Copyright

On yesterday's CBS Sunday Morning, there was a segment on Shepard Fairey, the man who designed the now-famous poster of Obama in blue & red hues with the word HOPE across the bottom. Time magazine first published this image on its front cover. Fairey transformed the image to icon status. It was amazing to hear him discuss "fair use" of the image for his artistic purposes. This was reinforced by a museum director, confirming that Fairey's use transformed the original into something completely different. Here's the article:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/02/22/sunday/main4818530.shtml

Thing 11--Backchannel

After today's meeting, I am completely blown away by the whole idea of using the backchannel. In any large group, there are inevitable side conversations. Having students respond electronically to what is going on at the front of the room is such a great way of keeping students "on track" using something that most of them will instantly love. It really has the potential of adding depth to any classroom discussion. It was really fun to use Today's Meet and instantly be able to see what other participants were thinking about. Multi-tasking to that degree was a little challenging for me, as I am easily distracted by someone talking nearby. Our students, however, seem more able to concentrate with a high degree of "noise". It's going to be interesting for us to try this out with our new iPod Touch units.

Thing 5 - Public Libraries

Ever since 7th grade, I have wanted to be a librarian, so libraries have always been my lifeline. Today I read an article from the New York Times about how the role of school librarians is both in danger from budget cuts, but becoming a lifeline for so many people who are looking for work, education about jobs, as free entertainment for families and everyone. Our jobs now involve more than finding "the right book for the right person at the right time", we are teaching students a different way to search for information, Powerpoint as a presentation rather than a speech, making a podcast or video clip on a webpage, as part of their classwork.
My local public library is a place where I find the mysteries I love to read, scout music & movies, and really use reference books I can't afford to buy for our school library. The difference now is that I do all the "looking up" part online, where I can renew my overdue books from home.

Thing 6-Online Collaboration

Just read the article on making Wikipedia the assignment. My first reaction, before I read, was to approach with disdain and suspicion, given that Wikipedia is not considered very reliable by many. After reading Ms.Groom's explanation, I think she's got a really great idea! For many students, I can see that having their work posted on the Web could give them a great ego boost, and also make them be more careful about what they do write. They would be forced to take a more thorough look at how they conduct research as well as how they express themselves. It could combat plagiarism, since whatever is posted would be subject to critique by many others, including their classmates. We are working with "digital natives" and knowing that helps me understand why we must meet them there.
I'm excited to see how our students in the Humanities assignment group function with Google Docs and the class Wiki.