In this class I learned that an entire course that allows for lots of learning can be done without writing in a notebook, reading a textbook or filling out a worksheet. Not even one time!
I enjoyed learning all of the technologies that were presented in class but the ones that were most useful for me and that I see myself using in the future on a regular basis are the Google Docs, Google Groups and Hotlists.
Hotlists will be very important for me as a teacher trainer whose main role is to provide support for teachers. There are so many great sources on the web that address the concerns and needs of the teachers I work with. But I know that they have limited time to search the web and find these great sources. Now that I know about Hotlists I plan to frequently send these list to teachers so that they can easily and quickly stay up-to-date with the current research and ideas in our field.
Google Groups are great because the teachers I work with do not teach at one central campus, they are places at K12 sites all over Oakland. Even though we have teacher meetings once a month, that is not enough for the teachers to get feedback from each other about their ideas and concerns. I see Google groups as a great tool for teachers to share ideas and concerns with each other which will lead to better collaboration and teaching in the entire program.
I became convinced about using Google Docs after watching the apple video about managing copies of the same draft. In our program, teachers are frequently writing curriculum in teams. We recently finished a unit and there were several times that the most recent draft was not given to all of the members because there were too many copies created. It was impossible to keep track of which draft was the most current. In the future I will strongly suggest that we use Google Docs to write our program curriculum.
Other than the technologies I listed above, probably the most valuable application that I learned from this class is becoming more familiar with a Mac. I am a PC user at home and in the office, but whenever I visit the classrooms I manage and whenever I teach trainings in campus computer labs the computers that are available are always Macs. In the past, I have always been limited in what I could do because I was afraid I would not know how to help the students because I did not know what to do without the right click! Since all of our class time in this course was spent using Macs I know learned how to get by without using the right click and I am so much more comfortable using a Mac.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
Thoughts on Copyright
In this new age of Web 2.0 educators not only have more access to resources on the Internet, they have access to publishing their own works for their students and other educators. As a result, Copyright laws and information have become very important for educators and administrators.
According to Newsome (1997) the copyright law covers seven broad categories: literary works; musical works; dramatic works; pantomimed and choreographed works; pictorial, graphics, and sculptural works; motion pictures, audiovisual works; and sound recordings. These types of works may be used or copied if it is public domain, if the user has permission, if there is a legal exception or if it is copied under "fair use."
The Stanford University Library's web page defines fair use as "a copyright principle based on the belief that the public is entitled to freely use portions of copyrighted materials for purposes of commentary and criticism." Unfortunately, if there is any disagreement between the copyright owner and the the user about the interpretation of the fair use, the case may be taken to court. The only guidance provided for letting people know what the limits are for fair use are a few factors outlined in the copyright law. For example, one important factor is whether your use will deprive the copyright owner of income. The factors for determining what is fair use is weighed differently from case to case and the process is often quite subjective (Stanford University Library). For this reason, the fair use guidelines are often tricky to implement properly.
I am particularly concerned with this tricky implementation in educational settings. The educational fair use guidelines apply to material used in educational institutions and for educational purposes. The Stanford Library's web site defines "Educational purposes" as:
non-commercial instruction or curriculum based teaching by educators to students at nonprofit educational institutions
planned non-commercial study or investigation directed toward making a contribution to a field of knowledge, or
presentation of research findings at non-commercial peer conferences, workshops or seminars.
Even though materials may be copied for educational purposes, certain standards must be met. Unfortunately, as mentioned previously the guidelines are not very clear. Nevertheless, teachers cannot claim ignorance of the law as an excuse.
McKensie (1996) provides a good rule of thumb by saying, "students might make rather liberal use of information, text and graphics so long as their resulting works remain within the classroom setting. The moment the works move out of the classroom, they may fall under a "public performance" clause of the copyright law which imposes much greater restrictions and fees. We must distinguish between "practice" publishing and "real" publishing." Students and teachers may not publish on the web or anywhere else unless they have requested and received formal permission to do so by the copyright owner.A great way for teacher to familiarize themselves with the copyright laws to which they will be held accountable to is through reading about it on the Internet. A site that I highly recommend is titled "A visit to Copyright Bay" published by the University of St. Francis. This site has plenty of information on all the copyright laws and it gives specific examples of how they are applied in educational settings. It does all this in a fun way. The site is set up with a graphic that looks like a bay and you can click on different parts that are safe and unsafe based on the fair use standards.
In conclusion, educators today face many challenges when learning to apply the many resources that are available to them on the Internet. In reading the information on the websites that are listed in my references below I have decided that is better to be more careful than risky when copying material. I feel that teachers should assume that all material is protected and always ask for permission.
References
McKenzie, J. (1996). Keeping it legal: Questions arising out of Web site management. Available at: http://www.fno.org/jun96/legal.html [Sept. 26, 2008].
Newsome, C. (1997). A teacher's guide to fair use and copyright: Modeling honesty and resourcefulness. Available at: http://home.earthlink.net/~cnew/research.htm#A%20Teacher%27s%20Guide%20to%20Fair%20Use%20&%20Copyright [Sept. 26, 2008].
Stanford University Libraries (no date). Copyright & Fair Use. Available at: http://fairuse.stanford.edu/ [Sept. 26, 2008]
University of St. Francis (no date). A visit to copyright bay. Available at: http://www.stfrancis.edu/cid/copyrightbay/index.htm [Sept. 26, 2008].
According to Newsome (1997) the copyright law covers seven broad categories: literary works; musical works; dramatic works; pantomimed and choreographed works; pictorial, graphics, and sculptural works; motion pictures, audiovisual works; and sound recordings. These types of works may be used or copied if it is public domain, if the user has permission, if there is a legal exception or if it is copied under "fair use."
The Stanford University Library's web page defines fair use as "a copyright principle based on the belief that the public is entitled to freely use portions of copyrighted materials for purposes of commentary and criticism." Unfortunately, if there is any disagreement between the copyright owner and the the user about the interpretation of the fair use, the case may be taken to court. The only guidance provided for letting people know what the limits are for fair use are a few factors outlined in the copyright law. For example, one important factor is whether your use will deprive the copyright owner of income. The factors for determining what is fair use is weighed differently from case to case and the process is often quite subjective (Stanford University Library). For this reason, the fair use guidelines are often tricky to implement properly.
I am particularly concerned with this tricky implementation in educational settings. The educational fair use guidelines apply to material used in educational institutions and for educational purposes. The Stanford Library's web site defines "Educational purposes" as:
non-commercial instruction or curriculum based teaching by educators to students at nonprofit educational institutions
planned non-commercial study or investigation directed toward making a contribution to a field of knowledge, or
presentation of research findings at non-commercial peer conferences, workshops or seminars.
Even though materials may be copied for educational purposes, certain standards must be met. Unfortunately, as mentioned previously the guidelines are not very clear. Nevertheless, teachers cannot claim ignorance of the law as an excuse.
McKensie (1996) provides a good rule of thumb by saying, "students might make rather liberal use of information, text and graphics so long as their resulting works remain within the classroom setting. The moment the works move out of the classroom, they may fall under a "public performance" clause of the copyright law which imposes much greater restrictions and fees. We must distinguish between "practice" publishing and "real" publishing." Students and teachers may not publish on the web or anywhere else unless they have requested and received formal permission to do so by the copyright owner.A great way for teacher to familiarize themselves with the copyright laws to which they will be held accountable to is through reading about it on the Internet. A site that I highly recommend is titled "A visit to Copyright Bay" published by the University of St. Francis. This site has plenty of information on all the copyright laws and it gives specific examples of how they are applied in educational settings. It does all this in a fun way. The site is set up with a graphic that looks like a bay and you can click on different parts that are safe and unsafe based on the fair use standards.
In conclusion, educators today face many challenges when learning to apply the many resources that are available to them on the Internet. In reading the information on the websites that are listed in my references below I have decided that is better to be more careful than risky when copying material. I feel that teachers should assume that all material is protected and always ask for permission.
References
McKenzie, J. (1996). Keeping it legal: Questions arising out of Web site management. Available at: http://www.fno.org/jun96/legal.html [Sept. 26, 2008].
Newsome, C. (1997). A teacher's guide to fair use and copyright: Modeling honesty and resourcefulness. Available at: http://home.earthlink.net/~cnew/research.htm#A%20Teacher%27s%20Guide%20to%20Fair%20Use%20&%20Copyright [Sept. 26, 2008].
Stanford University Libraries (no date). Copyright & Fair Use. Available at: http://fairuse.stanford.edu/ [Sept. 26, 2008]
University of St. Francis (no date). A visit to copyright bay. Available at: http://www.stfrancis.edu/cid/copyrightbay/index.htm [Sept. 26, 2008].
Monday, September 22, 2008
Podcast Reviews
The Nutrition Diva: Quick and Dirty Tips for Eating Well and Feeling Fabulous
This podcast is great for quick tips about nutrition. I listened to a cast titled "Pass the Guacamole" and found out that in order to get all the nutrients from the fresh vegetables I eat I actually need to eat them with a bit of fat! I thought this link could be great for teaching a unit on health- students could listen and report their findings to the class. They could also see if they can find other research to back what the Nutrition Diva says. Unfortunately the language is a too high for the immigrant and refugee parents I teach who are second language learners- but I can still get the content for myself to create ESL lessons. I would recommend this website.
www.quickanddirtytips.com
Better @ English
This podcast is for English language learners. They record real life conversations about different topics (I listen to one about opinions on watching TV). Before the conversation the hosts describes the conversation for the learner and asks questions to focus the learner on the grammar and content. The learner can also find a copy of the script online. I thought this site was just okay. I think there are probably better podcasts out there for learning English if I had more time to look. Again it is not helpful for my students because the language is for advanced English language learners.
www.betteratenglish.com
Sesame Street Podcast
This podcast also has a video. It is an excellent podcast for younger elementary students. it is also good for parents and perfect for English language learning parents! I listen/ watched the podcast they created all about running! This podcast is perfect for focusing on learning new vocabulary or one narrow topic. I recommend it!
www.sesamestreet.com
NPR: Latino USA Podcast
This is a great site for listening to issues that relate to the Latino population in the US. The podcast is in English and it focuses on news happening in the US and in Spanish speaking countries. It is a great site for getting news from another perspective and to learn more about important issues for one of our fastest growing people groups in the US. I recommend it!
SMARTBoard Lessons Podcast
This is a podcast all about fast and easy professional development for teachers. There are two hosts who discuss topics that are relevant for teachers. However, the first five minutes or more the two were talking about there own lives and stories that have absolutely nothing to do with other teachers. Maybe they are trying to make it seem more like a conversation but instead it just seems like a waste of time which is what they said their site is trying to avoid. They do give a lesson each time that related to their topic (if you get past all the extra banter) and they provide links on their websites.
http://pdtogo.com/smart/
This podcast is great for quick tips about nutrition. I listened to a cast titled "Pass the Guacamole" and found out that in order to get all the nutrients from the fresh vegetables I eat I actually need to eat them with a bit of fat! I thought this link could be great for teaching a unit on health- students could listen and report their findings to the class. They could also see if they can find other research to back what the Nutrition Diva says. Unfortunately the language is a too high for the immigrant and refugee parents I teach who are second language learners- but I can still get the content for myself to create ESL lessons. I would recommend this website.
www.quickanddirtytips.com
Better @ English
This podcast is for English language learners. They record real life conversations about different topics (I listen to one about opinions on watching TV). Before the conversation the hosts describes the conversation for the learner and asks questions to focus the learner on the grammar and content. The learner can also find a copy of the script online. I thought this site was just okay. I think there are probably better podcasts out there for learning English if I had more time to look. Again it is not helpful for my students because the language is for advanced English language learners.
www.betteratenglish.com
Sesame Street Podcast
This podcast also has a video. It is an excellent podcast for younger elementary students. it is also good for parents and perfect for English language learning parents! I listen/ watched the podcast they created all about running! This podcast is perfect for focusing on learning new vocabulary or one narrow topic. I recommend it!
www.sesamestreet.com
NPR: Latino USA Podcast
This is a great site for listening to issues that relate to the Latino population in the US. The podcast is in English and it focuses on news happening in the US and in Spanish speaking countries. It is a great site for getting news from another perspective and to learn more about important issues for one of our fastest growing people groups in the US. I recommend it!
SMARTBoard Lessons Podcast
This is a podcast all about fast and easy professional development for teachers. There are two hosts who discuss topics that are relevant for teachers. However, the first five minutes or more the two were talking about there own lives and stories that have absolutely nothing to do with other teachers. Maybe they are trying to make it seem more like a conversation but instead it just seems like a waste of time which is what they said their site is trying to avoid. They do give a lesson each time that related to their topic (if you get past all the extra banter) and they provide links on their websites.
http://pdtogo.com/smart/
Podcasting in Education
Podcasting is great for classroom learning! Podcasts are episodic, audio and/or video programs found on the Internet (apple.com, 2008a). There are podcasts created for just about any topic you can think of- so teachers should have no problem finding something relevant to their class. Teachers and students can also create their own podcasts and place them on the Internet.
The publisher of a podcast post the episodes and the XML document to a web server. The publisher uses RSS (Real Simple Syndication or RDF site summary) to distribute links to a website so that others can see. RSS also allows people to easily add links to your content within their own web pages (Sullivan, 2003). The consumer subscribes -or downloads the podcast using an application like Itunes (apple.com, 2008a).
Podcasting in education helps teachers to create non-traditional assignments that include voice recordings, movies, sound affects and more. It also allows teachers to distribute information in non-traditional ways. They can record assignments and put them on a podcast which each student can do at their own pace (apple.com, 2008b).
Podcasting is a perfect tool for teaching a multilevel ESL class which is the type of classes that I work with. The teacher can work in person with one level and set up another level with a podcast that they can work work on their own. The the teacher can switch and teach in person the second group and give the first group a podcast.
References
Apple.com (2008a). FAQ: For Podcast Fans taken from http://www.apple.com/itunes/whatson/podcasts/fanfaq.html on September 21, 2008.
Apple.com (2008b). Podcasting in Education taken from http://www.apple.com/education/digitalauthoring/podcasting.html From apple.com
Sullivan, D. (2003). What is RSS Feed? taken from http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=2175271 on September 21, 2008.
The publisher of a podcast post the episodes and the XML document to a web server. The publisher uses RSS (Real Simple Syndication or RDF site summary) to distribute links to a website so that others can see. RSS also allows people to easily add links to your content within their own web pages (Sullivan, 2003). The consumer subscribes -or downloads the podcast using an application like Itunes (apple.com, 2008a).
Podcasting in education helps teachers to create non-traditional assignments that include voice recordings, movies, sound affects and more. It also allows teachers to distribute information in non-traditional ways. They can record assignments and put them on a podcast which each student can do at their own pace (apple.com, 2008b).
Podcasting is a perfect tool for teaching a multilevel ESL class which is the type of classes that I work with. The teacher can work in person with one level and set up another level with a podcast that they can work work on their own. The the teacher can switch and teach in person the second group and give the first group a podcast.
References
Apple.com (2008a). FAQ: For Podcast Fans taken from http://www.apple.com/itunes/whatson/podcasts/fanfaq.html on September 21, 2008.
Apple.com (2008b). Podcasting in Education taken from http://www.apple.com/education/digitalauthoring/podcasting.html From apple.com
Sullivan, D. (2003). What is RSS Feed? taken from http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=2175271 on September 21, 2008.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
A Reveiw of Web Activities for Children
Word World -
Review: This website has a picture of a scene and kids have to click on parts of the scene that is being talked about. It was layout out well and looked nice, but I did not really know what I was supposed to do. Also there was not much repetition and no written language of the words I was supposed to be learning. I only understood the site after reading the parent and teachers page which explained that there are different characters that take you through learning letters.
Rating: In a scale of 0-5, I give the site a 3.
Relation to Education: This is definitely an education site (if you can understand it)- its purported purpose is to teach words and phonics through a relational fun way.
Use in my classroom: I could use it in my classes teaching parents as a tool for them to learn how to play with their kids on the Internet. Since they are second language learners themselves both the parent and child could be learning together.
Spanish & English Children’s Digital Library
Review: This is my favorite eLearning site that I have researched to date! It is an excellent bilingual site for having parents and children read stories together. The stories are provided in both English and Spanish and in different levels. The site also provides other links in which they site is referenced- a great way to show its validity!
Rating: 5!
Relation to Education: This is very educational in terms of literacy and improving reading skills. It is also great for teaching Spanish or English as a second language.
Use in my classroom: This is a perfect resource for my program which focuses on giving parents tools and opportunities to tutor their children. Most of the parents that I work with are Spanish speaking so I love the fact that it is bilingual.
E-Learning LIbrary -
Review: This site looks like an excellent way to educate professionals in a way that is fun and up-to-date with the web 2.0 age. It also provides a visual and spacial modality for adult learners which is often forgotten. Although the content and the amount of text is different in this site than in the kid sites the graphics and the ideas are pretty similar!
Rating: 5
Relation to Education: This is a great way to teach adults and higher grade levels. These activities could relate to many different types of topics.
Use in my classroom: Unfortunately I do not think I would use it in my classroom because the language is much to advanced for the English language learning parents that I teach.
Review: This website has a picture of a scene and kids have to click on parts of the scene that is being talked about. It was layout out well and looked nice, but I did not really know what I was supposed to do. Also there was not much repetition and no written language of the words I was supposed to be learning. I only understood the site after reading the parent and teachers page which explained that there are different characters that take you through learning letters.
Rating: In a scale of 0-5, I give the site a 3.
Relation to Education: This is definitely an education site (if you can understand it)- its purported purpose is to teach words and phonics through a relational fun way.
Use in my classroom: I could use it in my classes teaching parents as a tool for them to learn how to play with their kids on the Internet. Since they are second language learners themselves both the parent and child could be learning together.
Spanish & English Children’s Digital Library
Review: This is my favorite eLearning site that I have researched to date! It is an excellent bilingual site for having parents and children read stories together. The stories are provided in both English and Spanish and in different levels. The site also provides other links in which they site is referenced- a great way to show its validity!
Rating: 5!
Relation to Education: This is very educational in terms of literacy and improving reading skills. It is also great for teaching Spanish or English as a second language.
Use in my classroom: This is a perfect resource for my program which focuses on giving parents tools and opportunities to tutor their children. Most of the parents that I work with are Spanish speaking so I love the fact that it is bilingual.
E-Learning LIbrary -
Review: This site looks like an excellent way to educate professionals in a way that is fun and up-to-date with the web 2.0 age. It also provides a visual and spacial modality for adult learners which is often forgotten. Although the content and the amount of text is different in this site than in the kid sites the graphics and the ideas are pretty similar!
Rating: 5
Relation to Education: This is a great way to teach adults and higher grade levels. These activities could relate to many different types of topics.
Use in my classroom: Unfortunately I do not think I would use it in my classroom because the language is much to advanced for the English language learning parents that I teach.
Refelections on Students and Web Safety
In addressing Web Safety for children it is necessary that the child and his or her family members be educated in how to use the web in a safe way. I have the privilege of working with immigrant and refugee parents as students in the Oakland CBET program. I see that educating them about web safety is a great way to reinforce what their children are learning in school.
The Strategies that I will have CBET teachers teach the parents to use with their children when using the web are are based on advised from Larry Magid (2008). The first and most important strategy is to teach parents to talk with their children about the child's online activity. To have the parents encourage the children to share with the parents what types of information they are finding online. Another strategy for parents is to make sure they contact teachers and counselors at the school to get advice from them about what sites are good and what sites are not. Finally, the parents must become web literate themselves so they can help and monitor their children.
In order to teach the immigrant and refugee parents to be web-literate, the CBET teachers need to learn the basics of how to use a mouse and type on the computer. They are need to learn searching skills. Once they feel comfortable using a computer and searching online they should learn how to map links. Mapping links involves taking a link and finding out what other sites have the link as a reference (November, 2001). Mapping links in this way gives the web use a better idea of the validity of the information they are reading about.
It is important to inform the parents that the information they find on the web is different from information they find in published books because anyone can publish information on the Internet. It is a much more rigorous process for an book author to get his or her book accepted and published by a book publisher. An Internet writer may access sites like aol or geocites to create his or her own website to publish work that needs to be accepted as credible by no one else except the author. The example of a boy finding a site that claimed that the Holocaust did not exist (November, 2001) is a perfect example of how children (and adults) can read something and take it for truth when it is absolutely false.
Thus, it is my goal that when working with immigrant and refugee parents, I teach them how to identify the validity of websites and the information that is published in them. Dan McDowell (1999) published a Teacher Guide for Evaluating Web pages that included having web users find out who the author, publisher, bias and age of the information of the web site in order to determine its credibility. It is my hope that every parent in our CBET program would become familiar with identifying these four things about a website so they can be prepared to better gather information for themselves and for their children.
References
Magid, L. (2008). Child Safety on the Information Highway. Taken from http://safekids.com/child-safety-on-the-information-highway/ on September
17, 2008.
McDowell, D. (1999). Teacher Guide #1: Evaluating Web Pages. Taken from
http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/staffdev/tpss99/processguides/evaluating_teacher.html on September 20, 2008.
November, A. (2001). Teaching Kids To Be Web Literate. Taken from http://www.techlearning.com/db_area/archives/TL/200103/webliterate.php on
September 20, 2008.
The Strategies that I will have CBET teachers teach the parents to use with their children when using the web are are based on advised from Larry Magid (2008). The first and most important strategy is to teach parents to talk with their children about the child's online activity. To have the parents encourage the children to share with the parents what types of information they are finding online. Another strategy for parents is to make sure they contact teachers and counselors at the school to get advice from them about what sites are good and what sites are not. Finally, the parents must become web literate themselves so they can help and monitor their children.
In order to teach the immigrant and refugee parents to be web-literate, the CBET teachers need to learn the basics of how to use a mouse and type on the computer. They are need to learn searching skills. Once they feel comfortable using a computer and searching online they should learn how to map links. Mapping links involves taking a link and finding out what other sites have the link as a reference (November, 2001). Mapping links in this way gives the web use a better idea of the validity of the information they are reading about.
It is important to inform the parents that the information they find on the web is different from information they find in published books because anyone can publish information on the Internet. It is a much more rigorous process for an book author to get his or her book accepted and published by a book publisher. An Internet writer may access sites like aol or geocites to create his or her own website to publish work that needs to be accepted as credible by no one else except the author. The example of a boy finding a site that claimed that the Holocaust did not exist (November, 2001) is a perfect example of how children (and adults) can read something and take it for truth when it is absolutely false.
Thus, it is my goal that when working with immigrant and refugee parents, I teach them how to identify the validity of websites and the information that is published in them. Dan McDowell (1999) published a Teacher Guide for Evaluating Web pages that included having web users find out who the author, publisher, bias and age of the information of the web site in order to determine its credibility. It is my hope that every parent in our CBET program would become familiar with identifying these four things about a website so they can be prepared to better gather information for themselves and for their children.
References
Magid, L. (2008). Child Safety on the Information Highway. Taken from http://safekids.com/child-safety-on-the-information-highway/ on September
17, 2008.
McDowell, D. (1999). Teacher Guide #1: Evaluating Web Pages. Taken from
http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/staffdev/tpss99/processguides/evaluating_teacher.html on September 20, 2008.
November, A. (2001). Teaching Kids To Be Web Literate. Taken from http://www.techlearning.com/db_area/archives/TL/200103/webliterate.php on
September 20, 2008.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Student NETS and digital tools
The students I am currently working with are immigrant and refugee parents from all over the world who have children in the Oakland Public School systems.
Although there are no student profiles of the NETS for adult students- I was interested to see the profiles for the different grade levels because the parents I work with need to know what their children are learning and expected to learn in school.
However, as I began to look through the student NETS and profiles of them I kept reading about using digital tools which are never defined. The adult students I work with do not have access to computers and I would like to know what other kinds of digital tools are available.
If these standards are to be taken seriously by the K12 schools and adult education which teachers the parents- there must be funding available to provide the "digital tools" needed to fullfil the standards.
Although there are no student profiles of the NETS for adult students- I was interested to see the profiles for the different grade levels because the parents I work with need to know what their children are learning and expected to learn in school.
However, as I began to look through the student NETS and profiles of them I kept reading about using digital tools which are never defined. The adult students I work with do not have access to computers and I would like to know what other kinds of digital tools are available.
If these standards are to be taken seriously by the K12 schools and adult education which teachers the parents- there must be funding available to provide the "digital tools" needed to fullfil the standards.
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