Archives: Best of the Web

A new study, titled “Copying Right and Copying Wrong With Web 2.0 Tools in the Teacher Education and Communications Classrooms,” attempts to educate students about both the appropriate and inappropriate ways to use copyrighted materials that are available to mass audiences on the Internet. The article by Ewa McGrail and J. Patrick McGrail, published in the September edition of Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, presents a set of guidelines to determine whether a certain type of use of online materials may violate copyright law.

Check out the powerful new professional materials posted by the Center for Social Media at American University. The Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education is available for download in .pdf format, and there is a six minute video introduction to understanding fair use in today’s media-rich environment that may clarify misconceptions and reassure teachers about their rights (and their students’ rights) to employ all sorts of media in classroom teaching and learning.

http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/resources/publications/code_for_media_literacy_education/

Thanks to Gerry Solomon, Media Specialist to North Carolina, for bringing this to our attention via the North Carolina School Library Media Association listserv.

The National Park Service has compiled Our Shared History: African American Heritage, a collection of links to excellent black history resources. Most of the content is provided by the Park Service itself, and includes new information about the Underground Railroad, digital exhibits about Frederick Douglass and the Tuskegee Airmen, transcriptions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,’s speeches, and guides to historic places of the civil rights movement — including a great page about the 1960 Greensboro lunch counter sit-ins. The site is well-organized and easy to use, and offers teachers several ways to integrate the material into the classroom: The “Tools for Learning” page includes links to relevant lesson plans, and the “Publications” page provides a trustworthy place for high school students to begin research.

World View is offering two new online courses to North Carolina educators through LEARN NC: “Globalization: An Introduction for Principals and Other School Leaders” and “Globalization: An Introduction for K-12 Teachers.” These courses immerse educators from all leadership roles and disciplines in an intensive exploration of the rapid global changes in government, economics, environment and health, culture, and technology impacting their schools and communities, our country, and the planet.

An online version of World View’s week-long on-campus “Global Education Leaders Program,” these six-week courses require participants to read, discuss, and reflect on the most important issues facing America and the world today. The courses will introduce educators to university and other resources for continued learning of global issues. As a final project, each participant will present an Action Plan for their classroom, school, or school system to support the development of globally competitive graduates. Four CEU credits are offered for successful completion of the course.

Spaces are limited, so please register early.

To Americans, autumn means harvest, colorful leaves, and crispness to the air. To the Chinese, the 15th of the 8th lunar month (Chicken Month) means it is time for the Chinese Moon Festival. Also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival, it is a time when families get together, sing moon poems, and celebrate the harvest by eating moon cakes. It is also a night of romance for couples who will watch the moon rise and eat moon cakes and drink wine.

There are some legendary moon stories to tell during this time. The story of Chang Er describes her as floating to the moon and it is said that you can see her dancing on the moon at this special time of the year. Read more stories about Wu Kang, the Jade Rabbit, and the moon cake at http://www.chinesefortunecalendar.com/midfallstory.htm. Additional books on the Chinese Moon Festival can be found on the Family Culture website.

Moon cakes can be purchased at Chinese bakeries or markets. They symbolize longevity and good heath. The centers of the cakes may have dried fruit, coconut, pineapple, melon, red bean paste or lotus seed paste. You may also want to try to bake your own.

National Estuaries Day takes place the last Saturday in September. Celebrate by taking a free, interactive field trip over the Internet hosted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Estuarine Research Reserves in collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Estuary Programs.

“NOAA in the Carolinas” will be broadcast September 26–27, 2007 from the ACE Basin Reserve at Forth Johnson near Charleston, South Carolina. The program will cover hurricanes, watersheds, horse shoe crabs, the history of Fort Johnson, and much more.

Participation in these live, interactive Webcasts is free. Learn more and register at EstuaryLIVE.