Written as a response to the Ed Tech Blog Carnival 2012.

Copyright, piracy, fair use, and freedom of Internet has gotten a lot of attention recently, especially with the coverage of the United States Congress reviewing and possibly voting on the SOPA & PIPA bills. It was a great opportunity to have a conversation with students about the issues.

Early in the year, I had reflected about students in an 1:1 environment and their constant access to media. With the technology literally in their hands all day, there is responsibility for them to know how to respect the creators wishes when re-using their work. In our district, students are introduced to copyright and digital citizenship concepts in elementary school, to what extent is influenced by their teacher. Once in the middle school, students are given a more in depth instruction and application of Creative Commons in 6th grade computer class and research projects through the library. By 8th grade, the students know how to find appropriate sources. They use EasyBib to create bibliographies for their work. Some students even begin to find their voice, and they champion the cause by following up with teachers about their media choices. Occasionally questioning if the media selection is eligible under Fair Use is just a task avoidance tactic, but more often it is genuine.

This year I have a new stance on images. When my 8th graders need to use images for a class assignment or project, I no longer put it in writing that the image needs to be Creative Commons or appropriate for use. I also do not tell the students specifically how to cite the work. I am not against having the students do the right thing nor am I against observing copyright. In fact, it is quite the opposite. I want students to make the right decision even when there not a teacher looking over their shoulder. The teacher vs. devil on the shoulder scenario is not preparing them for life outside of school.

I lead by example. Things that I create just for classroom use, still use Creative Commons images even if I feel like I would be covered under Fair Use for other media selections. The most common requirement for Creative Commons is Attribution, we can use the work of someone else as long as we give them credit. It does not state that this needs to be an official bibliography. For blogs and other online publications, normally the image is credited to a person and the image itself links to the original source. The students see examples, especially on the Spanish Techbook of images credited and linked to the original.

For attribution there are two questions the students need to learn to ask themselves:

• Can I tell whose original work it is?
• Can I get to the original if I want to see it?

This is well stated on the Guidelines/Best practices for citing Creative Commons work.

“Is your attribution good enough? Ask yourself whether an interested viewer/reader/listener/other user is able to easily discern who gets credit (attribution) for the original work, and the freedoms associated with that work (license notice). If they can, great! If not, consider whether you are making a good faith effort to use the licensed work according to its terms.”

Recently it has become easy to find creative commons work. Images and other works are no longer hidden among a sea of copyrighted work. Using Creative Commons officially became the cool thing to do when Google allowed users to search based on license. The overall search that I recommend for students is Search.CreativeCommons.org, combines Creative Commons search results from multiple sites and displays it in one location. This is not just images, but music as well. I recently read another blog post that had four creative commons photos sites you should know about.

I want students to understand that creative commons is win-win for everyone. People who create the work get credit, but because they give permission for people to use the work, it also means more people are likely to see their work. When searching for images or music to incorporate, creative commons gives you so many options, without having to spend a lot of time tracking down creators to personally get permission. Creative commons is common sense media distribution and dispersion.

I fully sympathize with students who are frustrated when they feel directions or expectations are kept from them. The voting for People’s Choice is open until March 28th. That means being in number one now is a disadvantage not an advantage. My spot will be targeted for over two months. If that had been clearly established at the start, the tactics would have been different. The eBay tactic of waiting until the last minute (or the last day) before having people vote.

This might have started as a Pennsylvania thing, but it has spread beyond that thanks to Social Media and the web of global connections. It was exhilarating to watch the Techbook get hits from around the world (literally). The visitors were mixed in with my students daily use of the techbook. There were people viewing from educational facilities across Pennsylvania, people in New Zealand, Spain, Ecuador, and sprinkled from across the United States.

I am not going to start the paragraph with “when I was a kid …” because those hyperbole and vague statements do not resonate with students. However, there has been a tangible shift since i was in high school. We had AOL on a dial up Internet connection to exchange messages and questions about homework. Students today have mobile devices that connect them at every waking (and some sleeping) moment. We had heavy textbooks that we had to lug home everyday (sometimes even walking 2 miles, uphill, and in the snow). Students today have digital access to resources and much lighter backpacks. We thought what we learned in school would be directly applicable to our lives. Students today are starting to understand the importance of the big picture and the meta-cognitive process.

My ambition might have been clear from a young age, I wanted to be a great teacher. This does not mean being cool in the eyes of the students. What it does mean is evolving; it is beyond what I imaged in high school. I want to inspire students to be lifelong learners and passionate about something. I am not even picky about the subject or topic of their interest. Every few weeks students will notice my user name at the bottom of a digital resource. They ask “You created this for us?” It feels rewarding and renewing to honestly answer “yes.” Sometimes the follow up question is asked with awe, and other times horror, “why?” This is easy for me to define for myself, but it is hard to convey to others. Simply, I love what I do. There is a thrill in trying out different tools. They must pass rigorous testing and enhance the curricular lessons before they are integrated and showcased in my classroom. My mentor when I was student teaching said “Always remember, you don’t teach history [or Spanish], you teach students.” Adding technology to the equation does not change the audience, you are still teaching students.

No matter the outcome of the award, there are many great events to look forward to in the future.  A few of my students will be presenting at PETE&C about how technology is infused in our Spanish class (I’m super proud of them). This summer brings a journey to San Diego, California for ISTE 2012 and another opportunity to present and be amazed by global colleagues.

I loved the Digital Storytelling class, and this I’d saying a lot since I was up past midnight working on it while still teaching. I discovered new tools (Kerpoof, Vuvox, imageloop) and discovered new ideas and uses for tools I already knew about (Animoto, Photo Peach, GoAnimate). We also had thought provoking discussions about what made a good movie. I compared the 7 Elements of Digital Storytelling to the visual design principles from my previous media design course. One of the obviously, but brilliant, statements made was that we know when something is good, and we sense when it is bad. Even without knowing the design principles, we still can judge accurately. The design principles just provide common language for verbalizing why something works or falls short of the story goals. This concept of self-awareness of producing ties into my favorite quote from the reading with my professional dialogue group.

“The good artist or thinker produces continously good, mediocre, and bad things, but his judgement … rejects, selects, and connects” ~ Friedrich Nietzche

If we are not encouraging students to self-reflect, or not giving them the foundations for purposeful reflection, we are doing them a disservice. Currently it seems like grades drive motivation. This really has nothing to do with learning. We need to shift the students motivation to pride in work and let them produce freely. This connects back to the grad class. We watched a video that described programs in the Philadelphia area that have really excited students about producing and publishing their work, they also provided basic support and a almost mentor-like relationship with an adult. Their work is touching. There was one key fact that stood out: they were all after school, grade free programs. Kids were producing for themselves, not doing the minimum requirements of an A. They are practicing the 4C’s of 21st century learning. This leads to the 3rd major event during the two week period, the committee meeting for 21st century learning.

Our district technology vision:

Is to seize the potential of digital resources to transform teaching and learning to prepare students for success in the 21st century. Students will develop ‘digital fluency’ that ties to the Three C’s of Digital Citizenship and includes: information fluency, solution fluency, creativity fluency, collaboration fluency, and media fluency.

During the committee meeting we discussed what this looks like, how we need to communicate the goals and expectations to both students and teachers, and how technology within the district is going to shift in the very near future (starting next school year). Next year the district is transitioning the high school from having select 1:1 classrooms to having a BYOD policy for all students. The families will be told the minimum specifications for the device, but the final product choice will be up to families. It would not be reasonable for teachers to be masters of every tool or program that the students have access to on their own device. Students will have to learn to problem solve their own tech issues. Luckily, Google and YouTube are not blocked within our district, since both provide answers and tutorials if you know how to search. Search techniques are something that could be modeled and taught, while the working detail of every possible program can not be feasibly taught.

Back to the tale of digital storytelling: the reason digital storytelling is important is the way students interact with what they are learning and creating. You really have to understand something to be able to create a digital story (or any other media piece). Students learn early on how to fake posters, but digital stories take comprehension and synthesis to a deeper level. By being authors they are owning the work, and by being the audience of their classmates work they are making personal connections to the content.With more content to cover and more tests to stress about, teachers wonder if there is a place or time for digital storytelling. To create a great story it takes hours (like 5 based on my experience), and time is limited in the classroom.

I do not think the issue/solution is how to find time during the hectic school year for students to create digital stories in class. I think the solution is to foster the creativity so students want to create and synthesize media outside of the classroom. Teach them some basic tools and have them excited about the creation process. Without the confines of a rubric, they can create freely and without fear of failing. When students share work, praise it (if worthy) and make it available for other students to see. I think the solution the webcast presented was best: they highlighted groups that existed outside of school to promote media creation. I’m sure the students who have thrived and enjoyed creating media have not kept that talent hidden. They probably find ways to incorporate the skill into school tasks. But sometimes out of school things are seen as more desirable than the exact same task in school. The test culture of schools puts unnecessary stress on students. They would feel that a digital story was just one more source of anxiety if it was for a grade. If we as teachers want the students to express their understanding of learning through creative mediums, we need to give up the control in dictating how it looks. We need to let the students be kids and be creative on their own.While I am still processing all this, I know it is going to alter my teaching now and in the future.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 3,000 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 50 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

I’m glad I paid enough attention to stop the process. Yes, I took a screen shot and decorated it to show how I really feel about this convenience.

I wonder how many times I have paid ridiculous fees without noticing … especially during the hectic holiday shopping season. Anyway, Happy Holidays and Relaxing Vacations!

I was inspired by their creativity and ability to summarize a story. I tried the same thing as to summarize the 2nd chapter of the 6th grade novel Pobre Ana. My goal was to provide enough context clues and visuals to help struggling students grasp the important events in the chapter – without relying on showing the English.

This is just one panel in the comic, the rest can be found on Pixton.

I provided a visualization of chapter 1 of Pobre Ana using Prezi. Over the rest of the school year, I want to develop (and have the students help to develop) visualizations of each of the chapters of Pobre Ana.

Pobre Ana on Prezi

Another teacher who saw the Prezi made the comment:

“This is so cool!  It’s sort of like an interactive book with fun pictures.  It’s the modern version of the pop-up book.”

I like the comparison of the Prezi to a modern pop-up book. Additional Prezis might be created to go along with the chapter, but at 4+ hours of labor per chapter that is a huge investment of time.

From amanky on Flickr

I might not have the luxury of being a princess – Disney or otherwise – but I still feel like my wishes can come true. I realize that in this economy, and with the bulging world population, all that current fairy godmothers might have time for is to point you in the correct direction. I can achieve this for myself if I have clear directions to follow. So godmothers Google and Bing should be thanked. And the developers who made searching more accurately deserve greater gratitude. I can search using vague terms and the search pops out with results or suggestions for clearer searching.
I rely on my fairy godmothers for just about everything. My search history (with happily ever afters) looks something like this:

- “drain pipe extensions”
- “how to get rid of fruit flys”
- “menu for Hershey Grill”
- “voice recorder USB”
- “kitten care”
- “marshmallow frosting recipe”

This demonstrates an important skill. Students need to know how to search efficiently. They need to be able to find the answers to their own, everyday, random problems. Book knowledge is not an end-all solution. Everyone can, and will need to, learn something new everyday, and this is not limited to the K12 years.

Videos

• VancouverFilmSchool (wonderful for writing/speaking prompts)
• Tontitofrito
• Brideys
• Esaudio
• SrMara

Images

• Images to Teach Languages
• Great Quotes about Learning and Change
• IconArchive (most licensed CC for non-commercial use)
• GigaPan (amazing photos, great for cultural and geographical discussion)

Games

• Search the sites for just about any topic to find what was shared: Quia, StudyStack, Quizlet, Quiz-Busters, etc

Thanks also to the disciples of Creative Commons who are encouraging the next generation of sharers. Fair Use does not cover enough in education since the classroom has opened up and includes digital space, websites, blogs, etc.

I am reflecting on my list of Top Ten Tools for Learning (and one tool that no longer makes my list) for the C4LPT Top Tools of 2011. It’s perfect since 10+1=11 and today is 11/11/11.  I could no easier put them in a favorite order than a parent can decide a preference order for their children, so the tools are listed alphabetically.

• Class Tools -Class Tools is exactly what it sounds like. The website provides easily customizable class tools that can be embedded in class or school websites. Some examples of the offerings are timers, random name selectors, graphic organizers, and games.
• Edmodo - This was a new addition to my classroom this year (it replaced a traditional blog). Edmodo has been a game changer. The students are able to ask questions and communicate more openly. Many of the discussions continue outside of the classroom. They help each other succeed. All the online resources that are used are easily linked to and organized for future use.
• GoogleDocs - GoogleDocs has changed the writing process in my foreign language classroom. It is easy to leave timely and specific feedback on documents shared with me. Students also have the opportunity to work collaboratively.
• Moodle - My favorite component of Moodle is the quizzes. There are so many options when creating a quiz. The students love receiving immediate feedback and seeing their score. As a teacher, being able to analyze the results based on each question is a useful, reflection tool.
• Quizlet - Easy to find or create data sets for review. Quizlet takes the information pairs and creates practice quizzes, a matching game (Scatter), a spelling practice (Speller), and Space Race where they have to type in the correct answer. Speller does exactly what it sounds like – it says a word, and the students type what they hear. This is especially useful in a foreign language. For Spanish, the pronunciation is great, so the practice is highly beneficial.
• Study Stack – Another website to find or create data sets for review. Study Stack uses the pairs and creates a variety of games. Hungry Bug (like Snake) is a student favorite. Many of the games come with an embed code that can be added to a class website.
• SymbalooEDU -Symbaloo is a visual bookmarking tool. I love it for professional and educational reasons. Web mixes can be saved. So our department is able to share our resources. I have a page that I update for students so they can easily find what they need. Because the links are displayed as tiles with a symbol, everyone is able to find what they are looking for.
• Voicethread -Voicethread provides writing and speaking opportunities for students. A presentation or series of pictures is uploaded. Students have accounts and can respond in writing or through the microphone to different prompts involving the images. By publishing their work, the students have a chance to share what they have learned with people outside the class. They have pride in their accomplishments.
• Weebly - Weebly is a free, easy website creation tool. It produces a professional looking product. The best part, keeping the website updated is easy. My previous website attempts were thwarted by broken links, which is not the case with Weebly. Even better, Weebly automatically creates a mobile version of the website, which is useful since so many students and parents have mobile devices.
• YouTube - YouTube has millions of opportunities to enrich a lesson by finding authentic content. Sometimes you have to watch many terrible videos to find the gems, but in the end it is worthwhile. Students love the videos and will request that they are posted so they can be viewed outside of class.

The fallen favorite is Glogster EDU. I used Glogster before their was an EDU attached to the name and purpose and loved it. It provided opportunities to present content in a visually engaging and multimedia way. However, there have been a lot of changes in the last year, both performance and offerings. This week it took 4 days to save a Glog. Everyday for hours I would get the error message: “We are sorry but we weren’t able to save your Glog. Don’t worry though, please just try again in a few moments.” The few moments part was a lie. Everyday I had to re-do the changes and try saving again. It worked on the 4th day when I tried saving it at 9pm. If something works more reliably during non-school hours, it can not be justified as a educational tool worthy of purchase.