How Does Copyright Law Affect Your Use Of Technology In The Classroom?

What are copyright laws? Copyright laws are the legal rights created by the law of a country that grants the creator of an original work exclusive rights for its use and distribution. Copyright laws affect teachers because it put limits and restriction on the technology and information they are allowed to use in their classrooms. With limitations set in place it stops the teachers from gaining the information to teach their students properly. When teachers or students use any information that is not of their own they must always remember to cite that source according to the copyright laws.  It is imperative for teachers to be aware of copyright laws that protect the authors’ original works. Teachers also need to educate their students about the possibilities and consequences of plagiarism. There are many articles and informational sites around to give further information about plagiarism. Copyright laws affect what printed material, music, images and computer software teachers can use in their classroom. It is important for teachers to be cautious and certain that the learning materials or sources they are using in their classrooms do not go against copyright laws.

WEB 2.0

WEB 2.0 is the second stage of development of the World Wide Web, characterized especially by the change from static web pages to dynamic or user-generated content and the growth of social media. WEB 2.0 is significantly different from WEB 1.0 because of the greater collaboration among different internet users, content providers and enterprises. If you refer to What is WEB 2.0 you will find the elements, history, and the future of WEB 2.0. WEB 2.0 opens a whole new idea to social media and to internet access all in one. Some of the main functions associated with WEB 2.0 include flicker, google maps, amazon reviews, blogs, Facebook, twitter and the list goes on and on. 

The most popular WEB 2.0 tool I would say has to be Facebook. The reason why I say this because there is so much going on with Facebook. That is how most people get the latest news feeds, watch funny videos, or just post pictures. According to 101 WEB 2.0 Teaching Tools Facebook is not just a social utility that can connect you with friends as well as with students, you can also use this tool to bookmark Web sites and specific Internet pages.

What is media literacy and why is it important?

 Media Literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and create media in a variety of forms. According to Media Literacy Project media literacy is referred to the ability to read and write. Media Literacy is commonly used in grades K-12 classrooms where students learn more about visual literacy. Visual literacy means to basically read pictures without words and grasp an understanding of what the artist was trying to showcase. You can lean more about Visual Literacy here. Media Literacy also gives us the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media.without media literacy we would be able to get our daily news, entertainment, or any other form of media from the internet or television.

With the help of media literacy we can advance the skills of young children and adults through various processes. For example media literacy can help with developing critical thinking skills, and understand how media messages shape our culture and society. Media literacy is important because it can help our teens become media literate, we can help protect them from pressures from advertising and other media forms to smoke, drink, use drugs, have sex, or eat unhealthy foods. Media literacy is also important because it can help teens and young children build communication skills, encourage them to consider multiple interpretations of media messages, put portrayals of themselves and others in perspective, and improve media use habits, such as changing ritualistic viewing behaviors. In addition, we can improve the media use habits of the entire family and promote more proactive behavior among all family members.