Week 2 Blog 2 – response to LeVonda Vickery

I agree with you about chapters 3 & 4. I have often thought about telling the students to assign themselves a grade. I think this would actually scare them more than when I grade them. Students stress themselves out on grades. they will often get upset over a bad grade on homework (5% of the total grade) and not bother to turn in a paper that is worth 20% of their grade. As a compromise, I have started giving them stress free assignments for part of each unit. This is something I picked up from Full Sail. I tell them that if they do a project according to the instructions, they will receive a 100 for that assignment. I have had good results so far. They turn in the assignments and I don't have to grade them. I can sit back and enjoy whatever they turned in and give them verbal feedback.

Levonda Vickery: Wk2 reading – Art of Possibility

As I read our reading assignment this week in the book, "The Art of Possibility" by Rosamund and Benjamin Zander, I was particularly struck by chapters 3 and 4 on "Giving an A" and "Be a Contribution". Wouldn't it be something if every educator just started giving A's to students to watch how their perspectives changed and/or evolved? Personally I feel that would be easier said than done, but in courses where you can use project-based or game-based learning I feel that it is an easy fit. It is more the creative based course like Music, Art, Graphic Design, Photography, etc... that allow for the actual effort put in to the work to show in the final result of the project and therefore to allow for that feeling of accomplishment. I know that most of us are used to tying that letter grade to our sense of achievement to show others and tell ourselves that we did a great job, but I have learned a lot through my time here at Full Sail in the EMDT program that while yes it is wonderful to see that letter grade it is not what defines me or my work. That is a very hard concept to get across to students who are used to always being judged by others on the work they do. I loved working on my Action Research project because it involved using a game to teach social skills, which allowed for the participants to not receive a "grade" for the work they did, but instead to have that sense of accomplishment on a job well done whenever they successfully completed a quest/mission in the game no matter how many times they had to do it over again to get it right. After all isn't that what we should want to instill in students is that no matter how many times they have to do something to get it right that once they have that "aha" moment and it finally clicks it teaches them that they can do it and they feel as if they actually accomplished something in the process.

As far as the fourth chapter on being a contribution I feel that everyone should strive to do this in their life. As teachers I would hope that all of us are a contribution not only to our students, but to our colleagues as well. I feel that it is important to be a contribution to society, our friends and family, and others around us and I try to live my life thinking in that manner. I know it is hard when we always seem to be so busy with our daily lives to just take a minute and try to help others with theirs, but it is what makes us different and better people. I have been unemployed since last February and believe me it has been very tough over the past year, but I still try to contribute to those around me. I would rather help others than sit and dwell on how miserable I can and would be if all I did was think about how worthless I felt for being unemployed and not supporting my family. Life is funny that way, on the differences a positive versus a negative outlook can have on a persons life.

This book just helped me affirm what we could and should be teaching our children, our future, to help them be a better person as reflected in their contributions to society and the actual pride they get from a job well done versus what grade they may be given on it. I feel more people should have that outlook on life. What did I do today? I made a birthday cake for a friend who was down because no one at work remembered her birthday yesterday. I contributed! What have you done today?

Week 2 – Blog 1 – The Art Of Possibility

The Art of Possibility, by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander

Chapter 1 – It’s all invented

As a photographer, I have been so trained to look at photographs and interpret

them that it came as quite a curiosity that people who have never seen a photo cannot read or understand what they are looking at. Our experiences and training create what we see as well as what we think. I must remember this when I teach. Instead of showing frustration or impatience, I should take the time to understand what my students are thinking and seeing.

Chapter 2 – Stepping into a Universe of Possibilities

I teach photography. I teach theory and I teach composition or how to look at the world. Some students do well in theory, but have difficulty with looking at the world. Others can’t handle theory, but make great pictures. My problem has always been how to grade fairly. I wish that I could just give them a acceptable or unacceptable grade for the entire course, but my school will not let me do that. After all, I have to assign a grade that will give them a class standing. They are, after all competing against their fellow students. The possibility of helping them learn to see is what keeps me excited about my class. I only wish the grades weren’t more important to everyone else.

Chapter 3 – Giving an A

I had a meeting with a parent. It seems his daughter; my student received a low grade from me. It was a trend with her that every grading period, her grade went down. I knew that he came down hard on her and in defense; she blamed me for all her problems. The truth was, as the class got more involved, she spent less time on the assignments. I really felt sorry for the girl. All her father wanted was a high grade. He could care less if she learned anything. I have often wished I could get my students to worry less about a grade and more about what they are learning. They just don’t seem to understand that good grades will follow learning.

Chapter 4 – Being a Contribution

This was my favorite chapter so far. I really want my students to feel that if they contribute to my class, then right or wrong, they are doing what I want them to do. It is much more difficult to contribute, than to hide in the wings and watch others. Working with teenagers has proven that the most difficult thing to do is to make them understand the value of contributing.

Week 2 - Blog 4 Missed winba

I missed Monday’s Wimba, so I will post my comments now. I watched all the videos on copyright and I find it interesting how something that started out so simple has become very complicated due to today’s technology. I find it interesting that the concept of original and copy has become part of the gray area. In fact, something that sounds simple has become very complicated due to how we can view, copy and change things. Fair use and creative commons both helps and confuses the issue at the same time.

My take on fair use is that this gray area can change from use to use. It was brought up that fair use is not a right, but a legally defensible position. This keeps the lawyers happy, but could have very detrimental implications for educators.

The thing I like about creative commons is that it gives the copyright holder some flexibility in the way they want copyright to be used. I believe that before creative commons, you either had to enforce copyright or not enforce it, but there was no in between.

I’m also glad to heart that some companies are trying to make copyright more palatable, especially for educators. Considering that most educators use their own money, or school money to purchase media, it would be nice to get a break on copyright payments.

Blog 4 - Week 1 - Free Choice

Blog 4 – Free Choice How teaching has changed.

I had to take a month off from my Full Sail classes last month. So I am starting up again. I am anxious to get back to work on my research documentation. It has been a very interesting and extremely busy year. I must say that if I could do it over again, I would have to make a decision of not participating in this Master’s program, or do much more to divest myself of some of the duties that I am currently doing at school. The Full Sail Masters is a very intense program, which requires many hours of work each week.

I have been talking to some of my fellow teachers about the workload we face in teaching and how it has changed over the years. At first I thought it was just me and the fact that I am getting old and slowing down. But younger teachers also feel like they can’t keep up. Every year, we are required to do more. Many of the things we do are not directly related to teaching. There is more paperwork, more forms to justify what we teach, and more information about our students that may help them in their future classes. My school is requiring many of us that teach electives to teach two or more levels or classes during one period. Even though I am only supposed to teach four classes a day, this year I am teaching six different classes.

I wish I could find a way to get back to teaching where I spent more time getting to know my students and less time filling out reports and forms about my students

Blog3 - wek 1 reply to Bruce Kramer

@ Bruce Kramer

I have to agree with you about the greed balancing the need. It has been my limited experience that large companies are quicker to enforce copyright that the artist that created the work involved. to be exact, I look at how my students use creative commons in their projects. They will often take copyrighted material and incorporate it into their own work. Now if they do this for a class, it is usually not a problem. but if they show their work publicly, it could fall under copyright infringement even though they are not selling their work. For them to use copyrighted material in their projects allows them to create things that they could not create any other way. It allows them to use some really good pieces of music or art to help them in their learning and understanding. To deny them this opportunity because some company feels they are loosing a few dollars is just not right.

Creative Commons Experiment

I am intrigued by the creative commons movement and how one might compare it to the American Revolution and the similarities that can be found within. In Larry Lessig’s TED talk, he mentioned that there is no revolt but rather a movement to extremes in the response to copyright concepts. As in the early days of the American Revolution the extremes were being defined by the loyalists and the patriots but if it were not for the defining document of the Declaration of Independence and the leadership of Washington and other founding fathers the potential of our revolution looking more like the French’s was a possibility much like the lawlessness that we are incubating in our youth with the lack of common sense being applied to the constraints of current copyright practices. The thought I have about the Creative Commons approach is whether it is capable to bringing about the necessary balancing effect to the copyright battleground as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution did to the American Experiment.

How much does the Creative Commons approach depend upon the character of the people involved to relinquish the greed that feeds the current extension of the copyright termination to be extended further and further into the future? Will the involved see the needs of the culture taking precedence over the financial gain they could continue to have if they hold firm to reaping from the current copyright laws. Does the 11 possible choices of Creative Commons structuring allow for an effective strategy to balance the personal gain and preserving the culture for healthy growth in both areas? This is yet to be determined but is worth a try since it is obvious the current status quo is destructive.

Blog 2 - reply to Jessica Goodenow

@ Jessica Goodenow

I can see what you are saying about creating mixes. If you buy music, why shouldn't you be allowed to use it in a different way? I guess the real question is are you depriving the artist from making money. so if you do a remix for yourself, should that be considered OK as long as you don't sell it to someone else or give it to someone who will not buy the original artist's music. The Grey album you mentioned is aptly named. I think it is a "Grey" area in the copyright law.

I am overwhelmed by the topic of copyright. We are living in a world where creativity is valuable and should be protected. We are also living in a world where people will cheat and steal others creativity and claim it as their own. In a world where plagiarism is as common as a Starbucks drink on college campuses, laws are being put into place to try to protect those individuals that have worked hard to get their ideas declared as their own.

The videos Good Copy/Bady Copy really got me thinking. Sampling is a music style that I enjoy. I even use samplings of music when I make movies for my classroom or for my own personal uses. Does that mean that I need to go through court proceedings to give those artists their due? No! I pay for that song that I sample with my own money. I remember when “The Grey Album” came out and all the controversy that surrounded it. I was surprised to find out that the artist never made any money off of his “art project.” For his creativity, he deserved SOMETHING. I may be naïve, but creativity should be rewarded and protected.

Week 1 Blog 1 Copyright Readings

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.

Another concept that my students can use is creative commons. I think this has become necessary because of the change in the way we use the Internet. People want to share the things they create. They use Face Book, You Tube, and blogs to distribute what they make. Sometimes we use items that are copy righted in these creations. Creative commons allows us to use certain works under specific circumstances that “bends” the copyright laws.