Web 2.0 tools in my classroom

I've used several Web 2.0 tools in my Info Tech classroom.

Facebook and Twitter: I mainly for personal & professional use to connect with peers and experts in my field.  I've also used Facebook groups for teams and organizations which allows us limited, password-protected access to schedules, pictures, photos, discussion boards, messaging, etc

Wikis: Great for definition lists!  Assign students one or two words each, they post, others have a revision role.

YouTube: It's is a wonderful teaching tool.  I've found many How-To's that I've used in class.  Did you know that you can replace the youtube URL with kickyoutube and download the streaming video into something you can use offline?

Google bookmarks: I have students open a Google account and we use that for bookmarking favorite sites.  The favorites can go along with them wherever they have a Google toolbar or at Google.com/bookmarks.

Blogger: Our students use their Google accounts to begin a blog.  They write about what we've learned in class and follow each others' writings, commenting as well.

Tech Tips for the Basic Computer User - Pogue’s Posts - Technology - New York Times Blog

Tech Tips for the Basic Computer User - Pogue’s Posts - Technology - New York Times Blog

How many of these tricks did you know about? I knew about *most* of them, but not the Windows+D. I often have multiple windows open and have to minimize them all to get to my desktop. I now have a new trick to add to my bag!

From the Desk of David Pogue - The Almost Invisible Earbud - NYTimes.com

From the Desk of David Pogue - The Almost Invisible Earbud - NYTimes.com:

"this has been my secret for seven years--I am a silent sufferer from IEDSPS: iPod Earbuds Don't Stay Put syndrome. Like about 10 percent of the population (my estimate), my ears simply lack whatever flap of flesh or cartilage you're supposed to have for holding those darned earbud discs in place."

Thank you, thank you, David for heightening the awareness of this debilitating affliction! I, too, am a sufferer. No more will I be embarrassed to wear my over-the-ear personal listening devices, no matter what my teens say - they already pretend not to know me in public venues anyway! IEDSPS sufferers, our time has come - boot the buds; and proudly sport your ear-gear of choice!

Internet Filtering in Schools

"There is no technology that can filter out all objectionable material, and every filter filters out constitutionally protected material," said Emily Sheketoff, executive director of the American Library Association's Washington, D.C., office.

from http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/011508dnmetlibraryporn.27bb24d.html


I think that one quote sums up the conflict quite well.

As technology coordinator of our school, I have tussled with our district about levels of restriction frequently. I get very angry when our students can't access blogs, youtube videos, Google images, etc, for legitimate educational reasons.

At the same time, I'm all for keeping our kids safe from objectionable content.

The answer at our school was to implement the iSafe curriculum (www.isafe.org). It teaches kids how to behave responsibly and safely while online. Or it least it exposes them to the dangers inherent online. I teach the curriculum to our middle schoolers, and then again to high school students in the Internet class. It does seem to make an impact.

Some great analogies:

Some books and magazines have objectionable content. That doesn't mean that we don't let kids read; we just teach them how to pick appropriate material.

Many people die in car accidents. That doesn't mean we stop kids from riding in them; we teach them how to use safety restraints.

It can be dangerous to cross the street, but that doesn't mean we teach kids to avoid the street. Eventually we give them some rules so that they can cross the street safely.

Like crossing streets,

"let's teach them how to cross the Information Superhighway successfully."

by Mary Jane Little, director of St. Johns County Public Library in St. Augustine, Fla from http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/041801/met_5940442.html

More on copyright and fair use

The magic of the Internet is that it is soooo easy to credit your source. A simple link leads you straight to the original work. Blogging ethics implore and empower us to do so:

BuzzMachine » Blog Archive » A proposal to the Associated Press: A link ethic: "This ... ethic of the link and quote that I have learned from blogs ... says to our readers: Don’t take my word for it, go see for yourself."

Just as in print, copyright protocol should still apply on the web:

PC World - Who owns 'public' content?: "In the same way that I can't reprint a Harry Potter book and start selling it for my own gain, we need to realize that we can't do that with RSS feeds or other Web content either. While Fair Use is OK, you can't just start lifting and reusing entire bodies of work without permission."

One would think this back-linking *should* make authors and copyright holders very happy. The Associated Press, however, has different ideas. Sure, you can publish quotes from the AP, but, even with proper accreditation, it's going to cost you:

Weblogg-ed » $12.50 for Five Words: "$12.50 for Five Words -- That’s what it’s going to cost you to excerpt in your blog any content published by the Associated Press under it’s new pricing structure. According to a pseudo FAQ on copyright that the AP has published..."

At first glimpse, this caused my eyes to roll. However, upon further investigation, AP seems to allow publishing or posting of it's content, if you follow their rules. I suppose that is playing fair. It is their content; they are the copyright holders. They should be able to make rules about their content. Just for kicks, I decided to play by their rules. I decided I'd try to post something from the AP here on my blog and jumped through their hoops. I was given the choice of publishing the link or the article in it's entirety. The article is below.

The disadvantage? Most of the time, I don't really want to use an entire article in my post; I only want to make a point with a quote or excerpt, like in a research paper. As long as I credit the author, I feel I should be able to do so without being accused of copyright infringement. I suppose that one could paraphrase and then supply a link to the original article....

Microsoft, Google back broad privacy legislation from Associated Press

Copyright Angst - Senior Videos

Yesterday, we had a school-wide assembly to view the much-anticipated senior video. We're talking small-school, baby pictures + senior pictures, growing up headshots of selected groups, sports, activities, accompanied by popular songs of the day. Sometimes a techno-savvy student will complete the video; sometimes a studio is selected to create it.

I always have questions from students and teachers alike - are these videos "legal?" I have questions myself.

This year a local studio created the video. The first screen displayed an anti-piracy copyright protection screen. Next, the video starts with 1) popular songs and 2) senior pictures from other local studios. Even if this fell under Educational Fair Use, the following guidelines would have to be followed, at least for the songs:

a. Use 10% of a song, not to exceed 30 seconds,
and do not show the finished video out of the classroom.
Do not duplicate, distribute, broadcast, webcast or sell it.

b. Proper attribution must be given when using copyrighted materials. i.e.
"I Am Your Child" written by Barry Manilow/Martin Panzer.
BMG Music/SwanneeBravo Music.

c. The opening screen of the project must include a notice that "certain materials are included under the fair use exemption and have been used according to the multimedia fair use guidelines".

d. Your fair use of material ends when the project creator (student or teacher) loses control of the project's use: e.g. when it is distributed, copied or broadcast.

Unfortunately, NONE of these guidelines were followed. And, I hesitate to even suggest that it could fall under Educational Fair Use. The senior video was not a class project, was not an educational tool,was not a tool for critique. It was duplicated, distributed, and, I believe, sold.

How do I teach our students about obeying copyright laws if copyright infringement is so casually committed in our society?

One can find copyright-free or creative commons images, which also includes links for music as well.
The Annick LIVEbrary Blog: Copyright- and Hassle-Free Images

Living in the Cloud - Our Daily Internet World

From Living in the Cloud,
Brian lists some helpful daily websites. Some I also use include:

• Google Docs: I do have an external hard drive which serves me well between machines, but I recommend Google Docs to all of my students. It works wonderfully to work on reports between home and school, no flash drive needed, no software/version compatibility issues. All one needs is Internet access. In our district, that's just about everyone.
  
• Google Reader: I love my Google Reader. It keeps me updated on all of the topics I'm interested in - Technology, Education, Parenting, my favorite columnists, even health and fitness.
  
• GMail: I have a Gmail address to which students submit work. I haven't yet switched over to Gmail personally, because I have always been a YahooMail girl. I may switch over the summer, however, due to my new Everex Cloudbook. The new Yahoo interface will not work on my small screen resolution, so I have to switch over to "Classic," which is a problem because that switch prompt sometimes causes my CloudBook to hang.
• Online Calendar: I am looking for one. I got hooked on using the Outlook calendar while at school, and can use Outlook Web Access while I have Internet access, but I'd like one I can use offline on my Cloudbook.
  

Ones I may try...

• Dropbox: This file sharing system is currently in beta. I currently use yousendit to send large files and Google Docs or Google Groups to share files, but this sounds like it has some possibilities.
  
• Del.icio.us: I've opened an account, that's about it. I tend to use Google Bookmarks to keep track of my favs, which works just fine for me so far. I've been told that I can use the former to share my favs with my classes and other teachers, but I haven't implemented that yet. My plan is to add class sites as I teach to a class login next year. I guess we'll see how it works!
  
• Remember the Milk: Cute idea, but I tend to use my Outlook for todo lists, tasks, and reminders. I will keep it in mind for "the switch" if I make it.
  
• Flickr: I currently use a combination of Google Picasa and Facebook for digital image storage. If it's personal or family photos, then I use Facebook. For school use, it's Picasa.
  

I'd like to add