Plog Post 7: Copyright

Discuss copyright for teachers. What surprised you? What ways have you observed copyright laws being violated in schools (no names, please. Just examples)? How about violations outside of the school environment? Is it your job to teach copyright respect to your students? How can you do this?

     I was surprised at how much gray area is involved in copyright laws, I was also surprised at how many times that i have witnessed a violation. There have been many times that my class would watch various movies, I had no idea that this was a violation of copyrights. Another example that I have seen of copyrights being violated in schools is when my teachers used articles and song lyrics without permission.
     I have also witnessed violations outside of the school environment. This past summer I worked at a summer camp and we would show movies sometimes, at the time I had no idea that this was a violation.
     I do believe that it will be my job as a teacher to teach copyright respect to my future students. I think it is important for them to be informed about the rules, so they don't get into trouble later and because it is important to give credit to the creator. I can do this by talking to the students about copyright rules, and every time a movie is shown to tell them the process that needs to be taken in order to show that movie in a public place. I also think that playing a game with examples, similar to the one we played in class is a good way for students to not only learn the rules but also be able to apply it.

Good and Bad Portfolios

Good Portfolio-  http://www.education.mcgill.ca/edu-e3ftoption/azortfolio.htm
Although this person is still a college student I think per portfolio is really well organized. She has her contact information at the bottom, and all of the links on the left side. Everything is visually appealing, and her pictures are relevant.


Bad Portfolio- http://www.education.mcgill.ca/edu-e3ftoption/alex/home.html
Although this portfolio is organized well when you click on the links there is a lot of words and boxes. I think that if it was less cluttered it would be more successful. Also is a picture of the teacher playing a multiplication game with the kids, but the picture does not truly show what is going on.

Blog Post 6B: Scenario

1. Scenario: You decide to incorporate a digital video project in your classroom. What is the content area/project/age level? What are the preparations you will have to do prior to beginning this project? What are some of the challenges? Be specific- think like a teacher in a public school system and make a checklist and time like of beginning to end, start with prep work and end with the final project. Write this up as an informal lesson plan and post to your blog.

                                                                Lesson Plan

Project: create a 1 min play about different cultural and geographic differences a 10 year old “Sally” may face when she moves from The United States to Mexico.

Grade: 3rd grade

Content Area: Social Studies and writing 

Preparations:

Teacher will split the class into four different groups. The students will create and write a  1 min. play in their groups and get it approved by the teacher. Before the students begin to tape the teacher will show a short video on how to use the cameras. (teacher will also provide props)

During:

Students will show the teacher their play once before the begin taping. After the teacher has seen the play the group will receive a video camera. The group will video tape their play, and hand in the written form of the play, the video tape and camera, and a list of each persons role in the making of the project.

After taping:

The teacher will upload the videos onto moviemaker 2.6 and edit anything that needs to be modified. The teacher will also add any sound effects that the students request or that may add to the video. The teacher will then upload videos to youtube.

The Next day the teacher will have the class watch the four videos and have a class discussion about some similar ideas that the groups had and also and differences.

Challenges: Some groups may have technical difficulties with the camera, so it is important that the teacher understands how to use the camera. It will also be a challenge to help each group since the teacher is just one person.

Blog Post 6A: Group Video Project

1. Reflect on your group project. What worked well? Where could you have improved? How would you approach this differently next time? What skills will you take away with you from completing this project?

I think our group project went well, and that we all worked well together. Since I have never worked with the video program I was really grateful to have Doug in our group, since he was familiar with it. I found the program a little temperamental but i feel confident that i could use it in my future classroom. We did have to retake two different scenes because the camera angle did not work right. I think that if I were to do this project again I would talk about the scene with the group members and talk about where each person should stand.