Capstone Expo

I went to the Captone Expo last night, and I was really impressed with some of those projects.  I still do not have a total grasp of what I want to do for mine in two years, but at least now I have some ideas of what works and what does not, what takes a great deal of time and what does not, and what I can truly bring to my students that they would enjoy.    Great job everybody!

Some thing I will look at:   Moodle, Pageless Classrooms, clay animation, and definitely podcasting!

 

Great Web 2.0 Links

I finished up Sandi’s Web 2.0 class, and now I am finding all kids of sites to share!  Too late to share with the class, but never too late here.

The first one is wiki made by a retired media specialist!   It is a wonderful list of great Web 2.0 tools to use as a media specialist or just to share with educators.  http://webtools4u2use.wikispaces.com/

The other great site I found through Twitter.  http://larryferlazzo.com/Thebestwebsites.html

 

 

Twhirl

I found out about Thwirl tonight!  What an easy way to communicate with other professionals with Twitter.  I have learned so much through Twitter–great links, new Web 2.0 tools, sage advice, etc.  Thanks, Sandi!

New Wiki!

I started a new wiki last week.  I needed to spend more time learning the ins and outs of PB Wiki, so I made a wiki of my Annual Report due at the end of a year.  I will link this wiki here when I have more done.  I have to copy the report and paste in into Word to turn it in, but that is not so bad.  I enjoy working in PB Wiki more than in Word anyway.  I can work in html at least!

Web 2.0 Class

I started Web 2.0 tonight with Sandi Adams.  I have heard great things about the class and Sandi.  I was not disappointed.  She is a great instructor and very knowledgeable.  Everything that was covered was something I have experience with–blogs, del.icio.us, rss, and Image.chef.com, but I know there is so much that I do not know about Web 2.0 that Sandi can show me!

 

Reflection: “The ABCs of Web Site Evaluation”

Here I am at the final night of Information Literacy.  We are discussing web site evaluations tonight.  I just read a pretty good article entitled the “ABCs of Web Site Evaluation.”  As we all know, today’s kids are digital learners who Google just about everything to the detriment of the more reliable databases.  It is more important than ever to evaluate the internet sources found though search engines because everyone has the power to create websites–whether they are experts or proclaimed experts is not always evidently clear by looking at the search results.  We all know the kids take the ones they see on the first page of results, and they do not search very deep with more advanced search terms as a rule. The need to evaluate information is not unique to the digital age. The criteria needed to determine the quality and credibility of online information are identical to those required for evaluating information found in other forms of communications: accuracy, authority, objectivity, currency, relevance, and coverage of scope. However, it takes on urgency because of the quantity of information produced daily and the lack of safeguards that publishing houses provide with print media. Students need to develop a sense of skepticism and sharpen their judgment skills when locating Web-based information to detect erroneous, irrelevant or biased information.

Kathy Shrock’s “ABCs of Web Site Evaluation” is good but a little dated.  There is a good handout (pdf) available as well.  I wonder if Kathy Shrock would use the same letters now that we are further into the web 2.0 phase.  Joyce Valenza discusses evaluating Web 2.0 here. 

New AASL Standards Help

According to an article in the School Library Journal, help is on the way to understand the new AASL standards and how how to implement these standards into our lessons.  A task force headed by Kathy Lowe, executive director of the Massachusetts School Library Association, is currently hard at work developing the learning assessments and indicators.  There is no set time frame for the completion of this task, but input will be needed at one point in time!

Possible Pathfinder Capstone Project?

I finished a few weeks ago a capstone collaboration with Mrs. Bentley.  We worked together on a 1920’s project in which one of the activities was to make a pathfinder for other students on various 1920’s topics (Great Gatsby Background) such as role of women, transportion, crime, etc.  My job was to assist them in their search in terms of available resources, passwords, etc, without aiding them too much.  This Honors class was to take that research leap themselves!

I learned a great deal about the kids  and the way they research.  The students still need help with key words, databases, better internet searching, and copyright friendly images.  I did not have control over the template used or even the format of the pathfinder, but the concept is a great one.   Kids using info lit skills to create a pathfinder for other students to use in the future.  I think I can expand on this and really pull together a great capstone!  I can teach the knowledge skills, have them apply them to their research , synthesize all their research results into a cohesive pathfinder, evaluate these sources in terms of  accuracy, reliability, and credibility; and then share these other students at Sequoyah and even other high schools!  Well, it still needs a bit of work, but I am liking the idea! I still want to to do the online Senior Project, but I am not sure when I will be able to implement it.  I am sure I will have 20 more ideas before I have to really complete the capstone!

Check out these student-created pathfinders at the bottom of the page from Mrs. Bentley’s capstone class!

Downloading Music FAQs

 

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/97147734@N00/74337586/

We discussed copyright last week in Information Literacy and the topic for Teen Tech Week was Music, so I decided I better get some information together for my students about downloading music from the wrong sources and in the wrong ways!  Here is what I put together:

Here are some information you may or may not know about downloading music.

According to the RIAA,  “Music theft can take various forms: individuals who illegally upload or download music online, online companies who build businesses based on theft and encourage users to break the law, or criminals manufacturing mass numbers of counterfeit CDs for sale on street corners, in flea markets or at retail stores. Across the board, this theft has hurt the music community, with thousands of layoffs, songwriters out of work and new artists having a harder time getting signed and breaking into the business. “

Federal laws protect copyright owners from unauthorized reproduction, adaptation, performance, display, or distribution of creative orginal works.  Specific legislation has been passed to more directly address digital concerns. The No Electronic Theft (NET) Act makes it a crime for sound recording copyright infringements occurring on the Internet regardless of whether there is financial gain from such infringements.  “Songlifting” or making and/or distributing illegal copies of copyrighted sound recordings is an infringement of these copyright laws.

Bottom Line:  If you distribute copyrighted music (”sharing” music files on the internet or burning copies and selling or giving to others) without authorization from the copyright owner, your breaking the law.

Best Advice:  While there may be arguments that owning the CD and downloading a song you already own may not be illegal, or sampling a song before buying a CD may be perfectly legal, these legal issues are still in a gray area and may be risky. Our best advice is to buy music you download and don’t share it with others.

Possible Questions:

How do I know if something is copyrighted?

When you buy music legally, there is usually a copyright mark somewhere on the product. Stolen music will probably not have a copyright mark or warning. However, the copyright law still applies. A  work does not have to be marked to be protected by law. 

Is it illegal to upload music to the internet even if I do not charge for it?

Yes!  It does not matter if you charge money or not if you do not have the copyright holder’s permission.

Is downloading and uploading music really stealing?

If it is done without the permission of the copyright holder, it is no different than stealing a music CD from a record store.

 If all I do is download music files, am I still breaking the law?

Yes, if the person or network you are downoading from does not have the copyright holder’s permission, you are.

What can happen if I get caught illegally copying or distributing copyrighted music?

According to the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), the penalties for breaching the copyright act differ slightly depending upon whether the infringing is for commercial or private financial gain. If you think being caught infringing on these copyright laws will result in a small fine or “slap on the wrist”, think again! In the U.S.,  the online infringement of copyrighted music can be punished by up to three years in prison and $250,000 in fines. Repeat offenders can be imprisoned up to six years. Individuals also may be held civilly liable, regardless of whether the activity is for profit, for actual damages or lost profits, or for statutory damages up to $150,000 per infringed copyright.  If you are a minor, your parents may  responsible for what happens on the family computer even if they themselves are not involved.  Damages and punishments depend upon knowledge, participation, and even the laws of the state in which you reside.

 Are there sites where it’s legal to download music?

There are plenty!  Look at this link. 

Is there a list of questionable sites?

Try this one! 

Credits:
Campus Downloading. 5 March 2008 http://www.campusdownloading.com/faq.htm. 

Piracy: Online and on the Street. RIAA. 5 March 2008 <http://www.riaa.com/physicalpiracy.php>.  

Sputtr–New All on One Page Search Engine

Sputtr is awesome but a bit overwhelming!  Sputtr.com is a Multi Search Engine that makes searching the Web quick and easy because it has all the best search sources on a single page.  Once you have an account, you can manage and customize the page–inserting new engines or deleting ones that you do not need.  Save the changes and you have your own search page!  Give it a try!