Creative Commons provides the creator of an item that is generally covered by copyright, books, songs, movies, etc. the opportunity to choose the share their work under one of the terms of the six licenses available. There are those who wish to enlarge and expand the body of innovation and choose not to put their work in the restrictive copyright coverage. There are six main licenses with varying degrees of giving credit, use - commercial/non-commercial, and actually changing the original work to be "better" or different. Once you apply and are covered you can not change your mind.
Standard Copyright protects the creator, that person has to be cited as originator, you must ask written permission to reproduce, all monies go to originator, you can not improve/change the original. In 1998 the "Sonny Bono" copyright term extension" passed and now is an additional 20 years. The Wikipedia article explained the increases and also coined it the "Micky Mouse" Act. Mary Bono thought the rights should go on forever, Jack Valenti said forever minus 1 day. It is a long time before a copyrighted item goes into public domain.
Knowing if a piece of media is covered by a Creative Commons license and the terms of the coverage tells me as a Library Media Teacher how that piece may be used for educational purposes. I find that teachers do not know copyright and will do as they please. As LMTs we must raise the bar for our staff and our students and educate all of them in the rules of copyright and fair use. As this is one of our mandates from Information Power, it is important that we are conversant and knowledgeable regarding the rules. In this area we are the curriculum leaders. Personally, if you are going to talk the talk, you also need to walk the walk.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Wiki
I was part of the Foundations of Information class last semester. Dr. Farmer had the group develop a wiki on pbwiki and post each week. It was very foreign for the first couple of weeks. We were responding to the information cycles during our week. It evolved into a response to our extensive readings for the class and how they related to our interpreting information in our everyday life. It was so helpful to read other class members insites and understandings. We did not meet often, but felt a real community and bond with the contributors. We each had our own page, and we each commented on another person's post each week. Best of all, it was EASY to manipulate. We had the basic free wiki; from the demonstration video, there are incredible features that can be added. About the third week the unspoken code was spoken, and we decided that as it was a class assignment, we would not edit another persons work, we would post comments. In our technology class documents/videos/podcast it states that a wiki is a work in progress and that everyone can edit each others work. I think that is purely democratic, but perhaps a bit too collaborative for a individually graded piece. Ours was more what Ms. Farkas described as a blog, in that while there was more than one contributor, those reading could only comment and not change the original post.
The video clips on the wiki appeard to pull from educators and perhaps one or two from business. I thought it important that the one fellow with the video cameras in the background did state that prior to developing the wiki there should be a solid discussion on ethical behavior, appropriateness, and copyright. I appreciated the man by the computers stating that it allow the person who couldn't finish in a period the opportunity to complete the task at home. This is good differientation and equity for the students.
I can see this being used the the classroom for collaborative projects. A means of gathering ideas and information in one place. Once the information was gathered, the group would design a product using the information to show understanding. Perhaps a reflection piece on the process, and an evaluation of the quality and authority of the information gathered would also be appropriate.
I can see the wiki being used in the library as a means to collaboratively gather input on what students initially know about copyright, moving to research on the topic, with a final reflection on how that relates to them in their academic and personal life. So many projects are done in group form, I think a wiki would be a common thread of work, a common storage area of all information gathered. Then, the group could complete their product. I think it would cut down on the copy and paste reports. With the postings being noted, the teacher would truly know who contributed what piece of information.
I can see that the district is going to have to move ahead on these tools. Evidently, schools in other districts, other states are utilizing this collaborative tool. How did the other areas figure out the internet safety issues?
The video clips on the wiki appeard to pull from educators and perhaps one or two from business. I thought it important that the one fellow with the video cameras in the background did state that prior to developing the wiki there should be a solid discussion on ethical behavior, appropriateness, and copyright. I appreciated the man by the computers stating that it allow the person who couldn't finish in a period the opportunity to complete the task at home. This is good differientation and equity for the students.
I can see this being used the the classroom for collaborative projects. A means of gathering ideas and information in one place. Once the information was gathered, the group would design a product using the information to show understanding. Perhaps a reflection piece on the process, and an evaluation of the quality and authority of the information gathered would also be appropriate.
I can see the wiki being used in the library as a means to collaboratively gather input on what students initially know about copyright, moving to research on the topic, with a final reflection on how that relates to them in their academic and personal life. So many projects are done in group form, I think a wiki would be a common thread of work, a common storage area of all information gathered. Then, the group could complete their product. I think it would cut down on the copy and paste reports. With the postings being noted, the teacher would truly know who contributed what piece of information.
I can see that the district is going to have to move ahead on these tools. Evidently, schools in other districts, other states are utilizing this collaborative tool. How did the other areas figure out the internet safety issues?
CALIBK12
I have subscribed to CALIBK12 for years now and love the collegiality of the group. Most of the discussion threads provide insite on current topics, recently: scanners, inventory, the Web 2.0 online class (I'm trying to do it, we are still in school) the thought thread about standards for staffing. As our association has been advocating for an increase of LMT staffing in Long Beach, this thread was of particular interest to me. It gave me specifics to share with our superintendent Thursday, adding substance to the discussions. I am thankful to be a member of the listserve and do post occasionally. When our grandson was born his dad wanted to get him a series of books he had read as a fourth grader, all he remembered was that (1) he loved them (2) the boy's had his name, Tom (3) he was like McGyver. I had no idea and posted the clues on CALIB. I had the answer from all over the state. The Great Brain series. It was so cool. I gave them to him for Christmas, and baby Gavin has already heard them. This thrills me as I firmly believe reading to your child 20 minutes a day from birth through foreever does remarkable things to develop their brains.
A fun side benefit of reading the listserve is that you get to know the people who post. Often, you will recognize them at a conference by their name tag and place a face to a login. It is an ice breaker, and people appreciate being known for intellegent posts. I think it builds us professionally and encourages collaboration. We are not so isolated after all.
I think one way it might have benefited me professionally, it certainly didn't hurt. It put my name into a pool of colleagues. I was elected as a Region representative for our Southern Section of CSLA two years ago. Serving on that board has provided opportunities for growth that I would not have imagined. You just never know what seed might be planted.
A fun side benefit of reading the listserve is that you get to know the people who post. Often, you will recognize them at a conference by their name tag and place a face to a login. It is an ice breaker, and people appreciate being known for intellegent posts. I think it builds us professionally and encourages collaboration. We are not so isolated after all.
I think one way it might have benefited me professionally, it certainly didn't hurt. It put my name into a pool of colleagues. I was elected as a Region representative for our Southern Section of CSLA two years ago. Serving on that board has provided opportunities for growth that I would not have imagined. You just never know what seed might be planted.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
RSS
The Google RSS Reader allows me to access current information in library science to allow me to read breaking articles of interest to school librarians. The delivery system allows me to pick and choose from one convienent location what I will read at any given time. I subscribed to two library oriented sources and the School Library Journal feed had an interesting article promoting Library Media Teachers as Highly Qualified to the No Child Left Behind revision committee. There is a lot of talk about recognizing Information Literacy as a core subject. The information articulated in this article helps me to be a more informed advocate. This is a new resource to me and I can see that I need to remember its availabity. I can think of two instances this last week that a subscription might have provided information more readily; students researching stem cell legislation, and how to advocate for more LMTs. There are reoccuring themes that come up that would be helpful to know current thinking: collection mapping, weeding, collection development, databases, periodicals. I can see that I need to think in terms of checking the RSS Reader at least weekly. Honestly, I think if I subscribed to a couple of my favorite comic strips I would be inclined to check it often. At least that would get me into the habit. It is also an excellent means of professional growth material to pass on to fellow LMTs and even staff and administration.
Currently we can not subscribe to RSS subscriptions at our schools. However, I plan to introduce the topic as an inservice to our Middle School Staff in September. Many of our students do have access to the internet at home and would benefit from the use of this tool. We would need to supplement those students that do not have access to maintain equity to information and resources. Seeing that I received pertinent current information concerning the No Child Left Behind revisions, I know this could be an excellent means of on-going current information for our students. The flexibility of subscribing by keyword culls through an impossible number of hits even using a database. Students will typically not go further than four mouse-clicks into keyword "hit" list. Finding the appropriate RSS feed brings the information directly to the user. It would be particularly helpful for Middle School current event assignments that require the student to see changes over time or analyze trends. Even though our district blocks access to this type of activity, I do feel it is an important informational tool to which our staff and students should have access.
Currently we can not subscribe to RSS subscriptions at our schools. However, I plan to introduce the topic as an inservice to our Middle School Staff in September. Many of our students do have access to the internet at home and would benefit from the use of this tool. We would need to supplement those students that do not have access to maintain equity to information and resources. Seeing that I received pertinent current information concerning the No Child Left Behind revisions, I know this could be an excellent means of on-going current information for our students. The flexibility of subscribing by keyword culls through an impossible number of hits even using a database. Students will typically not go further than four mouse-clicks into keyword "hit" list. Finding the appropriate RSS feed brings the information directly to the user. It would be particularly helpful for Middle School current event assignments that require the student to see changes over time or analyze trends. Even though our district blocks access to this type of activity, I do feel it is an important informational tool to which our staff and students should have access.
Blogging
A blog connected to a teacher's website or library media teacher's website would encourage an active information cycle to exist between the educator and their community (students, parents and staff). The implications for enhanced learning and mutual understanding are huge as the blog is available 24-7 to the learning community who has access to the blogsite. While local school district internet safety concerns are legitimate, most districts have an intranet system within their own district website that could be programmed to allow local school site educational teacher, classroom and school-wide blogs. The blogger first, needs to fully understand their district's internet policies and sign the district’s Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). Research, by Chinn and Fairlie (2004), shows that the digital divide among students is economic and racial. An educational blog, with a controlled community, accessible 24/7, could help bridge the divide by making pertinent instructions and information sources readily available to those users of public computers. Time is of the essence when using a public library computer. Assuming that the logistics of this Web 2.0 tool were in place it would be an instructional asset to both the classroom teacher and library media teacher.
Teachers in the classroom can use the blog to daily update information concerning assignments, class activities, and public relations pieces. To use a gardening metaphor, the classroom webpage is like the hardscape (planters, foundation plants); the webpage holds information links that remain constant for longer periods of time, provides structure and long-term links (databases, Library of Congress, OPAC). Within the hardscape a link to the classroom blog provides access to the current and changing dialogue of classroom assignments, clarifications, and specific links to informational sites, research and video. The blog is the perennial of the garden. Web 2.0 tools (blogs, rss, etc.) are the blooms of information. S. Summerford’s site Web 2.0 for the Classroom Teacher is Roger’s Gardens on MiracleGro with all the directions for planting! A classroom teacher (with access and equipment) could integrate video, images, virtual tours, and presentations into their instruction and then make them available within the classroom blog. The teacher/student information cycle would continuously evolve.
The Library Media Teacher (LMT) could utilize a blog in the same manner as the classroom teacher. Since the LMT is responsible for the entire student body they would potentially utilize more than one blog. As I would be the one to maintain and update these blogs, my initial enthusiasm is tempered by time constraints. I do think there should be two sets of blogs; one for staff and one for students. I see grade level (K-8) blogs being a source of collaboration and professional development. Sharing sources and information to use within Open Court themes and other curricular content would encourage us all to better our instructional practice. The question comes to mind, should students have access to that blog? I need to research that thought, right now I think no, however, resources posted to the teacher’s blog would likely be posted to the student’s blog. My gut feeling tells me the student does not need to be privy to our instructional internal dialogue. Would there be a blog for each grade level of student? Or one all-encompassing blog for library activities, contest, promotions, “on this day…” etc. for our students? The Summerford site blew me away. I am the only limit to the possibilities. I see the blog as being a much simpler means to update content provided to students on a regular basis. In the Pew report it states that half the teens surveyed have their own blog or download images and music; if the library is going to be a vital component of their education we need to utilize the technologies they readily use. Seeing first hand what technology utilization is expected in college coursework it is imperative we incorporate these tools into our instructional daily lives now.
Teachers in the classroom can use the blog to daily update information concerning assignments, class activities, and public relations pieces. To use a gardening metaphor, the classroom webpage is like the hardscape (planters, foundation plants); the webpage holds information links that remain constant for longer periods of time, provides structure and long-term links (databases, Library of Congress, OPAC). Within the hardscape a link to the classroom blog provides access to the current and changing dialogue of classroom assignments, clarifications, and specific links to informational sites, research and video. The blog is the perennial of the garden. Web 2.0 tools (blogs, rss, etc.) are the blooms of information. S. Summerford’s site Web 2.0 for the Classroom Teacher is Roger’s Gardens on MiracleGro with all the directions for planting! A classroom teacher (with access and equipment) could integrate video, images, virtual tours, and presentations into their instruction and then make them available within the classroom blog. The teacher/student information cycle would continuously evolve.
The Library Media Teacher (LMT) could utilize a blog in the same manner as the classroom teacher. Since the LMT is responsible for the entire student body they would potentially utilize more than one blog. As I would be the one to maintain and update these blogs, my initial enthusiasm is tempered by time constraints. I do think there should be two sets of blogs; one for staff and one for students. I see grade level (K-8) blogs being a source of collaboration and professional development. Sharing sources and information to use within Open Court themes and other curricular content would encourage us all to better our instructional practice. The question comes to mind, should students have access to that blog? I need to research that thought, right now I think no, however, resources posted to the teacher’s blog would likely be posted to the student’s blog. My gut feeling tells me the student does not need to be privy to our instructional internal dialogue. Would there be a blog for each grade level of student? Or one all-encompassing blog for library activities, contest, promotions, “on this day…” etc. for our students? The Summerford site blew me away. I am the only limit to the possibilities. I see the blog as being a much simpler means to update content provided to students on a regular basis. In the Pew report it states that half the teens surveyed have their own blog or download images and music; if the library is going to be a vital component of their education we need to utilize the technologies they readily use. Seeing first hand what technology utilization is expected in college coursework it is imperative we incorporate these tools into our instructional daily lives now.
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