Blog, blogging, blogged.

At this precise moment in time, I’ve 10 blogs. Why, why do I have 10 blogs, is it really necessary?

No, it is not. For the past month I’ve been working to consolodate the many blogs I have down to one source. The quest for the right place, or tool is a long and twisty road though.

The break down

Tumblr: Great for mobile posting and hosting videos, audio, images, text, etc. The app for the iPhone is great and simple to use as is the web interface. For my line of work I am always on the move and so using Tumblr has been great for me to be able to post on the go

Posterous: Another simple and easy to use blogging tool. It’s number one reason for popularity: Email your post and it is automatically setup as a post. After setting up an account you are given an email address to send anything you want to post. You can use this to post video, audio, text, etc all by attaching it to an email. I’ve been using this as the primary method of sharing tech news specific to my building/district with the staff. I simply send the email to staff and cc my posterous and instantly create an archived post and share the information directly to the staff.

WordPress: A powerful blogging tool that can take a bit of “getting used to” but once you’ve mastered it you have a very powerful tool in your hands. I rarely recommend this as a beginner tool but only because the first two I’ve listed are the easiest tools I’ve found. WordPress offers many very creative looking themes and functions. The primary “great tool” I think is the Site Stats. You can get instant information on how many people are viewing your blog what they’ve clicked on your blog, how they came across your blog, and all in real time. A few of the dislikes: You can not host/post video on WordPress without an upgraded (pay) account. Also you can not do to much to the theme without upgrading your account to a paid version.

Blogger: Google owned and one of the most commonly used “starter” blog tools, blogger offers easy setup, several basic themes (that with some knowledge you can customize) and site stats on your blog views. Though it has been some time since I’ve used blogger (first blog I ever made was with blogger) I am re-looking into it for the simple fact that I want a free tool for blogging that I can customize and alter the html of. Blogger also offers a local hosting of videos to your blog for free which is also a bonus.

Weebly: is more of a tool that allows you to create a whole entire site, but within the site you create you can “add a blog”. I’ve not much experience with weebly, but I have created one and have been using it for about a month now. I have found it to be very simple to setup and at the same time allows you to bring in many different and more advanced features using html and feeds from other sources. Once you’ve created you weebly, you can easily access “stats” on the site to let you know how many visitors you’ve had and what they’ve been looking at on your site.

I hope that this post helps those of you looking to get started with blogging a look at the a few of the various tools that are out there as well as helps you figure out which tool may be best for you.

A few of my blogs: Tumblr, Posterous, Weebly

3 Weeks after #METC_CSD

Here we are three weeks after the METC conference and I thought I’d like to share what has happened since.

The short list

1. Co-planned a 2 hour block of time offering 6 different PD sessions with multiple presenters
2. Presented 2 PD sessions the Friday after METC
3. Created a Weebly
4. Posted several blog posts
5. Used Blabberize.com and Voki
6. Shared information about fair use with a few staff members
7. Attended my first webinar
8. Provided multiple sessions of IT support via instant messaging
9. Setup accounts with Animoto, Edu Glogster, YouTube, and a few others
10. Found the positive, everyday.

my notes on: Copyright Clarity #METC_CSD

Copy Right Clarity –  @ReneeHobbs

The value of copy right

Using  copyright materials without paying

Written in the constitution, the purpose of copyright is:
“To promote creativity innovation and the spread of knowledge”

How teachers cope
“See no evil” Adopt that they do not want ot know, they choose
“Close the door” Anything I do in the context of helping the students do good, and I tell no one, who’s to know. The work is more important
“Hyper Compliant” Hold onto the rules, more rigid rules for their students but less for them selves. Maybe not fully understanding the rules

Replace old knowledge: You and your students are granted copyright at the moment they create their work.

1. the right to reproduce your own work
2. make a derivative work on your work
3. right to distribute
4. perform
5. display

Who’s responsible for the copyright: The copy right holder
EVERYTHING IS COPY RIGHTED
But…there are exemptions.

The Doctrine of fair use: You don’t have to ask permission to use  a copyrighted work if you are using for socially benefiting purposes such as teaching, news reporting, criticism, comment…

Strong protection for owners, and strong protection for users. Fair use is designed to promote copyrighted materials.
 

The tips to remembering fair use:

“Trasnformativness, add value, re-purpose”

Fair use is contextual – No issue until it is taken to a judge.

There is no lawsuit to this day where a copyright holder sues and educational system.

Copying does not deserve the use of fair use

4 choices:

1. Pay a license fee.
2. Claim fair use, just use it.
3. Select public domain royalty free or creative commons licensed content.
4. DON’T USE IT

Citation is ethical, not legal.

Did I transform it or did I just copy it? – The question that students need to ask themselves.

“Get out of jail free card”- clause If you’re an educator and you make a fair use determination in using copyrighted materials and you are sued by the copyright holder, the law mandates that all statutory damages are remitted to 0.


Thanks to Renee Hobbs, teachers may unlock dvds that are protected with a content scrambling system when circumvention is for the purpose is socially benefiting purposes such as teaching, news reporting, criticism, comment…