“Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann has joined 44 other states in seeking greater controls for online networking sites to prevent sexual predators from using those sites to contact children.”
Month: January 2008
The Cost of Copyright Confusion for Media Literacy
“The Cost of Copyright Confusion for Media Literacy, based on scores of longform interviews with teachers, shows that the fundamental goals of media literacy education€€?to cultivate critical thinking and expression about media and its social role€€?are compromised by unnecessary copyright restrictions. As a result of poor guidance, counterproductive guidelines, and fear, teachers use less effective teaching techniques, teach and transmit erroneous copyright information, fail to share innovative instructional approaches, and do not take advantage of new digital platforms.
This is not only unfortunate but unnecessary, since copyright law permits a wide range of uses of copyrighted material without permission or payment. However, educators today have no consensus around what constitutes acceptable fair use practices. The report concludes with a call for educators to develop a consensus around their interpretation of their most valuable copyright tool: fair use.”
What is In Media Res?
“Daily, a different media scholar will present a 30-second to 3-minute clip accompanied by a 100-150-word impressionistic response. The goal is to promote an online dialogue amongst media scholars and the public about contemporary media scholarship through clips chosen for either their typicality or atypicality in demonstrating narrative strategies, genre formulations, aesthetic choices, representational practices, institutional approaches, fan engagements, etc.”
Facebook Is Passe, a Professor Says
“People tend to be loyal to one social-networking site, though that relationship is often fleeting, says Martin Weller, educational-technology Professor at the Britain-based Open University.”
The Library of Congress’ photos on Flickr
“This week the library was overwhelmed by the public response after it put 3,100 of the most popular photos from its collection online at Flickr, getting them outside the Washington library walls and into the hands of people who want to use them”
“The Web of Things” by Timothy Berners-Lee
The latest issue (72) of ERCIM News features a keynote address about the future web by Timothy Berners-Lee.
Strength through weakness
“But Michael is not just another teacher. He is 12, a sixth-grader at Los Encinos School in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley. He can’t drive, vote or write much with a pencil, but he started a nonprofit when he was 11 and teaches computer skills to elementary students once a week.”
Video games become part of gym class
“Years ago, gym teachers waged a war with video games, blaming them for turning children into couch potatoes. For hours on end, children were glued to their seats while their fingers ran rampant over controllers. That all changed when physical education teacher Don Prorok’s brother bought a Nintendo Wii over the summer.”
K-12 Online Teaching Endorsements: Are They Needed?
“States require that teachers have a valid teaching license and ultimately professional certification. While “the majority of online teachers are certified public school teachers, with experience teaching in public schools” (Davis, Rose, & NACOL Research Committee and Working Group, 2007, p. 8), is any regular classroom teacher already qualified to teach online?”
What is Didactum?
“What is Didactum? Didactum.org is the place for teachers: finally, teachers can reach millions of students worldwide. Didactum.org gives teachers the tools needed to record a class with a webcam and digital blackboard. Teachers can also record classes live using a camcorder or camera phone. Didactum.org is the website for all teachers in many subjects and languages.”