Blog 3: Copyright and Fair Usage Rights

The following post is about the rules and regulations regarding copyright and fair use, as well as how much material from different forms of multimedia are allowed to be used without having to get permission to do so. Now let's get started!

According to the University of Maryland University College library website, copyright can be defined as, "a legal device that provides the creator of a work of art or literature, or a work that conveys information or ideas, the right to control how the work is used." Copyright is something used by the owners of any form of media to ensure that they, the owner(s) of the media, will be allowed to and able to do whatever they want with said media, without others being able to take credit for their work. The most common forms of media to be copyrighted are movies, songs, and pictures. Copyright protects the owner from other individuals making copies of the product, as well as protects them from others selling the product without the owner making money. 

Fair use is defined as the use of part of a published product, in which the user sites where he or she obtained the information or content. Some common fair use examples are a chapter from a book, a chart from a presentation, or a clip from a newspaper. In regards to fair use policy, there are certain guidelines that must be followed so that the use can still be considered fair use. For example, one cannot make enough copies so that students do not purchase a book or copying a single work more than nine separate times in a semester. 

In order to comply with the many regulations set forth to protect copyright owners, there is a set amount of content that is allowed to be used by someone other than the copyright holder. In regards to motion media, which includes movies and T.V. shows, only ten percent or three minutes of the film may be shown, depending on which is less of the two. For text writing, ten percent of the overall work, or one thousand words (again, whichever is lower) may be used. Up to ten percent of a musical selection may also be used, but no more than thirty seconds is allowed. More than five pictures from one artist or photographer cannot be used, nor can more than ten percent or fifteen pictures of a single collection be used. Other rules and regulations can be found on the webpage listed above.

Post 2: Award-Winning Teacher Blog Review

Opening Photo

In this post, I will be reviewing Ms.Butler’s blog titled Elementary Music Methods: Real Life Edition. In her blog, she discusses her experiences as a first year elementary music educator. Upon opening the blog, a unique intro picture (pictured right) captures you as the viewer immediately. The blog background is sky blue, with what looks like clouds throughout the background. The text on the page is a darker color, making it stick out and easy to read on the page. However, the linked tabs are all blue, making it a little more challenging to read. However, the different shades of blue, as well as the color change upon moving the cursor over the link makes it easier to distinguish between the two shades.

On the right hand side, right below the picture at the top, is a link to her Pinterest page, under a tab titled, "Follow Me". This account contains many ideas for classroom games, classroom management ideas, and other creative concepts for projects to do with or for the classroom. 

Directly beneath that link is a description of what the blog is about, which is very simple and clearly stated. The title of this tab is "About Me and My Blog" The blog, per the description, is about Ms. Butler’s experiences as a first year teacher in the elementary classroom, as well as a place for her to share ideas about teaching lessons and obtaining resources. 

Beneath that, there is a section of tabs titled, "Catch Up!". This section contains the different posts, which are organized by month. Each month has a drop down menu into the titles of the different blogs, which makes the page less cluttered and well organized.

Below the months, there is an option to "Follow by Email," in which the viewer can input his/her email, and then get updates about the blog. There is also a total page viewer count below the email sign up section, which is up over 460,000! 

Note card used in class

Beneath the page view counter, there are some RSS feeds for the posts and for all comments on the page, so viewers can get live updates about comments and other posts on the blog. Directly below that, there is a search bar, so the viewer can search anywhere in the entire blog for the information they want to find.

The second post on the blog is from March 17, 2014, which is clearly stated at the beginning of the post. The post is about how Ms. Butler taught a lesson on African drumming to her classroom. There is a picture of the note cards used in the lesson in this post that, which is located above.

Instruments Used

During the lesson, they used different instruments, and the layout of the instruments used are located to the right. This lesson is an excellent use of many resources in the classroom, as well as an excellent way to expand the musical backgrounds of the students in the classroom. 

This blog is very well organized, and has a great, simple layout, making it easy to maneuver around the site. It has received an A+ specialty teaching blog rating, and I can see why. This blog has significant information that can be very beneficial to a young elementary music educator, as well as someone looking to build a successful, well designed blog.

About Me and My Expectations

Greetings! My name is Landon Brady, and I currently a fifth-year senior studying music education here at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. My primary instrument is the trombone, but I am also fluent on the baritone and euphonium. I am originally from Arlington, TN, which is a small town about 45 minutes west of downtown Memphis, TN. Other interests of mine are eating unique foods, traveling to new places, and watching/playing sports, mainly basketball and football. Go Vols! (and Patriots)

This class is one that I really expect to learn many new things about how to use computers in ways that I never knew they could be used. I am looking forward to becoming more comfortable in my abilities to use a computer and the numerous tools it contains, which can be highly influential in my abilities to perform as a teacher. I never really thought of the music classroom as one that uses a lot of technology, but I realize that technology's use in the music classroom could reap huge benefits for both the students and myself! I also look forward to learning about new websites that can help influence my musical studies, so that my future students and I can fall in love with music even more than before!

Visit my website