Wk 2 - response to Heather

Heather -
I agree with what you said about student grades. I think that is why I prefer kindergarten. Our grades, essentially, consist of a yes or no - S or N. However, in meeting with the parents I am able to explain all of the skills required for promotion. I can show what their child is capable of doing in the classroom and how many of the state required skills they have mastered. There are some grey areas, however, for the most part it is usually rather simple. They can either identify the letters or they can not. They can either count objects in a set or they can not. I enjoy being able to sit with my parents and show them work their child has done, not just a number on a page.

Heather's original post...

In the first chapter I can totally relate to people seeing two sides of situations.  My fiancée is a complete pessimist (he says realist) and I am a hopeless optimist.  He will see the negative in every situation…everyone is out to get everyone else.  I, however, have this complete naïve trust of people and think people are genuinely good people who occasionally have poor judgment.  I think this is one of the reasons we compliment each other so well. 

I was intrigued by the idea that we produce reasons for our actions that are plausible in our own minds.  When working with children (or even adults for that matter), I frequently ask “why did you do that?” and the answers don’t always make sense to me.  I have been told on more than one occasion that I am a person that “has an answer for everything”.  My dad tells me it makes me argumentative, but in my mind, I am just trying to express why it seems like a good idea to me.  Now I can tell him that it is my own interpretation of what is going on around me.

The universe of measurement is not where I dwell.  I have never been competitive, nor do I define success by “getting ahead” or “overcoming the odds”.  I do know several people who live in this universe and what always strikes me is that they are NEVER happy.  No matter how much they achieve or how much they have, they always want more…always have to be better than the guy next door/down the street/etc.

I was so inspired by the story of the teacher who gave everyone an A and then asked them to write about it.  The one thing I hate most about my job is giving grades.  In my mind I would rather meet with the parents and tell then the strengths and areas of improvement with their child.  Unfortunately we are in a place in our society right now where we need to rank students and therefore rank teachers in order to gauge success.  In essence we are saying that performance on an isolated task equates mastery.  Even as it’s written you can sense the idiocracy in it…yet it persists.

This book really has me critically thinking about my life both personally and professionally (as the title suggests).  I really want to be a contribution in my family and with my students and co-workers.  I think that sometimes it is easy to get lost in the negativity and the competitiveness that is out there.  It is only by taking this critical look at myself and my every day practices that I will be able to make that conscious effort to be a contributor, give that A, and see the good in the world.

I am totally recommending this book to everyone!

Wk 2 - Wimba review

photo taken by Alicia Welch

In watching the archive of this week's Wimba, I definitely feel that I have a better understanding of Copyright and Fair Use. I appreciated the further explanations given as well as the additional discussions that helped to clarify some issues.
My biggest surprise during Wimba, was the issue of the artist, Prince. I had no idea that was the reason he had changed his name. I also never realized that could or would become an issue for an artist. I'm sure he had his reasons, however, it does seem rather unethical to simply change your name to get out of a signed contract. What obligations can I get out of if I were to change my name?
The copyright discussion also allowed me to rethink some of my classroom lessons. I am beginning a Florida book with my students next week. Something simple so that my kindergarteners can understand various parts of our state. Each letter will be represented with an illustration. In the past I have used "D is for Disney." The students would then trace a, pretty bad looking, version of Mickey Mouse for their book. So...is this allowed?

Wk 2 - The Art of Possibility (Chapters 1-4)

In reading The Art of Possibility, I was drawn to the idea that grades were simply being taken off the table. The teachers agreed to simply given all of the students an A. Yet in receiving this A, these students were required to explain why they would be deserving this grade.

photo taken by Alicia Welch

I can see how this would create a learner that would strive harder to succeed. The students have created the goals themselves. The students have determined what they need to do. The students then need to work to reach their own goals. In some cases, I believe that these students will work harder throughout the semester than those not setting their own goals.

I almost feel as though our classes in EMDT have been somewhat like this. In a way, we have been given an A. It is very clear for us at the beginning of each month what is expected of us. If we desire to keep our A, we must complete the assignments that we have been given. It is very clear which assignment is worth what, and what work needs to be completed to maintain that grade. The biggest difference is going to be that we have not created these goals ourselves. And I understand that for some, that may be the biggest factor.

Wk 1 - Beginning Month 10

I am so excited to begin this month of Full Sail! I finally feel as though I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and everything is beginning to come together.

screen shot by Alicia Welch

It has been so much fun working with everyone. I remember about 9 months ago when someone told us that when we meet a graduation, we would feel like we already knew one another. I actually already experienced that after running into one of our classmates at a local McDonald's. After spending months online together, I recognized her right away.
I am also starting to realize why we have people auditing our classes. I feel as though this time has flown by so quickly and I already want to go back. I feel as though I need to spend more time with some of the new programs and applications that we have explored. I also would like to stay current with new technology, especially keeping up to date with any new Web 2.0 tools.
Basically, while I am glad to see this time come to an end...I really feel that this is only the beginning. 

Wk 1 - response to Jon

photo taken by Alicia Welch

Jon~
I, too, enjoyed the Fair Use Fairy Tale. I feel as though it helped to painted the issue of Fair Use in a much clearer light.
I thought the video was created in such a clever way. It was definitely an interesting way to put Fair Use into perspective. I agree with what you said about allowing educators to utilize copyrighted materials. I know there are several times that I wished I could use something that I know would benefit my students. I suppose an argument could be that if we allowed our students to use copyrighted materials, they would continue this use in their daily life. And as you stated, creators do have the right to be compensated for their material. I believe that it's when people become too greedy that society tends to loose respect for the creators.

Jon's original post~
In Part I of this week's reading, I gained a far better knowledge of what a copyright actually was than I had previously. The Good Copy/Bad Copy documentary was simply awesome! From the stories of the artists known as Girl Talk and Danger Mouse, to the topics of The Pirate Bay and Creative Commons, I think that the overall message here was that regardless of what copyright laws exist around the world, it will not stop people from being inspired by the works of others and from using that inspiration to create their own works. I don't know if it was planned or not, but the ending of the documentary fascinated me, where the artist from Pittsburgh was creating a remix of a remix by a Brazilian producer. It all came together so perfectly, and this scene really drove home the point for me.

In Part II, I loved the Fair Use Fairy Tale! I found it to be a very creative way of explaining a complicated subject. It appeared as though the creator of this video was angry, and it always amazes me that such brilliant works can come from such emotions. As an educator, I sometimes wish that all uses of copyrighted materials in the classroom would be considered Fair Use, but I also try to see the reality of economy and the ability of creativity to yield enough money to support a comfortable life. Also, in Part II, the story of Shepard Fairey and the Obama Hope Poster was just crazy. I had seen this poster so many times, but I never knew the story behind it and the copyright battles that stemmed from this political piece.

Part III was the most enlightening!  Creative Commons is the place to go to see the beginnings of the future of creative licensing in our ever-changing world. The different license types that are available seem to be so simple, that it is a wonder that they have not caught fire in the educational world faster. This is such a perfect resource that all teachers should be aware of and teaching to their students. In his TED Talk, Larry Lessig made some very clear points, but the one that I really enjoyed hearing out loud was his closing message about how kids are different today because of technology, and that society has created a culture of corruption because everyday people are living against the law. Our country and many other democracies around the world are in desperate needs of makeovers, and I believe that the time for this to happen is not far around the corner.

Wk 1 - response to Daniela

Daniela~

photo taken by Alicia Welch

I agree with what you said about explaining copyright laws to elementary students. I think it is very similar to how we have to explain the reliability of the internet. There is so much that students of today need to be made aware of, yet technology is changing so rapidly that it is hard to keep our students informed.

Daniela's original post~
After watching the videos on Copyright and Fair use, I am more concerned about how much is NOT fair use. I never realized how small the widow is for all the media that is out there. I have been concerned about the copyright issues over the last 10m months, but was not sure about all the rules. I believe I too was under the top ten misconceptions. As, I believe, are most people. I find that these rules are most difficult to explain to our students, especially at the Elementary level.  However I am finding that we are going to need to educate them early so that they are aware of what the laws are since they are our 21^st century learners.  Which brings up the concern that if I am still confused about what the rules are exactly how do I get it across to the them? These lines are blurry are hard to explain... 

Wk 1 - Copyright

photo taken by Alicia Welch

In watching the videos on Copyright and Fair Use, I believe that I am even more confused than before. It's like being afraid of something that you can't see. You know it's there, somewhere. And, most of all, you have to walk very carefully.

I have to admit that concerns about copyright have been one of my biggest challenges throughout EMDT. When we all began the program, about 10 months ago, it was stressed to us that plagiarism unacceptable - something I am sure we all already knew. However, as we continued, we began to utilize material in our projects and performances. This materials was often found on the web. This is the material that I have shied away from. Even though a source is referenced, I was concerned about how the copyright laws could effect me. Several times I did not use something, like a piece of music or photo, because I was concerned about where it would fit into the context of the copyright laws.

In watching these videos, I can see how copyright could protect me as well as the original creator of the work. There are also many grey areas. Areas that copyright could be pushed too far. It was stated that ' a small bit' could be used in specific circumstances? That leads to the question, how small is a small piece. What if I use too much? What then? As you can probably tell, I am somewhat of a black/white person. I have to admit that I am uncomfortable with these broad definitions.