Midterm

John H. Chung’s Technology in the Classroom

Historical Background

Thomas Edison said in 1913 that, “Books will soon be obsolete in the schools. . .  It is possible to teach every branch of human knowledge with the motion picture.” And although this hasn’t shown to be true quite yet, it is interesting that this thought has been around since such an early time. Some of the earlier uses of technology included radio, and then use of television and film in the 1950s. In recent years it is clear that computers have become the most prevalent, new source of technology within the classrooms. However, it is historically true that technological innovations become obsolete, so it is unclear what the future of technology in the classroom will look like. 

Motivation

Chung cites three sectors as the driving forces to adapt technology in the classroom: 1- nonprofit organization: Nonprofit and government organizations have proposed guidelines for using technology. Some examples of this include the ISTE standards. This helps keep classrooms on track and regulated with others.

2- commerce: Businesses profit from being informed and educated about various modes of technology. 3-education: Almost all educators agree that education should be used in the classroom. This is broken into 2 main ideas. The first is that technology should be used to improve the traditional lecture based teaching and learning. The other is that we should reform the traditional approach into a constructivist approach. These educators want to change learning and teaching by using technology in student centered learning, project-based learning, real life problem-based learning, collaborative learning, active learning, and alternative assessments. A more in depth look at this is found on the Wikipedia page for Integrating Technology. 

Classroom Technology Examples

Chung provides some examples of forms of technology found in the classroom. Some examples of these include:

• ·      Interactive Whiteboards: These are essentially a combination of classic whiteboards and projectors. They are often called SMART boards, because this is the most common commercial product. Helpful because the drawings on the board can be saved and posted later.
• ·      Wikis: These are collaborative webpages, similar to Wikipedia. These are similar to weblogs, but there are some differences.
• ·      Multimedia publishing: podcasting and screencasting are examples of this. Podcasting broadcasts audio through different outlets and can be similar to a radio show.

Concerns about Integrating Technology in Classroom

Technology’s use in the classroom has been debated, as there are some obvious concerns that should be addressed. Some of these include:

• ·     Unwilling teachers: There are a variety of reasons for teacher unwillingness in regards to technology, but the reluctance to change, time and energy, and evidence of success are some reasons that Chung cited.
•  Technology Dependency and Lack of Fundamental Skill: Some think that technology won’t help students grow into deep thinkers and will have a dependency on technology.
•      Copyright Issues: Although this is a place of concern, if teachers educate their students on copyright rules and violations, computer network defense, and awareness and supervision can help.
•      Training and Hiring Teachers: There can be problems with hiring teachers who are not educated in technology-based classrooms. This could be helped with comprehensive training programs.

Recommendations

Chung gave quite a few recommendations about the use of technology in the classroom, but I’m focusing on three:

• 1.     Be informed of technological changes in education and actively make necessary adjustments in your teaching practices. I think this is especially important for teachers. Because we are the ones providing instruction and direction for our students, we should make an effort to stay as informed as possible. It does our students a disservice if we are teaching them outdate and irrelevant technology practices.
  2.     Be patient and plan ample time when integrating technology into classroom. The lesson preparation with technology may take more time than you plan for. This class in particular has really highlighted the fact that we all learn at different speeds and in different ways. I may assume that the way I teach will work for all of my students, but some things take more time. In the future if I’m planning to introduce a new technological concept, I will make sure to set aside an extra day for practice, just to make sure that everyone is on the same page.
  3.     Educate the technology users on copyright laws and fair use guidelines. This is really important for students, not only in my classroom but also in general. If I am lenient or incompetent in teaching my students, they might go on to continue practices that don’t line up with copyright rules and violations. 

   All of this information was taken from John H. Chung's article "Integrating Technology into the Classroom"

Copyright and Fair Use

Whenever I think of copyrighting, I usually think of the lame piracy warnings that would play during the previews of DVDs and VHS movies I would watch as a little kid. They looked like this:

However, piracy is only one component of copyright and fair use laws. After reading The University of Maryland University College's guidelines for the use of copyrighted materials, I now have a better understanding of what those words actually mean. 

Copyright is defined as: "copyright is a legal device that provides the creator of a work of art or literature, or a work that conveys information or ideas, the right to control how the work is used" (Fishman, 2008, p. 6)." 

In order to be copyrighted, the work must be tangible, not verbal and must be 1- fixed in some way, 2- original, and 3-must have some sort of minimal creativity. Works of the public domain, along with short phrases or common ideas cannot be copyrighted. 

Copyrighting provides four basic protections: 

1. The right to make copies of the work.

2. The right to sell or distribute copies of the work.

3. The right to prepare new works based on the work. 

4.The right to perform the protected work in public. 

Fair use is not a black or white concept, but there are four guidelines that can help aid the decision process of whether or not it can be used: 

1. Judging the purpose or character. Basically if it's simply a copy, it won't be considered fair use. If it's being used for a good purpose (educational or nonprofit) it has a better likelihood of being considered fair use.

2. The nature of the copyrighted material: If it's unpublished it is much less likely to be considered fair use. If it's more artistically geared it has a better likelihood to be considered fair use. 

3. The amount and sustainability: Basically don't try to use the majority of the work or use it in a way that will benefit you economically without giving credit. 

4. The effect on the potential market: Is it creating something new or is it too close to the original? If you're trying to pitch the copyrighted work to the same audience then that will be probably not be considered fair use. 

The following are generally considered fair use: 

• A chapter from a book (never the entire book).
• An article from a periodical or newspaper.
• A short story, essay, or poem. One work is the norm whether it comes from an individual work or an anthology.
• A chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon or picture from a book, periodical, or newspaper.
• Poetry: Copies of a poem of 250 words or less that exists on two pages or less or 250 words from a longer poem.
• Prose: Copies of an article, story or essay that are 2,500 words or less or excerpts up to 1,000 words or 10 percent of the total work, whichever is less.
• Illustrations: Copies of a chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon, or picture contained in a book or periodical issue (U.S. Copyright Office, 2009, p. 6). 

Information taken from: http://www.umuc.edu/library/libhow/copyright.cfm

I think I now have a better understanding of what works I will use in the classroom, and I think I'll be able to help guide my students in the right direction in terms of what materials they choose to work with. I know now that I should not redistribute multiple copies of works without permission, especially if they could just as easily be purchased in their original format. If I plan on using a source repeatedly semester to semester that would be considered a violation of the fair use rules. And if I ever have any confusion, there are plenty of resources at my disposal to clear up any questions. If you want more information on this, click on the link at the top of the page!