Copyright, the do's and don'ts

Growing up in school, I can remember my teachers showing videos and movies to the class. I remember one time in particular when my elementary teacher told us that she showed a certain Disney movie every year to her classroom for exhibiting good behavior. I remember thinking how great it would be if all of my teachers would do that in the years to come. What I didn’t know was the fact that a copyright law was being violated.

I have just read a little bit about copyright.  I know there is still a lot of information out there that I am completely unaware of, but I do have a little insight now. 

Videos can be recorded for the classroom if the original showing was for all audiences.  It could have been shown on the cabel network.  If it was not originally shown for all general audiences, you can't show it in the classroom unless you have permission.  Also, this video must be destroyed and no longer used after 10 days unless you get further permission.

Another interesting law that I was unaware of is the use of copying book materials.  These are copyrighted, which I did know, but I thought for educational purposes, we would be exemped in at least a tiny way.  Well, we are.  We can copy in a small amount, let's say a page of a book, but if I wanted to copy a whole chapter, that's a different story.  I would need to gain permission before copying extensive amounts of material.  I was glad that I happened across this one.  I had planned on copying some things for my students in the future, and now I know where my legality lies.

When I would create a presentation for a class, I always wanted to use pictures.  It makes it more interesting for the audience I am presenting to.  I just found out, however, that I can no use more than five pictures from one artist.  I must use different artists to make my presentation more colorful.  If there is a particular artist that I was set on using, I again must gain permission.

All of these laws are new to me, but I am glad that I am aware of them for my classroom in the future.  It is good to know when I can do certain things and when I cannot.  This also shows my students that I value copyright, and if they see how much I value it, then hopefully, they will value it as well.  They will see the importance of not stealing from someone else.

IPod: Music, Movies, and... Math!

After reading an article on Free Technology for Teachers, I was interested to look at upcoming technology to use in the classroom.

I found a blog about using iPods in the classroom to teach kids a concept, the concept of probability.  IPods have really become popular since their first coming out.  Apple continues to surprise us by the new ideas it keeps coming up with and producing for us.  In the blog titled  Using an iPod for probability experiments, a teacher in Australia tells her viewers about her experience with using iPods as a teaching tool. A free application called iChoose is available for anyone with an iTouch.  This application allows people to choose anything from dice to cards to a coin toss to use as a probability problem.  The teacher of this classroom allowed the students to use the application to run several experiments to see if their prediction about the probability of each problem were close to accurate. 

I found this idea to be a great one.  Students today are ready to use their iPods for anything, Internet, music, movies, and games.  This creates a way for students to use something they enjoy with something they are learning.  When these two are combined, the learning process become much more enjoyable for the student and then increases the learning.  If it was made available, I would readily use this application to teach my students probability and other concepts.

Media in my Classroom

When considering different ways to teach the students in my classroom, different forms of technology make it pretty high on the list.  In our world today, the various forms of technology being used in the classroom become more and more diverse and popular. 

I have just finished reading an article on thejournal.com called Videoconferencing Connects Missouri Students with Peers Around The Globe about students in Missouri using video conferencing as a means of learning today.  I had never heard of high schools using this before now.  It caught me off guard, but it really got me to thinking.  What better way to encourage students to be more motivated to learn than to talk with kids who don't get that opportunity.  This was the original way I thought video conferencing could be used in my classroom.  I then began to think, students in high school math are constantly wondering, "When will I ever use this in real life?"  Video conferencing can be a great way for the students to get to talk with a mathematician, an engineer, a physicist, or a computer scientist.  The list goes on and on.  There are so many ways for these students to pursue a career in math, but it doesn't come to their minds immediately.  Video Conferencing would give them a real example of a person pursuing math and how they went about doing it. 

After having a new technology brought to my plate, I began to think of other technology that my students would learn from and enjoy at the same time.  Growing up, I had one teacher who had what is now known as a Smart Board.  We rarely used it in the classroom, but I have recently been shown its growing potential.  There are many ways to incorporate math and technology.  Using a Smart Board gives the students a fun way for the students to learn easier.  Technology is familiar to them; they know how to use it and everything new about it.  Using technology as the base for learning a lesson gives them a familiar start.  The Smart Board incorporates something that they enjoy, technology, with something that is not completely familiar to them.

Using different technologies will come into play at different times when I am teaching.  I like to see how my students are doing, if they are understanding the concepts.  If they are not, technology provides a new and different way to approach a topic.  Also, students sometimes lack in motivation, and I really like the ways I can use video conferencing to help the students realize that education is at such easy access to them.  Students in other countries do not have as free of access as we do in the United States.

Technology is growing tremendously in our world today.  Learning as a teacher to better teach our students is something I strive to do.  These are a few of the technologies out there that I think will be useful in my classroom to motivate my students to want to learn mathematics.

Happy Blog-day to Me

I never thought that I would be a blogger, but what do you know, it's required for a class.  So, today is my first blog, my blog birthday. Once we found out that we had to create a blog, my good friend Jana, told me that we needed to head back to my apartment immediately to create one for me.  This is coming from an avid blogger.  So, she showed me all of the cute backgrounds that I could choose from, taught me how to change my fonts and the layout of my blog and ta da here you have it!  My very own blog... but what to write?  What do people write on these things?  I have no idea, but I guess I will figure something out. 

So... here goes... My name is Tarah, and I live in a small town in Missouri.  I am currently a junior in college studying secondary math education, and I love it.  I am dating a guy named James and he is rather fantastic if I do say so myself.  He is the lead singer in a band, (girls, I know you are jealous) and they are incredibly talented.  They are gonna go far someday soon.  That will be an exciting day :)  Although I do love this boy, I strive to love and pursue One far beyond anyone else.  The greatest love of my life is Christ Jesus.  I don't know why He constantly pursues me, but I am amazed by it all the time.  I make mistakes everyday and turn away from Him, and yet, He always takes me back.  I will never fully understand, but I am beyond thankful for this gift of grace and love from the creator of the universe.

So happy blog-day to me.  My first blog... hope you enjoyed, whoever is reading this.  Thanks :)

The End