Sunday, April 3, 2011

Week 1 Blog 4


Blog 4 Free Choice

I missed the first wimba session. My son bought dinner tickets for the local wolf Pack meeting. So I listened to the archives. I felt over whelmed by the amount of work this class seems to demand. Maybe I’m taking each assignment as too involved. Then I went to the activity posting and I got even more confused. Do I post under each activity or do I just post on my blog? I am still confused about that, so I am posting everywhere. I don’t know if it is just my understanding of what is expected , but all the explanations seem confusing. I guess I need to ask. I did the quickies as explained. I hope I don’t have to include them in this blog.

Week 1 blog 3


Blog 3 response

I agree. Some things are too important to be silenced by copyright infringement. I think it is sad that some people consider money more important that spreading knowledge.

@Jeremy Mager

Stopping important historical events from being revealed is very saddening. To me history is what we all need to see. We all can learn from history. The Martin Luther King speech is one of the greatest speeches of all time. I show this every year on Martin Luther King Day and discuss the importance of this speech. What it means and how we can learn from the hardships Americans put on others. The idea is to show students the struggles of African Americans had throughout the time of America and their fight for freedom. Even today you hear of racism and this is nearly 250 years after American Independence. I think it is sad news that we hide information and that it could be copyrighted so we won’t play it. Fair use is a great idea to help all of use that want to see things and not worry about copyright laws.

Week 1 Blog 2


Blog 2 response

I guess I’m showing my age, but I still prefer to buy music to copying it. I do feel that if I buy a CD, I should have the right to make a copy for my own use. Computers and IPods have made this a common practice. When I was in college, I could buy an LP for $2. Now CD’s will cost $14. I want to know who gets the majority of the money. The artist that created it, or the corporation that distributes it. This is the problem I have with the law. It does not differentiate between the two.

@Curt Isakson says: March 31, 2011 at 7:24 pm

Ok, Copyright issues are sticky and confusing and everyone has their side of the story, but we do need to be able create and make a living as well as use other media as inspiration. So the answer is to pay attention to the laws and understand them well.

Week 1 comment 1


Blog 1 copyright readings

I teach a three-class mini unit on copyright, censorship, and the law. I am also, or I was a professional photographer. I can approach copyright from both sides. On the one side, I want to protect my investment. If I spend thousands of dollars to take a series of pictures, I certainly don’t want to give them away and I certainly don’t want someone else taking credit for their creation. If I write and produce music, then I want to gain fame or wealth for their creation. But as an educator, the value of using or showing copyrighted material in the classroom can be a vital addition to my teaching. But budgets being what they are, I cannot pay to use many of these materials. So I break the very laws I teach in order to give my students a more meaningful education. The fair use clause is one of the gray areas of the copyright act. I find myself bending the law to fit my own uses. But I guess I’m not the only one that does this. In the ars technica article, it seems that industry data on financial losses due to copyright infringement could itself be copyrighted under creative fiction. Copyright laws are necessary. They are difficult to enforce. They can also serve as a deterrent in the creation of derivative pieces. It is important for my students to know and understand the law. After that, they must decide what they will do.

We must be thankful for the concept of Fair Use. Without it, we could not use anything that is copyrighted. It is one thing to make money on someone else’s idea, but we should be allowed to share their ideas. The law also kept it a little ambiguous so that each case can be decided on its own merits. I think this keeps copyright holders from suing every time a portion of their material is used. I agree that Fair use has helped prevent private censorship from interfering with freedom of speech.