Fair Use Rules for Using Online Content

What are the fair use rules for using any type of content that you would find online?

Fair use rules have changed with the impact of digital technology and the internet.  Although there is more leeway for educators in using online copyrighted material, there are some general guidelines and rules both teachers and students need to be aware of in order to ensure legal use.  There are four factors to consider when following fair use:  “(1) purpose and character of use, (2) nature of the work, (3) amount and sustainability of the used portion in relation to the entire work, and (4) the effect on the potential market.” (Cahill, 2012, p. 5)  Even though educational purposes fall under the fair use policy, there are limitations.  

Teachers are required to cite all copyrighted work;  however, if teachers do not have time to seek permission, if only a small amount of the work is copied, and it is not a repeated infringement, then instructors will not be penalized (Cahill, 2012).  In 1988, limits were placed on the quantity of material an educator may use (Cahill, 2012).  The bottom line is that fair use for education is not a free license to use anything.  I would love to include a link to Education World’s series on Copyright and Fair Use (Links to an external site.) as I found it very informative, most notably the fact that experts can’t seem to agree on acceptable fair use guidelines and new technologies, yet we still need to follow general guidelines as pertains to the law (Starr, 2010).

References

Cahill, J. L. (2012). Copyright versus fair use. New Teacher Advocate, 19(4), 4-5.

Starr, L. (2010, 5/25/2010). The educator’s guide to copyright and fair use. Education World. Retrieved from http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr280.shtml

Emerging Technologies Impact on Learning

How are emerging technologies having a significant impact on learning? 

Emerging technologies in education has been an on-going issue for years. Now that the pace of technology is increasing at an exponential rate, institutions of learning should consider a systematic and sustainable approach to dealing with this issue. Because emerging technologies impact every aspect of our lives, including the workforce, it is necessary to consider the impact of those technologies on education (Spector, 2013). Emerging technologies also have the ability to support authentic learning to mirror real-world situations so that leaners are better prepared to utilize these technologies when situations arise (Bozalek et al., 2013). Workers are asked to be more collaborative and with telecommuting becoming more popular, it is imperative that people know how to utilize various technologies for collaboration and virtual communication. I have always felt, as an educator, that it is a constant race to keep up with emerging technologies, trends, and their impact on teaching and learning. I have witnessed this problem first hand both as a classroom teacher, and technology coach. 

One of the emerging technologies most likely to impact education is learning analytics (Spector, 2013). I currently work in an industry focused on learning analytics and while I am impressed with the potential impact of artificial intelligence on teaching and learning, I am more concerned with the necessary change that schools will have to undergo during the successful implementation of such technologies. Not only will network infrastructures and technology resources need to be current, but schools will also need to be willing to invest the resources into on-going professional development to aid teachers in this paradigm shift. We continue to ask more and expect more of our teachers with fewer resources—namely time. While I have witnessed pockets of change and innovation across the nation, I have also seen challenges and barriers to change. 

Emerging technologies will continue to impact teaching and learning and I think the key is to have a successful plan in place that not only considers all stakeholders, but allows them input in the process. I have had the pleasure of working in some districts where there are tech committees designed to invite all stakeholders when considering a large adoption of a new technology.  I have also worked in districts where these decisions are made at the leadership level with little or no input from the end-users.  

Needless to say, district culture is key to successful implementation and adoption.  There is always resistance to change on some level in every organization, but I believe that for the most part, it's not what we do, but the way in which we do it--with careful consideration for giving people a voice in their choice.

There is a book that I read (actually, I listened to it on audible--it's what I do when I'm on the road) called "Switch:  How to change when change is hard" by Chip and Dan Heath.  It really resonated with me and I recommend it to everyone!  In fact, my 28 year old son read the book, and commented to me that his sister's elephant gets in the way of some deep conversations sometimes--classic!

Here is a YouTube clip that speaks about this book's main theme:  

References:
Spector, J. M. (2013). Emerging educational technologies and research directions. Educational Technology & Society, 16(2), 21-30. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/journal/jeductechsoci

Using Virtual Communication and Collaboration to Enhance Curriculum from SarahLowey

Virtual Communication: Advantages, Challenges, Best Practices, and Tools

The following is my discussion board submission for my class this week.  I found the topic and the research interesting, so I thought I'd share!

The assignment posed 3 questions to be answered.  

Thanks!

_______________________

1.  What are the advantages and disadvantages of virtual communication?

I think it is safe to say that most of us communicate digitally as we live in a world where social networking seems to be making a larger and larger footprint in our lives.  Do you know anyone who does not own a smartphone?  While communicating virtually has its advantages, there are also disadvantages to virtual communication.  Some of the disadvantages include the following:

• The absence of non-verbal cues
• The inability for teachers to monitor, motivate, and assist students in real-time
• The inherent team collaboration that takes place in face-to-face settings, including mediation, motivation, and assistance (Yamat, 2013)

The above list includes some of the obvious boundaries and challenges that most of us who work or take classes remotely have faced.  Even in communicating with our friends and families, we can often misread messages in text, as they lack the body language and vocal inflections that accompany face-to-face communications.  While the challenges do seem to be daunting, there are also advantages to virtual communication, and I would venture to say that as technology continues to improve, these boundaries and challenges will start to fall away.  Some of the advantages to virtual communication include the following:

• Students involved in virtual discussions are more thoughtful
• Anonymity makes them less inhibited and more confident
• Collaboration time can help build peer relationships
• Virtual communication transcends geographic barriers
• Students can refer back to and reflect on discussions
• Students tend to be more active and contribute more to virtual discussions (Yamat, 2013)

In addition to the list above, Jones and Green (2012) also point out that virtual collaboration can be impactful on anytime, anywhere learning.  Personally, I think that being able to use virtual communication to teach our students effective communication skills is essential.  We must prepare them to be successful digital citizens and give them the proper tools to function in a the global community, now and in the future.  On the same token, I think we need to help them develop the skills to have confident face-to-face interactions as well.  My son once commented to me, while he was a student advisor in college, that he was surprised at how many of his generation seemed to lack the ability to confidently communicate face-to-face.  While many may dispute his observation, I think it holds some validity given that he was commenting on his peers, and was in a position to observe students on a regular basis.

2.  What are best practices for communicating virtually?

Communicating virtually is common place in today’s world.  However, establishing norms, or best practices, is essential to ensuring success in the workplace and in learning institutions.  Some best practices include the following:

• Frequent communication
• Effecting meeting planning, including agendas and meeting structure
• The ability to communicate clearly
• Awareness (Walls, 2013)

While Walls’ article speaks directly to the telecommute workforce, it resonated with me.  I have been a remote worker for 5 years now and I have experienced some of the difficulties of communicating with a remote team based across the country.  I agree with her best practices of establishing frequent meetings, even if it is for 5 minutes just to touch base.  Virtual communication can make it difficult to build or form strong relationships, unless you are committed to establishing and maintaining frequent contact—especially via skype or video conferences. 

3.  What are some examples of tools that could be used and professional development that could be set up to collaborate online?

There are so many tools available to help break down the barriers of online communication.  Personally, I prefer video conferences—either via webex, Skype, Google Hangouts, Zoom, etc.  These video conferences allow that face-to-face meeting where you can read body language, hear voice inflections, and get that ‘almost there’ experience.  Other ways to collaborate online include blogs, wikis, Google Groups, Google Hangouts, closed Facebook Groups, webinars (group or one-on-one) etc.  Professional development can be conducted synchronously through webinars or similar video conferencing.  Professional development can be conducted asynchronously through blogs, Google Group and Google Hangout discussions, wikis, and so forth.  I would daresay that there are several people—both in the education and corporate world—who receive their professional development opportunities online.  My previous company even used an LMS to provide PD modules and discussion boards.  This post has really made me reflect and I believe now more than ever that it really is not so much about the virtual communication tools, or even the best practices we put in place, but more about affecting cultural change—in an institution of learning or business. 

References

Jones, S. A., & Green, L. S. (2012). Transforming collaboration student learning--anytime, anywhere. Teacher Librarian,40(2), 26-31. Retrieved from https://www.ebscohost.com/

Walls, P. (2013, June 13, 2013). Best practices for virtual communication and meetings [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://blog.ecornell.com/best-practices-for-virtual-communication-and-meetings/

Yamat, H. (2013). Voicing on virtual and face to face discussion. The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology,12(2), 372-375. Retrieved from https://www.ebscohost.com/

What is 21st century education?

Powerful!!