K-12 Online Conference

The K12 Online Conference began on November 30 and will continue through December 17. Please visit the site for more details. This conference provides a great opportunity for you to attend sessions live, or at a later time, to learn about innovative ways to include Web 2.0 tools into your teaching.

I certainly do not expect you to attend this conference. I know how busy you are! The nice thing about this conference is that links to the presentations will be made available so you can look at them at a later date. I will be attending as many of the sessions as I can and will summarize them in this blog.

Here is a flyer that provides an overview of the conference speakers.

The complete schedule, unfortunately, lists times in GMT, so you will have to subtract 5 hours in order to figure out the times in CDT. (Please correct me if I'm wrong on this!)

Other Resources
K12 Conference Wiki
K12 Conference Ning
K12 Conference Blog
Follow on Twitter at K12Online
Follow on Facebook at K12 Online Conference

Fair Use - Part 3, The Creative Commons Way

I am using this image without asking the author for any permission to do so. I do not have any concerns about copyright or Fair Use, either. I'm posting it on the web for the entire world to see. I don't worry about using this image because it is free for me to use under what is known as Creative Commons Attribution licensing.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/exfordy/ / CC BY 2.0

Creative Commons is an organization that works with people who want to allow their work to be used by others. Creative Commons licenses allow the author of the work to control how their work can be used by others rather than having people wonder, worry, and/or question whether or not they are violating copyright or Fair Use by using the work.

The following video gives a nice overview of Creative Commons.

The presentation below illustrates how Creative Commons can be used in your classroom. Jessica Cotes has licensed her presentation with a CreativeCommons-Attribution license. This license allows me to add this video to my blog as long as I attribute her as the author.

Creative Commons in the Classroom

View more presentations from Jessicacoates.

Where to go from here?

Become familiar with Creative Commons and the Licenses.

Teach the concept to your students. By the way, I would be happy to come into your classroom and teach this to your students along with you!

Use Creative Commons licensed materials in your curriculum. Here is a list of sites where you and your students can use as resources.

• Flickr (Images)
• Copyright Friendly Wiki (Images and audio)
• Mod Films (video, but look for the references to CC licensing)
• OWL (audio, most have CC licenses)
• ccMixter (Mixes you can use!)

Please let me know if you find other sites that use Creative Commons Licensing!

Fair Use - Part 2

I apologize for the long hiatus....new network, lots of troubleshooting...you get the picture.

This is the second part of my little series of blog posts on Copyright and Fair Use. Today, I'm focusing on Fair Use and how it applies to educators. This post is not to be taken as legal gospel but only serves to help make you aware of the rights you have when using copyrighted works in your teaching.

Did you know that the book, play or song you wrote, poem you scribbled on a piece of paper, photo you took, or drawing you made, and other forms of expression are all automatically covered by copyright laws? Sure, there are limits to what is considered a 'form of expression' and one should be familiar with those limits. For example, the idea you just had about [x] is not copyrightable. Under the Law, you may have to ask permission to use another person's work. After all, the 'owner' of the copyright is entitled to compensation for the use of their creation as well as limited control over how their creation is used by others.

Fair Use, however, provides the public a way to use copyrighted material in new and different ways without having to ask permission. Educators can use copyrighted material in their classrooms, but there are limits to this use. Giving credit to someone for the use of their photo, song, etc., is thoughtful and a nice gesture, but that does not give you permission to use their work. On the other hand, giving credit and/or listing where material came from is strongly encouraged when it is determined you are meeting the guidelines for Fair Use.

There are four basic tenants of Fair Use that you should always be thinking about when using copyrighted material. I'll give you the basics with hope that further dialogue between you and me will take place in order to help clarify questions you WILL have. Resources are provided at the end of this post that will also help you make good decisions about using copyrighted material.

1. The Purpose and Character of the Copyrighted Work

Are you going to transform the work in a new and different way that makes it different from the original? If so, you can use the work. Are you going to copy a work 'as is' and make it available on your website that the public can view? Think again. Don't plan on making money from another person's work, either. Oh, and just because you own a book, or paid to use a photo or a software program, don't think that copyright ownership has been transferred to you.

Another aspect to consider is whether or not the work falls into the Public Domain.

2. The Nature of the Copyrighted Work

Facts are not copyrightable. So, the dates listed in a historical timeline would not be subject to copyright but the style of the timeline itself is copyrighted because it could be considered a creative form of expression. The bottom line is that the more factual a work is, the more likely it is to be considered open to fair use.

3. The Amount and Substantiality of the Portion Used in Relation to the Copyrighted Work as a Whole

Copying a few paragraphs of a book or magazine article that you want to hand out to your students probably won't get you into trouble as long as the book or magazine article are significantly longer in length overall. Copying an entire chapter of a book will probably get you into trouble unless you use it for your own scholarly research or preparation for your class. Don't copy if your intent is to distribute an entire chapter or more to all of your students. Ask about purchasing more copies of the book for use in the classroom.

Other guidelines pertain to music and other forms of media. For more information please see the United States Copyright circular #21, pages 5 -10*

4. The effect of the Use Upon the Potential Market for or Value of the Copyrighted Work

Did your use of the work result in a decline of sales of the original work? If so, you should not use it. Don't copy it make it available to others. Why not just provide a link to a website containing what you want kids to see/use/learn from, rather than copying that entire site into your own website 'for convenience?'

The video, "User Rights, Section 107," is entertaining and pretty well lays it out there for educators by hammering home the idea that you are probably following Fair Use if you re- purpose and add value to the copyrighted material in order to make it more beneficial to society.

*The Guidelines and Alternatives

It is extremely important for teachers to realize that the guidelines listed in curricular 21 from the United States Copyright Office are, as I understand them, just guidelines. They are NOT the law itself. I would appreciate anyone letting me know if I am incorrect about this.

The Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education is a document outlining five principles that help educators decide how their Fair Use rights apply to certain situations. This is a good read and will help to make you feel much more comfortable about using another person's materials in your teaching. Be sure to view the video from my previous post.

But...What if...

What if there is an even easier way to use another person's photograph, music, and writing in your classroom where you don't have to worry so much about guidelines, making a decision as to whether or not your choice actually falls under Fair Use, or even having to seek permission from the copyright holder?

There is an easier way, and it is called Creative Commons Licensing. This is the subject of Part 3 of this series of posts. Stay tuned.

Resources

United States Copyright Office, especially, circular #21.

The Code of Best Practices in Fair Use in Media Literacy Education

The Copyright Site

Teaching Copyright, an entire curriculum is provided and free to use. This is an exceptional site for teaching and learning about copyright and Fair Use.

Unlocking Copyright Confusion

Fair Use Explained Simply, The Copyright Site,

A Teacher's Guide to Fair Use and Copyright

Stanford Copyright & Fair Use Center

FAQ's, http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/resources/publications/fair_use_frequently_asked_questions/#1
Copyright test http://www.thecopyrightsite.org/test/index.html

Disclaimer, see http://www.thecopyrightsite.org/disclaimer.html

Tech Forum - Chicago, April 24, 2009

I am at the Tech Forum Conference in Schaumburg, Illinois, today. I will be attending two sessions and will summarize the notes below.

EduPodcasting

Steve Dembo, Ben Gray, Dick Diener

This is an informative session on Podcasting.

In 2004, there were only 24 Google search results on the term, "Podcast." The same search on the same date in 2005 returned over 100 million results. Quite a leap!

Podcasting facts...

Podcasting is easy to do and does not involve any complex technology. A digital camera or cell phone is all that is needed. Software can be used ranging from easy to complex depending upon what you want to do; Audacity, Audio MP3 Sound Recorder, GCast, and Gabcast are a few pieces to consider. Web tools can be used, too, like Drop.io, hipcaster, and clickcaster.

The Barrington 220 Podcast Network is an impressive effort to bring school events to the community. Their goal is to create better communication through interaction. It is important to get "buy-in" from administrators and School Board members, so they create podcasts with members of these areas. Students always host the interview and learn how to create and publish the podcast.

Cell Phones in Education
Steve Dembo, Discovery Education

Check-out the Angry Professor on Youtube...and the extended version....

How can cell phones be used in the classroom?
www.polleverywhere.com/free_text_polls

This site lets students send a text message responding to a poll made at this site. This can be used as a student response system. Multiple choice questions can be made, too. This can actually be downloaded into a PowerPoint presentation. Free and cost versions are available. The messages can be moderated and you can actually download the messages and see the phone number of who sent the message, if you interested in doing that.

Other suggested uses: (from those in attendance)
Take pictures as a lab progresses
iphones allow internet access when there is no internet available. So do most other cell phones.

Why use expensive camcorders and other video equipment?
Visit www.filmonthefly (A mobile Phone Video Challenge); another free service. Students can create a cell phone video response to a prompt a teacher puts up at this site. See http://filmonthefly.ning.com/ for some examples of cell phone videos.

Liz Kold(b?) is holding a picture challenge. Also, see http://www.cellphonesinlearning.com/.

Scott Meech runs http://www.iear.org/, an iTouch site that reviews Education apps. There is also a ning associated with the site, http://ieducationappsreview.ning.com/. Join his site to be a reviewer!

What's the Debate? (discussion from those in attendance)
We live in a fear-based society. Many other countries embrace the use and educate students and parents on the use of cell phones as educational tools.
Cheating. You can have kids bring them to the teacher desk before the test.
Age. Ask when it should be appropriate to use it in the classroom.
Ignorance. Teach decision makers how to use their cell phone.
Safety. So many people send out wrong information during an emergency. However, parents are for cell phones in terms of safety. There has to be a balance. It is worthwhile to go to http://www.helium.com/ and search on cell phones for safety related articles. The debate goes on!

http://www.udefn.com/ can be set up to send you back what you are looking for; weather, news, etc.

http://plodt.com/ provides real time feedback on many topics, like opinions on a debate. You can also rate the debate as it is going. Students can rate your lesson, too. Wow, instant feedback with comments from the students. A graph is created of ratings vs. time. This might be great for evaluating your lesson from an understanding/confusion aspect. I'll have to investigate this site further, but I like the concept.

Nice job presenting, Steve!

I would like to let everyone know about TxtDrop.com, a free online service that allows text messages to be sent to cell phones from the internet. I've used it and can easy reply to the message so that it gets sent back to the email address that sent it. Give it a try!

A Salute to All Who Write and Love Poetry

I celebrate all those individuals who can write seemingly effortless lines of poetry as if their fingers were individual thesauruses working in unison to make words leap from a page. Poets, and all who write creatively, grab me, pull me in, and anchor me to their world. Gradually and languidly I fall into a dream state where I believe that I, too, can write a poem. This dream state is very special to me because poetry provides a spark of creativity while calming me into a peaceful state that helps balance my crazy technological world as well as my personal life when things don't seem to make sense.

Here is a little something I wrote this evening...

Smiles create poetic thoughts
As Life moves ever onward.

Onward ever moves Life
As thoughts poetic create smiles.

PicLits are fun to try, too!


See the full PicLit at PicLits.com

It's National Poetry Month. Will you carry a poem with you in your pocket everyday? Why do you love/write poetry? What moves you?

Fair Use - Part 1

The time is ripe for our school district to provide formal copyright and fair use training to teachers. Many teachers have retired over the last few years and many new teachers simply do not undertstand their limits and rights to using media in their instruction under copyright and Fair Use guidelines. Some feel they are free to use whatever media is available to them and pass this incorrect educational philosophy on to their students. Still, other teachers are so fearful of what they can and cannot do with media that they don't use any at all, and that is sad. Our students know more about digital media than their teachers and we need to be able to educate them using the tools they are familiar with and use themselves.

The Center for Social Media in the School of Communication at American University produced the following video that helps illustrate the current state of copyright and fair use confusion among educators. It's only an overview but sets the stage for further discussion.

The Code of Best Practices is important for you as an educator to read and share with your students. It provides guidelines that will help you make good decisions when using media in your classroom and when you have students create projects using media. I feel much more confident that I can provide proper guidance to teachers who have questions about what they can and cannot use in their classroom lessons and with student projects. I am ready to dump the "30 second rule" and move on to the true spirit of Fair Use.

We'll learn more about Fair Use in Part 2 and what the Code of Best Practices means for teachers. I will discuss Creative Commons licensing in Part 3 which is a topic I think all educators in D211 should adhear to as a way of implementing a best practice when using media in their classroom.

Until then, I am hopeful the information I provide in this and future blog posts on this topic will help lead the way to a better understanding of the rights teachers and students have when using media in their classrooms and projects.

Please let me know what questions you have about using media.

Until next time...

ICE Conference 2009

You can check out the backchannel by going to http://www.chatzy.com/336912666808.

There is also a conference wiki available at http://iceconference.wiki.zoho.com/.

View the webstream at http://iceconference.wiki.zoho.com/ICE-Conference-TV.html. It is up and down.

More to come

It's Not about the Tool

The following video reminds me that everything we do with technology in our classrooms is about the learning and not about the tool, or the trick, or the latest fad or buzz word of the moment. Technology used during the learning process to engage students in ways that are natural to them is powerful.





Mitch Resnik feels that real learning can be likened to lifelong Kindergarten. Think about this. Kids naturally collaborate, do research, create, present, and network easily (Chris Lehmann). We may not have Siftables available to us, yet, but we have Web. 2.0 tools that can help kids use these natural learning tendencies to become creative thinkers by extending the kindergarten approach to all parts of their lives. A wiki, for example, is a great tool for helping students organize all aspects of their leaning. The most important part of using these tools is to help our kids be creative and make connections that might otherwise be missed. This goes beyond making learning easier or faster. It goes to the heart of learning itself and engaging kids in ways that are natural to them.

I am very intrigued by the potential Siftables offer us. They connect the wooden blocks we all used in kindergarten (and still use today-Scrabble, Jenga, Tangrams, anyone?), with a technology that helps mimic the way or brains and bodies work.

For teachers, this is key: How are you using technology to help kids learn?

Skype Me!

Fremd Applied Technology Teacher, Mike Karasch, had a dilemma during Open House last fall; how to be in two places at one time. Mike is teaching classes at Fremd and Conant High Schools this year and both schools had Open House scheduled for the same day and time. Star Trek transporter technology is not a reality, yet, so, transporting him physically from one school to another was not an option. Mike was able to overcome this dilemma, however, by using his free Skype account to broadcast his Open House presentation from Conant to his class of parents at Fremd. His department chair, Paul Hardy, made sure the classroom projector was turned on in his Fremd classroom and also set the computer to receive the Skype video. Parents commented very positively on this use of technology as they were able to see Mike and ask him questions as if he were in the classroom with them.

Mike’s use of Skype reflects a growing trend among teachers who are using Skype technology to bring guest speakers into their classrooms. Authors, poets, scientists, adults with unique careers, the town historian, and parents, are just a few examples of people who might be interested in sharing some of their expertise and time with your students. A survey of your own students may reveal one or many speaker resources you could tap instantly.

Teachers are also using Skype to hold conferences and collaborate with students in other classrooms all over the world. ePals is an excellent resource for teachers who would like to collaborate with other teachers on projects. The Skype in Schools wiki is a virtual guest speaker network for educators. I’m willing to bet teachers in our own school district could create a similar wiki directory that would benefit all D211 teachers and anyone else who happens to visit the wiki. The Global School Network is a site that has over 3000 collaborative projects you can join. GSN also has ideas for teachers who wish to start their own collaborative project.

Bringing outside speakers into your classroom is an authentic way to help your students make contact with people who are practicing what you are teaching. Letting students contact potential speakers is a great way for them to take ownership of their learning. Our World Language students could make real connections with students in different countries. Imagine being able to converse with native speakers during class time!

The kids who are coming through school now, if you can't give them a real-wold connection to what they're learning, they turn off. They're not with you.
-Helen Gooch, Instructional Technology Coordinator for the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System in Tennessee

I encourage you to visit Vicki Davis’ blog post about using Skype in the classroom. She has a short video on the blog that will provide you with some very helpful tips for getting started with Skype. I would be happy to help you brainstorm ways you can use Skype with your students.

You may also want to visit:
Using Skype at School
See Me, Hear Me: Skype in the Classroom

Do you use Skype in the classroom? If so, please share what you do.
What questions do you have about Skype? What do you think are some hurdles you would have to overcome in order to use Skype in your classroom? How can I help you explore the use of Skype with your students?

By the way, Skype me at michael.bachrodt.