Wk1 Fair Use: When, where, how????

As a teacher in the CATE area of Graphic Design and Illustration and Print Imaging, Fair Use is a subject I've always wanted clarification on. And the summary of "Fair Use, if you are teaching a unit, can you teach the unit without the copyrighted material" was an eye opener.

One of my student's favorite projects is an introduction to Adobe CS5 Photoshop and delving in to possible career paths within the visual arts industry. For this unit, I take a head shot of the student. The student has to find a picture of someone doing what he/she would like to do within the industry and find another picture where they would like to do this career. They have to combine all three images in to one single seamless image. One that the viewer would look at and not be able to tell that someone didn't just happen along and take the picture. At first glance, a copyright advocate may look at this unit and say that the two pictures the student finds on the Internet are infringement. In my mind, I think that I can not send the student on a scavenger hunt to find a person doing what they would like to do when they graduate. Nor can I send a student to wherever they would like to do this career. So, am I safe? The student is using a partial of two different pictures plus one that I took. AND it is for a teaching assignment where the student is not going to make money off of it.

One of the resource videos that we watched really made me sad. It also brought home the point that some Fair Use, specially in the preservation of historical events is necessary!

Wk 1: Free Flow

What an amazing journey! I have made it to month 11, almost unscathed. It has been a hugely fast paced, eye popping experience.

What I have been truly amazed at is the way each of the Course Directors has maintained a sense of community in an online class. Part of my CBR project is looking at ways I can use long distance learning (LDL) to promote engagement and motivation for my students. Some my wonder why would be a viable option in high school. My thought is, they have never been involved in the lives of Title 1 students. For clarification, in Texas, a Title 1 school is made of high risk, minority male and females where at least 70% are on free or reduced cost breakfast and lunch. For most of my students these are the only meals they get each day. On the weekend, I shudder to think/know what/if they are eating. I have approximately 90 students in my program. Of those 90, some are mothers and fathers. Some work from 10:00 pm - 6:00 am then come to school. Others are in jail. I view LDL as a way to keep those KIDS, yes they are still 14-19 year old young adults, connected to me which equates to being able to engage and motivate them to graduate from high school.

I really look forward to taking what I have learned, the experiences I have had and incorporating them even further in to my curriculum.

MAC wk 1 reading: To Copy or Not To Copy?

That is a big question in today's society. Teaching the "instant gratification, I'll-take-what-I-can-get-without-ramifications" generation Graphic Design and Illustration is an interesting task. And Copyright Infringement and Fair Use is a big part of that equation.

One of the first units I teach my students is about Copyright, Fair Use and Plagarism. My students come to me with the idea that it's already been done so I'll just take it redo/remix it and call it mine. Which sedgeways' into an eye opening discussion that starts like this. Pedro, what would you do if Luciano pirates $1,000.00 from you? Pedro says Luci wouldn't pirate from me. And I tell him, you know that flow you came up with in class the other day? Pedro says yeah. Man, that was some nice work. And I told him you know I was surfing on YouTube and I saw Luci and his posse doing the same flow but added a couple of beats to it. Your name isn't anywhere on the video as the original musician. Now, Luci tells me a record producer saw it and wants him to do it on a CD. The Producer says he's going to make Luci rich. Now, did Luci pirate $1,000.00 from you?

This takes us down a journey of understanding by determining who owns what. If we create it we can protect it. Why do we want to protect it? Because it’s money in our pocket! It doesn’t matter if it is a flow made in class, an illustration made on the computer, a play written for English class. If you create it and someone wants to publish or buy it, you should get compensated. I then ask my class, how many of you have CD/DVD’s you got off the Internet? Naturally, most raise their hands. I then explain that by pirating that piece, you have now committed a crime. You have stolen money or the livelihood of that Artist.

Dan Glickman of the MPAA boiled it down to the idea that the founding fathers of America wanted to protect creator’s rights. If you create it, if someone else wants to use it, you should get compensated for it.

The Internet has opened up a whole new arena for theft. The Pirate Party in Sweden would have us believe that the sharing of information should be unrestricted. That this sharing of information doesn’t hurt anyone. I can agree with that mantra to a degree. However, when that information is a piece created by someone else AND the hosting site is making money off of it then restrictions should be in place to protect the creator and the production company. The bottom line of piracy is that it is affecting the bottom line. The video “Good Copy Bad Copy” really brought this home to me when they stated that annually, $7 billion dollars and 1,000s of jobs are lost because of piracy. I think next year, I will add this little tidbit of information to my discussion. Of course giving full credit to the video.

PE9_Moodle_Quizzes

Moodle Quiz feature absolutely rocks! This dynamic feature will allow me to create and modify quizzes at the push of a button (well a couple of them but you get the idea). And the best feature is that I can create tests that I can read the question to the students in another language and they can see it in English. What an awesome tool to be able to check understanding in all students!

PE8_Moodle_Databases

How fun is this!
The Database function of Moodle is a wonderful tool to give students a teacher-controlled research tool. Instructors can upload images, create web links, text, etc... to focus students on a particular topic. For example, right now my students are creating a total marketing package for a fictitious band. I could start a database for them that has some really neat cd packages, web links to further explain marketing principles. The sky is the limit!

PE7_Choice_Activity_Moodle

To further my understanding of Moodle I wanted to look at what they call "Choice Activity".
A Choice Activity is really a poll. The "poll" can be answered anonymously or with the student name. I can see myself using the Choice Activity in a couple of ways:
1. Choice: Anonymous. I want to find things the students are interested in to create a new assignment that would have meaning to them.
2. Choice: Non-anonymous. I want to find out how well the student is comprehending a complex design issue.
I'm really liking Moodle more and more. I can really see the Long Distance aspect in those students that are border line drop outs. If they can get the same instruction on line when they can access it that would be amazing!

PE6

Let's Chat Moodle Style!
Perhaps one of my favorite features of Moodle is the Chat capability. You can set up a constant day and time or you can just hang out in cyber-space. It would be akin to having a virtual tutorial time. However, for my students, this would be a huge benefit.

It allows me the opportunity to connect with my students in a way that can possible be the key to either keeping them in school or bringing them back in.