My Copyright Action Plan

I did not realize that most graphics I find online are copyrighted and that I should not use them.  I plan to do something in between the guidelines of the law.  If I need to use a graphic in any of my teaching, like a photograph of a composer, I will never claim anything as my own pictures or drawings and even try to find the art in a purchased book from my own collection or from the library to show to the class.

I was not aware of the specifics of copying music for the classroom.  For my future music classes, I will fully abide by the copyright law.  It would be just like stealing if I made illegal copies of music.  I learned that in cases of emergency for performances purposes and I did not have enough copies of music, I could make complete copies of original pieces as long as I included the copyright date shown at the bottom of the page and as long as i had copies of music on back order to replace the copies once the real music was delivered.

I also learned about international copyright.  Many countries are under the Berne Convention and Universal Copyright convention treaties.  As long as the copyright sign, author’s name and publishing year are including, that work would be legally published and copyright protected in any country that is under the treaty from UCC and the Berne Convention.  I don’t see any reason why I should not fully follow this guideline.  Many times, there are pieces of music that are published in other countries that we may sing in choir.  I would never dream of taking bits of music just because they were purchased in a foreign country.

http://www.whatiscopyright.org/#information

http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ21.pdf pages 7-8

Understanding Copyright from a Teacher's Perspective #3

Copyright is a very important component to remember as an educator in the musical world.  Almost all of the music my future choirs will perform is going to be copyrighted.  I cannot just make copies of music for my students if there are not enough for the entire class as this would be technically stealing music and hard work from the composer and music publisher.  There are special guidelines I have to go by.  I will have to purchase all music in a bulk and be charged individually for each copy I need to purchase.  If I need additional copies, I would have to purchase more from the music publisher or the company that sells the sheet music.  In tight pinches, I could legally make copies of music for students if I had music on order that had not arrived yet but would have to shred them as soon as they were mailed in and I received them.

All of the copyright information is available at the bottom of most sheet music title pages or in the front of a musical book.  If I needed to make a copy from a personal book that I wanted to use for class, I could but would have to credit the source or book I made the copy from and not alter it in anyway except for if I wanted to make additional or personal notes on the side.  Copyright is something that should always be remembered and considered in a classroom to be sure that everyone is doing their own work.  I sure would not want someone to steal my music that I wrote as it would probably have a very personal and special meaning to me.

Multimedia in My Classroom #2

I think blogging can be a very useful tool to enhance learning in the classroom. I think that I would mainly use blogging as a way to communicate with the parents.  I would blog about what we are doing in the classroom, what songs or pieces we are practicing, what students could be practicing at home and how, and remind them of upcoming performances or contests.  I also think it would be a great thing to record a class rehearsal or even a performance and then be able to post it either on my classroom blog or another place online that students could access in order to observe and even critique themselves as a third party.

I believe that an important way that students can learn is watching themselves perform something in music or even their other core classes.  Seeing where they might have gone wrong or what they did right on an assignment can help them correct their actions for the next time.   If I could post a video or recording online, my students can watch and listen from their own bedrooms and not just inside the classroom.

10 ways to use a blog to teach

Techy things for Teachers to try

Media in My Classroom Blog #1

Dear Parents, 

I would really be interested in having some sort of musical database available to my students like the ProjectGutenberg described in this article.  I know that there is a database called NAXOS that provides sound recordings and sheet music that I would love for my students to have access to in order to enhance their outside of class practice time and general interest in other genres of music as well.  I think it is important to have the same musical resources available at both school and at home, this way the students can do some self-taught learning and not just leave all their knowledge at school.

I think I could also use something like HippoCampus and post musical theory worksheets or online activities in which students could do eartraining or sightsinging practice.  I even have the idea that I could assign theory homework sheets and post them on a similar site for students to print out and complete at home.

If I use this many online resources I will have to be sure that my students can all have access to the internet even if it means from a school computer.  I would probably utilize the sound recordings for rehearsal techniques during the rehearsal hour that way the students are listening to the same things in class and outside of their music class

3 Free Resources to Enhance Teaching and Learning Article