Thursday, September 24, 2009

Week 5: Media & Information Literacy

This week was very interesting. We looked at famous pictures in history that had been altered using Photoshop, which was pretty entertaining! The concept of visual literacy was introduced, which has allowed us to distinguish between different images (street signs, business logos, etc.) and carry out life activities. I never before realized how heavily I depended on these symbols, and how difficult it would be to function without them. Visual literacy and Photoshop go hand-in-hand, and we were able to work on a Photoshop tutorial to prepare us for our Visual Literacy Project. We were able to manipulate images and look at past examples of students' projects.

As an education major, I would definitely use the concept of visual literacy in the classroom. It is crucial as an educator to teach children to recognize and comprehend images. Students also become more interested in and familiar with events in history when they are presented with photographic evidence. Topics in the curriculum that might seem dull and uninteresting to students can suddenly come alive with visual literacy. Photoshop is also a useful tool in the education field because a teacher can make presentations more alluring to a class through the use of this program's devices.

The following video was obtained from YouTube. It is a very good video for present and future teachers who wish to effectively use visual literacy. The video also presents ideas on how to use visual literacy in different subject areas, such as history, math, and science. Many times images are on the same topic, but portray different meanings. It is the teacher's job to help students encode these different messages.

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Creative Commons

Hey everyone! I found a really cool video on YouTube that helps explain Creative Commons licensing in better detail and why it is a better alternative to copyright. Enjoy!

Week 4- Copyright Law, Plagiarism, & Ethical Issues

This week in class we discussed copyright laws and other ethical issues that deal with using others works. There are many strict guidelines that most be followed when using a creator's work that I was unaware of. For example, under copyright law if you want to copy or change an author's work you must ask their permission before doing so. Violations for not following these strict guidelines can result in hefty fines. Not only does copyright cover books and written works, but also software, TV and digital works, and distance education. A better alternative to copyright that has emerged is the Creative Commons, which has allowed people to alter and share different works, as long as credit is given to the creator.

This information is extremely valuable to me and all future educators. There are many copyright restrictions that teachers must be aware of before giving information out to students. The Fair Use Act has made it possible for educators to use works without having to ask permission from the owner, although there are factors that determine the extent and nature of the usage. This is important information for me to know when I become a teacher, because I will know how to reproduce and share works with my students, while abiding by the law. Gaining this knowledge could have prevented me from unknowlingly breaking copyright laws as a teacher.

I discovered the following video on YouTube. It elaborates on copyright laws in the classroom, and how to effectively share an author's work. As an education major I found it especially useful because it goes over all the guidelines for reproducing works for students. Additionally it goes over the specifics of the Fair Use Act in the classroom.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Week 3- Web Technology

This week we learned more about Mac OSX and the features of a Mac. This was very insightful because owning a Dell, I never knew how to navigate a Mac or how useful some of the tools on it are. We also got started on our blogs (yea!) and learned how to link them to the class wiki. The concept of Web 2.0 was also introduced, which describes the changing trends in web design that allows users to work collaberativley and interactivley with eachothers works. It includes sites such as Facebook and Flickr because these are online communities in which members can share their information with others. I also researched different Web 2.0 applications, and found some fun ones including, PopSugar and Notecentric.

Web 2.0 would be very useful to an education major. There are many applications that would be helpful to students. Many feature online books and tools that help children read. This would make learning more fun and interactive for students. Blogger would be useful in the classroom because it could help students out of school and link them to their classmates and teachers. It would be helpful while working on group projects too, because it would allow easy exchange of ideas.

The following video was obtained from YouTube. I chose this video because it explains why Web 2.0 is important in education. It gives a brief explanation of what it is and the different uses that pertain to education. In addition, it gives interviews with students and teachers that describe the benefits of this tool. I think this video is very useful to education majors becuase it shows technology can benefit and enhance student learning.