Wednesday, 9 March 2011
Educational Blogs
Creative Voice
Age: Year 5 & 6 students
Purpose and content: Specifically the blog has been designed for maths and literacy in the classroom. The maths focuses on sharing of thinking, games, quizzes and strategies. The literacy focuses on writing, editing, creating podcasts, webcams and reflection. In addition the blog provides an opportunity for students to show case their work, creative projects and class experiences.
Features that make it a good model for students:
- Easy to navigate
- It has engaged students resulting in a rich blog.
- Good resources and worksheets.
Linda’s Bees
Age: Year 5 +
Purpose and content: Beekeeper sharing her knowledge about bees. Content involves everything from the life of bees, to building a bee hive and making honey. Provides the opportunity for conversation and communication between the author and the audience.
Features that make it a good model for students:
- A lot of diverse information.
- Easy to navigate
- Links to education videos and slides
Copyright at Universities and Schools
Can I copy material from the internet for research?
You should first check the website for any statements about copyright which apply to the material you want to copy. The copyright owner may expressly allow you to print and/or download material, possibly under stated conditions. Otherwise, you may print and/or save material to disk if:
• it is for your research or study; and
• the copying is fair, having regard to the five factors set out above.
• it is for your research or study; and
• the copying is fair, having regard to the five factors set out above.
For more information:
What constitutes research and fair use?
Research
According to Court, is “diligent and systematic enquiry or investigation into a subject in order to discover facts or principles...”
You will not infringe copyright if you use material for the purposes of research or study, provided that your use is fair.
Fair Use:
The Act sets out two situations deemed fair when dealing with copyright material for research or study and sets out guidelines which should be applied in other cases.
Situation 1:
A “reasonable portion” of text or notated music
If you are reproducing text or printed music from a hard copy edition of 10 or more pages, the Act deems that it is fair to copy:
• 10% of the number of pages; or
• one chapter, if the work is divided into chapters.
For text material published in electronic form, it is deemed to be fair to copy:
• 10% of the number of words; or
• one chapter, if the work is divided into chapters.
If the material is available in hardcopy and separately in electronic form, you can choose which form to use, and apply the relevant test to work out what is deemed to be fair.
Situation 2:
Copying more that the amounts deemed fair
You will have to consider all the circumstances to work out if it is fair to reproduce more than the above amounts of textual material, or if you want to do something with textual material other than reproduce it. For other material, such as drawings, photographs, unpublished material and so on, the Act does not state how much you may use without permission. Rather, you will need to consider whether, in all the circumstances, it is fair to use the material.
Situation 1:
A “reasonable portion” of text or notated music
If you are reproducing text or printed music from a hard copy edition of 10 or more pages, the Act deems that it is fair to copy:
• 10% of the number of pages; or
• one chapter, if the work is divided into chapters.
For text material published in electronic form, it is deemed to be fair to copy:
• 10% of the number of words; or
• one chapter, if the work is divided into chapters.
If the material is available in hardcopy and separately in electronic form, you can choose which form to use, and apply the relevant test to work out what is deemed to be fair.
Situation 2:
Copying more that the amounts deemed fair
You will have to consider all the circumstances to work out if it is fair to reproduce more than the above amounts of textual material, or if you want to do something with textual material other than reproduce it. For other material, such as drawings, photographs, unpublished material and so on, the Act does not state how much you may use without permission. Rather, you will need to consider whether, in all the circumstances, it is fair to use the material.
The Copyright Act does set out some factors for working out whether, in all the circumstances, your use is fair in relation to reproductions of copyright material for the purpose of research or study. These are:
• the purpose and character of the dealing (for example, copying in connection with a course is more likely to be fair than copying for research which may be used commercially);
• the nature of the work (for example, it may be less fair to copy a work resulting from a high degree of skill than a mundane work);
• the possibility of obtaining the work within a reasonable time at an ordinary commercial price (generally, it is unlikely to be fair to photocopy all or most of a work that you can buy);
• the effect of the dealing on the potential market for, or value of, the work (making a copy is unlikely to be fair if the publisher sells or licenses copies, for example from its website); and
• in a case where part only of the work is copied, the amount and substantiality of the part copied in relation to the whole work (it is less fair to copy a large or important part of the work than to copy a small or unimportant part).
• the purpose and character of the dealing (for example, copying in connection with a course is more likely to be fair than copying for research which may be used commercially);
• the nature of the work (for example, it may be less fair to copy a work resulting from a high degree of skill than a mundane work);
• the possibility of obtaining the work within a reasonable time at an ordinary commercial price (generally, it is unlikely to be fair to photocopy all or most of a work that you can buy);
• the effect of the dealing on the potential market for, or value of, the work (making a copy is unlikely to be fair if the publisher sells or licenses copies, for example from its website); and
• in a case where part only of the work is copied, the amount and substantiality of the part copied in relation to the whole work (it is less fair to copy a large or important part of the work than to copy a small or unimportant part).
Can students (university or school) use music in videos that they make?
Generally, you will need permission to use someone else’s music in a film or video. However, if a student is using the music for a video for the purpose of research or study then there are provisions that may allow them to do so provided the use is fair. In the event the video is for a public screening, entry into competitions or broadcast on local TV, permission will generally be required from relevant copyright owners.
Tuesday, 8 March 2011
Class blogs - great ideas
Here are some great ways on how to use a blog in the classroom:
1. To post assignments.
2. To share class news.
3. To showcase students work e.g. poems, pictures, photos, essays, videos etc.
4. Posting information to parents about school camp or excursion.
5. A place to respond to concepts and ideas dealt with in class.
Just to name a few.
Reference
Pericles, K. (2008). Happily blogging @ Belmore South. SCAN, 27(2), 4-6 http:// www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/schoollibraries/
1. To post assignments.
2. To share class news.
3. To showcase students work e.g. poems, pictures, photos, essays, videos etc.
4. Posting information to parents about school camp or excursion.
5. A place to respond to concepts and ideas dealt with in class.
Just to name a few.
Reference
Pericles, K. (2008). Happily blogging @ Belmore South. SCAN, 27(2), 4-6 http:// www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/schoollibraries/
Monday, 7 March 2011
Thursday, 3 March 2011
Review of tree octopus video
I’m embarrassed to admit it, but when I first saw this video I really did think there was such a thing as a tree octopus. Could I be any more gullible....
Why did I buy into it, and did not stop and really think about how an octopus can possibly live in a tree… Simple, the look and feel of the site, it seemed professional enough, so of course it must be real!
This video makes it very clear that teachers need to do their homework before they put a website in front of their students – there is a tonne of rubbish out there and teachers need to make sure that information is legitimate. As Callow clearly articulates in his article, “New literacies, New York & Web 2.0: a little knowledge is a helpful thing! SCAN” (2008), “those of us with more life experience understand that any showing or sharing of information needs to be approached with a critical and reflective eye”.
On the flip slide, shame on all those people out there who create fake websites with fake information – what a waste of their time!
Reference
Callow, J. (2008). New literacies, New York & Web 2.0: a little knowledge is a helpful thing! SCAN, 27(4), 13-16
Review of www.kigose.com
Www.kigose.com is a search engine site specific for schools. The search fields include a dictionary, atlas, encyclopaedia, games, books and more.
I think the Kigose website would be a fantastic resource for the classroom. First and foremost it is easy to navigate which would be imperative when 30 kids are navigating the site. Secondly, the site appears safe and legitimate. I would feel comfortable students navigating the site without stumbling onto something inappropriate. This site would be very useful across a number of KLA’s e.g. English – students finding out the definition of unfamiliar words, HSIE – looking for the capital cities of the Australia states; and Creative Arts – finding images for a presentation.
Thumbs up from me!
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