Week 10 Synthesizing, Remixing, & Creating: Images & Slideshows

In week 10, I explored 3 slideshow tools and they are Animoto, Fotobabble and Photopeach. I like Animoto the most as the website was easy to understand and start up process was fast. There are a few background designs, lots of copy written background music and photos for you to choose from and all I have to do is to upload images.

Compare to Power Point, creating a slide show with Animoto is easier and faster and the most important, the show is more visually satisfying. However, with the limit of 30 seconds for free videos, I found Animoto is suitable for presenting a concept ,as an introduction or to provide a summary in a learning environment. In addition, the limited text capabilities only allow user to give a short description on the side of your images.

Like many other digital tools that I learned in this course, the projects that created with Animoto are easy to be shared online. However, I can also see some potential risk of using Animoto. As I build my reputation of how to be a good digital citizen, I am always on the alert for ‘doing the right thing ‘with the technologies and using images legally on a slideshow tool can be a challenge.

In the past I always know to download music from a shared forum is not legally but to ‘cut and paste’ a picture?? I’m sharing with friends, not for business use, why is it a big deal?  It’s there anyway! 

                                                      International Copyright Act of 1891

The unforeseen and unintended uses of online images seem like some common mistakes that are happening in the digital world and it is difficult to stop such activities completely. But the legal aspect of being a good digital citizen should be our major concern. “The issues of intellectual property rights and copyright protection are very real, and have real consequences for violations” (Ribble,2011, p.31). “Copyright  is the system of leagal rights that protects original creative works, including text, images, videos and artworks, from unauthorised copying, distribution, alteration and other uses” (Sites2See, 2012).

As a student and a technology user, this is my responsibility to obey and follow the rules. To respect the legal rights, I learned how to use an online work properly in week 10.  Website such asMediaSmart.com, The2Learn.ca and blog posted by Creative Common have given me a lot of useful information of how to cited online images, create and protect my own work and to remix online contents.  

This is truly an informative week and I believe my PLE has evolved to the next level. Slideshow tools become an important part of my learning elements when building assignments and doing project with others. Learning what is Digital Law is urgent, especially for our next generation. "The best time to begin establishing a culture of proper use is the first day you introduce your students to technology" (Starr, L. 2003). In Canada, copyright is governed by the Copyright Act(R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42). For instance, fair use of online source protects original and fixed products and also encourages us to learn and to create meaningful work.

sources

http://animoto.com/

http://www.fotobabble.com/

http://photopeach.com/

Starr, L. (2003). Tools for Teaching CyberEthics. Education World. Available at:http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech055.shtml

Sites2See. (2012). Copyright for Students (resource page). Available at http://lrrpublic.cli.det.nsw.edu.au/lrrSecure/Sites/LRRView/8587/

MediaSmarts.com (n.d.). Fair dealing for media education. Available from http://mediasmarts.ca/intellectual-property/fair-dealing-media-education

The 2Learn.ca Educational Society. (2011-2012 ). Your Digital Presence. Available at http://www.2learn.ca/ydp/copyrightabout.aspx
Government of Canada, Justice Laws Website. Copyright Act (R.S.C., 1985,c.C-42). Available at: http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-42/index.html