Comment on Web Conferencing - Can We Chat?

This week has been a very good one in terms of Internet resource discovery.  As I noted earlier in the week, Karen Blumberg's K12 conference presentation was so invigorating and provided me with a plethora of links that I will surely use as I continue on in school and in my future career.  (and did I mention that she commented on my post?!  how awesome is that?!)  Kim Caise's Web Conferencing - Can We Chat? was also incredibly informative and provide many helpful links.

An interesting comment that Caise made was that she hoped that with the tools that she provided that our students will feel inspired.  I have to tell you, I was just as (if not more!) inspired by the resources that she gave.  For instance, I found the site The Global Education Collaborative to be extremely helpful.  I appreciate the global-connectedness that the site promotes and truly proves how small our world really is.  Another site, Virtual Field Trips is an incredible resource because it provides students more educational opportunities because they are able to visit places across the global that the class would not necessarily have the funds to travel to.  How incredible it is for a student to "visit" the Louvre in the morning and then Madagascar in the afternoon!

I also found Caise's personal blog to be incredibly rich in resources and I have book marked it for our Diigo group (and can be found here http://kcaise.wordpress.com/).  I hope that you will all have time to explore Caise's "Ventures," and get to take a look at all of the wonderful resources she has listed for educators.

Week Nine (10/24/10 - 10/31/10)

Image from http://feelfree3333.blogspot.com/p/basics-of-this-project.html.

I cannot stress enough how much of a positive impact the K12 conference site and presentations has had on me.  It is as though a new world has been opened up before my eyes; a world that prior to learning of the site, I did not see a connection to, yet it is a world that has welcomed me with open arms.

I will be the first to admit that I never knew the educational involvement SLMS had; I am a new SLMS student, after all, and I am still learning the ropes.  Yes, I knew that all librarians needs to participate in continuing education and keep informed of the latest and greatest in books and technology, but I never imagined how important collaboration between the librarian and teachers would be in the school setting and that when the collaboration was working, what incredible results would come of it.

Of course, I have heard horror stories where school librarians were seen not seen by teachers as equals in education but as inferiors who were expected to act as a sitter for students when they were dropped off in the library for study periods, but fortunately, there seem to be more positive stories of collaboration and educational partnerships.  At the end of the day, all educators - teacher or librarian - realize that the more that we know and can pass along to our students, the more that they will benefit by growing and learning.  After all, as educators, isn't that what we are supposed to do?

Comment on K12 Conference - License to Cull with Creative Commons and yolink

Holy mackerel!  I have never learned more about copyright in such a short amount of time!  I just listened to "License to Cull with Creative Commons and yolink" by Karen Blumberg (under the subheading, Kicking it Up a Notch) and it was fantastic!!  I am sure I drove everyone nuts with my Diigo postings but Blumberg's links are such incredible resources, I couldn't help but pass them on to the class. 

One of the things that really got me about this presentation was Blumberg's enthusiasm about what she does.  When the presentation begins, it is clear that Blumberg loves what she does and is happy to aid the students that she works with.  As the presentation continues, Blumberg's speech becomes faster and she provides the presentation listener with so much information and beneficial tools that I couldn't help be excited with her!

Let's face it, creative commons and copyright in general can be pretty dry material.  In earlier postings, we have also discussed the ambiguity that exists in each respective area, but Blumberg's explanation and resources really helped me get a handle on what can and can't be used when creating videos and posting materials for educational use. 

I cannot express enough how great I think Blumberg did and plan on visiting her personal blog on a regular basis so I can be kept abreast of the wonderful things that she does!  I even left her a personal comment on the K12 site to let her know how great she did and I never do things like that (I am usually a chicken!).  :)

Week Eight (10/17/10 - 10/23/10) - Take Two!

Image from: https://hrlibrary.wikispaces.com/Per5+LIfe+and+Literary+Work+Connection

Now that the conference dust of a physical conference is settling and I am finally getting back to a place where there is some sort of calm, I can write about my incredible virtual conference experiences from this past week. 

I think it is an incredible time to be an educator!  There are so many tech options out there that every learning experience can be a grand and memorable one.  The K12 conference has been incredible for me.  The conference really opened my eyes to new and innovative technologies and has also showed me their impact on students and other teachers.

I love the idea of virtual workshops that are global.  How rich conversations and classroom planning can be when you have input from around the world!!  I think the global workshops will also be helpful because there are times - for teachers and librarians alike - where you feel isolated.  Global workshops really help in reminding us that we are never alone and a friendly voice can literally be just a click away.  I also love that technology is creating a culture of teachers that share resources.  I am a strong proponent for sharing information - an idea I had to struggle with as an English MA, as English majors tend not to want to share because they are afraid of an idea being stolen - and I love to see that collaboration results in more learning experiences that are helping and reaching more people.  I hope that technology continues to promote a culture of shared ideas and shared learning!

Since I have not been able to post on wetpaint, I did want to mention here (until I can post) that the second video I viewed for this week's postings was "Student Voices: Let me tell MY story."  It was absolutely amazing because the video showed the student's perspectives when it came to technology.  It is incredible to see how students have embraced technology to expand their knowledge in music and to showcase their artistic abilities!  I could not get over how informed the students were and how effortlessly there were able to create media forms that not only can be used for themselves but can also be shared with other students.  My favorite quote  - the students want their "web footprint really big but our earth footprint to be very small." That is the coolest way of going green I have ever heard!

I look forward to next week's conference sessions and cannot wait to see what new world will be opened to me then.

Week Eight (10/17/10 - 10/23/10)

What a wonderful time to be an educator and librarian!!  I only have a brief moment to post - I am the conference coordinator for an academic conference on 18th century studies in downtown Buffalo this weekend  - but I wanted to express how happy I am to have learned about the K12 Conference site and note what a pleasure it is to have had the opportunity to have listened to the lectures!  I will post an additional response as soon as the conference is complete (Sunday)!

Week Seven (10/10/10 - 10/16/10) - Cyberbullying

Image from: http://blog.safetyweb.com/cyberbullying-parents-and-schools-must-respond-to-cyberbullying/

With all of the resources and websites out there on cyberbullying, one would think that cyberbullying would be a thing of the past; a pretty horrible scenario that was born when the Internet was introduced but ended when the world realized how dangerous it could be.  Instead, we have children and teens killing themselves over derogatory comments that were posted on Facebook or other social networking sites, on blogs and even websites created for the purpose of breaking down the psyche of another human being.  As powerful a tool as the Internet can be, it can be equally detrimental when placed in the hands of inexperienced (and down-right mean) users.

In late September, an 18-year-old Rutger's student, Tyler Clementi, jumped to his death off of the George Washington Bridge after another student posted a video of him having sex with another male student.  The Internet has created a culture of cruelty that goes beyond the walls of the school and into a global kingdom of chaos.  In the same breath, the outpouring of grief and support for Tyler and his family has also shown the far reaches of Internet humanity.  Blogs, social networking groups, and web pages pop-up daily so as to send sympathies and promote remembrance of this tragedy.  Another incident in our recent past was the death of Phoebe Prince; a high school student from Ireland who moved to Massachusetts.  Prince was bullied relentlessly by her classmates and would commit suicide to escape the clutches of teenage bulling brutality.

What makes me insane is that the classmate who posted Clementi's sex tape and Prince's torturers do not believe that they have done anything wrong and don't even get me started on the ridiculous idea that bullying is just "kids being kids."  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Bullying - cyber or otherwise - is not just a simple behavior issue that resolves itself once a child transitions into adulthood.  Studies show that bullies as children and teens continue on to be bullies in adulthood (drive down a road and see the aggression lately? ugh!).  Clearly, there is a disconnect in education and responsibility for actions and that is what needs to be addressed.  How does this fit in the SLMS world?  Our libraries become safe places.  Librarians watch library interactions to intercept beginning stages of harassment.  Librarians become safe persons for students to come to for help.  Librarians teach students the appropriate way to use the Internet and describe the repercussions for inappropriate online behavior. 

Someone has to step up in order to end this chronic culture of hate and hostility and what better person than a SLMS?

Week Six (10/3/10 - 10/9/10) - Computerless Libraries??

Image from: http://www.icservices.com.au/images/

I have to say that before listening to this weeks lecture that it never crossed my mind that there would be a possibility that they library I may someday work in may not have computers.  Frankly, I find the idea to be preposterous; the government should really step in an ensure that all school libraries have them.  By not having access, schools in this country are not on equal footing and we are creating a cyclical pattern of haves and have nots, which is deplorable.  Let's face it, those in wealthy neighborhoods are much more likely to have computers in their libraries (and in their classrooms & at home) than their impoverished counterparts.  Unequal access becomes more than just a digital divide; it becomes a proverbial Grand Canyon where those who lack financial means never gain enough rope to make the trek across to computer learning.

Without access to computers - in this case, at the library - student's will surely struggle with basic academic tasks.  Do I have a fool proof solution?  No, only that if my library does not have computers, I will fight like heck to get them through grants and other programs.  Do I expect this to happen overnight?  Of course not, but if it means me purchasing a PC for student use, out of my own money until I can raise the funds to bring more in, I will surely do so. 

I see the computer issue being a huge one, especially in special education classrooms.  Often times, the only recourse for classes teaching special education students how to use a computer and the Internet is visiting the library.  Special education classrooms are often the last one's to receive funding for such items, so it is imperative for the library to have the tools that the children of the school need to be successful and productive adults.  If not, I fear we will have a growing society of functioning illiterate persons who will never strive for more because they feel as though they cannot and also a society that thinks it is okay to not take care of one another - rich and poor alike - and I am not okay with that.  I will do my best (and do it now in some capacity) to assist those who need it most.  If we don't, then who will?

Week Five (9/26/10 - 10/2/10)

Image by Stephen Baum and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Question_copyright.svg#filelinks)

As I put the image above into the blog, I realized that this is my second question mark image of the semester.  Considering this is week 5, it doesn't terrify me too much, but it does serve to show me that confusion may be a trend for me throughout the semester.  That being said, I don't think saying I am confused about fair use and copyright is being too hard on myself.  The reality is, both areas are extremely complex and just when you think you have figured them out, the ambiguity appears and you are right  back at stage one.

A reason for most of my struggle - mostly because I am hard-headed - is that I cannot understand why educators are not exempt from fair use and copyright issues when the materials they are duplicating are used for educational purposes only.  Yes, I do get there people will always take things a step beyond and make copies for personal use or for outside sources but I am speaking of those who play by the rules and only use the materials in their classrooms. 

We are in a time of budget crisis.   School districts have very few resources, as do individual schools and libraries, and even our public libraries are seeing drastic cuts, so how are our children supposed to get the tools they need for learning?  I don't see harm in copying a chapter from a book for students to use in the classroom, so I guess my dilemma will be how I will handle my personal feelings about fair use and copyright against the legalities of fair use and copyright. 

I certainly hope this all of the legalities/rights get easier for me to grasp as we go along.  I know I have loads to learn but I think I would feel a little more comfortable if I actually agreed with (aka fully understood) some of the legalities/rights that are being presented.