My contributions to the WebQuest wikis

My contributions to the wiki were as follows:
1. The helpfulness of the introduction on the "Voices of the Holocaust" page.
2. The helpfulness of the task section of "The Write Stuff" page.
3. The helpfulness of the evaluation section of the "Voices of the Holocaust" page.

All found on this page:
http://webquestroles.wikispaces.com/WebQuestComponents

How to help someone use a computer.

I chose the phrase, "If it's not obvious to them, it's not obvious" because it is a statement that I absolutely identify with. When my laptop began to malfunction last year, I sought help from the company only to be talked down to as they questioned me in what was wrong with my computer. While I have grown up with technology, this is my first laptop and I had no base knowledge through which I could fix it. When I called to ask for help, they acted as though the information was obvious, yet I had no concept of how to fix my laptop. Although I was actually right, it was still frustrating to face computer specialists who speak down to me because I do not understand. The statement which I will need to work towards is "Don't take the keyboard. Let them do all the typing, even if it's slower that way, and even if you have to point them to every key they need to type. That's the only way they're going to learn from the interaction". While I have no excuse for being bad at this as I am an education major, I have a very hard time sitting back and watching students struggle, thus I have a tendency to take over rather than just instructing them through the process. This is definitely something for me to work on.
The first phrase ("If it's not obvious to them, it's not obvious") is very applicable to our project. Since we now understand the concept well, we can not forget that the people we are explaining it to do not understand.


http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/pagre/how-to-help.html

Copyright and Fair Use LR

13. In the case of the Holocaust interview, I was very surprised that it would work in such a way. It was very interesting to me as I was unaware how a scenario such as this would work. While I questioned how another school could use this material without asking permission, it makes sense as we all work to incorporate interesting information into our own products, thus why wouldn't another school? The interviewee has already given permission to use the information on the web, thus the second school has no new hoops to jump through, and can simply cite the first school as its source. This is very interesting to me. Rather than all this valuable information merely remaining on-line, it is being revamped on a new website, and even more people will now be able to use this information. Therefore, the main idea of using technology is coming through in multiple classrooms.

Copyright and Fair Use SR

1. The first question's result surprised me as I assumed this would go against copy right. However, while it states that the copying should be done only in emergencies, there are quite a few allowances, such as lost, stolen, or damaged copies, along with copies which are no longer available or overpriced. Therefore, I am still slightly confused by this rule.

6. This seems realistic to me. However, the only thing I question is why the teacher did not hold on to his sources, and the students were not asked to cite their sources within the project. Maybe this was just implied in the project descriptor?

7. This is very logical as the parents and students have already allowed the work to be posted on the website. This is evidence of learning, and it is fair that the teachers would want parents as well as other faculty members to see the students' progress. In addition, it is a matter of pride for the students who worked hard on the project!

8. Students must be very careful when partaking in activities such as the one in question 8. While it seems that this would not be a problem, the student must ensure that the site used has given credit and is allowed to use the video. The student should definitely cross check his resources.

9. I was confused by this answer. Unless it is implied but not stated, wouldn't the teacher need to pay for the MP3? I understand that the MP3s themselves are payed for, yet doesn't the teacher get in trouble for not purchasing audio clips?

10. Yet again, I am confused. The teacher may use these resources within the classroom, yet she can not post it on the web? I understand that there are rules in sharing information, yet wouldn't it be assumed that as long as credits were given, this would be acceptable?

11. While this surprised me, I am glad to know that actual video footage can be used for multimedia projects. My only question is whether there are actual rules regarding videos being used for multimedia? There wasn't too large of an explanation.

12. Teachers have infinite availability to video files if used for educational purposes. Since the student was not allowed to take the shower scene from the actual movie, the teacher was permitted to do so herself.