My Copyright Action Plan

The DESE website has an article titled “Copyright Applies to Everyone.” In this article I found three interesting tidbits that I did not know about copyright. The first one is that you can make a single copy of a poem to use for educational purposes. I would use this for my poetry unit to show my students different kinds of poetry. This could also be used for an author study; however I have noted that you cannot use more than three poems from an author; therefore my study would not be very intensive or I would have to secure my right to copy it. Another thing that I did not know is that when you are looking at something on the internet or TV and you want to use it in your classroom, you may use it the next day. This policy does not permit you to keep this information for long periods of time; you must immediately use it. I love this one! I will definitely be using that for current events and other interesting bits of knowledge that I acquire the night before my class. Lastly, and most importantly, teachers must secure permission to upload students work on to the internet. Students need to have privacy, and with the invention of social networks like Facebook, we forget to secure privacy sometimes. Instead I will secure permission or display my student’s work in the hallway or classroom. I intend to abide by these laws to the best of my ability, and to teach my students with the resources I have available.

Multimedia

Dear Parents,

During this school year you will hear your students talking about the wonderful things they are learning via computers and the internet. One of the things I have been introducing into the curriculum is virtual science experiments. Our classroom is not equipped with some of the materials needed to do all of the experiments I would like. Nothing beats hands on experience, however through the virtual lab students can see an experiment done in ten to twenty minutes where as in person it takes much longer. The article Using Multimedia to Help Students Learn Science was my muse for implementing this multimedia.

Computers are drastically changing the way we teach here at __________ Elementary. Your students are learning through blogs, websites, and audio/visual tools. Students are becoming an active part in their learning experiences. I can see your students getting excited about their learning. Make sure to read their blogs at http://www.blogger.com/kaitlynsclasswebpage. They will love hearing from you!

Also, read Effects of Technology on Classrooms and Students to see how else technology is changing our world.

Ms. Peace

Media in my classroom

Dear parents-

I want to give you a sneak peek into the classroom that your students will be well acquainted with. It is my belief that your students will learn best with technology. The article Enticing Teachers To Try Technology from The Journal website has a couple of technologies that I will be integrating into the curriculum. An idea this article suggests is using Skype to connect with a guest speaker. I want to use this technology not only to allow people from other cities into our classroom, but also for speakers from our city to speak with your children. The current list for guest speakers is Suzanne Lieurance (author from Kansas City), our mayor, and you! We love when our parents can come into our classroom, but if your schedule is too demanding, we can set up a time for you to come to our classroom through this media. Our class has several computers in which your children will be using for blogging. Blogging is going to be used for book reports, reviews, and the advancement of writing skills. These technologies used in my classroom will allow me to introduce your students to the exciting things that are happening with our culture. I look forward to teaching your child in this upcoming year!

Enjoy the rest of the summer!

Ms. Peace