Copyright is such a sticky issue. On the few (and far between) instances when teachers ask me about copyright, it's hard to give them a straight answer. It really is wonderful being in education and having a certain amount of latitude when it comes to using resources, but when explaining copyright, once you get through your first couple of 'sometimes' and 'if you...'s, I can see that the listener is no longer listening. I saw this infographic this morning (click & zoom in to read it, I know it's long and thin), and naturally it doesn't cover everything, but copyright is a great instance for when an infographic is the perfect tool to use. It really is hard to understand copyright and how copyright influences what you do in a school. I mean, there are attorneys who deal only in copyright- what does that mean for the rest of us? I see people creating amazing things and sharing them on Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers, but how much of that is actually their own work? How much of what is their own work contains parts that aren't...is that covered by copyright? Fair use seems to be a part that is especially difficult to get a serious grasp on. Maybe it's time for me to schedule a Back to School Copyright information session...I'd better bake some cookies. How do you explain copyright to your staff or (if you're a teacher) to your students? It seems so simple...until it isn't. "In coaching, the goal belongs to you, the teacher." - Nina Morel
I was on Twitter this morning and saw this quotation. It made me think back to when I was taking Cognitive Coaching classes two years ago. I still use some of what I learned in the course. There were some really great ideas in the training, which was a year-long operation, many of which I couldn't appreciate at the time. I struggled with my role as an EdTech specialist and how that fit with this specific coaching model, and I think this quote is what can put coaching in perspective for me. Obviously there will be some times when teachers are not going to want/need/allow coaching...their projector bulb just blew, their computer needs reimaging, they locked their network password...in those instances I'm tech support, which I enjoy. But other times, during weekly technology planning or during team meetings- those are the times that I should keep this thought in mind. I am definitely an expert (at some things) when it comes to technology, but my goal is to cultivate and facilitate more experts at my site. Develop that talent and give teachers more opportunities to try things, make mistakes, try again and succeed. Isn't that what they want their students to do? They know I'm here to support them, but I want them to know that I don't always have to. One of my favorite things to tell teachers when they ask if they can download something is "go for it...there's nothing you can do that I can't undo". That may not be 100% true, but it's close enough. I want them to take risks and see themselves as a valuable resource when it comes to instructional technology. So as I #plan4next (which is actually now, because today is my first official day back), I'm going to put this quotation where my teachers can see it when they are tech planning with me each week, but really, this quote is for me. I must admit, my old blog got a bit forgotten, and as I think about it, I was never a big fan of how it looked or the 'behind the scenes' aspects of that blog. So, I am going to move on to something new. So far, my Weebly experience has been a pretty positive one. It's easy...as in CRAZY easy to create a pretty great-looking site. Thinking about the time that it took me to get this Weebly site up and running (about 30 minutes) and comparing that to what it would take me to code something similar in Dreamweaver...well, I'm sticking with Weebly for this project.
Aside from me, I think that Weebly is great for teachers and classrooms. It's easy, it looks awesome, and it's mobile-friendly, which is crucial when you're thinking about posting things that you are anticipating your students using (many of whom are accessing via mobile device). |
Kendra MurphyI'm a Technology Coach and IT Support for a school. I'm passionate about 1:1 classrooms technology in instruction. Archives
September 2015
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