Fair Use, Copyright and Digital Literacy

Fair Use, Copyright, and Media Literacy

Copyright and Fair Use have been talked about and taught for years. As a high school teacher, I find myself constantly reminding my students about plagiarism. So many students in high school still find it acceptable to copy and paste paragraphs directly from an online article or type them in from a book. This has serious consequences, especially at the collegiate level. As a teacher, it is my responsibility to help my students understand what copyright and fair use are and how to prevent issues. I find myself questioning these exact same things when I am working on a paper or project for school. I always have to ask myself, “Is this appropriate? What do I need to document and give credit for?”

From the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use and Media Literacy Education article, it specifically talks about media literacy as the capacity to access, analyze, evaluate, and communicate messages in a wide variety of forms. Media Literacy deals with mass media, popular culture, and digital media. These areas are of concern to educators as it is not set in black and white as much as the Fair Use and Copyright guidelines. This article mentions that teachers sometimes do not have as good of a lesson due to the fear of crossing some boundary they are unsure about. Educators are aware of the increased vigilance with which copyright owners are enforcing their rights. Hence, many know the value of materials to their assignment, but fear crossing the line when using others’ materials to enhance student learning.

The article also discussed the fact that educational guidelines have often hurt more than helping educators to understand what guidelines and regulations should be followed. I can easily see this as no one wants to over step the boundaries and get into trouble for using materials in the wrong way, for a better lesson or not. The five principles in this article apply to all forms of media. I think this too has caused confusion for many. As 21^st century classrooms move forward, it is important that this information pertains to print, images, web sites, and moving/sound images.

As we move forward in education, we have to learn more about what is acceptable and to feel comfortable with all of the resources out there. I would hope any lesson worth giving is not thrown out due to the fact that an educator is uncomfortable with the laws/regulations set forth about Fair Use, Copyright or Media Literacy.

 

Please note: I apologize for my blog being late. Many of you know I have been sick and on bedrest until my baby comes. Thanks for your understanding.

 

Waldo Pafford Elementary School

Technology Training at Waldo Pafford Elementary School

LCSS-Hinesville, Georgia

        

Instructional Technology Use

Liberty County School System has equipped two high schools, three middle schools, and eight elementary schools with a vast amount of technology and professional development in instructional technology. I work as a teacher and intern at Waldo Pafford Elementary School. Our school is equipped with a mounted SMART Board and projector with cable connection and video streaming service available in each classroom. The school has 100% of their classrooms equipped with high-speed Internet connections. It has multimedia instructional centers in each classroom that are complete with an interactive white board, a data projector, and a laptop. The classrooms also have document cameras, digital cameras, video cameras (available for checkout), and 62% of the classrooms have student response systems. There is a 2:1 ratio of students to Internet connected computer. There is also one computer lab staffed by a certified educator and meet quarterly with the instructional technology staff. Available for checkout from the media center is a portable Net book lab with 20 wireless laptops and a portable iPad lab with 17 iPads and a MacBook Pro computer.  The teachers have the following software programs available for use in their instruction:

• ● Pixie ●Word, Excel, PowerPoint ●STAR Reading ●STAR Math ● Timeliner ● Orchard ●Kidspiration/Inspiration ●Harcourt Science and Math programs ●Exam View ●Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) ● KidPix ●Renaissance Place Reading program ● ●Scholastic Keys 4●Study Island ● Online Assessment System (OAS) ● SmartBoard ●Classroom Performance System ● PhotoStory ●Movie Maker ●Adobe Premiere Elements ● NetTrekker ●System to Enhance Education Performance (STEEP) ●School Vue ●School Worksite/OnCourse ●         United Streaming ●Atomic Learning ●Audacity ●Camtasia ● Skype ● Tagxedo ● Wordle ● Frames ● Storybird ● Podomatic ●Web Blender/Share ●Image Mate ●Green Screen *OnCourse *Destiny *Power School *My Lunch Money.com

Staff Development

A needs assessment is used to determine the county wide professional learning courses to be offered and the target audience. Funding for technology equipment, software, and training comes from a variety of sources including Title program funding and local funds. Professional learning courses are offered by our district’s Instructional Technology Department. These courses are given at the Liberty County Board Technology Computer Labs. There are five instructional technology specialists, which are assigned to schools. These specialists are in charge of training at the district building and school sites. Site-based training courses are determined through collaboration between the school administrator and the Instructional Technology Department. Additionally, schools can request trainings or select teachers to participate in a variety of technology initiatives. At times the media specialist may give training to the staff or a small group of teachers needing various computer skill training. There are also teachers on each hall that have been thoroughly trained in new technologies in case there is a need from various teachers. The Liberty County Technology/Media Department website and each media specialists’ site has training videos, lessons, and training tutorials for teachers. Each year they train new teachers during new teacher orientation as well.

Dos and Don’ts of Tech Staff Development

Do’s

·      Let teacher’s practice without fear.

·      Show them effective, simple and manageable reasons to use technology.

·      Avoid the glitz. Show them function instead.

·      Show relevant examples.

·      Practice what you preach.

·      Use the appropriate trainers.

·      Involve the “senior” team.

·      Keep in regular touch with users as a support.

   

Don’ts

·        Pair your strong teacher with your reluctant teacher.

·        Set up templates for your reluctant teacher.

·        Encourage using technology because of availability.

·        Rush them. Give them time to learn in small steps.

References

LCSS Technology Plan http://www.liberty.k12.ga.us/Technology

The Dos and Don’ts of Supporting a Reluctant Teacher http://www.fractuslearning.com/2012/07/26/supporting-reluctant-teacher

         

The Playbook for Copyright and Fair Use

What is copyright?  What does it mean?  Even if you don’t know and understand the legal terms and use of it, most people know that it means to not claim something as being yours, that has been written by someone else.  Most people first heard the definition of copyright in school; however, the word that was probably used was plagiarism, also known as copyright.  When gathering information from the internet or print material, the fear of breaking copyright laws seem to cross people’s mind.  There are a lot of situations where people can go wrong when it comes to copyright laws.  For instance, print material, summarizing an author’s information, using images and/or audio from Google, information from the internet, etc. So what is copyright and how do you avoid breaking the laws? Let’s find out!

Copyright is “a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time. Generally, it is "the right to copy", but also gives the copyright holder the right to be credited for the work.”  When talking about copyright, the phrase “fair use” always comes into play.  Fair use is “the right to use copyrighted material without permission or payment under some circumstances—especially when the cultural or social benefits of the use are predominant.”  There are many unknown facts that are socialized with fair use.  Some of these facts include, fair use is sometimes very unclear and hard to follow at times.  Others say that you can use common sense when it comes to copyright and what seems fair and what doesn’t seem fair.  The Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education clearly states simple rules and guidelines that easy for people to follow to avoid breaking copyright laws.

As educators, it our job to teach our students the correct way to use information, that is not our own.  It is very important for students to know, especially high school students, the rules and regulation for using someone else's information or material.  I have personally always been told, if I did not think it, then I need to cite where it came from to prevent plagiarism and breaking copyright laws.  If you are uncertain on whether the information you are using could possibly break copyright regulations, use the “The Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education” as a source to check or copyright laws that can be found on the internet.  I always say, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

 

School News

School news can be an interesting and fun way for students to get involved in the production and technology side of the media center.  I have seen different school news program and all of them have been a successful.

The program that I am most familiar with and learned about school news is through my mentor, Amanda White, who is the media specialist at Peachtree City Elementary.  She talked with me about the school news and how great of a program it is.  Amanda holds interviews at the end of the year for upcoming fourth and fifth grade students.  These students are taught during a one week training in the summer, that she teaches, and students are taught how to operate equipment and what their role will be either with helping produce the news to speaking.  The news is broadcasted on the live circuit throughout the school, every morning.  The students are fully in charge of the school news and take pride in their work and taking ownership in their work.  Amanda helps run the program smoothly every morning, but will sit back and be available if the students need her assistance.  I think that this is one of the best school news programs I have seen in the schools.

The school news is broadcasted every morning and will conduct the pledge, inform students of the lunch choices, and then will also inform students and teachers of any changes in the schedule or any other information that needs to be shared.  School programs, such as Accelerated Reader, book fairs, school festivals, and fundraisers are discussed also.  There are other programs that are put into place like character trait of the month and word of the week.  Students share definitions and guest speakers will come onto the news to help with the character trait.

Being in different schools over the last 5 or so years, I have seen many different news or announcement programs.  I have seen where students conduct the announcements over the intercom, where school news is broadcasted over a live circuit, and where there is nothing at all. It is interesting to see how different schools go about integrating school news into their schools and daily routines.  I think it can be an awesome avenue for students and can help them become familiar with using technology and building confidence in their speaking abilities.

Social Networking Sites

 Social Networking Sites, which is also known as SNS’s, is a website that facilitates a group people who can share interest, information, activities, and are able to make real life connections with other users.  The process involves users completing profiles with include information about the user, as well as, some of the social links they use.  Each Social Networking website operates a little differently, but the majority of the guidelines and general aspects are the very similar.  Some SNS’s allow their users to create posts, blogs, upload images and videos, send private messages, and allow their users to use instant messaging services.

There are many Social Networking sites available for internet users today.  The first Social Networking site was first created in the late 1990’s.  Since then, there has been a vast creation of social networking sites, with each site operating and pertaining to different interests and groups.  Some of the most popular SNS’s available today are Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google +, Myspace, Linkedin, and CafeMom.

One of the most popular educational SNS’s is Edmodo.  Edmodo is a recent social network that allows teachers, parents, and students to view information about their class.  It is basically a website that allow teachers to have a “virtual classroom.”  Through Edmodo, teachers can posts assignments, add and delete material for students to use as guides or complete assignments, teacher and students can create posts and ask questions about certain aspects of class, as well as, students have the opportunity to collaborate and share ideas with other students in the classroom.  I personally think Edmodo is a wonderful social network for all parties to enjoy in an educational setting.  It gives teachers, parents, and students to the opportunity to get involved in the classroom and to ensure their student in being successful.

At the school I am at, our county does firewall most social networking sites, such as Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter.  However, the county has allowed for Edmodo to be viewable, which is understandable since it is an educational website.  I think that certain SNS’s should be blocked at school, just for the main reason of being liable for any potential “wrong doings” that students can run into.  I also think that certain SNS’s should be limited to certain ages.  For the past couple of years, I have had more and more of my third graders who have developed Facebook pages.  Some of them have been “banned” from using the site, due to bullying and inappropriate language.  If a child and/or minor is using a SNS, I believe they should be monitored and guided through the process.  However, if SNS’s are used in a proper setting and there is proper guidance and monitoring throughout the process, I think SNS’s are a great tool for teacher, students, and parents to use.

Social Media and the Media Center

From my reading and research, I think the media center is a very good place to incorporate social media into education. In my classroom, I personally have an issue with students getting on Twitter to socialize with their friends. I have yet to see one of my students using Twitter for a truly educational purpose. However, Twitter is allowed at our school to pass on scholarship information from our guidance department. Since Twitter is allowed at my school, I can see its value in certain situations like the guidance office or the media center. However, I have found no value for it in my business courses at this time. Facebook and MySpace are not allowed at my school and have been blocked for the most part. However, students do find a way to get around this block sometimes. Youtube is also allowed at my school and the only thing I have seen my students use it for are videos of fights and other meaningless videos. I have not used Youtube for my business classes at this point either.

From the media center stand point however, I can see Twitter and Facebook being valuable to get students together and collaborating and communicating about books and media center events. This gives lovers of the library a forum to use to discuss books and find out about ones they have not read. They can find out about upcoming events in the media center too and give input about these things. This allows for the use of social media in a positive way at the educational level and does not prevent them from getting their work done in class, which is the problem I have had with social media in my classroom. With the right conversations and postings from the media specialist, students can respond and feel like they have a say in upcoming events and about what books are the best in any given genre.

With social media there are issues to consider like bullying and safety. These are topics that could be covered in the media center to help students better understand how social media works and how it can be used in negative ways. This could possibly help some student’s better deal with a bad situation if they are aware that it happens and there are available resources to help them out in a bad situation.

With social media playing such an important role in society, I think the media center could be an excellent place to use it for the benefit of the library and those that love books!

LMC Web pages and Websites

Media Center Web pages and Websites

Web pages and websites are an open view into the media center and school's world.  These can be an imperative part of a media center program.  When searching media center's web pages and sites I came across many well designed and updated pages and sites, but unfortunately for every successful one I found there were at least three that were not updated and lacked good information.  

Here is a list of helpful information that I believe all good web pages and media center sites should have:

• School name and address
• Media specialist's name and contact information
• Media center hours
• Separate pages for policies and procedures (i.e.: hours of operation, circulation policy, etc)
• Helpful links which include the districts home link, a link to the school website, and other links such as homework help and educational websites
• Other information about special programs the media center participates in or upcoming events 

I believe that a successful media center web page should include descriptions about links and other information listed.  My thinking is that if someone who has no clue what a media center is or what a media specialist does should be able to go onto the site and learn as much as they can about that media center and how it operates.

Here is a list of important things to keep in mine while creating a website.

• Audience- you have to understand who will be viewing and using your website before you can effectively create one.  If your site is for younger students and their parents the site will be geared for them, but if your students are older and they will be viewing it, you should make sure that the information is appropriate for them.  
• Update regularly- I have been looking at many media center web pages and it bothers me when the site has not been updated or lacks simple information.  I understand that taking care of a web page is time consuming and that media specialists are being pulled all different ways, but the Internet is one of those avenues that everyone can view and get information from.  With out world being 24/7 it is important to keep this important part of the media center up to date.  Collaborating with others can make it easier to keep the site updated.  You can also recruit students to help with the site.  
• Link descriptions- There are many sites that provide helpful links for parents and students, but the links have no description or explanation of what they can be used for.  If links are provided, it is helpful to have explanations or descriptions available because this will only make those links more apt to be used.
• Surveys and feedback- Sending out a survey about what should be on the website would be great way to learn about your audience and what they are expecting.  Parents, teachers, and students are there to help with the creating of the page and will be more apt to using the site if they know the information they need and want is provided.  Feedback and comments can be given throughout the year to ensure that site is doing its job.  

Websites and web pages can be a great way to communicate and share information about what is happening in the media center.  With our world revolving around the Internet and students becoming familiar with working on the Internet, it only makes sense to create websites and web pages that are user friendly and that provide helpful and useful information.