WK4 Reading: Response to LeVonda Vickery

I loved the story of the teacher who shaved her head because of the student who underwent chemotherapy and the other students were making fun of her baldness.  What a great way to take charge of a situation instead of letting it get out of hand and head into that downward spiral Zander speaks of.  I have a dream to teach and believe that dream is well within my "arena of possibility."  Zander made a really good point about how a vision does not require one to win, but merely to play into the possibility.  His words on how a personal crisis can lead to the creation of a vision that turns a life of possibility sang out to me about the past year or so of my life and how I have taken the my job loss and divorce not as a sign of failure, but rather as a sign to have a new beginning full of possibilities and dreams.  This book has helped me to realize that all the negativity about not having a job and never even being called for a job interview to teach does not define who I am.  My thinking either positive or negative is what defines me and my actions allowing me to choose to explore my own world of possibilities in order to move forward in my life and ignite that spark in others around me.

Response to LeVonda Vickery

New beginnings present themselves in all forms. Sometimes I think we are so caught up in our emotions, it makes it hard to recognize our situation as a new beginning. I swear, that quote “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger” is absolutely true. Although you may have perceived some situations in your life as negative, think about how differently they have allowed you to see life.  I think knowing you can survive through difficult times opens up a world of possibilities in itself.  Stay positive!

WK4 Reading: Response to Brett Wilson

Wk 4: Reading - The Art of Possibility

I must admit that the lighting of the spark was a step up to responsibility for me. Zander could not have painted a greater picture than when he shared some history from the Middle Ages. People, during this time, would often carry a metal box with a small flame so that if they needed a fire they wouldn’t have to go through the laborious process every time. The beauty of this is that individuals would willingly and easily share their spark with others so they could find their way. This selfless, passion-filled kind of living is alert to others and is willing to partner with them. Zander writes, “It is about playing together as partners in a field of light.” What a beautiful image!

Passion and possibility are contagious. It seems that the reverse is also true (negativity and apathy) and many times dominates our living. We must remember though that it is not about us, but about others and that we have a lot to offer others. We are gifted. We are talented. We have a spark to share. We must live to pursue passion and dismiss fear and encourage others to do the same. What a challenge for all of us!

Response to Brett Wilson

Brett, I agree that passion possibility are contagious. The hard part is trying to avoid the negative. Sometimes we have to dig deep to try to find the positive. The good news is that we have the power to put out in the world what we choose. Yes, this can be challenging at times, but I think that is our contribution

Wk4 Reading: Art of Possibility

          “Being the Board” is something I’ve learned this year with a full time job, Graduate school, three young children, and a husband. Making the choice to go back to school was difficult, but I committed myself and here I am. If I decided not to go through with this Graduate program, I am certain that I would have blamed my husband for not being able to help out, or the ages of my children and their needs.  I don’t think it was a conscious decision to “be the board,” I needed it to be that way and it has actually benefited my family and me.  Through this crazy year, I have learned to give everyone in my family an A for helping and understanding. They have all kept that grade up. My husband has especially earned the A. I feel like this year we have all become game pieces who worked strategically to get through homework, tests, games, holidays, and special occasions. Now, I can happily say that the end is almost here, my kids are happy and well, and I think food shopping is going to be my husband’s new permanent job. More importantly, my kids have seen the value my husband and I place on education rather than just hear about it. We were all students this year and we have all learned so much.

         My favorite part of Chapter 11 was reading the words of Marianne Williamson. After reading those words over and over, I typed and printed them. I will frame them and hang them in my children’s room. As I read her words, and thought about how I wanted to share them with my children, I also thought how I often want to pass along messages as great as this one. My new goal is to hear them and live them myself first, then pass them along.

Wk 4 Publishing Leadership Project

After much thought and consideration I have decided to publish an article rather than do a presentation. I feel that I can show more detail and express my  AR process better in an article than in a presentation. I chose the journal, Educational Technology Research and Development.  This journal encourages articles that focus applying technology in instructional settings for K – 12. I think my article would be appropriate for their Development Section, which includes articles on implementing and evaluating instructional technologies. 

WK 3 – Think Aloud ~ Publishing/Leadership Project

I think I am going to do a presentation. I would like to present to a smaller group. Perhaps the early elementary teachers in my school and our surrounding districts during a workshop. My concern is that this audience is not large enough or not what this project was intended for. My AR project involves the benefits of integrating technology in the classroom to improve literacy among young children. My presentation would have to involve exposing the audience to the enthusiasm of the students using the technology and the focus and attention they have while using doing so. I would also want to present it in a way that was not intimidating to the teachers. My goal is to motivate them to incorporate technology in their classrooms as well as provide them with simple and basic ways they can. I would also love to share the success I had with it. 

Wk3 Discussion Deeper

I’m a Kindergarten teacher and these are some videos I found to reinforce skills taught in the classroom.

Jolly Phonics is a short video, which presents poems and songs to help young children learn and remember vowels and their sounds.

http://www.neok12.com/php/watch.php?v=zX777e786253434c47420306&t=Phonics

I use Dr. Jean Feldman’s CD so my students are familiar with her voice and her songs. This video provides a visual for one of the songs about compound words.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xb9jSBKN4o

This video, also by Dr. Jean Feldman is great to help students learn about our 5 senses:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQEvgH_hd1Y

This video is about coins. This is a concept that has to be reviewed over and over to kindergarteners. This song along with the cute characters is a great reinforcement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq3tVrTFcKk&feature=related

This is another money video which has lots of rhymes and visuals to help students remember what coins look like and their value.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2I9AlYp2zk&feature=related

I’m a Kindergarten teacher and these are some videos I found to reinforce skills taught in the classroom.

Jolly Phonics is a short video, which presents poems and songs to help young children learn and remember vowels and their sounds.

http://www.neok12.com/php/watch.php?v=zX777e786253434c47420306&t=Phonics

I use Dr. Jean Feldman’s CD so my students are familiar with her voice and her songs. This video provides a visual for one of the songs about compound words.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xb9jSBKN4o

This video, also by Dr. Jean Feldman is great to help students learn about our 5 senses:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQEvgH_hd1Y

This video is about coins. This is a concept that has to be reviewed over and over to kindergarteners. This song along with the cute characters is a great reinforcement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wq3tVrTFcKk&feature=related

This is another money video which has lots of rhymes and visuals to help students remember what coins look like and their value.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2I9AlYp2zk&feature=related

Wk3-2 DB Quickie

I think educators are so resistant to change when it comes to technology because they are overwhelmed with the ever-growing regular demands they already have each day. I think most teachers couldn’t imagine adding one more thing to their already full load. If technology integration was mandatory and followed with professional development in a gradual manner, I imagine that teachers would be more receptive. I know that when they see the benefits and the ease and enthusiasm students have toward technology, they will also be encouraged. Businesses require change and probably provide training. I don’t think there is much of a choice. I can’t imagine a business surviving without keeping up with the technology changes. Maybe schools should be treated the same. We are sending our students out into a technological world, no matter what path they choose. 

Wk3-1 DB Quickie

The technology teacher in my school district is very overwhelmed with both providing technology classes to every grade level as well as doing all the troubleshooting. On many occasions I have provided ideas and sites to incorporate in some of the classes. Although, I know she considered them, I would like to think that a lack of time has prevented her from incorporating them. I work in a wealthy district and I am not sure that technology education is as big of a priority as it should be. As a member of our Professional Development Committee, I have even suggested a technology coach for the teachers. As a teacher, I know that there is a lack of time with trying to fit everything in. A technology coach would be so beneficial to the teachers. Someone who can show them how they can integrate what needs to be covered, using technology as both a tool for delivery and a resource. I have gotten the same polite nod and thank you while the idea is written down in front of me. I am not in a position to do much else. I am hoping a future position elsewhere will provide me that that opportunity. Until then, I will keep giving ideas with a smile. 

WK3 - Response to Post2

Posted by David Hotler

First of all, what a great book! The light hearted and joyful expression of the Zanders makes reading this book a joy. I wish all books were just like this one. Now as I read I become more and more aware that this is not a book you read and put down but a manual you reference and then go and make a change. So every chapter I think of how I can use this practice in my own life. Here is what I have come up with for this weeks reading.

First and foremost Rule Number six should be rule number one for all teachers. I try to be sure not to take myself or my course too seriously. In the grand scheme of the world learning photography and photoshop is not that important. However, for some students my class is a doorway to a passion they never knew they had and leads to wonderful things. Taking things too seriously can make things no fun and who wants to spend the rest of there lives having no fun at what they do?

Next, I want to make the students the leaders. I admit from day one that I am still a student of photography and photoshop and will always remain that way. I am simply a student who has been doing it longer and with great intensity than the students just taking my course. I tell them that if they know something they should shout it out. If I am wrong they should shout it out. I want the students to realize that we are all in this together and they are just as powerful in the classroom as I am. This coming year I hope to take this one step further and have the students make their very own tutorial in photoshop. That means they need to create something and then walk the class through how they made in a way that everyone can understand. This makes them the leader and the expert and enables them to be that leader outside of their seat in my classroom.

Our work is never done. I tell me students all the time that the work they do in my class is never finished, it is always a work in progress. This leaves some students in distress so I do let them know that somethings just come to a nice stopping point but are never finished. As they work on Photoshop projects I want them not to think the assignment is to make theirs look like mine but to realize that the journey is the destination and creativity is not about conformity but about making something unique. As long as the student can show me they understand the given tool or technique we are learning I have no problem with them turning in something that looks different than my teacher example.

The last great thing that I have realized from this weeks reading and from my time at Full Sail is that passion is the most powerful motivator of students. If you allow students to work on something they are passionate about you will have to force them to stop (if you so choose). All of the projects that I assign are built in a way that allows students to incorporate a part of their personal life that they are passionate about. This might be a pet, a birthday invitation, or a photo retouch job for their grandma. No matter what when I allow student to work on something they care about they always work harder and to a greater degree of complexity. As this is true with my students it is also true with me. When I start to plan projects I pick something that interests me as well. Now this means creating something new each year and in turn more work but I find that I am more passionate when teaching if I am teaching something I really care about.

Response to David

David, I completely agree with making Rule Number 6, Rule Number 1. When a teacher doesn’t take herself/himself too seriously, it changes the atmosphere of the class and I think allows for student expression and creativity to shine through no matter what the subject matter. I like your idea of always allowing students to work on something personal. When you give them the power to choose, the learning is more personal and meaningful. I am sure you will agree that we may have forgotten many things we learned in school, but we will always remember those things we learned that were connected to us some how.

I too am enjoying this book. Considering that I am also a work in progress, I think I will benefit from rereading it as well. 

W3-Response Post 1

Posted by Mrs. Kristi Swartz

The 4 chapters we focused on this week again had me thinking in a new way. Leaders are always said to be the strong, loud, commanding type, yet, in this reality, the leader is the one that makes others strive to have a vision of what is possible. As I read this week, I could not help but think of my son’s 4^th grade teacher. He truly is the best teacher I, or any of my own children, have ever had. I began to reflect on the readings and this particular teacher’s qualities. What quality does he possess? How does he lead? This is what I found. His quality is inspiration. He leads quietly. He leads by making each student feel worthy of great possibility, of vision.

When my son had this particular teacher, we attended a short play the students created in the classroom. We have all attended classroom plays, yet this one was different. Student made invitation letters went home, student created props lined the walls of the classroom. Student actors and actresses played the parts of the student written scripts. There were even student created commercials between the acts. All students were involved and the leader sat silent and just took it all in. A student made the introduction and all the leader said in the end was a simple thank you for coming to see you students amazing production.

At the time, I did notice how different the feel of the classroom was that day. Students were empowered to learn and grow, and proud to show the product they had created. The reason that teacher is such an amazing teacher is because he gets what Zander spoke of in his video this week and through The Art of Possibility. He gets that it is a teacher’s job to inspire possibility and watch students live into that vision. May it be so for all of us as educators.

Response to Kristi

Kristi, your son is so lucky to have had such a wonderful teacher. I think that is the kind of teacher we should all strive to be.  As leaders in education (teachers) we may have to change the way we lead according to age, developmental ability, grade level, etc.. However, we can find a way to inspire and encourage creativity the way your son’s teacher did. Inspiring possibility in our students can only lead to creating resourceful students with a love of learning who are confident and creative.

Reading The Art of Possibility has been such a pleasure and inspiration. I think teachers need books like this every few months to remind us of the possibilities so that we can pass it along to our students.  

W3-Reading

Chapter 5. Leading from Any Chair:

I can specifically remember what it felt like to have a leader (principal) who believed in his staff’s enough to let us lead. I remember being more excited about going to work each day and willing to take risks. There were times when he would present us with ideas that were new and although we were a little scared to take on the challenge, we did it because he assured us that he believed we could. Even when he spoke of the staff or introduced us at Back to School Night, he would say things that made us feel valued. I imagine that the way he spoke about us to the parents also made them see the best in us and gave them a sense of comfort to know that their children were in the best hands.

Chapter 6. Rule Number 6:

Joining the river rather than resisting it is something I have learned to do. Living a very regimented life then having children taught me this very quickly. When I look back at what I thought parenting would be like I think I made my plans with my calculating self. That was how I would measure my successful parenting. Reality is that when you have children, your actions come from a place of love, the central self. You almost don’t have a choice. It might not be perfect, but it is so much more joyful and honest this way. I will have to let you know how it works our in about 18 years.

Chapter 7. The Way Things Are:

I can completely understand the block in communication and the attention to the wrong thing in the relationship between the father and his son. It seems so obvious when you are discussing relationships, but the difficulty comes when there are situations in your life that you wish to change. Trying not to focus on the way things are is so difficult when each day reminders appear. I consider my self a very optimistic and lucky person, but I also feel that I have to work to be that person. I consciously focus on the bright side and always move forward. I’m not sure if that counts.

Chapter 8. Giving Way to Passion:

I cannot begin to express how BTFI is exactly what I needed to hear today. I absolutely love that expression and I think it’s my new motto. As I approach some new goals I have in mind, I will be in the BTFI frame of mind. I will have to let you know how it goes. 

Wk2 Free choice

I have been listening to podcasts and thinking about how I would use them in school with my students. I teach kindergarten and one of my favorite things to do is read stories. I love to hear my student’s thoughts and interpretations of the stories. The podcasts and the reading of “The Art of Possibility” got me thinking about how podcasts can allow students to step out of the box and really think about what is possible. When I read stories to my students I provide them with the book and the illustrations. In a way I am saying these are the authors words and these pictures are the way he/she wants you to see it. Stories on podcasts allow students to hear the words but create their own pictures. I wonder how their interpretations of the stories would vary. I plan on using the podcasts, then asking my students to draw the pictures to go along with it. The possibilities will most definitely be different. 

WK2 - Discussion

WK2-Topic #1

My husband bought me an IPod for my birthday a few years ago and all I thought was “Why would I want this?” Good thing I didn’t say it out loud because it became the best gift ever. You only realize how much you miss listening to music when it is blasting in your ear. I can’t imagine making it through a workout or walk without it. I love that I can be in one environment and be in my own world at the same time. Listening to music brings me to all sorts of places and memories. Sometimes I’m even the rock star singing.  I have purchased all of my music from ITunes for my IPod. My husband spends more time purchasing music and adding to his library so I download his music to my IPod as well. I don’t think I have purchased music in over a year. Now that it has been brought to my attention, I think I will get back on it. My IPod could use a little update.

WK2-Topic #2 

The first song that comes to mind when I think about a song that touched me on an emotional level is Chicago’s “You’re the Inspiration.” I was in sixth grade and we had such a great group of friends, girls and boys, and we use to listen to that song over and over. It was our song. I remember sixth grade as a time when everything started to change and I always thought I was lucky to have the friends I did to experience it all with. I think I’m even luckier to still have all of those friends. I imagine that on the rare occasion that “You’re the Inspiration” is played, my sixth grade classmates are brought back to that time the way I am.

WK2-Topic #3

I think podcasts for teachers and students are a wonderful resource. Not only can they provide information, entertainment, and education, but they also encourage the development of listening skills.

This is podcast for teachers discussing topics in education as well as supplying them with resources. This podcast allows teachers to listen to different perspectives, get information, and perhaps spark new and innovative ideas. The archived podcasts as well as the new ones have a little blurb to tell what it is about.

http://www.podcastforteachers.org/

Storynory provides free audio stories for kids. There are original stories, fairytales, classics, and educational podcasts that can be downloaded. I chose to provide the link for the site because there are so many podcasts on the site that I would use for my students and my own children, for both educational an entertainment.

http://storynory.com/

Inkless tales provides stories, songs, and poems for kids. This is also another place where I would visit with my students. Students have the opportunity to listen to a story and use their imagination rather then look at pictures. I love the idea of my students being able to have their own interpretation of a story because they are only listening to the words and not seeing pictures.

http://inklesstales.wordpress.com/

Another terrific site http://www.zencast.com/channels/showchannel.asp?mc=2&cid=8989

This site provides books from a public –domain of children’s literature. The books are read aloud. The list of podcasted books on this site is educational and entertaining at the same time. I think this is a wonderful site for students who may have difficulty reading.

WK2 - Response to Post2

Posted by Zoe Marlowe at 4:27 PM

Ben and Roz Zander’s book “The Art of Possibility” is one of the best books of its kind I have ever read. It is a complete ‘page turner’ for me anyway. I absolutely love it and could not close my e-book reader until nearly 2:00 a.m. I should mention here that I am not a very engaged, excited or avid reader of non-fiction, textbook-types of reading materials, with one exception of course, I do love Adobe Creative Suite instructional books. This ‘textbook’ is so different. I really did not feel like I was reading a textbook or a ‘how-to’ book for our course. Roz and Ben’s stories are all true, from their own life experiences, so I feel very ‘connected’ to them right away. While each chapter is a sort of ‘technique’ description, such as “Giving an A” and “Be a Contribution,” they are also a testament as to why these individuals are so successful in their lives. I can’t personally see how anyone reading this book could not improve something about their own life, no matter how small.

Zander’s concept of giving an A is really interesting to me. Because he is a teacher of a group of musical students, who play orchestral instruments, it seemed to me that they would be a really receptive ‘audience’ for that type of grading. I can also see it working in other artistic courses such as drawing, painting, graphic design, etc. However, I think it would be difficult to teach say a high school English course and start the semester giving all the students an A to begin with, and somehow expect them to ‘earn’ that A as the time goes on. I suppose every case of this is different, and I really did like the idea, it sounded like his class really took it to heart from some of the wonderful letters the students wrote to him which he published in the book. I really enjoyed the heartfelt letters very much.

On being a ‘contribution’ in your life to others around you, that makes perfect sense. No matter how busy I am, I try to be there for people who need me or need something. I am up to my ears in my AR project as well as these courses at the moment, plus I have other obligations to take care of. However, I am making time this week to help a long time friend of mine who is out of work. I have offered to create a new resume for him and to shoot some photos of him ready for his job search efforts. He is not as computer savvy as I am, and he needs the help. I am glad to do this because he is going to make the effort to look for work in an economically crippled town in this poor economic time our country is going through. I think it’s the least I can do to contribute to someone else’s luck.

I love the book, I think everyone should read it regardless of what their profession or schooling is.



Response to Zoe:

Zoe, I completely agree. I love this book and all books like it. They are the only kind I read (over and over). I also love the importance put on being a contributor.
Isn’t that what it’s all about. We teach to contribute and we learn so that we can continue to contribute. I use to watch Extreme Home Makeovers and cry of course, and think that those people had the best job in the world because they got to do something so extraordinary to help people. Then I realized that contributing isn’t only about the big things we can do, but about everything we do. The importance of making a contribution of any size is definitely something I hope to instill in my students and my own children

Week 2 BP#1 Reading the Art of Possibility
Posted by Anne Alsup's Anecdotes at 7:53 PM

Recently I had the opportunity to be introduced to the World of Warcraft during a class on Gaming Strategies and Motivation. My guides for the excursion into this alternate reality were my two youngest sons, Stephen and Andrew. We had some interesting adventures and I spent way more time than I thought I would in this strange land. Many of the quests would take hours and I would go to bed dreaming that I was running through a field, trying to find my corpse so I could bring my lifeless body back to life. I would leave my house in the morning and I started thinking of everything in my life as part of the game. Following the same road, noting landmarks along the way, entering the building where I work, walking down the corridor, opening doors like I was on some quest. As I read the book, "The Art of Possibility" by Rosamund and Benjamin Zander and came to the first chapter, it didn't take much to convince this reader that it is all created.

Who makes the rules anyway and what were they thinking? Seriously, if we never colored outside the lines, where would we be? If we define ourselves by our perceptions of what our administrators, legislators, students or their parents think of us; where would we be? Given the current state of affairs in education, I'd much rather step into a "universe of possibilities" where I can have some control over my perception of the reality. If teachers are going to inspire their students, they need to have some inspiration. Budget cuts, meetings, more reports, standardized testing, learning gains and AYP, do not count as inspiration. If we are going introduce our students to the world of possibilities, we need to make sure that we are acquainted with the terrain.

I would love to give my students an A and differentiate my instruction to better meet the needs of my students, but the system that I work in doesn't support that goal. It is wrong to tell a student to seize the universe of possibilities and invent his own path to success, when there is a big bad test at the end of the year that is going to determine whether he passes or fails. We simply need more options in our system to allow students more control over their future and the opportunity to experience the universe of possibility. We need to re-think the rules and create some new possibilities.

Response:

Anne, I struggle with the same thing. As a teacher we are given measurement tools and required to measure students success/failure. I can honestly say that I am doing my very best to encourage the “Universe of Possibility” with my own children. I don’t put very much emphasis on test and I try to encourage the actual learning. As a teacher, of young children, I am not sure that the students need to know they are starting with an A, but rather that I believe that they are.

Wk2 Reading: Art of Possibility

After reading Chapter 1 of The Art of Possibility, by Rosamund & Benjamin Zander, I was hooked. I read many paragraphs over and over because I didn’t want to forget the message. As a teacher with dual certification (regular and special education) I am often asked to identify a child’s disability. It really bothers me that so often students are compared to each other and not looked at as an individual. I can think of a particular student who takes longer to respond and process, this is considered a processing delay that I don’t agree with. I watch him listen and if he was an adult, he would say “give me a minute.” As a child if his response time is not immediate we think something is wrong. Chapter 2 of “The Art of Possibility” reminds us how our measurements put limits on possibility. I believe that this student is very smart. Measuring him according to students who have the ability to express themselves quickly doesn’t allow for the possibility of his intelligence to be expressed. Chapter 3, “Giving An A” should remind us to give this student an A. If we assume he has a lot to contribute and a lot to express, perhaps his anxiety would lessen. Maybe he would feel the belief of the teacher and maybe he would feel more comfortable in expressing himself and his ideas. The authors expressed the idea that you can change people. This is an instance were I believe this can happen. As the educator, if I provide an atmosphere of trust, acceptance, and high expectations, this student of concern would most likely express himself.
Making a contribution as mentioned in chapter 4 would be on my end as well as on the students end. As the teacher, my contribution would be, being extra patient with this student. My student’s contribution would be to express his ideas and become an integral voice in our class. Which, I would imagine would encourage him to repeat the contributions and become more confident and less anxious.

Week1 - Reply2

Michael George III says:

May 3, 2011 at 9:55 pm

The current state of copyright law in the USA makes me very angry. As pointed out in the videos and reading, copyright law is specifically mentioned in the Constitution. However, Copyright was meant to provide the owner a ‘limited monopoly’ so that they could benefit financially from their creation. However, Copyright law now extends to 100 years for corporations or the authors life + 70 years. This makes absolutely no sense.

The reason our forefathers created a system where copyright expired was to encourage authors to make the next cultural contribution. This is the key. As a copyright holder, in exchange for benefiting our culture you receive a limited monopoly on your work as payback. However, in our current system, you can pass your copyrights onto your grandchildren and they can generate license fees. Are we creating a class of ‘idle rich’ that produce nothing? Limiting copyright length would also benefit the remix culture because copyright would actually expire on older works and they would be freely usable.

At the rate we are going, Copyright can soon be renamed to forever-right since congress continues to extend its length.

Reply to  Michael George

The idea of cultural contributions seem to be something you can inherit according to these laws. Perhaps creators should be able to create their own rules/laws for their own work. This might encourage the other wise not producing benefiters to use continue great work or use it as springboards.

Week 1 - Free Choice

Creative commons allows the creations of others to truly contribute to our culture. It allows creativity to be viewed and to educate without concern about of infringing upon laws. I imagine that that is the true purpose of creating something in the first place. As an educator, I would encourage my students to view and use information from places like Creative Commons. It seems to me that people who allow their work to be viewed and used in places like creative commons are creating for the purpose of contributing, being recognized, and not concerned with what they will get in return. 

Week1 - Reply

Dennis Dill

Copyright is a perplexing topic because at first glance it appears to be black and white, but in reality there are so many shades of gray in copyright law that I am surprised that every person is not hauled off to jail for a copyright violation. In a traditional learning environment most teachers worry about plagiarism, that is, students copying the work of someone else and calling it their own in a written document. However, as we progress into the 21st century written work is not the only work we need to worry about when it comes to plagiarism or copyright violation.

What a teacher uses in class or students turn in as an assignment copyright plays a major issue, especially when using multimedia. The use of YouTube can be a great tool, but how do we know we are safe from copyright violation. Just because some one places a movie clip on YouTube does not mean we are free use it at will. What about the playing of music? If we are playing music at a basketball game with paid attendance is this the same as playing music for our class who does not pay to be there. Would this answer be the same if the school was a private school in which students paid to attend?

All of these issues need to be understood to ensure that teachers and students do not violate copyright laws. Although, we could throw cation to the wind and run the risk of being sued for $250,000.00 and up to five years in jail…no…I think I will adhere to copyright laws.

Reply to post

Dennis, as a student and a teacher, I feel the same about written work not being our only concern for copyright laws. As teachers we need to become more educated and kept up to date on changes made in laws so we know what we can use or reuse. Something we consider a teaching tool can be a violation.

Week1- Copyright Issues

Copyright and copyright infringement laws are much more clear to me now. I was certainly one of the believers of the many myths. After viewing the videos and articles, I have a very different perspective. I cannot believe the specifics in music copyright infringement in our country. I had to listen so closely to some of the music to even hear the copied beats. I can’t imagine being an artist were my main concern is creating, then being concerned with other people manipulating my work. I would imagine that would hinder my goal of being creative. As far as the people copying or as they called it interpreting, it gets a little hairy. I realize that copyright law is about permission, not about usage, but we don’t always get permission with written work we interpret, we just give credit. It would seem that giving credit would apply to other creations as well. I was in agreement with the Creative Commons creator, that as a culture we have the opportunity to use the works of others to express ourselves and our views, but always giving the credit to the original creator.

I have only recently become aware of the copyright laws as a student at Full Sail. I found myself time and time again trying to express an idea with videos for projects and stopping because I needed to be sure about what was allowed or legal. I would have to say that my own creative process was hindered. My intentions were never to present the information as my own, but rather to use it to make a point. With so many different mediums to access information and use it, it is difficult to keep track of what is legal and illegal. Our countries lawyers are very busy.