Is the Concept of Copyright Changing?

Pat Moser, Sidwell Friends School, asked a group of educators, "What's a librarian to do?" and we could stretch that to add teachers and students as well. The confusion over copyright and Fair Use seems to be growing as more and more content is available digitally. Moser wants to know "if copyright laws are destined for oblivion", "if we should feel free to copy and adapt", how authors will be compensated for their work, and "what DO we tell our students about copyright?" She suggests we check out Joyce Valenza's Fair Use and Transformativeness: It May Shake Your World and Harvard's Opt Out Plan as we think about where we are heading. Renee Hobbs, Temple University says, "Copyright is designed not only to protect the rights of owners, but also to preserve the ability of users to promote creativity and innovation." What does that mean to those in the classroom and what does that mean to those producing writing, film, photographs, and other works that may be copyright protected?

To Filter or Not to Filter - Sites, eMail, etc.

Everyone complains about filtering. It's a topic often argued by teachers, parents, school leaders, and students, but nobody has come up with a solution that pleases everyone. Because people have differing values, needs, and backgrounds, the hope of finding a solution isn't on the horizon. Teachers and parents complain that filtering isn't adequate. Parents call schools complaining about nasty comments that came to their children's email, in a chat room, or through a text message. Schools get calls from parents who request a magic button that will keep their children safe from what they consider inappropriate sites and digital communication. Teachers and students complain that sites they want to get into are blocked. They can't access the sites they need for their lessons. Tech administrators complain that they can't keep up with the filtering dilemma. They are too busy opening and closing sites and checking digital communication is overwhelming and takes time from their other duties. Maybe it's time to find out more about the why's and how's of filtering? The site Teachers Teaching Teachers has a podcast called Locating the Tyranny of Filtering. This is a conversation with some folks who are responsible for what is and isn't to be blocked.

The Internet & the War in Iraq

The Associated Press piece, On blogs and Web sites, by e-mail and video, the Iraq war is fought on the Internet, published online in MIT's Technology Review, calls the Operation Iraqi Freedom iWar v1.0 "interactive".  Who's putting information online about the war? Just about everyone. There are soldier blogs, a U.S. military Website, an Islamic Army Website, Internet resources on Iraq selected by the Library of Congress, and even videos showing attacks on U.S. soldiers. The story of what's happening in Iraq is being told from the viewpoints of many different people, not just journalists or official government sources, for the war is being fought online as well as in Iraq. According to the article, the Pentagon, understanding the importance of digital communication, "is preparing for iWar v2.0." As you talk with your children about contemporary issues, it is important that they understand that critical reading and attention to sources of information are important. Media literacy is an essential ingredient in the education of our students today.

Its Mission IS to Help Grownups with Tech Selections

Since 1993, Children's Technology Review (formerly called Children's Software Revue) has been providing monthly reviews of tech products that are targeted to kids. For example, if you are not one who understands video games, the Review will help you decide whether a game might benefit kids at school and/or at home. In fact, this publication, which can be accessed online or in print, takes on all types of electronic media including Internet sites, computer software and DVDs, video games, and interactive toys. Subscribing means you'll get access to a database of over 8200 product reviews and each month will learn about new trends, great Internet sites, and products you might want to investigate for you classroom-or perhaps, recommend for home use. Just download a sample issue to see if the Children's Technology Review would be valuable to you. Be sure to note that the Review doesn't include any advertisements.

KidsClick: WebSearch for Kids by Librarians

When looking for a place to help your children find information they need for reports and projects, try KidsClick. This is a Web search site developed by librarians, who have left their stamp of approval on the sites linked to from KidsClick. The site features 600+ subjects that can be searched by topic, a letter of the alphabet, keyword, and even Dewey Decimal Classification. Every entry gives you and your kids not only a brief description of the site, but also whether it includes illustrations, and what the reading level of the site is. For example, if your kids are researching the topic Bears, KidsClick lets you know that Polar Bears is appropriate for reading levels 0-2 and that Nature: Great White Bear is for reading levels 7+. KidsClick is definitely a site to add to the family Favorites or Bookmarks in your web browser.

Ads in Your PDF Docs?

MIT's Technology Review tells us that Adobe and Yahoo are partnering to put advertisements in PDF documents. The project, which was launched at the end of November 2007 let ads be placed in electronic documents. The ads encourage readers to click on them to go to the advertisers' sites. However, if the documents are printed, the ads will not appear. At this time, the ad option is in the testing mode, but it is likely to be a popular tool for publishers of online newsletters, for example. Just another way for those advertisers to get through to you any way they can.

Talking Point – the 12 Most Influential Online Videos of All Time

OK, here's a talking point for you and your kids. The Webby Awards (sort of the Ocsars of online video) have put together a list of the 12 Most Influential Online Videos of All Time. Kind of interesting. Everything from a head butt in the World Cup games to college girls putting web cams in their dorm rooms for the first time. What do these online videos tell us about what we are interested in and how what we expect from the Internet has changed even in the last few years?

Federal Funding For Colleges Linked to Use of Peer-to-Peer Networks

Guess what Hollywood is involved in now? A spending bill requiring universities to consider offering "alternatives" and "technology-based deterrents" to illegal peer-to-peer file sharing that has just passed through a committee in The U.S. House of Representatives. In the House Education and Labor Committee's mammoth College Opportunity and Affordability Act (PDF) lies a tiny section, which dictates universities that participate in federal financial aid programs "shall" devise plans for "alternative" offerings to unlawful downloading, such as subscription-based services, or "technology-based deterrents to prevent such illegal activity." What the penalty of failure to comply should be, though, seems to be a bone of contention. University representatives and fair-use advocates worry that schools run the risk of losing aid for their students if they fail to come up with the required plans. You have to wonder what those college kids, with all that time on their hands, will come up with to hack their way around anything like this. Sounds like an excellent argument for more media literacy in our schools to me. Would Hollywood like to contribute to that?

Parental Controls Now Available Onboard Leopard and Vista

Both Apple's newly unveiled operating system, Leopard, and Microsoft's slightly older Vista are making a bigger deal out of the parental controls they have onboard. Settings in Leopard, for example, help parents manage a child's time online, block use of certain Web sites or applications like instant chat or iTunes, and watch over what kids do and who they communicate with when Mom and Dad aren't around. The biggest trick, though, is finding them!

Teaching and Learning in School 2.0

Tim Fish, Academic Program Director, McDonogh School in Maryland, is a tech educator who keeps his school on the cutting edge of technology in education. In a recent talk at the Baltimore Convention Center he led and audience of teachers and administrators from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 to School 2.0. Fish began by showing how, easy it was for him, when using the Internet, to identify and download a piece of music he'd heard on the radio. When he mentioned this to his children, they weren't at all impressed. Why? Because Web 1.0 was old stuff to them and finding information is so Web 1.0. Today's kids are living in the interactive world of Web 2.0, which means our teaching needs to move there as well. Linear learning is not what many of today's students do best; multitasking is. In the talk, Fish shared his ideas about what all this means to educators and what the core values of School 2.0 are. Start your 2.0 educational thinking with words like: evolving, interactive, collaborative, creative, flexible, global, personal, and essential. Will our schools be able to change if we don't change ourselves?