Is it Safe? Navigating the Copyright and Fair Use Waters

I was happy to hear we were going to learn more about the use of copyrighted material for educational purposes.  

The internet is an amazing resource for people like me, looking for just the right information or the right shot - just the right picture that can be used to illustrate an idea, feeling, or concept in my instructional materials.

But every time I find the right information or picture, I think... "Is it safe?"

WARNING!!!!  

WATCH ONLY THE FIRST 20 SECONDS OF THIS VIDEO!

Laurence Olivier and Dustin Hoffman in 'Marathon Man' 
This video is used per the YouTube Terms of Service, Section 4, 
General Use of the Service, Permissions and Restrictions

Can I use a picture or video snippet?  Is it legal?  Could I be sued?  Will Dustin Hoffman's lawyers, or Sir Laurence Olivier's descendants come after me?  

No, you are right.  It will be the studio that comes after me.  

In the instructional materials I create, I don't use famous movies or actors, or written information.  I mostly use pictures and video clips. 

How do I know if I have the videographer or photographer's blessing?
The video above was uploaded from YouTube.  Per section 4 of the Terms of Service, the use of the above video is permitted.  Have you ever noticed YouTube's Terms of Service?  No?  You are not alone!  You have to look for it!  generally speaking, such information is located at the very bottom of websites.

At first, in ignorance, I prepared a subsection of the YouTube video - just the first 20 seconds, as that is all I wanted to show, and if memory serves, the rest of the clip could give one nightmares!  Unfortunately, after reading the terms of service, I learned that I could not modify the original.  How very disappointing!  Ah well, I can take comfort in my being oh so within the law!

Using someone else's material without being 100% sure that I have their blessing certainly does not seem worth the potential pain if in fact I am using the material without permission.  Suddenly that perfect picture that I simply had to use doesn't seem quite as important anymore!

                                               

no photo inserted here*

* I had planned to use a still photo from 'Marathon Man' that I found on line in the space above, however it said, quoted exactly: "Images may be subject to copyright."  Very helpful.  What exactly does that mean?  They may as well just say: "This photo may or may not be OK for you to use - we just don't know.  We're not even sure we should be using it."  There was no other information available, so I decided to delete it.

Time for your quiz!  

True or False:  There is a set of legal rules that gives definitive answers to copyright questions.

You guessed it- FALSE!  But as I learned, the fact that the law is not so prescriptive runs to our favor.  

But what about Fair Use considerations?  That is, are there exceptions to copyrights, which allows for the use of copyright material?  The answer is yes!

There are some great resources that can help understand what is and is not the Fair Use.

Take a peek at the Fair Use information from Cornell University's Copyright Information Center.  Cornell developed a checklist to help untangle and understand if we are stepping over the Fair Use boundary.  

The best thing?  Cornell is happy to help you if you don't find what you need on their site!  Thanks, Cornell!

Shattered iAuthor Dreams

I was floored when I was introduced to iAuthor, Apple's ebook authoring tool.

 photo by Jean Baptiste M, *photo obtained from Flickr Creative Common, available per the license.

 The capabilities are nothing short of amazing, and the possibilities for using iAuthor are endless.  

See for yourself.  Here is a tutorial, for a little taste of iAuthor.

Exciting, yes?

You can add interactive 3D images and objects. Can you add video?  Of course!  What about interactive quizzes?  No problem!  You can even use HTML, so your ibook will never be out of date.  Imagine!

I know what you are thinking - Sounds great, but what does iAuthor cost?

The amazing answer?  The tool is FREE! 

Sadly, though, there is one, giant catch.  Did you catch the catch at the end of the above tutorial?

iAuthor only works on Apple devices.  RATS!  

I did some research to see if this was current information, as the tutorial is from 2012.

Yes, sadly, as far as I can determine, this is still the case.

iAuthor sounds great for a K-12 classroom outfitted with Apple devices, but I am disappointed that someone with a PC computer could not read published iAuthor material.

You can create a PDF version that anyone can use.  Yes, OK, but then you of course lose the best features - the video and interactive components.

iAuthor seemed like the perfect way to have an interactive guide for dog training clients to use while taking a class.  A great way to give them quick, interesting, and most importantly, helpful answers to questions that pop up between classes.  They wouldn't need to wait until the next class session.  They could get helpful answers right away!  

But only if they have an Apple device.  Harrumph!  

One other noteworthy note.  If you plan to sell your book, Apple wants a cut of any sales.
This seems only fair, although some people complain about it.

Interested in reading more about it?  

Read an author's experience using iAuthor.

Happy iAuthoring!

Web 2.0hhhhhh!

I've heard the term "Web 2.0", but didn't really understand what it meant.  My understanding of it is that web 1.0 sites may offer a lot of information, but the 2.0 sites take it to the next level.  That next level can be many different things - such as a learning community, in which the users contribute all of the content.  Sites such as Wikipedia or YouTube are good examples of this type of .  It can also offer a way to interact with others to find out answers to pressing questions, in places such as forums.  While this could lead you in the wrong direction at times, there are so many sources to use in today's web searches, that you can get confirmation of the answer you received at one site by accessing other similar sites.

It really is fascinating to see how the web has changed our everyday lives.  Back in the dark ages, not TOO long ago, one had to go to the library to get reliable information on a certain subject.  Now there is so much information available, the biggest challenge is how to narrow your results, so that you receive only the cream of the crop regarding websites.

Computational Thinking Part Two - Application

In class, we reviewed several websites that apply computational thinking into their game/interactive experiences.  I enjoyed experiencing all of the interactive websites that we reviewed during class.  The experiences ranged from the basic, yet still interesting and fun to play Lemonade Stand

copyright 1999-2001 v1.0 by Geoffrey Noles.  Licensed to ClassBrain.com

to the complex world in Second Life,

Copyright Second Life, authorized use of snapshot per the snapshot and machinima policy.

to the very cool Alien Rescue game.  See for yourself below

©2014 The University of Texas at Austin

Alien Rescue wins my vote for the best site for teaching children computational learning skills in an interesting and fun way.  Such a great positive premise- helping each displaced alien type find a place to live that best suits their characteristics and requirements.  I think most adults would also enjoy this game!

©2014 The University of Texas at Austin

My group played the Blood Typing Game.

Copyright © Nobel Media AB 2014

There are many things about this game that I can appreciate, and need to remember, should I ever try to create something this grand!  The game was very appealing visually, and has a great deal of detail.
For example, when using the syringe to add blood to the test tubes, the amount of blood in the syringe decreases after each addition into the test tube.  I really liked that the earner had to position the syringe both to draw blood on the patient, and to place it into the test tubes.  Simple things, such as using blood spatters to fill the screen after you make a selection is absolutely genius, and adds a lot of appeal!

Copyright © Nobel Media AB 2014

Upon revisiting the game, I noticed how the sounds of the game really added to the experience.  The splat that came with the blood spatter, the sound of the blood dropping into the test tube, and the mixing sound in the test tube were all satisfying to hear!

While the game is fun to play, I don't feel I learned anything.  I'm not saying that you can't learn anything from playing the game, it just didn't happen organically while playing.  I think going into detail about why that is may be useful, so here goes.

The game starts off by offering you several different versions of the games to try.

Copyright © Nobel Media AB 2014

What it didn't do, is try to incorporate learning blood types into the game.  Unless you already know about blood typing, you are just using trial and error.  It is still fun, but I didn't feel I was gaining any knowledge.  When choosing the wrong blood type, the patient screams, along with many visual cues to let you know you got it wrong - no other feedback is given.  

A great enhancement to the game would be to explain, in a fun way, WHY the type chosen was incorrect.  This would help the learner catch on more quickly and result in fewer patient deaths(!). 

The same thought applies to the actual blood typing of the patients.  If the game could add just a quick reference to what you are seeing in each test tube (why some tubes have what appears to be a clot at the bottom, and some do not), it would add to the learning experience.

Copyright © Nobel Media AB 2014

Instead, you just make random selections, and are only told you are wrong, instead of WHY you are wrong.

Copyright © Nobel Media AB 2014

I think some people would get frustrated, as you can make MANY errors (A+, A-, B+, B-, AB+, AB-,  O+ before FINALLY selecting 0-, the correct answer) before hitting on the correct answer.  

Another enhancement would be offering to direct you to the tutorials to learn about blood typing after you select a couple of wrong answers.  I only found the tutorials by clicking the Main Menu button.  

Adding an option to begin with the tutorials on the starting splash screen would be a great idea.

Another enhancement would be making the tutorials more interactive and fun.  While they have plenty of pictures, you are really just reading about blood types.  

Copyright © Nobel Media AB 2014

I am guessing not many people read the blood typing tutorials.  They are just too bland in comparison to the game.  Why not add some "what if" components to the tutorials, such as: "What if we gave someone with type A- type A+ blood.  What do you think would happen?" and then have the learner do that to see the result.  It would keep people learning, instead of ditching the tutorial in order to play the game.

I'm not trying to bash the game, I just wanted to examine it, so that I can learn from it, and apply it to making my own game.

Computational Thinking... A Lot To Think About!

Computational thinking is a concept that I am still trying to wrap my head around.  

It sounds fairly simple - applying the principles of computer science to solve problems, design systems, and understand human behavior (paraphrased from Introducing Computational Thinking in Education Courses, by Yadav, A., et al, one of the iLearn ITEC 815 readings).

However applying this, and putting it into practice is the head scratcher!
I will need to learn more about computational thinking to truly understand it.

Computational thinking does sound critically important to the K-12 program.  Mastering these concepts early in life would help prepare children to succeed as adults.  beyond the classroom, there are so many resources outside the classroom that are available to foster this kind of thinking.  Scratch (http://scratch.mit.edu/) is only one of many.

Below is a simple math game programmed in Scratch.  Try it out by clicking here

Content use is permitted under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license.

A Web Whaaaaat?? WebQuests!

WebQuest?  What on earth is that?  It took me a while to understand that a WebQuest is a way to have learners use the web in a directed search for answers to complex questions.  Once I understood, I loved the idea!  A perfect way for learners to make discoveries on their own.

I thought of a great WebQuest idea!  I could use a WebQuest to teach children about puppy socialization.  Puppy socialization is often misunderstood to mean socializing a puppy to other puppies and/or dogs.  While this is part of it, a much bigger part is exposing the pup to many positive experiences with lots of different people and places.  When they have these positive experiences, they are much more likely to learn that the world is a safe place, and grow up to be well adjusted adults.

It would be great to have kids learn about it early, and perhaps teach the adults!

I thoroughly enjoyed creating my WebQuest.  The worst part about it was keeping my paws off of it after I submitted it for grading.  I kept thinking of things that I should have added or clarified.  I actually can't wait until it is graded, so I can update it.

WebQuests are something I will definitely explore for my final project.  I am wondering if there is a use for them in humane education programs.  My guess is yes!

View WebQuest

Powerful Powerpoint

I really enjoyed the presentation on Powerpoint.  I tend to overlook Powerpoint as a bland, uninteresting tool, so it was a good reminder that Powerpoint is a powerful tool that can do so much more than create an overly wordy slide deck.

The slide below is from the class Powerpoint presentation - an example of how we tend to cram too much data onto a slide.  I have seen this slide in one form or another many times over the years.  It seems to be a favorite thing to do - present a slide that is impossible to read or understand!

The presenter inevitably says something like: "I know you can't read this, but what I wanted to show you was..."  Really?  If it isn't important for us to be able to read it, why are you showing it to us?  Isn't there a better way to present this information?  The audience gets lost in a slide like this - or worse-

Obtained from  SFSU, Dr. Merchant, ITEC815 iLearn Materials, Fall 2014

the audience zones out completely, like the folks below (also from the Powerpoint presentation):

Obtained from  SFSU, Dr. Merchant, ITEC815 iLearn Materials, Fall 2014

I love the slide above.  In the grips of death-by-Powerpoint, for sure!

Call Them Concept Maps or Mind Maps - I am Not a Fan... or am I?

Concept maps... I love 'em and I hate 'em.  My first exposure to concept maps was an "I hate 'em" experience in another class.  We were all struggling with some new concepts, and a fellow student created and posted a concept map (she called it a mind map) to organize and better understand the information.  Many students commented on how helpful it was.  All I saw was a big, messy jumble.  Ugg... Just looking at it made me feel more confused.

Our guest speaker (Dr. Kim) helped me to understand how concept maps can relay ideas and relationships between ideas in a unique, visual way.  Dr. Kim shared many concept map examples to show us that if they are done well, concept maps can be very useful.

When I thought of an interesting example to try on my concept map shoes, I was surprised how much fun it was to create!  I was loving the process, but I also found it was hard to know where to stop!  The more I worked on the map, the more I wanted to add to it.  Although it was very simple, I can see how someone might have the same reaction to my concept map that I had when I saw my first one.  I think it will be a matter of keeping this tool handy, and knowing when to use it, and knowing when it would just overcomplicate things.

In my own dabbling in concept maps, I went too far!  While it was fun to create, and I wanted to include even more information (oiy!), unless I purchased the software (Inspiration) that created it, the ability to properly reproduce and/or view the map was very limited.

Strike that!  Without purchasing the software, I found it impossible for me to use my map.  I tried all of the options that Inspiration offered (export, save as PDF, etc.).  Some did not work, perhaps because it was the trial version?  The others just did not produce images clear enough to be enlarged in order to read.  I'm clearly very attached to this map, as I would like to somehow salvage it, and/or break it into more manageable chunks.

Thou Shalt Practice Thy New Skills!

When I learned we would be using Camtasia in class for the Digital Storytelling project, I was so excited!  Why?  I had used Camtasia a few times before in previous classes.  I was relieved that I would only have to concentrate on the content, instead of learning a new tool AND concentrating on the content.

Unfortunately, when it came time to use Camtasia, I was very rusty.  It had been a year since I had last used Camtasia, and it felt almost like the first time I'd used it.  I knew what I wanted to do, it just took some time for me to remember how do it... Ugg!

A good lesson for me!  I need to make sure I practice my new skills, so that I can use them easily when needed.  It wasted a lot of my time to get back up to speed, and had I been practicing here and there, I would have been in much better shape.

Digital Storytelling for The Classroom and Beyond

Digital storytelling (DS) is a new concept for me.  I can see how DS would be excellent to use in the classroom.  Students would be using their creativity, and would also learn how to use screen capture video and audio recording tools to create a storytelling video.  

I realized that it could also be used outside the classroom, to get an idea across to an audience in an engaging way.  The example I decided to try was telling a story of a young girl that hated walking her dog, because it pulled her all over the place.  The girl tried a technique that she had learned in puppy class, and with some time and patience, she was able to teach her dog to stop pulling.  

The video was crude, but I could see with some polish, it might be a good way to get buy in from dog owners who want their dog to stop pulling, but don't really want to spend any time working on it.  

Blog About Blogging? Blog, Blog, Blog

Please check one:

__ Blogs are interesting and informative

__ Blogs are a waste of time

Trick question!  Both are true!  

Photo by Jeffrey James Pacres, available per creative common license

I have stumbled upon blogs on landscape design and dog behavior that were both interesting and informative.

I have also stumbled upon blogs on landscape design and dog behavior that were NEITHER interesting NOR informative.  

Mostly I have stumbled upon the latter.  

To be fair, the "you-bore-me" blogs may have had good information, but it was given in such a long, drawn-out, BORING way... not unlike my first posting on this very blog- blah, blah, blah... look at all I have to say... blah, blah blah...zzzzzzzzzz.

Most would tune out and move on long before finding any interesting bits.

NOW that I am testing out my own blog... only because it is required for my class, mind you...

I realize why!

WAY too easy to prattle on and on... and on

Blogging is an art!

Concision is king, and that is not my strong suit!

Too Flip About the Flipped Classroom?

Photo by EdTech Stanford University, available per creative common license.

I realize that I have been using the term "flipped classroom" in a flippant manner.

I've been harboring my idea of what it means to flip a classroom, without truly understanding what a "flipped classroom" means.  

So let me set the record straight.

In a flipped classroom, the learner's first exposure to new material occurs outside the classroom.  Class time is reserved for the harder stuff -  helping the learner to incorporate and solidify the material, which can be accomplished by various activities such as problem solving in small groups or conducting experiments in class.

It doesn't necessarily mean the use of video, or other specialized tools to deliver the learning outside the classroom.  It can be as simple as having the learner read a chapter prior to class, and then working problems from the chapter in class.

The term "flipped" was applied, because historically, the first exposure to new material is given in the classroom, and the students would work on problems as homework.

I can see a huge benefit of this type of learning.  Take your average math class, for example.  I remember struggling a LOT once I reached Algebra II.  Oh how I would have loved to work on the math problems in a group during class, instead of struggling on my own.  It would have helped me immensely!  

What is Technology Integration?

Before I started the ITEC 815 class (Integration of Instructional Computing), I thought "technology integration" in schools meant simply making technology available to students and using it in the school curricula.  I quickly learned that there is a big difference between using the technology and integrating the technology into the curricula to truly enhance student learning.

The Embellishment or Integration Case Study helped me to see this distinction.  The case study involved two ninth grade school teachers at a high school. 

Although both teachers had the students using computers during class, they used the technology in very different ways.  The social studies teacher used the computers to create an interactive, constructivist learning environment.  There was no lecture from the teacher.  Instead, she gave her students a problem to solve ("How is our state dependent on other states and which states depend on our state?”).  She had the students work in groups, using laptops to work on the question.  The teacher circulated through the room and asked the students questions, listened to their thoughts, and provided guidance when needed.

In contrast, the biology teacher used the technology in a very static way to learn about the bones of the human skeleton.  Students worked in pairs, and rolled their cursor over each bone of the human body to learn each bone's name and pronunciation.

While the biology teacher was certainly making use of the technology, he was not using the technology to its full potential, and the technology was not fully integrated into the classroom.  The social studies teacher had truly integrated the technology into her classroom.  She let the children research and discover the answers on their own, while also providing guidance when needed.  There was a clear difference in the children in each classroom.  The social studies students seemed excited and interested, while the biology students seemed very quiet and less interested.  What a difference between the two classes!

The social studies teacher had applied the ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) Standards for students:

1. Creativity and innovation 

2. Communication and collaboration

3. Research and information fluency

4. Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making

 Read more about the ISTE  Standards for Students here.