Diigo page

http://www.diigo.com/network/amandajensen

Copyright

In discussing copyright laws in class, the law that surprised me the most was the law on music. Especially in the cases where artists were sued for using another song because four of the notes in the music were the same. This seems absolutely crazy to me! I played an instrument 10 years in school and if that was the rule, then every composer from Bach to Handle would be up for violation of this copyright rule. Many pieces of music have similar notes, while even in the same key; I mean seriously there aren’t that many notes in the musical world, they are bound to repeat!
Throughout my schooling career, many of my teachers have violated the copyright law. My most prominent teachers are my music teachers, especially in my high school orchestra and choir. My teachers copied music very often. Though this is wrong, the setting of my school makes me understand why. I went to a high school where there were only grades 10-12 and it still had a larger student body than Albright’s student body. Although not every student played an instrument or sang in the choir, the number of participants in these activities was still larger than the normal high school and the laws were violated due to budget issues within the department. Although I understand why these laws were not upheld, it is still wrong. I have also had teachers who copied workbook pages for the entire class out of one workbook instead of purchasing the workbooks for the class.
I feel as though it is my responsibility as a teacher to teach how to respect copyright laws. Just as we teach students that plagiarism is wrong while copying out of books and claiming it as their own words, copyright should be taught since it is the same thing, maybe just in different contexts. Therefore, since I will be teaching these rules to my students, it is important to show that I listen to my own advice and respect the laws of copyright. Practice what you preach is the best way to convey a message to students; they will not respect what you are teaching if they see that you are not following the rules. I will model copyright ethics as a teacher by using lessons plans, activities, and technology that are under the fair use guidelines or specifically say that I may re-use it. I will not misuse information that is not mine and if I create a video library, I will have it set up like a video store, have that one copy that I will show only my students, and have other teachers check it out if they wish to view it.

Whiteboards...the new cool thing

Whiteboards in the classroom are very useful and I feel as though they make teaching lessons and activities more fun in the classroom. I feel that they make teaching more interesting. For myself, I am a visual learner, so having a lesson taught through graphics along with text enhances my learning. I feel as though for children of all ages, especially those at the elementary level will learn better because of the visuals. Along with instruction, whiteboards are interactive, giving the students the opportunity to “play” with the technology while learning and/or reviewing. Since review is a major factor in learning, previously used activities from the lessons can be brought up and used or they can be slightly altered so that the concept is still there but the exact details may be different.
I found that the technology was easy to learn how to use. Since I am accustomed to power point I found it quite similar. The tools were tricky to use in the beginning such as switching back to the pointer after adding a text box, but on the whole I found it easy to use. Actually presenting on the whiteboard I also found easy because I have used them in other classes and other lessons that I have created.
Some of the pro’s of having a whiteboard in the classroom would be having the opportunity to have hands-on-activities that the children can do other than the regular manipulatives. Whiteboards also allow teachers to create lessons that connect to the internet and have on-line games that the students can play to review what was learned. Some of the con’s of having a whiteboard would be that the students may not be able to reach it easily, especially in the younger elementary levels. This problem can be solved by step stools or lowering the board, but in general, it could still possibly cause falls. Another con could be vandalism to the whiteboard. Markers should not really be used on them and anything other than a expo marker could cause damage. Upper grades my do it just because they can and younger kids may not mean to do it because they may not understand. One final pro to having one is having the technology to have learning more interactive and therefore, more fun to the students. I feel as though when students have fun learning, they remember it better!
From past lessons in the tree branches of government in social studies, I could incorporate Smartboard into the content by having virtual tours exploring the White House, or the Capitol Building. There are also many neat websites that have interactive activities for the students that I could incorporate as one center while rotating centers for a day. I also could create games and exercises such as review for quizzes, and make my bulletin board virtual for a day.