Thing 7 stretch-checking out some info on Wikipedia

So, I joined Twitter this week. I'm doing it purely for research purposes. I haven't submitted a single tweet...yet. I might never. I don't know. But I do like keeping up to date with all the crime in Atlanta via WSB-TV's tweets. Not really; a friend of mine got wind of Ben and Jerry's "free cone day" through her Twitter subscription, so I followed suit. Nothing good yet, just crime and mugshots. I have a few other 'friends' I follow on Twitter, but nothing too notable. I actually joined because I am interested in making my future drama wikispace something that can be followed on Twitter. If there's anything I've learned from this class, it's play with the technology before you unleash it! So, not only did I sign up for the service, but consulted that great web 2.0 encyclopedia-Wikipedia.

Pretty straight forward there. Lots of references, information that matched up with what I had previously read or heard, etc. What really interested me were the links to other social networking sites similar to Twitter. Through those links I found Plurk, another social networking tool much like Twitter, but that was launched more recently. It was on the Plurk Wikipedia page that I did the digging necessary for this assignment. I found out what a stub is and learned that Wikipedia has a sister site named Wiktionary. Also, by viewing the history and discussion tabs on the Plurk page, I was able to see all the collaboration that went into a pretty short encyclopedia entry. Additionally, I saw where the page was deleted by the Wikipedia gods because there was not enough viable info, when major updates and lots of new material was added, and when vandalism was deleted. Even though I think the site is pretty well monitored, it makes me feel better to know that now I have another way to inform my students about checking the credibility of a source. They can use the discussion and history tabs to see what's been going on with that page.

So now, I've got more investigating to do. Plurk or Twitter? Which will be the tool I use in the fall? I'll keep you posted. : )

Photo source:
Twitter Badge by 7son75 on Flickr

Thing 11: My first non-PowerPoint slideshow

I used Slide.com to create the show below, entitled An Adjective in Paris

The only tool I played with was Slide.com and I found it very easy to use. Based on the screen shots of the other two tools, I think they look just as straight-forward. I like that Slide.com works with Facebook-I may never post a slideshow there, but it's nice to know the opportunity is there. My best friend just got engaged, so I learned about this tool just in time to make a totally cheesy and tear-jerking slideshow! Sweet!

Oh, yeah, how can I use this in my teaching practice? Slideshows can be a good way to introduce information ( a teacher made show) or sum it up (a student created show). Also, I think the kids will really enjoy putting the music into the show. I tried to find a French singer for mine, but Martha Wainwright was the closest I could get from what was available. She speaks French...maybe not in that song. Another nice aspect of the songs is that the credit is automatically included, so that bit of crediting is already taken care of. I quite enjoyed creating my show. It wasn't very difficult, just a lot of repetition when you get to the attributions at the end.

Photo sources:
1- Eiffel Tower, Paris, Fr.: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vintzileos/275591956
2- Paris Vegas: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gordon2208/3287860861
3- Paris-Latin Quarter-Shakespeare and Company: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/1527325660
4- Paris-Musee du Louvre La Victoire de Samothrace: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/1480572717
5- Paris under the Snow: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregory_bastien/3171028030

Thing 10: Flickr exploration

I mentioned in an earlier post that I liked how a teacher used Flickr in his math class. Using images to teach abstract concepts like those in math can be beneficial to not only visual learners but to all learners in the classroom. To assess whether a student understands a concept, we must get the student to explain it in his or her own words. To explain why it is so and not just because it is, or because that's what the teacher said. Using pictures, particularly those from Flickr or other photo sharing sites, as a means of explanation serves as a fantastic assessment tool primarily because of the issue of transformativeness. For example, using linguistics as opposed to pictorial responses, to prove that a student has learned something and understands it, he may write an essay to answer a question. In the essay, he includes his own explanation, thoughts, ideas, interpretations backed up with textual support. In a pictorial version of the same assessment, a student can find photos/images and create a new meaning to support his own ideas and learnings. Perfecto!

I chose to select a few pictures from Paris as my theme for this the Thing 10 assignment. I thought that I could put them into a sldeshow with adjectives for Thing 11. If I were to use it in class it would be an introduction to a lesson on adjectives.

Image by wallyg on Flickr

Thing 9-Trying to make sense of Creative Commons and Fair Use

I have heard that voice that says, "Should we publish these projects the way they are?" (referenced from 'Thing 9' wikispace page.) and so I've been eager to jump into this "thing", but I'm still a bit turned around, I think. The information is certainly there for me, I just feel like when I think I've got it, I'm confused again.

The good thing is that I'm not as confused as I was before I began this task; so that's a start. Before, I wondered about my students using images from Google in their PowerPoints. I thought there had to be something wrong with that, even if they're only showing the presentation to the class. From what I've read so far, this is okay in the classroom, just not in a published form for the general public to view...right? But then, where does 'fair use' come in to play? For example, today in class my kids were creating PowerPoints and working on hyperlinking pages within the slideshow. They, of course, were getting images from Google. One student asks, "Is it okay to use Google images?" I say, "Sure, just as long as you don't publish this"--the 'don't publish this' was an inside joke to myself, and yes, I did laugh.
But when I take a look at the Fair Use rock video and read the guidelines for Fair Use, I think, well...could the pictures in the PowerPoint have value added? They are in a different context, I assume. I guess I don't really know where the original picture is from.

The Fair Use Reasoning Tool will surely be helpful when trying to decide though, so I'm glad to have that resource. I also really enjoyed the Video Case Study from Upper Marion Area H.S. This video made things increasingly more clear for me. What I find interesting is that usually the visual things are what I grasp. In the case of copyright, it seems that I have a better handle on the language side than the pictorial.

To answer some of the questions for this blog post, I have never noticed CC on a website before, but will definitely look for it now, much the same way I spot 'RSS' now. I do use images, audio and video clips from online as part of my teaching practice. I think that a knowledge of Creative Commons and access to sites that have materials licensed by Creative Commons can make students' research more efficient. It can also take stress away from the teacher, as long as the students have received quality instruction on how to go about using CC. A possible downside to Creative Commons is that if you allow your work to have the CC label, what happens if someone repurposes it in such a way that is distateful or embarrassing? What if it is used in a way that violates the original owner's beliefs? I don't know--I'm just thinking of potential problems. Could someone repurpose a CC image and then make tons of money off of it? I guess if you're going to put the information out there, then you just have to be willing to take the risk that that could happen.

Bottom line for me at this point is I'm going to review all the info in Thing 9 and use the Fair Use Reasoning Tool fo sho!