Week 2, Thing 4

I have never before this class been on Flickr. Wow! A person could spend hours looking at all of the amazing pictures it contains.

I selected this photo because fall is my favorite season, and there is no place I would rather be in the fall than New England. As a child, my family went every fall.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/slack12/280965067/sizes/m/

Credit: slack 12 http://www.flickr.com/photos/slack12/

As for Flickr, I found it easier to search in the search box than using the Tags and Groups, but that's probably because that is what I am most used to.

Okay... so here is my big confusion: When I selected this photo, the Creative Commons on it said that I must attribute the photo to the creator, it must be used only for non-commercial use and may not be transformed or altered. Based on last week with Fair Use, I figured I was falling in line, wouldn't be looking at prison time, and was all good. Then, I looked at slack 12's profile and it said that images should not be used without permission. So is this a violation?

I am completely confused and more and more sure that it was a mistake for me have been chosen for this class, since obviously a person should have come in with some prior knowledge of the subject.

Week 1, Thing 3

I always prided myself on being a law-abiding citizen. After watching the video on Fair Use, I found out that just because you can right click and save, does not mean that you should.
I said earlier that I'm all about the practical, and jail isn't practical for me at this juncture, so I was glad to learn all the different ways to make sure I am legally using materials.
It was a lot of information to go through, and I won't remember every scenario, but I got the basics down.
I did the Google Image search and my search results went from 5,470,000 to 334. Huge jump once I said I wanted images I had permission to use. I honestly never knew that there was an Advanced Image Search. I really liked how you could click on More Info. and find out the right parameters for your particular search so you were not in violation of copyright laws.
How can I use this?
When I was in school the big deal was plagiarism and citing what books you used. Now that students are creating music, videos, games, wikis, PowerPoint's and so on there is so much more to worry about. So I thought I could teach my third grade students about downloading only pictures they have usage rights to when we do our class PowerPoint's on plants. If they get in that habit now, they will be better able to understand as they do other projects that all resources they find online are not simply "up for grabs."

Week 1, Thing 2

Week 1, Thing 2
I had a great time creating my Avatar. It was like playing virtual paper dolls!
I got to thinking it would be really fun for students to create an Avatar of their own and then use it as a character in a piece of their writing. Another thing I thought would be neat is if they created Avatars to represent their groups/teams. Then I remembered that I had to set up a Yahoo account to make mine, so it probably isn't a feasible idea... at least at this point.

Week 1, Thing 1

Week 1, Thing 1-
What do I want to get out of this class?
Hum... well first I would like to be able to understand half of the lingo that was being used. I knew I was in trouble when I had no idea what a wiki was, and yet everyone else in the room was nodding their head like "Oh ya, a wiki. I've been creating those for years."
I am all about the practical. So what I really want from this class is to learn Web 2.0 skills that I can apply in my everyday life and in my classroom that are practical and meaningful.
That is what I hope I get out of this course.

First Post

After some random clicking, fifty questions, and a quick prayer... I now have my blogger page!
What was Mike thinking having me sign up for this class?
Laura and I barely know how to access our emails, let alone set up a "wiki."
Um... excuse me is a "wiki" something you buy in Hawaii as a souvenir for your friends?
Now I have my very own blog... perhaps I will become like the countless blogging friends I have who ramble on about nothing, day in and day out.