Creative Commons Assignment

I just completed the Creative Commons assignment. I didn't mind the videos and first set of links that were about CC.  I found the plagiarism part pretty frustrating because if you actually set out to read everything there was a TON of info to read, like about the various cases.  The information needed for the "test" was not anything I didn't already know.  Oh well... But regarding the CC materials that we were supposed to check out, I thought the video and various presentations provided very helpful explanations.  I didn't ever know what the difference between a "C" and "CC" was before.  I will be on the lookout now for for licenses on things I see online. And I will be careful to cite things that I use in the proper way. I especially liked the clarity about how to cite images that was shown in the article How to Cite and Use Creative Commons Resources by Preetam Rai, because I borrow images often to insert into my instructional power points.

Some of this CC stuff is still a little confusing to me... I am not exactly sure how one goes about getting the CC license for something that they want others to be able to use.  Is it sufficient to just write my own "CC"  next to it, or do I have to go through some procedure to officially obtain the license for my own work?  Maybe I missed this somewhere in one of our readings...

Using a Document Camera!

Today in my 5th and 6th hour I had the fun priviledge of teaching my Algebra 1 classes using one of my schools' two visualizers (aka document cameras). I seldom bother to check one out because I feel it's too much of a hassle to go get it and return it at end of the day, plus I would rather only use certain technologies if I could use them consistently (like if I had my own). I used one a few weeks ago when my students were doing presentations for a "Dream Car" project, and the next day I decided to use it to present notes since it was still in my classroom (I usually use Power-Point instead).  The students were very vocal about how the visualizer made taking notes much easier for them. They felt like they could keep up with my pace because as I would write things down, they would have time to do so as well. They also liked how it was clear to them exactly what the important, necessary information to write down was, and how they were shown a way to organize their notes on a paper in a way that was logical and visually pleasing. All they had to do was write down the notes exactly as I had written them. Anyway, yesterday when we were doing our usual Power Point, the students asked why I didn't have the document camera anymore. They said it made taking notes so much easier for them, and were hoping I would check it out again.  So today I checked with a teacher who had it signed out for the day and I asked her I could use it for those two classes. She didn't really need it for that part of the day, so I was able to use it again. I told the students that the visualizer was back by popular demand (even if just for a day).  The note-taking went great today with it, and I even seemed to think there were less disruptions than usual. Perhaps it was just the fact that we were switching things-up from the norm that made the class more attentive than usual, or maybe it was just the way this technology gave them clarity regarding what to write.  More than likely, it was a combination of both. Hopefully I will not be lazy and check this thing out more often. :)

Facebook becomes more Stalker-Friendly

I was checking out the Read/Write Web feed just now and discovered some helpful news about how back in December, Facebook had made some disconcerting changes related to users' privacy settings.  Apparently they switched the default settings on several items (like photos, videos, status updates, and more) from private to public. They also made it so that when people try to search for you, they can view ALL of your profile pictures (not just the one on your current page). I guess you can't even alter this in the settings anymore, so if you don't want people you are not friends with to see all of your profile pictures, you would just need to delete them.

I am glad that I came across this article because it caused me to immediately sign into my own facecbook account and change some settings back to private.  In Facebook's defense, I do recall some type of warning message that appeared when I signed in not too long ago (it must have been in December), saying that they were making changes to people's privacy settings. One thing I didn't realize though, until examining this carefully tonight, was that it had taken my several albums which before only "friends of friends" could view, and made it so that "everyone" could access these. Creepy!

According to the article, Facebook argues that in general, society's thoughts about privacy are changing and people are becoming increasingly willing to share more personal information. (They even use the growing popularity of blogging as evidence for this). They believe that in making these privacy changes, they are just appropriately adjusting to this new shift in thought. I think if people are wanting to make things less private, fine, they should have that option, but their right to keep things as private if they wish (like profile pictures) should not be denied.

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/facebook_privacy_explanation_debate.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+readwriteweb+%28ReadWriteWeb%29

Educators' Stances on MLK Day

I just read a short article/survey from the Edutopia feed which was about what schools should do on Martin Luther King Jr. Day  (http://www.edutopia.org/poll-schools-observe-king-day). It presented readers with a little survey asking them which of four options seems most appropriate for schools on this holiday. You can check out the link if you want to see the options/results. (I was going to put a screen capture image of the survey results from Grab in this post... but then I wondered... is that even legal? Does anyone know if it is? I want to be careful about these things, and I know I will learn more about that kind of stuff in this class. I am playing it safe for now though).

Anyway... I am definitely not opposed to having the day off, but I also think having school that day gives us good opportunities for teaching about this incredible American hero.  Personally, I have fond memories of celebrating the hoilday when I was a student at Ralya Elementary in Haslett. I remember in music class we spent at least a week or two learning songs about MLK, and on the actual holiday we had a program in the gym and we performed the songs.  I can even still remember two of the songs. :)

Our district gave students the day off, and we used today as a PD day, which I thought was fine. I  wonder if the students even thought much about today being a holiday though when they were chillin' at home...

Getting Started!

Hi Everyone!

I am just getting started with the blogging for our class, even though it's technically week 2 now. I have a little catching up to do, but I'm not too stressed out about it. I am relieved that my schools' conferences are not until NEXT week so I should have enough time to get things done for this Friday. For those of you who do have conferences this week, I hope everything goes well for you and that you are able to find time to complete any assignments that you still need to do.

I'm not far into our book yet, but one thing that's been impressed upon me so far from the blog chapter, though it may not really seem that profound, is how blogs are supposed to be ENGAGING and INTERACTIVE. This definitely shouldn't be a new idea to me... after all, being able to communicate back to the author seems to be one of the main purposes and defining qualities of blogs.  I guess I just keep thinking about this because I feel like my posts for Bruce's class were usually pretty lame and didn't really elicit responses (although you guys were cool and still thought of nice comments to say anyway). It was like I was trying to get my minimum number of required posts done and didn't really think about how to engage my readers.  Reading that part in our book was a bit of a challenge for me. For this blog I will at least be more conscientious about trying to give you guys a little more to think about and respond to.  :)