Copyright Laws

I read an interesting article entitled Code of Professional Ethics for Teachers.  The article suggested that teachers follow copyright laws and it provided a through definition of copyright.  The article suggested that teachers should only download software to a computer that has been legally purchased or licensed for a computer.  The article stated teachers should follow these helpful tips.

1. Must be aware that all computer software is protected by copyright unless it is explicitly labeled as public domain.

2. Must not make software available for others to use or copy in violation of that software's license agreement.

3. Follow fair use guidelines when making copies of materials. 

I found number two interesting because that implies you cannot even share your computer for others to use the software.  During my internship I saw a lot of teachers doing this because the school was only able to purchase one license so they would all use that teachers computer if they needed that particular software. 

I have found the information on copyright laws very interesting as it relates to teachers and education in general.  I feel that a person is being robbed when someone shares their work and they are not getting paid for it. 

Why are the students being robbed of a quality material because the school cannot afford or decided to use the monies other ways?   

Code of Professional Ethics for Teachers http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/students/rtrieger/eps304/copyright.htm

Open Source

I was truly amazed and excited after viewing this video.  This model definitely fits the lifestyle of some students and we are moving towards a technology based education model everyday.  I thought how the teachers could have the test scores analyzed at their fingertips was awesome.  This allows the teacher to understand what content may need to be addressed again or provide one on one help to that individual student.  I have concerns about not spending your high school years around your peers and eating lunch together and attending school functions with your friends.  I think their is a piece of the social aspect that definitely would be missing and may affect the student in the long term.  I think this similar model would be great if parts of it could be integrated into the traditional school.  For example, the way the test are analyzed and electronic would be great.  I would suggest to the high school to have student day monthly where all the different grade levels come to school and do team building exercises.

National Education Technology Plan

The National Education Technology Plan calls for the same advanced technology that we use on our jobs be used to help educate our children. The plan has five goals of which many states, districts, and federal government provided their recommendations.  The five goals are  Learning, Assessment, Teaching, Infrastructure, and Productivity. I am excited to see how this plan was presented at the top however I wondering if most counties are following these recommendation's.  Let me know what you think.
http://www.ed.gov/technology/netp-2010

Mimio Teach Interactive System

I read about a new type of technology that will allow whiteboards to become interactive.  It is called the Mimio Teach Interactive System and it is very cost effective.  You place the Mimio Teach bar on a regular whiteboard and plug the receiver into a usb port on your computer.  Then you connect your computer to your projector.  It is very small and you can move it with you as you change locations. This is more cost effective than a smartboard.

http://us.mimio.com/en-US/About-us/Press-Listings/1-11-2011b.aspx