The End

The class has been informative and helpful. I feel as though I have taken away new resources to look for information. Overall I think that the class was designed to introduce those with little experience with technology to the variety of mediums available to be used. I think that a student who has taken a class in technology before or has used it at all might not necessarily find most of this course useful. I also think that this course could be improved by making it more difficult. Maybe it is because I am at the end of my program, but I felt like it was too easy. There was very minimal reading and little work/research involved. I think that making the expectations higher might make it more useful for the more experienced students. Professor Langhorst, thank you for being understanding and for having a classroom environment that focused on the important stuff. I hope that the baby is doing well!! Amy

Copyright

Copyright laws provide a safety net to artists and creators of many things. As educators it is crucial that we have an understanding and awareness about what those laws entail and how they effect us in the classroom. In our discussion this week I am struck by how many teachers, myself included, do not know much about these laws. Fair Use Policy was a completely new term to me. My guess is that since I come from a technologically aware generation that many of my older coworkers may be even less aware of these laws. I think that schools may need to consider offering detailed training on Fair Use Policy, what they are allowed to do differently as educators, and how to use apply knowledge of these laws in the classroom. It is difficult to read scenarios and truly grasp how it all works. It would be beneficial to the school for administrators to realize the need for this knowledge.

In reading about Fair Use Policy and Copyright laws I do find myself feeling as though it is a bit vague or a bit inconsistent. Some things are considered acceptable that surprise me, other things about the law seem to make it overly difficult for teachers to use materials. For example, I thought it surprising that schools could post clips or music on Internet blogs as long as it was password protected. Yet, teacher could not create a lesson involving clip art and then pass it along to other teachers (even if the lesson was about the clip art). It seems as though even items that are not used by paying originally can often still be protected by these laws to prevent them from being overly used or spread around. Maybe I am misinterpreting how this works, but that seems a little silly. What difference does it make if I let a teacher use a lesson or if they recreate it themselves. It is still the same graphics being used the same number of times. It seems as though the system sometimes makes you jump through hoops needlessly.

Since I still don't fully understand all of the policy on copyright I am now nervous about what I am using for this blog or even my classroom. I think I need to research more on my own about the topic. I am nervous that I may be doing something wrong and not even know it. I would never download something illegally or do something blatantly wrong, sometimes ignorance is destructive though. I want to be informed and knowledgeable so I can field questions from students or other teachers. I have the capability of researching on my own and it is my responsibility to know since I could be held accountable.

Wiki's can be Wicked

Well, To all educators who have used wiki websites in their classroom, you know that wikis can provide students with a wonderful opportunity to apply what they have learned about a variety of topics. It combines student use of knowledge, computer skills, and critical thinking to develop a website that demonstrate comprehension of the subject matter.

Yet, there is still the perspective that wikis can really be wicked. They are composed of user imputed information that may not be well researched even if speculated to be factual. Even though these sights might be carefully monitored, like wikipedia is, for erroneous information or opinionated subject matter, it still can be misleading if you check the information during a time when the wrong information is still posted.

In my experience with college professors and the collegiate educational environment, it seems that many professor hold the opinion that this sort of website does not lend itself well to thorough research. I tend to agree with this line of thinking. Even assuming that the information on a wiki site is totally correct, we are still left with the fact that sites like wikipedia do not present information meant for much more than general knowledge. The information may not be for research or delving deeper into a situation. Not unlike using any encyclopedia. this is an unacceptable form of research for this age group. No college professor would teach researching by using an encyclopedia. That was covered in elementary school and middle school. There are a variety of sources written with a variety of perspectives and designed for research purposed that would serve this purpose much better. It is no wonder that many professor do not agree with the use of such sites for legitimate research assignments.

In using wikipedia like sites I have found that they are great starting points to gain general information about subjects and to find links to other sources that expand on these subjects. This is where wiki sites prove useful and less wicked for researchers. For students learning to research they will quickly find that a simple google search on a topic will lead to a time consuming process of filtering through lots of unreliable information. Having a place to being, and links to work with right off from the start leads to a more productive research experience. Thus, I would not discount wiki sites as entirely wicked, they just need a little critical thinking to interpret the best way to utilize them. Not unlike researching any topic and the sources, you can't take things simply at face value. Wiki sources, even when checked for information, cannot be used as a sole source of information. They were not designed to be used this way.