once a month) and add a paragraph to the story. Photo Story 3 could be used as an evaluation tool - maybe a final project. Students would have an opportunity to demonstrate pronunciation skills as well as writing skills.
I am very much looking forward to learning about podcasting. I do not really know much about it, but I am hoping, again, to see possible applications to world language instruction, since verbal comprehension is such an important part of learning a foreign language.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
Copyright Issues and Educators
The area of copyright issues where media use is concerned is fraught with challenges and potential pitfalls for educators. Copyright legislation and legal precedent are tremendously complex and ever-changing. Nevertheless, educators are charged with a double duty: they must, themselves, adhere to fair use guidelines in their use of technology in the classroom, and at the same time, impart on their students an awareness of fair use principles and a sense of the potentially serious ramifications of violating these principles.
Today's technology gives educators unprecedented access to text, music, and images, both still and moving. This affords teachers exciting opportunities to use these resources to make learning come alive for their students. In using these materials, however, educators must maintain an awareness of the reach of copyright and the limitations placed on them by fair use guidelines. In practical terms, this may mean, for example, that teachers should avoid copying long works for class use or using the same copies year after year. Additionally, showing a class a movie unrelated to the subject area as a reward the day before vacation does not constitute fair use.
It is incumbent upon educators to help students gain an understanding of how fair use of copyrighted materials applies to them in their role as students (and as consumers of music and media). Students need to know that they may only fairly use a maximum of three minutes or ten percent of a copyrighted motion media clip (whichever is less), or ten percent of a copyrighted piece of music, in their own productions for educational purposes. They should also be made aware of materials and resources available to them in the public domain.
Copyright infringement is a serious offense, and educators should be aware of the requirements of fair use, as well as school copyright policy. Both teachers and students should be able to use the burgeoning supply of digital information to enhance learning. However, this may often mean walking a fine line between creative freedom and legal compliance. Resources in the public domain may well be the key to carefree creative licence.
Today's technology gives educators unprecedented access to text, music, and images, both still and moving. This affords teachers exciting opportunities to use these resources to make learning come alive for their students. In using these materials, however, educators must maintain an awareness of the reach of copyright and the limitations placed on them by fair use guidelines. In practical terms, this may mean, for example, that teachers should avoid copying long works for class use or using the same copies year after year. Additionally, showing a class a movie unrelated to the subject area as a reward the day before vacation does not constitute fair use.
It is incumbent upon educators to help students gain an understanding of how fair use of copyrighted materials applies to them in their role as students (and as consumers of music and media). Students need to know that they may only fairly use a maximum of three minutes or ten percent of a copyrighted motion media clip (whichever is less), or ten percent of a copyrighted piece of music, in their own productions for educational purposes. They should also be made aware of materials and resources available to them in the public domain.
Copyright infringement is a serious offense, and educators should be aware of the requirements of fair use, as well as school copyright policy. Both teachers and students should be able to use the burgeoning supply of digital information to enhance learning. However, this may often mean walking a fine line between creative freedom and legal compliance. Resources in the public domain may well be the key to carefree creative licence.
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