The copyright information truely did shock me especially the information concerning video and music.
I was thinking back at so many times when I included full songs into presentations which is way over the limit (10% or 30 seconds). Also it really made me think about what is deemed as "for educational purposes". In class we discussed how many people collaberate pictures into slideshows for end of the year cellebrations such as banquets and even graduations. These slideshows typically include music which firstly is more than 30 seconds worth of a song and secondly I dont think a picture presentation is for an educational purpose even though they are being produced by students, coaches, and teachers for refelction.
I was also surprised about the copyright information concerning videos. It is illegal to show your own personal copy of a video, for example, if my students read To Kill a Mockingbird or The Great Gatsby it would be illegal for me to bring in my own copies of the film adaptations to show my students. Although libraries and BOCES have videos available for classroom use which is acceptable and follows the copyright rules what if there is a film that isn't available to you? I know we've talked about the availability and funding for technologies and we all anticipate that our resources will be limited. Although To Kill a Mockingbird is a video that is probablly available The Lion King is a tool that I plan on using in my classroom that may not be deemed an educational film and most likely wouldnt be available for classroom use through a library etc. Being an English teacher I am bound to teach Hamlet and The Lion King follows the basic plot line for Hamlet. Showing parts of the movie to students would show them how influential Shakespeare was and still is. Connecting classic stories to things that are more modern is a good way to keep students engaged but with the copyright laws I wouldn't be able to bring in my personal videos. I understand why copyright rules are in place, however, I was unaware of some of the information which will now change the way I think about what I am able to do in my classroom.

Educational Leadership Articles

The articles from Educational Leadership really had a lot of ideas to offer and I greatly agreed with what they were saying. "Education: The Case for Making it Personal" emphasized the importance of personalizing each students individual education. Every student has different strengths, weaknesses and teachers need to be aware of what is best for each individual student. Ron Wolk the author of the article says; "to appreciate the power of personalizing education, one has only to spend time with the students"(Wolk 16). I believe this statement is so true! Teachers need to make an effort to know their students backgrounds, interests, values, and what is going on in their lives outside of the classroom. In order to personalize lessons we must know in what ways to make them personalized and in order to do this we need to have a good understanding of our students. I will strive to be an approachable figure for my students and work to be involved in their lives, take interest in what interests them and then work to incorporate what I've learned about them into the lessons I'm teaching. Although there are so many state and federal requirements that standardize learning I want to make an effort to work around these requirements. Wolk writes; "Standards are essential, but contrary to the conventional wisdom, standards don't educate kids; they simply provide a framework of knowledge that experts deem to be essential for everyone, and they are worth little if we lack the process and resources to achieve them" (Wolk 18). Although we need to provide standards and goals for students we need to ensure that everyone is provided equal opportunities which can only be done through the individualization and differentiation of education. Incorporating real world involvement and experiences allows students to make connections to their own lives. Planning lessons around community history and experiences also personalizes education. In my classroom I will encourage my students to think for themselves form their own opinions and express themselves creatively. Language Arts offer a lot of opportunity for personalized learning and expression. Literary criticism, creative writing and reader responses allows individuality which is key to personalized learning. As a future educator I want to choose texts that will interest my students, that have relatable characters, themes, and plot points. To successfully choose such texts I will first have to know my students which is the first step to personalizing education.

"A Habitat for 21st Century Learning" was another really interesting article. Although I've thought of how classrooms and learning environments need to be updated and improved I had never heard of an establishment such as the new Harrison Community Learning Center. Although funding is a big part of creating such a great learning center looking at what the center offers and how it blends communal and scholarly aspects into one environment offers a foundation of where educators can start to make improvements to their own educational settings. Firstly I think that community involvement and collaboration and active participation with schools is needed to take the first step toward 21st century learning environments. Hands on learning is also key. Teachers need to work to incorporate creative hands on projects in their lessons. Constantly listening to lectures doesn't prepare students to think in appropriate or creative ways that will be required of them in the "real world". Connecting lessons to outside events will help students understand the importance of the material and how to connect it to their own lives. " A key ingredient for any 21st century habitat for teaching and learning is the creation of a healthy and sustainable environment" (Helm 69). My personal goal as a teacher is to make whatever space I have into a inviting, comfortable learning environment. Although budgeting and funding is at an economic low we can still take the steps to create 21st century learning environments. Making connections to nature, the community and it's members will make an affective change in how students are educated. Taking small steps will lead to larger improvements. As long as we keep striving for the improvements and changes we can accomplish creating improved learning environments and personalized learning.

working with google sketchup was really difficult and I found it sooo frustrating! I think it's a great software and the more I play around with it the more comfortable I become. I think the chair I created is ok but it took me forever and the tutorials make it look so easy haha.
I enjoyed creating my multimedia assessment and I think it is something I can use in the future with a lot of topics and a few adaptions. Being introduced to new softwares is really great and I hope to continue learning and becoming more familiar with them so I can successfully utilize them. I am nervous for the google sketchup learning environment assignment...yikes!