Month: October 2018

Copyright Case #1

Professor A. teaches a course about American cities, specifically focusing on Chicago and New York City.  As a part of the course in his face-to-face version he uses two video sets, Chicago – City of the Century (http://amzn.to/nEJmh8) and Ric Burns’ New York (http://amzn.to/qSYens). Typically he uses portions of 2 of the 3 discs in the Chicago set, and shows all 5 of the New York videos.

As Professor A begins to move his course to an online format he is faced with the problem of how to show the videos to his online students. Please consider the following questions:

1.    Can Professor A. digitize and stream the videos to his students?
2.    What could he do to minimize the risk of copyright violations and follow fair use?
3.    What are other options Professor A. might consider?

Professor A. can digitize and stream the videos as long as it is limited use only for students enrolled in his course, and not available for public viewing. He is using the videos in a non-commercial, educational setting so this use is not affecting the market or sale of these videos in any way. He is minimizing his risk of copyright violation by only showing relevant portions of the videos to his class, but he may even be able to narrow down his usage of the New York videos even more. Alternatively, Professor A. could have students research Chicago and New York on their own, through the library or scholarly online sources, rather than watching videos provided for them.

Copyright Case #2

Professor G. teaches a course in arts education. He has written many papers on the subject and as he moves his course online he would like to use some of them as readings for his course. He puts several of the articles up in his ANGEL course, but is then told by a colleague that he may be violating copyright law. Upon further inquiry, Professor G. is told that he must pay the publisher a certain amount of money per article, per semester in order to use them in his course.

1.    How do you interpret this case? Is the publisher in the right to request payment?
2.    Could Professor G. make a case for fair use? How?
3.    What are some options Professor G. has for disseminating his work to students?

In this situation, I do not believe the publisher is in the right to request payment. Professor G. wrote the articles and it is in his right to use them in this private, educational setting. By posting the article within his ANGEL course, it meets all four factors in ensuring its fair use status. The articles are being used for educational purposes, the nature of the articles relate to the objectives of the course, the amount of articles have been limited to ensure their relevancy, and posting them does not affect the market or sale of the articles. Professor G. is allowed  to disseminate his work in this private, controlled setting for the benefit of his students.

Copyright Case #3

Professor M. is an avid “screencaster,” often creating several short narrated slideshows each week that she puts online for her students. Because Professor M. knows the power of imagery, she often uses visuals to help illustrate her points. Her students often give her positive feedback about these materials. Professor M. uses Google’s image search to find relevant images for her presentations, then puts them into her slideshows. One day, a publishing company approaches Professor M. about using her slideshows in an upcoming textbook. Please consider the following about Professor M’s case.

1.    Is Professor M. violating copyright/fair use by using images from Google’s image search?
2.    If you determine she is in violation, what might she do to come into compliance?
3.    What about the offer from the publishing company? Can Professor M. sell them her slideshows?

Professor M. is violating copyright/ fair use by using images from Google images if she is not citing the sources in which she found them.  As long as she includes the url from which she pulled the images, she would be able to use the photos for private use with her students within the limited academic setting. Professor M. would only be able to sell the publishing company her slideshows if she was given rights to the photos that she utilized. I believe she would be violating the copyright of the images, even if the sources were cited, if she made money off the sale and distribution of the images without proper rights.

Copyright Case #4

Professor D. is a tech savvy instructor who teaches film studies and multimedia creation in an online format. As a part of her course, she has an assignment where she models several video “remixes” – videos created from one or a variety of sources that often take inspiration from or follow known storylines (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T5_0AGdFic) – that she has created and then asks her students to create their own remixes and share them with others via YouTube.

Professor D. also takes short clips from Hollywood movies and presents them to the class as a part of her lectures to illustrate various topics associated with film creation and criticism. She owns the DVD’s of each movie and uses a “ripper” to pull portions of the clips, then places them into her University’s learning management system so only her students have access.

1.    Is Professor D violating copyright/fair use in her remixing activity? Why or why not?
2.    Are her students violating copyright/fair use in their remixing assignment?
3.    Is Professor D violating copyright/fair use in her use of the short Hollywood clips? Why or why not?

Professor D. is not violating copyright/fair use in using the video clips for both the remixing and lecturing activities because the purpose of the clips is transformative from their original purpose. She is not showing the clips for the student’s entertainment, but rather for limited educational purposes for the benefit of her students. She is also being selective in the amount of content she is using with the students, rather than showing the entire films, students are only experiencing clips that relate to the educational objectives of the course. This may intrigue the students to watch the entire film in the future, perhaps even having a positive impact on the market and sale of these films. It seems that Professor D. is meeting all four factors in ensuring the material’s fair use status, and not violating the copyright in anyway.

Color & Design

COURSE OBJECTIVES

This course is an introduction to the fundamental concepts of two-dimensional design.  Students will deal with these concepts in a series of problem solving creative projects, supplemented by discussions, critiques, slides, and written assignments.  Specific goals will include:

• to explore the six basic design elements–color, line, shape, value, texture, volume–in relation to seven major design principles–balance, contrast, repetition, movement, emphasis, proportion, and economy
• consider form, craft, concept, and content where it applies.
• become acquainted with a range of methods and materials including drawing, painting, and collage
• work in representational and non-representational modes, and points in between.
• work from a variety of sources of creativity/ideation; find new ways to think about and start making art
• further develop hand-eye coordination, facility
• think in terms of spatial organization
• build on ideas from sketch stage through a developing process, to finished piece
• learn from relevant historical and contemporary references
• learn related ideas and professional vocabulary

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

There will be four major projects segmented into multiple parts.  Each project group relates to a chapter of the text Design Basics, and includes longer major assignments and shorter activities.  Work outside of class will be necessary—expect to spend at least 10 hours working on course work each week, including completing projects and reading text.  Participation will be expected in discussions and critiques, and a comprehensive final exam covering vocabulary and key ideas learned will be given at the end of the semester.  

Additional information

This is a class that I have experience teaching in a traditional studio setting, so I would like to see how it could be modified and adapted to fit a hybrid structure. I’m still a little unsure about the overall structure of the class and how to allocate the face-to-face time to make the most out of it, and I think that discussion (individual and group) would be the hardest aspect to try to replicate online so I plan on using our time together that way. Depending on how much time I will see the students each week, I could utilize that time to critique their work, answer questions, and discuss/clarify areas where the students would like more information. I think that it will be easy to upload course information, such as lectures and vocabulary onto an online platform, but I am concerned about students completing the studio component independently. I will need to create a system of formally and informally assessing my students to make sure they understand the objectives of the course and are able to apply these concepts within their artwork. I could possibly have students take photos of their work at different stages of completion so that I can make sure they are working in the right direction before they submit a completed piece for grading.

Translating the components of this class to a hybrid structure will require a lot of modification and consideration to make sure that students get a similar experience that they do in a traditional setting. This structure could offer many benefits for students, such as flexibility with scheduling. Because studio classes typically meet for 6 hours in class each week, students will be able to make up those hours on their own time and create a schedule to complete their work that works best for them.

Research Article Review

https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ864281

“An Investigation of Students Attitude and Motivation toward Online Learning”

In this study, Evelyn Knowles and Dennis Kerkman take a look at motivation and attitude amongst students enrolled in ‘Introduction to the Visual Arts” online at Park University. Research was conducted through surveys administered to students at the beginning and end of the semester regarding their experience. Both surveys asked students questions about their attitude regarding their experience with online learning. Questions regarding interest, self-management, and locus of control were asked only at the beginning of the course, while the end of class survey included questions on study process approach. General findings include that students had a more positive attitude about online learning at the end of the course than the beginning, and that students possesed a strong internal locus of control.

The researchers took a look at internal vs. external locus of control in order to identify the source of motivation for students. Motivation was studied in five different ways: Interest, Self-management, Locus of Control, Study Process and Attitude. Questions were asked in each of these categories to essentially determine a numerical score to measure their findings and collect data amongst the students. The study found that although most students had a high internal locus of control, it was the students that were more externally motivated that scored the highest on exams. The grading for this course consisted of 3 exams as well as a final exam in which students were asked questions regarding recall of terms and concepts introduced throughout the course. Students also showed a high level of interest in the course content, which would also play a factor in their overall success in the course.

Overall, I feel that this study provides interesting results regarding the learning experience amongst this specific group of students; however there are limitations in this study because information is only collected from one class of students rather than across different groups of students in various online courses. I feel there is not enough variety to make conclusive statements about student motivation regarding online courses in general. Beyond this survey, I agree with beginning the semester with a survey to gather information about student interests and motivation. Whether it is an online, blended or traditional class I think it’s always important to know the students in your class and to be aware of their interests, expectations, and motivation for taking the course. This information will help make the course more productive and worthwhile for all students, and even help them reflect on these questions and understand how they are approaching the class. Ultimately it is up to students and instructors to work together to find ways to make the class successful.