Copyright Website Evaluation

To begin, a "copyright" is a legal device that provides the creator of a work or art or literature, or a work that conveys information or ideas, the right to control how the work is used" (Fishman, 2008, p.6). The idea of the copyright is "to advance the progress of knowledge by giving an author of a work an economic incentive to create new works" (Loren, 2000, para.12). Essentially,  information originally produced by the author cannot be copied or taken by another person claiming it as their own. Information that can be copyrighted is tangible, meaning that "a verbal presentation that is not recorded or written down cannot be copyrighted. However, anything that is tangible can be copyrighted" (2008, p.3).

In order for something to be copyrighted, the item must be three things. It must be fixed, meaning it is written down, recorded, or stored somewhere physically. The item must be original, whether it's a personal email or a book, both are considered original pieces of work. Lastly, the item must have minimal creativity. This essentially means that it "must include something that is above and beyond the original...that is the original works of authorship" (United States Copyright Office, 2008, p.3).

When considering copyrighting, you must consider "fair use." Fair use is "the most significant limitation on the copyright holder's exclusive rights" (United States Copyright Office, 2010, para.1). You must also take into consideration what the nature of the copyright work is. Is it published? It it work out of print? Is it more artistic or fact-based? The amount of work used also plays into fair use. The more work you use, the less the work will be considered "fair use." The same idea pertains to the originality of the work. The more the new work differs from the original work, the less likely it will be considered a copyright infringement (NOLO, 2010, para.11).

To find more information of the specific terms on copyrighting, please follow the link to this website:
http://www.umuc.edu/library/libhow/copyright.cfm

For this assignment, I chose the National Geographic Website. The website features a copyright symbol at the bottom of the page, which can be viewed on any page of the website.

The copyright logo states that the website has been reserved from 1996-2015 (present day) by the National Geographic Society, and that all rights are reserved. Whenever you see a logo stating "All rights reserved," with the "c" in a circle, the website is copyrighted.

To assist users with copyrighting information, and what can and cannot be copied, National Geographic features a page on their website a
bout their "Terms of Service." As you can see in the photo to the left, the terms of service is a "Legal and binding agreement between you and National Geographic governing your use of service" (National Geographic website, Terms of Service, Para. 1).

There is a registration process that you must go through in order to utilize certain functions of the Service. By registering, you are essentially consenting to the registration of your research and data collected on the website, and that National Geographic is recognized for their work. All of the work posted on the "Service" (the National Geographic website) is owned by National Geographic. This includes, but is not limited to, still images, text, pictorial works, video images, still images of video, graphic designs, audio recordings, multimedia combinations, and computer programs, including web-based programs" (National Geographic website, Intellectual Property Issues, Para. 1).

When you agree to the copyright terms, you agree to the following things:
1) You may only download content that National Geographic designates as offered for you to download for personal and noncommercial use.
2) You may not reproduce, distribute, modify, re-post, or sell any content without authorization from National Geographic.
3) You must maintain any and all copyright or other notices embedded in the website.
4) You must refrain from framing, linking, or mirroring.
5) You retain all of your ownership rights in material you upload, comments you post, or other content you provide.
6) You must notify a designated agent of any copyright infringements made on the Service (website).

There is a designated agent listed on the page that you should contact if notified of infringement. You can notify the agent via mail or email. There is a "Liability" section in which National Geographic states that you are liable for all risk associated with your use of the Service, including links to additional websites that can be accessed through National Geographic.


A section on "Your Conductt" is addressed, in which they state that the Service includes information and opinions from "a variety of individuals and organizations other than National Geographic," in which "National Geographic neither endorses nor guarantees the accuracy of any of Your Content" (National Geographic website, Your Conduct, Para. 1).

In addition, the Terms of Service includes a section on "Indemnification," "The National Geographic Archive," "Educational Use of Content," "Online Courses," "Shopping," "Video Player," and "Miscellaneous."In order to use the website for educational purposes, the Service cannot be used for commercial use, and any information used in the form of a video material must comply with the Terms of Service of Video Players. If a video player is used, a prominent link must be posted that links back to the website, crediting National Geographic.

Essentially, if anything is taken from the website, whether it be text, video, photos, etc., credit must be given to National Geographic. The entire Service (website) is copyrighted, therefore, there is nothing on the website that can be taken without giving credit to National Geographic. If you conduct copyright infringement activities, as stated in the "Miscellaneous" section, you are subject to jurisdiction by Federal court. If National Geographic is obligated to go to court, you agree to reimburse National Geographic for legal fees, costs, and disbursements if National Geographic is successful. The Terms posted on the Service constitute the entire agreement between National Geographic and the users of the Service (National Geographic, Miscellaneous, Para. 2).

All pictures featured in this blog post were taken from The National Geographic website. The following link can be used to view the Terms of Service for National Geographic, as well as the pictures used in this post: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/community/terms/

Blog Evaluation of "The Innovative Educator"

I recently evaluated the blog "The Innovative Educator" by Lisa Nielsen. The author of the blog describes herself as someone who found school boring and irrelevant, which caused her to want to become a public school educator who works to help change that for others. In her blog, she writes that she is able to change school from being boring and irrelevant by finding and sharing innovative ways to prepare students for relevant and real-world success. Essentially, she wants to helps students and educators recognize their voice in conversations, issues, and policies that affect them. Lisa Nielsen has received recognition for her work by being awarded the "Teacher of the Year" award, as well as the "Making IT Happen Award," from the International Society of Technology Educators.


The blog itself features both useful and interesting posts that relate to how technology can be incorporated into the classroom in order to provide a fun learning environment. There are posts beginning in 2008, which can be viewed in her "Archives" link on the right-hand side of the blog. Her most recent post, written today, is a "#Throwback Thursday" that was originally written in 2008 (http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2015/01/throwback-thursday-value-of-using-cell.html). It specifically discusses the use of cell phones for learning, and the ultimate value cell phones have in enhancing education.

Older posts feature content related to ideas such as "how to connect with your students," "how hashtags can be used," and "the hottest posts everybody's reading." Something particularly interesting about this blog is that the author allows guest posts from credible sources. The post written on Tuesday, January 27, 2015 is actually not written by Lisa Nielsen, but by a guest blogger named James Alan Sturtevant. It is written in a similar fashion to Ms. Nielsen's posts, also featuring pictures and a link to his book that will help teachers learn more about connecting with students.(http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2015/01/struggling-to-connect-with-students-let.html)

Aside from posts, the blog features a variety of other links titled "About," "My Books," "Groups," "Speaking," "News," and "Reach Me." The "My Books" page has both information about the books she has written, as well as links to purchase the books. There is also a video that Lisa Nielsen and her co-author made that shares their thoughts about using cell phones in education. (http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/p/my-book.html)

The "Group" page of the blog has a list of online groups in which members of the group discuss sharing ideas, links, and questions for feedback. The groups are free to join by simply clicking the links directly from the page. To the right of the "Group" page, blog readers can see the "Speaking" page that provides information on how to get Lisa Nielsen to speak at a conference or event. There is contact information, topics she speaks on, clients for whom she has spoken, and a demo of her speaking. At the bottom of the page, there are "Participants Tweets" from people who have heard her speak that include quotes such as "You were amazing today! I can't wait to teach," and "Lisa rocked. People were blown away." 

The "News" page of the blog actually redirects you to a new link on a website titled "Newsle." The site is essentially a different blog that features articles written by other sources that have discussed Lisa Nielsen. Each article appears to be written by credible sources such as "USA Today," and "TIME," and can be clicked on and viewed directly from the website.  (https://newsle.com/InnovativeEdu)

The last page of the blog is the "Reach Me" page on which all of Lisa Nielsen's contact information is displayed. Blog readers can reach her via Facebook, Twitter, Skype, G-Chat, Second Life, Google Plus, Google Voice, and Email (http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/p/contact-me.html). addition to the pages located at the top of her blog, Innovative Educators Blog also displays gadgets on the side of the page including a "Welcome," "Subscribe To," "Google Plus Followers," "My Book," "What's Hot," "Categories," "Archives," and a "Search" bar. Each gadget will provide you with information, allow you to see what's currently trending on topics related to technology, view categories Lisa Nielsen blogged about, or search through all the posts she has written since she began the blog in 2008.

I thoroughly enjoyed evaluating this blog, and I feel that it's a great source for teachers who are looking for ways to have fun while incorporating technology in their classrooms. Lisa Nielsen seems to be a very trustworthy source and from my gatherings, she is great at providing educators with ideas on making technology and teaching fun. A link to her blog is posted below! 

http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/

All About Amanda and Course Expectations for TPTE 486 :)

My name is Amanda Brown and I'm currently a senior in the Deaf Education Program at The University of Tennessee. I was born in San Diego, California and moved to Atlanta, Georgia when I was four, where I spend the duration of my adolescence. When I was in second grade, I had the privilege of living in Amsterdam, Holland for almost two years with my family. I was enrolled in the International School of Amsterdam and became fluent in Dutch, but sadly I lost my fluency when I returned to the states. Though I'm an only child, I grew up with two dogs who were as much a part of my family as a brother or sister. Their names are Duncan and D'Arcy, and they're West Highland White Terriers. A fun fact is that my dogs are actually finished showdogs, meaning they're American and Canadian Champions. I have a passion for fine arts, language (especially Sign Language), traveling, food, and music. I spent a lot of my childhood traveling, and actually had the pleasure of visiting Canada for three weeks this past summer of 2014. When I graduate, I intend on attending Graduate School here at UT for Deaf Education, then graduating in May of 2016 with my Masters in Deaf Education. From there, I'm not really sure what my plans are!


As far as my expectations for this course, I would ideally like to learn more about how to integrate technology into the classroom. Technology is such a blessing in the classroom, and is especially resourceful when used with students who have disabilities. I've already learned quite a bit about Google Sites and Blogging, which I know I will utilize in the future. I would love to become more familiar with creating websites and utilizing the ActivBoard, as well.

Visit my Website by clicking this link!