A Youtube lament

I am again lamenting the fact that Youtube is blocked in my school. OK so I am whining. I know there are ways around it but if we want teachers to use technology in their classrooms why are we making it harder for them to do so? I found this wonderful video that I want to use with my 2nd grade students who are having a hard time figuring out what a pulley does. I found this video on another website but the link goes to Youtube so if I tried to open it I would get a nice blank spot on the monitor. I know it will get their attention because it is from NASA but now I am going to have to spend an hour of my Sunday downloading it another way to use it in the library tomorrow. Before Youtube was blocked I could have embedded it here or on my library wiki and used it in the lesson, easy as pie. But now I have to jump through hoops to be able to use it. I have been told that I may use such Youtube videos in my lessons and that I can get the content any way I know how, did anyone offer to show me how? No, so it is a good thing I am a PowerLibrarian. But then I start thinking, Youtube is providing content that is made to stream over their network, am I violating copyright by downloading or ripping their content? I know it is fair use because I am going to show it in the classroom but there is a deeper issue here. Blocking Youtube is a form of censorship that feel violates my First Amendment Rights to Free Speech. And don't tell me to use TeacherTube. Been there and this video is not there! There should be understanding technology people in school districts that unblock content on teacher computers, or on a case by case basis, but I feel like I am chasing the wind. Anyway, if you are in a place where you can view this video, enjoy. If you are not, join me in my lament as I spend my Sunday morning downloading this 3 plus minute video.

Twitter and PA House Bill 363

I read a blogpost on edublogs the other day from Jen e-Blogger got me thinking. Are any students that you know using Twitter? I have been in a conversation on Twitter about this very subject with lthumann an educator from New Jersey. I use Twitter as part of my Personal Learning Network (PLN) (this post comes from another one of the people I follow on Twitter), and though I have not experienced anything like Jen with a 13 year-old, I am wondering now if students use Twitter? My initial gut feeling is that in Pennsylvania and New Jersey more affluent students are using cell phone texts and instant messaging since Twitter is often blocked in schools. In fact, lthumann (or Lisa Thumann) posted a very interesting article on her blog: Thumann Resources.

In fact in Pennsylvania, the picture on Lisa’s blog may become a reality if Pennsylvania House Bill 363 passes.
Here is the heart of the legislation and what will take the heart out of students and librarians: “The possession by students of telephone paging devices, commonly referred to as beepers, cellular telephones and portable electronic devices that record or play audio or video material shall be prohibited on school grounds, at school sponsored activities and on buses or other vehicles provided by the school district.”

As an elementary librarian I loan out such audio playing devices to students preloaded with audio books. This new legislation would make me a criminal. What is the Pennsylvania Legislature thinking? Why are we going backwards instead of teaching students how to use the devices safely and appropriately? Students live in the 21st Century where such devices are common place, but if this bill passes, the minute they walk onto the school bus and into the school building they will be transported back to the 19th Century.

Be Careful What You Put on the Internet...

There are some videos out on you-tube that I wish everyone could see before they post something on the Internet. Remember, whatever you post on the Internet is out there in cyberspace forever even if you take it down or delete the website, it is still there somewhere, wither archived by Google or downloaded by someone. It is never really gone. So, think before you post. Check out this You Tube video called "Think Before You Post." I think every student in America should see this...



Here is another...



The Internet gives us a sense of familiarity with others that we really don’t have. Think before you post. A warning and a message to the wise.

Sports Illustrated Halts Swimsuit Issue in Libraries

I am a librarian. I select books and magazines to put into a school library. Selection is a lot different than censorship. Selection denotes knowledge of one’s audience, what they like, what they want to read. Selection is not censorship. I am against censorship. In fact, it is the librarian’s code of ethics to hate censorship of any kind. Is it any wonder that librarians are upset with the publishers of Sports Illustrated? What made The Time Inc. Magazine Company think librarians would not be upset when they took the liberty to censor what librarians put on the shelf? Sports Illustrated magazine’s swimsuit issue was not sent to any library in the country: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6422838.html. I have to admit that my K-5 library no longer subscribes to Sports Illustrated and it has nothing to do with the swimsuit issue. It has to do with the 5 to 10 year old audience the library serves. We now subscribe to Sports Illustrated for Kids, which caters to this age group. Censorship is wrong, in a school library it is all about audience appropriate selection.