Tech Task #3 - In Class Presentation

1. Are social networks really here to stay?

I believe that social networks are here to stay. Will they always look the same? No, but there is not much in this world that does not eventually changed in one way or another. I believe that we live in a very exciting time for technology (though I bet people before me have said the exact same thing about technology more than once throughout history) and that we shouldn't be afraid of it, wary maybe but change always is unsettling until it becomes the norm. One point in Alec's presentation that really caught my attention was how in Finland it is a human right to have access to high speed Internet. At first I thought, "Wow, That's intense!" but the more time I had to process the possible reasons behind it, the more I found understood their decision since a great major of our time today is spent on a computer or using other forms of technology in one way or another to connect with others, thus creating our own social network. The Finnish government recognized that it would be doing their citizens a disservice not to each and every one of them access to a network which provides so many opportunities. As teachers, we must work hard to make sure that our students are just as enabled as the Finnish are when it comes to access and understanding the social networking process.

2. If so, what do you think schools (and teachers) need to do to prepare? How is learning in the future going to be different?

Currently in elementary schools, how the students learn and what resources they have/should have access to is already very different than when I was going through elementary school. I remember the only time we used computers was to play math games that were on floppy disks. Now, having computers inside the classroom provides such a variety of options for the students in terms of research, completing assignments and presenters from all over the world. As it was stated in the presentation, the future of learning is open, connected and social. What that means for teachers is that we no longer have to deal with the pressure of having to be an expert on every subject since it is possible to connect and collaborate with 'experts' via Skype or e-mail for example which then allows us to learn and discover new things along with the students. No one person knows everything and everything, so I believe that social networking is a great tool not only for teachers but for personal use as well.


3. What are you thoughts on copyright and creativity in a world where so much content is "lifted", remixed, or reused?

My opinion is two sided in regards to copyright. Since I come from a musical background in school, there was more than one occasion that we had to photocopy a piece of music in order for every member of the section to have their own part. The piece only comes with a certain number of parts per section and if you do not have enough, there are two options: photocopy or share. The sharing gets quite troublesome when two tubas try a crowd around the same piece of music and thus, creates tension and, frankly it is just not enjoyable to play when you can't see the notes. Now, I also believe that a composer should be given credit for their work and in terms of band pieces that credit comes in a financial form since one must purchase the piece in order to play it. That in turn, opens up another "can of worms" so to speak since many band/music programs do not have much in terms of budget or funding. So, the decision is to either photocopy whole pieces in order to provide the students with the experience of learning a new piece or not be able to due to lack of funding. Now this scenario is quite extreme since I know a lot of loading of original pieces happens within the band community however, I just wanted to really focus on the question of do you break copyright if it is of great benefit to your students? Or, is it more important to show them that copyright exists for a reason just like any other law?

After seeing what copyright settings are on Flickr in terms of posting pictures, I only wish that more things in life, like pieces of music for example, would have just as many options for their creators to apply instead.