Educause - Chapter 8

This chapter seemed to focus on the idea that all forms of "old teaching strategies" do not need to be discontinued, but newer tools need to be added in order to keep the attention and pace of Net Geners.

I really liked and agree with the comment made by a faculty member, "Technology is a giant mirror reflecting back to you your own deepest issues. It challenges you to clarify what you value, to rediscover why you went into teaching in the first place, and to be honest about whether your original hopes have been realized. It also sheds light on how we interact with our students and how they respond to our courses, and [it] forces us to think about the real meaning of community and what it is that a group of people assembled in a single physical space experience and how that compares to what a group of people in cyberspace might experience."

Since the beginning of this class I have been analyzing and re-analyzing my ideas, fears and biases about using technology in the classroom.  I feel that teachers that are unwilling to do this are committing a critical error in judgment that may potentially stunt the intellectual growth of the students in their classrooms.

This class was given to me as one of the 1st 2 classes that I was enrolled in for my graduate work.  I was told that this is typically one of the last courses assigned to Education students, and I am so thankful to have had this course so early in my coursework.  Without this course, and my introduction into so many new technology tools and systems I believe I would have fallen into a routine of running a classroom the way the teachers I had in school ran their rooms.  There was no technology to be found in the classrooms I attended.

I would definitely survey students to find out what types of technology they use on a regular basis so I would know if there was a mode of communication that could be easily utilized throughout our course.  I would also want to know what types of technology they had become familiar with through other classes they attended - I would want to know what type of pace I should expect to keep with a group of students.

 The most important thing for a teacher to know is that one course is not going to get them up to date with technology, and keep them there.  This will need to be an on-going process of learning new sources of technology in order to keep up with the pace and interest level of students in the classroom.

Copyright for Teachers

The most surprising thing to me about copyright laws is that these laws are broken so often by totally unsuspecting, well-meaning people.  Trying to save a buck here or provide materials for all kids in a classroom with a smaller than small budget can get teachers into a lot of trouble.

The difficulty I have with trying to understand the laws about copyrighting is that the determinations made in court cases regarding copyright issues seem to vary to such a degree that it is difficult to see where the true lines are drawn in the law.  The biggest example we were given of this was in copyright laws that pertain to music.  One group was allowed to keep music that clearly sounded like the original piece of music and was easily identifiable as a copy of the original, while another musician was fined for taking 4 notes from an original song.  Those 4 notes were not obvious in the 2nd version, and the 2 songs did not sound alike.   Then it was ruled that "Saturday Night Live" could take an actual tune and just change the words of the song. 

I'm glad I don't work in the entertainment industry, I'm not sure I would know what to do to keep myself out of legal trouble.

I have seen many copyright laws violated - copying parts of books, videos being shown that had audio clips added, videos shown to groups of children without copyright fees being paid.  It would be my guess (without verifying with the "guilty" parties) that in all of these situations the individuals did not know they were violating any copyright laws.  I don't believe there is enough copyright education available to those of us who are using these materials on a regular basis.

Do I think it is my job to teach copyright respect to my students?  It depends on the age group I am teaching.  I don't know that I would drill this home, but I would certainly make reference to these issues whenever we are interacting with technology tools that have copyright laws assigned to them.  I would not want these students to become the "unsuspecting, well-meaning" individuals who find themselves in a legal bind at some point in the future.