My Copyright Action Plan

When looking into copyright laws, and how they would affect my teaching, I came across three things that I didn't know I could or could not do. I found it interesting how much trouble making the most simple mistake could mean. I also found it interesting that there are things I had never done before because I was afraid of infringing on a copyright law that are actually allowed under the fair use act. While researching this topic I learned that using photographs in face-to-face classroom presentations is allowed under the fair use provision. I also learned that you can use a copy of an article from a journal, and you can not continue to use the same copied item from year to year.

I was surprised to learn that using photographs in presentations such as PowerPoint is not a copyright infringement. This was a pleasant surprise to me as I thought that it actually was. This news makes creating presentation much less stressful. (http://blog.lib.umn.edu/copyinfo/scenarios/cat_teaching.html)

I was also surprised to learn that it is permissible to use an entire article from a journal as part of your classroom teaching. However, I am not so thrilled about the restrictions involved in this permission. One restriction that I am particularly bothered by is that you can't make copies of multiple articles from the same publication. (http://guides.library.jhu.edu/content.php?pid=169195&sid=1424689)

Finally, I was disappointed to learn that in almost every print source you are allowed to make a copy of at least some of it. However, you can not use that copy from year to year. This is yet another inconvenience. (http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ21.pdf)


Regardless of the pains copyright laws may cause, they are still manageable. My plan is to find several sources that I enjoy using to avoid making copies of more than one article from the same source, and to find new research each year to avoid using the same source from year to year. Also, I plan to use many more pictures in my presentations while always making sure they are relevant to what I am teaching to again avoid breaking copyright laws.

Multimedia in my Classroom

Audio and video media can enhance instruction in my classroom. In addition to traditional textbook reading, students can not only get more enjoyment, but also additional information on a subject through video presentations. The only problem with this is if the video isn't accurate, in which case it gives my students a good chance to think more critically.

Another form of multimedia that will change instruction in my classroom could be the use of Skype. Skype would allow my classroom to take virtual tours, or even interview authors of books featured in my lessons. This has the potential to be an excellent way of engaging my students.

And finally, the last form of multimedia that I stumbled upon that I had never even considered using is creating a visual image of speeches or other documents. This allows students to quickly pick out themes and topics, and it's also a great piece of art to display in the classroom.

http://www.slideshare.net/elanghorst/a-dozen-ways-to-incorporate-technology-in-the-history-classroom
Free Technology for Teachers

Media in my Classroom

I have never really considered what media I would have to use in my classroom before, but today I read an article that really made me think about the future classroom. I had always assumed that I would have a white board and markers to use to present information to my class, and of course I also assumed that I would have books to use in my classroom with my students. But I had never considered arranging the furniture a certain way to allow the children to work together with more ease, and I had also never considered that one day every student in my class might have their own personal laptop that they bring to class every day. Another form of media I had never considered being in my class is a bridge between the classrooms so that when necessary classes could merge to share what they learned.

I love the idea of new forms of media in my classroom, the only thing I would really have to change about my teaching style would be to include more cooperative learning.

When deciding what media to use in my classroom I would have to determine if the students would be learning equally or if some students would be learning more than others, for example when arranging the furniture or creating a bridge between classrooms for more cooperative learning. Another factor that I would have to consider when choosing which media to use in my classroom would be how distracted my students might be, for example with the personal laptops, they might be playing on them and not paying attention to their lessons. But other than that I would be elated to add any new media into my classroom to engage the students and enhance their learning environment.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2012/01/18/designing-the-21st-century-k12-classroom.aspx