OER-CIES TLC class blog post

I was looking for a more interesting way to teach students about copyright and the use of media.  During the webinar about OERs I was introduced to the PBS Media website and thought I would give it a shot.  I found a lesson called "Who Owns a Sound?"

I used this lesson in conjunction with the Common Sense Media "a creator's rights".  I chose this particular lesson because of the video resources that it offers.  It also puts the issue in a context that students understand...music, specifically hip hop music.  The lesson goes into not only the why of copyright, but also the how.  It also gives students the opportunity to look at both sides of the argument and formulate their own opinions.  

This lesson, though fits into augmentation level of SAMR, fits more into the TPACK model.  It uses technology to better cover the content.  Since the issues covered in the content focus on music, the use of the videos and sound bites reinforce the concepts.  This resource allows students to work at their own pace and covers content in several different ways.  Finally, after the lesson was over, we were able to go into the Common Sense Media lesson with confidence, an opinion, and familiarity on the subject.  

I found that, in the end, this was an interesting resource to use.  I feel that the advantage of this was that students were able to go at their own pace and really spend the time they needed on each slide. I also heard students asking questions that I had not heard other groups ask before do to the higher engagement on the topic.   

A down side is definitely the use of video on the school network.  With limited bandwidth, this could cause problems. Another issue is the need for students to create an account.  The need for accounts students to create accounts for every resource used becomes confusing to students.  I have seen, in middle school, many students forget computer logins, passwords, even locker combinations on a regular basis.  Adding one more account could become an added source of confusion and frustration to some.  A final issue I see, which we, as teachers, face with self-paced assignments is that some may need more or less time to complete the assignment.  The problem with this is that students are required to have internet access at home to complete the assignment.