Blog Journal #3

Copyrighting your own work means that you are the only one that can use and distribute that work. It is not only important to protect your own work but is also important to understand the copyrighting laws in order to avoid accidental plagiarism. The copyright act of 1976 explains the fair use guidelines and how they allow people to copy some parts of materials for educational purposes. It also depends on how much of a material you are copying when writing your own work. I think as a teacher it is extremely important to make students aware of these boundaries and rules when it comes to using others’ materials in their own work. The best way to do this as a teacher is to make sure that you teach your students how to correctly cite the sources they are quoting from and make it a requirement on assignments. This way, students will learn from an early age how important it is to pay attention to copyright laws in order to avoid things like accidental plagiarism later in life.

These days in the classroom teachers are not only required to observe students work on paper but also need to observe their use and understanding of technology in the classroom. This can lead to many different issues in the classroom. One is still making sure to protect the student’s privacy while at the same time keeping them on tack. As a teacher you have to make sure to keep an eye on what students are doing on the computers without taking away their privacy. In my future classroom I plan on making it clear from the beginning to the students that the computers used in my classroom are only for academic purposes. I will let them know that if they are doing something other than what they are meant to be doing at the time then they are willing for it to be public information. I will not use on online monitoring system as to ensure they feel safe and free to do the research they need to do at their own pace but will walk around to make sure they are on task. Another issue with technology in today’s classrooms is the decreased productivity due to the many distractions that come with using a computer or laptop in class. I feel that I would allow technology use for project research in my class, however, make it clear that if students get off base, I will no longer allow technology in my classroom. I will then explain that this research will now have to be done on their own time at home which no student likes to hear. I would hope that students then feel more motivated to get things done in class and stay on task if it keeps them from adding to their piles of homework they already have from other classes.

While working on the newsletter assignment this week I feel that I developed a lot of new knowledge about Microsoft word and how it can be utilized in so many different ways. I did not have a very good idea of how to utilize and maneuver around the column tool before this project which I will now be able to use for future projects whether it be for school or personal use. I think in the future I could make my newsletter more exciting and cohesive as well as fill up more white space. However, this time I was more focused on meeting all the criteria and experimenting with different Microsoft tools. I think that since I plan on becoming a teacher after I finish grad school the skills I learned throughout this assignment can not only help me put together newsletters but other fun or important documents for my class throughout my career.