music and technology

• Have you noticed the CC logo on any websites you visit? Did you wonder what it meant? I have actually noticed the creative commons symbol on sites and photos and had no idea what it meant. I have been aware of copyright laws since my first years of teaching when I watched teachers copying music and books without first gaining permission. I know the frustration of following the rules even when it means you cannot use a song or teaching material because the author will not grant permission. From this stand point I see CC as being invaluable for students and teachers. In music there are many video and sound clips that I would love to show/play for my classes. Creative commons makes it look like it will be easier to find links to material I can use.

• Do you think CC will impact the way students learn and create projects? How? On the OER commons site I have found some good basic music lessons. In the Basic Elements of music lesson by Catherine Schmidt-Jones under the link called texture there is a link to Turkish Music. It was easy to follow the lesson plan about texture and find examples I might use in a lesson. Even better-some of the examples had links on the page.

Turkish Instruments picture by tvol.
http://flickr.com/photos/sixteenmilesofstring/540810543/

• Do you use digital images, audio or video clips from the web in your teaching (or professional practice)? I have been given an activ board this year which has opened up new possibilities in my music room. I can get closer to bringing the world to my classroom. I use teacher tube and you tube, so I am interested in learning more about how CC applies to this. I plan to begin making my own flip charts for the board and I see creative commons as resource for images and sounds to imbed in these new charts. ( If I ever find the time!)

• Do you ever share content on the web?
• Who owns your teaching materials? I have taught workshops to other teachers on music ideas I created, but have not done this through the web. For most ideas I would want other teachers to have access. I think you purposely give up the ownership and control when you decide to use CC and the web. This could be a great way to see how other teachers can extend your original idea.

• What are some potential negatives for using CC? If you were planning to publish and charge money for your ideas, it would not be a good idea to use cc.

My favorite bit of new knowledge is understanding the lists of tags on the side of blogs and other sites. I had no idea that the larger the word is the more information or images will be found.