WK1 Comment to Classmates Post 2

Response to Katie's Week 1 Blog
Katie's actual blog post:

Wk1- Reading:Copyright Issues, Parts 1-3

I feel like at this point we should all be well aware of what is copyright and what is fair use.  I know my industry (education) and my company takes both of these subjects very serious and frowns upon anyone who violates the policy.  As an educator if we don’t uphold the rules regarding copyright and fair use why would our students want to uphold the same policies?  I love that my place of work takes these 2 things very serious and even holds continuing education classes about these 2 topics to keep all of the staff and faculty up to date on the rules.  So this in not a topic that just gets swept under the rug in my environment, and no one turns their head and looks the other way if they see another teacher breaking the policy. What is it like in your environment?

Photo from opensourceway's photostream via flickr.

Another reason why I think the company I work for takes these policies so seriously is because we have a lot of material that is copyrighted and we don’t want anyone else to try and steal our copyrighted material, such as our school logo, which is very unique to us.  We always say in my office “ we have to protect the brand” whenever we our designing something that would require us to use the school logo.

One thing that I think is a growing concern is the ReMix culture. Don’t get me wrong I love some of those videos on YouTube that are remixed. I get a kick out of them, I post them on Facebook for other people to view, maybe I shouldn't be doing that. I also think, as the presidential election gets closer we will see more and more of those types of videos being created.  At some point we will have to decided how far is to far, what is the time limit one can use a video clip to remix something. 

Very interesting food for thoughts!

Katie Ross

Comment:

Katie,You ask what it is like in our environment? Well, it is non-existent in my own environment. I think that this is due to the lack of technology. This year as our older students have had the ability to do some research, we have begun teaching them about copy right and citing sources. The topic has never been brought up to the faculty at large nor is it a requirement for us to teach it to our students. However, my other upper grade teacher that uses technology and I both agreed that it was imperative that we begin teaching our students the importance of citing where you got your media and/or information. We told them (4th & 5th graders) that if they did not personally create or write what they are using, then they must tell who actually did. I too wonder when we will decide how far is too far when remixing work...

Woogi World is super fun!

All right followers… it is time for a new Web 2.0 tool! As an educator, parents often ask me about the safety of their children using computers. I have discovered a virtual world that is dedicated to the safety of children. Woogi World is a virtual educational community designed for grades K-6. Before students are allowed to play certain games, they must first complete a safety course to ensure that they are ready to play on-line. The first set of safety games requires the student to demonstrate that he/she can keep their personal information safe. I was very impressed with the design of the platform and the quality of the safety training. The following statement was taken directly from their website, “Its Woogi Cyber Hero program is universally rated the best cyber safety resource in the United States.”

As the student’s woogi moves throughout the virtual world, he/she will find different buildings to investigate. The building that I will describe here is the Readers Club. Within the Readers Club there are many different games to increase the student’s reading ability. Games such as: Vowel Hound and Grammar Crammer. The Readers Club also contains a room designated the Holo Library. The Holo Library provides a set of free books and Reading Club Member books. The student can read a book and receive a sticker for proofing that they read the book.

I am excited about the possibility of using this virtual environment in my classroom. Students will be able to join together on tasks and learn together in a safe environment. I believe that it is vital for all students to learn how to be safe on-line and this Web 2.0 tool provides students with a safe, fun educational world.










How do you feel about elementary students using a virtual world like Woogi World?

Game Classroom

www.gameclassroom.com

I finally found a new Web 2.0 tool!! I had to try many different tools before finding one that I feel that I can continue to use in my classroom. The gameclassroom.com website is very well organized. The website is designed to be used as a learning tool for students in Kindergarten through sixth grade. Each grade level has a list of math and language arts activities. These activities include printable worksheets, interactive games, and educational videos. Gameclassroom.com also has a section for teachers that includes lesson plans and extension ideas. This site provides me with a tool that will help me to differentiate my instruction. Each of the math games that I tested started at a basic level and progressed to higher levels. The progression was determined by how well I scored on each of the tasks given. For my students, this will allow them to continue to work on any tasks not yet mastered while giving the other students the opportunity to move on when ready.

I am extremely excited about the language arts portion of this web 2.0 tool. Fourth grade is a big writing year! This website provided me with several games that will provide my students with much needed writing practice. For example, Fractured Fairytales is a game that presents the students with a traditional fairytale to read. Then, they must write a new version of the same story. Students are allowed to change characters, plot, setting, and more of the original stories. I am extremely excited about finding this particular game because I was going to have my students do this next week!! Now I am going to be able to allow them to create their stories on-line.

See for yourself and let me know what you think!

Technology 101

Welcome to Technology 101! Since Edmodo does not have a blog option, this is where you can find my class blog. Feel free to make a comment on anything you see here. I am super excited to get started with you all. What is something that you are looking forward to about this course?