Copyright Laws

First off, I loved the video we watched about copyrights with all the Disney characters! It was a little hard to follow at first but I think it really drove the point home. I learned that their are certain ways that are acceptable to borrow parts of copyrighted material: to teach, news reporting, parody (this was interesting to me, but it makes perfect sense!), and in making critical comments. I want to learn more about copyright laws because even though you can use bits of copyrighted material in certain settings, you still must be careful in how you use it. For example, part of fair use is that you use the copyright in a way that does not change its original meaning (at least I think that is true, the video says you cannot change the commercial impact) but if that is true, wouldn't parody change the meaning because it is making fun of the original work? I'll have to do some more research I guess.

Video Project Storyboard

(The end of the storyboard is cut off a bit, but it is just the credits page. Also there was an image on the back of the page I was drawing on so thats why there is a big rectangle going through my storyboard.)
The idea for my video is to help my dance students explore the cultural and historical context of dance from another country. This video is an example for my students so they can create their own videos about cultural dances. They will be required to research a traditional folk dance from another country (for my teacher example I chose Bhangra from India) and create a video to share with the class with a performance of the folk dance and images from the chosen country (including traditional dress, festivals, and historic locations in the country). This project will help the students be exposed to a lot of cultural dances in a short amount of time and have fun doing it!

Project #1

My first website!
Staying On Your Toes

Personal Learning Networks

I'm excited to use my own Personal Learning Network and learn from people and educators all over the world! It's amazing how connected the world is becoming through technology and specifically through the internet. I decided to use google reader for my own personal learning network. I feel the most comfortable with google and because I have used google programs for so many other things I thought that would be the easiest way to start my own PLN. There are so many websites and blogs that I will need to sift through over time to figure out exactly who I want to network with, but one helpful site I found was the Educators Personal Learning Network and I decided to join that and hope it will help me in the future as I become an educator.

Helpful RSS Feeds

The following is the RSS feed for Americans for the Arts: http://rss.artsusa.org/afta/news/ This website shares news about national policies, ways to get involved with the arts, how to be an advocate of the arts and upcoming events.

I also added a RSS feed for a website called National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE): http://www.ncte.org/rss because I am getting an English teaching minor. This website is helpful because it shares ideas and advice for elementary, middle school, high school, and university teachers.

The last website I subscribed to was the U.S. Department of Education: http://www2.ed.gov/rss/edgov.xml I believe it is important as an educator to know where our country and administration stands on educational policies. This website shares the latest information on education policies and initiatives.

Why Blog?

My name is Rachelle Pierce and I am a senior at BYU majoring in Dance Education. I grew up in Northern California (Tracy, CA for those of you who may know the area around Sacramento) but currently my family lives in Castle Rock, CO (just 30 miles south of Denver). I love the outdoors, music, art museums, movies, reading, creating, and dancing! I believe the arts are vital to every child's education and I think blogs can help the arts become more accessible in the classrooms. Students can find images of famous works of art online or images of well-known artists (painters, sculptures, musicians, playwrights, and choreographers) and then post comments about what they have learned about those artists. Blogs are also a great way to stay connected to the parents of your students. You can post weekly newsletters to keep the parents informed and involved. As a dance educator I can also post important upcoming events such as performances, workshops with master teachers, and various dance and art opportunities.