We live in a time when information is almost constantly being pushed at us. We not only have the news,radio, magazine,and internet web as resources. Now people have cell phones which can access all this and more right in their pockets. With all that information coming across at us it can get confusing as to what belongs to who and making sure what we read is valid is another whole complication. I recall the days of simply knowing how to cite a book or magazine in a paper was important but now we can have Text, blogs, videos, etc... it is hard to keep up on all of it. We also live in a time were we can post a video to YouTube, Tweeting about an event, upload a picture to Facebook, download music to listen to on an Ipod... the list goes on and on.
This whole copyright discussion got me thinking.. How many times have I gone to a concert, museum, or even a store and taken a picture and then uploaded it and put it online? A lot.. Now being it is my picture is it mine or being I uploaded it to Facebook is it now theirs? Or Being I took a picture of something that was of someone else does it belong to them.... I am not saying that I go out and try to find ways to break copyright law.I am just thinking about all the craziness that this new world of technology has created. You can find anything out you want online and then you can share that information in some many ways. I am not against copyright law as I understand why it is out there but I also wonder how in the world could we possible police all this. I feel we have created a monster.
So now I think for a minute of my students sitting in my room.. Who on many occasions I have found them copying someone else work. They "worked together". So if they "worked together" why then is one copying from the other. Then we go off to the computer lab to do a projects.. You know how many posters I seen where kids just cut some info from here and there and put it on the poster. They have no idea what is going on or why they are even doing it. Are we just get lazy as a society. What happen to thinking for ourselves. I know that this blog is my own thoughts. I did not even read any other blogs until I wrote mine so that I might have my own ideas come out and not just repeat what my neighbor says. I think in some ways there are two issues here.. One the real law and the fact that people are not following it always and secondly a lack of wiliness on the youth of today to look deeper for information for a project.
I am going to continue to share my feelings with this topic in my classes and show them ways which they can use the technology to help better themselves and not just copy their neighbor. I sometimes call myself the Copy police and I stamp students papers and well as the students who let the other student copy with it.. They both get Zeros. To bad. You need to learn. Now do I always catch it.. nope but I am working hard to stop this trend.
Till next time ... what's on your mind...
