Thing 10

I love Flickr! I love the way that you can search based on the specifics of an image that you want. You can search for images that the creator only wants attribution for, ones that can be used for commercial purposes, and even ones that you can change. There is a side bar that explains what all the symbols mean. I searched for pictures of the Earth and pictures of climate change. Oh my gosh... there are thousands! The one that I posted was entitled where water and earth meet by Lady-bug. There was just something about this picture that grabbed my attention, or maybe it was the title, I am not really sure. But what I am sure of is that I liked the concept that it sent me- of being on the edge of something. Whether it be a decision, learning something new, greatness, etc., anyway you get it....
I cannot wait to show my students the pictures that I found. I am sure that they will want to search the site for pictures for their projects they are working on.

Thing 9

Sadly, I feel very uneducated when it comes to copyright. All I really knew before this project about copyright was from a class on educational law. When I was working on my masters degree I remember my Law Professor saying that educators were pretty much in the clear with copyright if we were using the content for educational purposes and not for mass production. As long as we gave credit to the person who created it -we were okay. So, I really and truly have not given copyright much thought since then. I use video clips, digital images, and audio from the web to help me teach. I love being able to build upon and use other peoples creativity to help educate my students.
I do feel that educators have a wealth of information at their fingertips. Not being able to use it would be such a waste so I am thankful for Fair Use in Education. I will be more vigilant about giving credit for images that I use, etc. and I will also be more vigilant about making my students do the same.

Thing 7

I must admit that I have become very addicted to my class wiki. I have spent a lot of time searching for projects this year for students that incorporate the wiki. My students feel that learning about the Presidential Election, the Stock Market, and writing a narrative are not so bad when they can do it with other students around the country and world! So... with all of the time that I have spent I have noticed that 'all wiki's are not created equally'. They come in all sizes and shapes depending on their creator. Some are organized and some are not. 1001 Flat World Tales is one that I will specifically talk about because I am taking part in that project now. This wiki project allows students from all over the world to participate in a collaborative writing project. I have partnered my 4th and 5th grade students up with 4th and 5th graders from Argentina and Canada to create and edit narratives. The wiki is very organized. We are all divided into small groups. The small groups make it more individualized for each teacher and student. It is like a tree; it has one main page for everyone and then branches off into small groups. Yargo is in group E if you want to take a look.