Copy Write Law

What: This week we learned about the history of the different copy write laws and how they influence us today. We also learned about a great site called Creative Commons. From this site we can copy write our own projects plus we have access to lots of material that is legal for us to use.

So What: As I am working on my digital story and other projects for school, I am excited to become more familiar with Creative Commons. I have always tried to be careful with copy write laws but I am sure that I may have broken some on accident. This easy to use site will help me stay within the limits of the law. I also need to talk to my children about the things I have learned about copy write. I especially need to talk to my older children who are constantly using the computer for projects at school. We don’t want them developing bad habits now and thinking it’s ok to use just any old thing they find.

Now What: I think it will be a lot of fun to use Creative Commons in the classroom. The popularity of YouTube just proves how much children love to publish their creations. This will give them away to copy write their own projects and take ownership of their work. Who knows, some day I may decide to write children books. Now I know of a way to protect my work from the beginning.

Digital Story 1

I can’t believe I forgot to blog on Wednesday. My life just got turned upside down. I just found out my 12 year old nephew is moving in with us TODAY, out of the blue. So now I need to figure out where to put him and his pink stuff, how to get power of attorney, or whether it would be better to become foster parents, and if we should keep him in the school he is in or transfer him to the school in our neighborhood. So many decisions. You never know what life is going to throw your direction. I’m excited to have my nephew come live with us but I am also scared to death. But enough about that.

What: This week we discussed digital stories. I’m really excited to do this project but I know there is no way I can make it as good as the pioneer one, for one we don’t have time to get copy right permission on movies. But we will do our very best to make it great.

So What: Since this is a project we haven’t really even started on yet it’s hard to tell how it will help me now. I look forward to using it in field work. We will probably use it to introduce a new unit or topic. Our cooperating teacher is out of town until next Wednesday so I’m not sure how to start since we don’t know what the students are currently learning and what they will be learning later this semester. I’ve been trying to think of a way I could use this in my life today and I came up with a couple of ways. I could use it in cub scouts at an arrow of light ceremony or a pack night to high light things the boys have done or it could be used in a lesson at church. I could also make digital story to highlight the needs of the pool were a work to help persuade the city council to put in more money. A digital story would also be a fun way to send out a Christmas greeting to all the family show what my family did this year.

Now What: For my future class I am already thinking of a story I could do on eating disorders or on germs. I think it would be fun to have each literature circle create a digital story that retails the book they just finished reading. For Art we could take the students into the lives of famous artist. I’m not sure yet how I would use a digital story for math but I’m sure I will think of one. Also I bet I could get some great ideas from other teachers across the country. That is one of the things that I love about technology, conversing and sharing ideas with people from all over.

Vidcast 2

Vidcast

• Name of Vidcast: Tribes of Utah

• Core Curriculum: Fourth grade Social Studies, Standard 2

Students will understand how Utah's history has been shaped by many diverse
people, events, and ideas

• Rational of Subject Choice: I chose this topic because I feel that the American Indians native to Utah play an important role in who we are today. They were the first people here and should be recognized as such.

• Nets and INTASC connection: This vidcast connects to the NETS and INTASC in many ways. By up loading it to YouTube and making it available on our own sites the parents or guardians have access to what their student is doing in class. The vidcast can work as a model for the students of what you will have them do. I could brake the class into five different groups, assigning each group a tribe to research. Then each member of the group could each be assigned a specific topic to research, such as food or housing. Then the students could work together to create a vidcast similar to mine, high lighting the key points. This lesson integrates, language arts (doing research, writing a paper and writing a script), social studies

( the Utah Indians), multimedia ( creating a vidcast) and it also teaches the students
how to work with others, and how to summarize and pick out key items.

• Draw Backs: I may have given them too much information in the vidcast, leaving them with little research to do. Also from the presentation that is meant to be an introduction to a new unit may not fall into the learning objectives of the standard that was chosen. This vidcast is meant for a fourth grade class, it would be useless on a sixth or second grade class. You never know for sure what grade you may be teaching.

• Future plans for this series: This vidcast is simply an introduction into a unit of several lesson plans on the Utah Indians. We would probably spend a day per tribe, then perhaps go on a field trip to the Museum of Peoples and Cultures in Provo. It would also be fun to play Indian Jeopardy and have the students create their own Vidcasts, demonstrating what they have learned.