ldich’s blog

After discussing copyright issues and potential public and private consequences of “publishing” on the web, one of my students went ahead and posted part of his Unit 3 essay onto YouTube. I have to say that without any technological help from me, this student was able to accomplish something I find technologically sophisticated. It’s actually challenging me to think beyond what I initially proposed in my own project draft for … I’m still thinking about what I want students to accomplish for next semester and hopefully I’ll have a revised draft up soon.
Here are the links to the YouTube sites, if you are interested. Personally, I find it entertaining, but also very thoughtful in how the student was able to bring together the topic of global warming to a real and wide audience:
Part 1/4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI-D9j86seQ

Part 2/4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpFG8VHnzvc

Part 3/4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VatlFnffys

Part 4/4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr3vzkAsUIg

Perhaps I’m overly paranoid about copyrights and such, but if you do watch these videos, are there any infringement rights I need to worry about?  I believe that the videos, done under educational purposes and for satirical reasons, are covered. 

So, after our meeting on Monday, I was home watching BBC and eating dinner with Emma.  In a mid bite of pork katsu, I heard a most disturbing spew coming from the tube. There was an interview with this author named Andrew Keen, and he was discussing his new book, The Cult of the Amateur: How Today’s Internet is Killing Our Culture. In short, he advocates that such things like Blogs and Youtube is suffocating the media, and that since traditional media, i.e. Print news and televised news, is the cornerstone of our democracy, we are thus killing our democracy with too much needless, uninformed, unintelligent internet usage.  I have this knee-jerk reaction to kick him, but I think if I have time I will try to pick up a copy of his book (hopefully in the library– dont’ want to pay for that) and see what he’s got to say.  Hope everyone is doing well, and have a good weekend if I don’t see you in Bart!

Linh.

Ps. Thanks for a great conversation on Monday– it is motivating me to get to that thing called “work” again.