Week 14

I feel very strongly about the articles and videos we saw this week. When I was in high school a girl in my grade sent naked pictures to her boyfriend. After they broke up the boyfriend emailed the photos to half of the school. I did not know her well but I am sure she suffered some torment. Texting and emailing videos and pictures of any kind started with my generation of kids. We were some of the first to be instant messaging, visiting chat rooms, and texting. People don't like what they can not understand. Teenagers will do anything for attention, especially the attention of the opposite sex. Many teens have low self esteem causing them to act outrageously. I feel bad for the girls who send pictures or videos of an x-rated nature. Young girls and young boys are under a lot of pressure. I feel the punishment placed on Hope Witsell was unfair. The fact that she received punishment from her peers, from her family, and from her school was unnecessary. The fact that the school decided to punish her months after the event occurred. This story isn't about sexting its about teenagers learning to respect their self and one another. The students should be taught about relationships. The girls should learn to be confident enough to say no to a boy making those requests. The boys should be respectful enough to not even ask that kind of thing. Parents and teachers should be able to talk about what makes some people uncomfortable to talk about.

Week 13

Ethical and Legal Use of Technology

I didnt realize watching a movie in your class was copyright infringement. I show videos to my preschool class all the time on rainy days and holidays like the day after Christmas. I understand that downloading music and movies from the internet is illegal. Even though a lot of people do it. But I did not know that showing a VHS that you purchased with your own money was copyright infringement.  I would be curious to find out how often schools get fined for issues with copyrights. Does that mean sharing a video with a friend is copyright misuse. As an art teacher I would have good reason to take photos from the internet of famous artwork. How would the students receive an art history education if I can not legally use pictures from the internet or photocopies from an art book? What about the music I like to play while my students are working? Does that mean a student can not bring in a CD or ipod to share with the class? On one hand, I feel that using media for educational purposes should be excused. However, I would teach my students about copyright laws in art. I feel that limiting students access to video, music, and images effects their creativity and their ability to get inspired during the art making process. Being able to use artwork that I access online to educate my students is limiting my abilities as an educator.