Microsoft Word, Copyright, and Implementation Issues in Teaching

Microsoft Word, Copyright, and Implementation Issues in Teaching

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word is very useful as a modern college student. I personally use it to take notes and write essays. I use the formatting tool to keep my notes organized in the Oxford outline style and use the finder tool to find anything that I my need to study. I've seen my teachers use it to organize their syllabi. They will often use it to create study guides as well, such that students can fill in information underneath the subject areas. Most of my teachers will use it in these ways only although, I have seen some create crosswords, quizzes, and even a consecutive list of students and their information.

Copyright

I recently went to the ASTA (American String Teacher Association) conference in Pittsburgh and there was actually a session on copyright and the use of "instructional materials." In music, many teachers will copy parts and share it amongst their colleagues at other schools. The issue here is that the parts are only considered "instructional" if there is no performance of the music or any exchange of money for the work. Teachers will also try to arrange pop music and perform it at their concerts. Again, this is not allowed. It is only allowed to use to teach and the students are not allowed to perform it anywhere. Now, if the school has original, purchased copies of music but decides to copy the music to avoid any parts being ruined, then it is completely fine to do so but the parts must be disposed of properly after the concert. It also depends on what type of copyright the composer has chosen. Technically, if they write "Copyright, Their Name, Year" this will cover most of the basics of copyright. It will ensure that no one is allowed to copy or perform the music without your permission. Some composers will choose to purchase a copyright license though that will cover more smaller things that many people do not often think about such as arrangements of the piece or the like. I would avoid a lot of these issues by ensuring that the students include a basic copyright at the bottom of all original works and avoiding the void that draws teachers to copy music. 

Implementation Issues 

A lot of the issues considered in Chapter 9 are usually covered by a schools Student Code of Conduct. Usually a school will have rules about copyright, piracy, and even cyberbullying rule in the Code. If not, it is our job as teachers to create these rules in our syllabi when we are implementing the technology. There are also programs that teachers can use to check for many of the issues such as TurnItIn.com. These websites are databases that students submit their assignements through that check through all previously submitted items and all available texts online. For Cyberbully, we can create a Zero-Tolerance policy that will not allow any students to get away with any malicious content posted on social media or elsewhere about another student. For the Digital Divide, most teachers I have had will petition the Board of Education for a grant to receive technology to allow the students equal opportunities. Now with the Copyright and Piracy as well as Plagarism, which is not considered in Chapter 9, I would ensure that all students submit their work through a program such as TurnItIn and if the work comes back with any Copyright issues, I would talk to the student about it to get some answers and inform them about citations. If it is unintentional, then I will take that into consideration when grading the student.