Teaching Students to Avoid the Pitfalls of Copyright Infringement

Today's students are creating more and more digital products such as videos, podcasts, slide presentations and e-books for their classroom assignments.  Once established, these products are often shared with others either through file-sharing platforms or social media and file sharing platforms.  To make these products, students often rely on digital content such as images, photos, and music found online with no thought as to whether or not this legal.  In this rapidly growing digital age, it's essential to teach students how to navigate the sea of copyrighted material found online.

Here is a great video that explains copyright and fair use.

Here are some tips for helping students to avoid the pitfalls of copyright infringement.  

Use your own stuff

Try making your own illustrations, drawings, and music.

• Hand draw or paint pictures then snap a photo or scan them
• Use programs such as MS Paint, Google Drawings, Adobe Spark, Canva, Autodraw, and Adobe Photoshop
• Use your own snapshots

Use Public Domain Digital Content

These digital files are free to use for school projects.  Please double check restrictions before using.

• Creative Commons Images
• StockSnap
• Good Free Photos
• Pexels Videos
• Flickr Commons
• Pixabay

Use BLA Library Resources

Visit our database page, and you will find these resources for you to use.

• Artstor
• Soundzabound

Buy Digital Images and Music

Just because you buy digital content doesn't always mean that you have permission to copy it.  It's essential to always double check the restrictions.

Library Orientation-Breakout EDU Style

At the beginning of each year librarians around the U.S. gear up for library orientation.  It's a time to introduce themselves to students and discuss the resources and services available in the library.  In past years this usually included a PowerPoint of some kind and students passively listening.  This year the BLA librarians have taken library orientation to the next level with Breakout EDU.

If you aren't familiar with BreakoutEDU, you must remedy that immediately by watching the video below.  BreakoutEDU is an educational tool that helps students utilize critical thinking skills within a collaborative group to unlock a series of locks to essentially "break open" the locked boxes.

Watch this video to learn more about BreakoutEDU.

Putting together our library orientation game was a collaborative effort among all STISD librarians.  We started with the lesson plan template provided by BreakoutEDU and then developed a story that gave students a reason for "breaking open" the boxes.

Once the game design was complete, we did a run through to make sure that the clues given were in the right sequence.

On the first day of orientation, we introduced ourselves and then immediately jumped into putting the students into groups.  We created 5 teams and each team had their very own BreakoutEDU kit.  The only things the students had were two clues, a UV light, and two locked boxes.  It was up to the group members to decide how they would use the clues.  As the groups worked through the clues, they utilized our library's resources to uncover more clues which then led to even more clues to unlock the locks.  We offered very little help to the students and encouraged them to lean on their teammates for help.

At times the students experienced frustration when they couldn't decipher the meaning of a clue.  As facilitators, we encouraged the students to persist by looking at the clues in a new way.  It's a great life lesson for anyone to learn.  It takes persistence to overcome life's obstacles.  Once the students unlocked a lock, it was difficult to contain their "hoopin' and hollerin'".  It gave them a sense of accomplishment along with a belief in themselves that they could overcome any difficult task presented to them.

It is well worth trying BreakoutEDU in your next class, meeting or library orientation.  The students reported back that they really enjoyed the experience.  Why not try something new? 



If you need help getting started, feel free to email us at bla_librarians@stisd.net.

What BLA Librarians Can Do for You

As teachers, there are many demands on your time.  Your BLA librarians (Ann, Sara & Mary) are eager to assist you with your instructional goals.  

  Instruction

• Databases
• Research Skills
• From a quick overview to an in-depth lesson, we'll work with your classes to help them find the best resources possible for any project.
• Citations
• When your students are working on anything that needs citations, let us teach the citation lesson for you before they get too far along in the project.
• Technology integration
• Tutorials
• Recommendations
• Co-teaching
• Digital citizenship
• Makerspace activities that correlate to your instructional unit
• The Origami and Gyotaku (Japanese fish painting) Lesson was a hit with Social Studies teachers and their students when they were studying Japan.
• AP/SAT/ACT Test Prep and Shmoop
• Let us help you set up classes to track your students' practice and teach your students how to use the platforms.
• Poster design
• Powerpoint
• Photoshop
• Moviemaker
• Apps - Overdrive, Goosechase, Kahoot, Padlet, etc.
• Classes just for teachers - demos, etc.

Other Services

• BreakoutEDU - Students use teamwork and critical thinking with content-aligned clues to solve a series of challenging puzzles in order to open the locked box.  Games are available for all content areas.
• Book talks in your classroom
• We'll read book excerpts or provide audiobook clips to interest your students in reading.
• Little Classroom Libraries
• Small collections of books(5-7) on any topic for teachers to display in their rooms and check out to students to promote reading in their classes.
• The Next Chapter Book Club
• We meet in the elab for lunch (on us!) four times a year.  You and your students are invited to join us.  More than just a discussion.
• Battle of the Books
• Ne format in conjunction with Region One.
• Displays!
• We love to display student work in the library.  We have 6 lockable, glass display cases and the tops of our low bookshelves.  We can also hang work in the rotunda.
• Order books, videos, and more for you and your students to check out or use in the library.

Contact us at BLA_Librarians@stisd.net to start collaborating today.

Change is a good thing.

We made some changes to our library and we hope you will agree that change is a good thing.  

Makerspace

Finding what you need for your next project is easier with these new storage bins. 

Makerspace

Yea!  We have more space now.   

Art Prints

Browse the art prints on this wall and check them out for a 3 month period.

Quiet Study Room

Need a calm, quiet place to study?  Visit our Quiet Study Area.

Breakout EDU

Have you heard about Breakout EDU?  
It's a really fun and interactive teaching tool that promotes collaboration, critical thinking and loads of fun.


Watch a video about Breakout EDU.




Here are some pictures of our teachers who participated in our first Breakout EDU lesson.

If you are interested, contact us:
 bla_librarians@stisd.net

STISD Battle of the Books District Level Competition

Congratulations to our winning teams!

They will represent STISD at the Region 1 Battle of the Books Competition 

 February 14 & 15 in Edinburg.

STISD High School Battle of the Books Champions

Team McCormick from Medical Academy

STISD Middle School Battle of the Books Champions

Team Moreno from South Texas Preparatory Academy

Electronic Gadgets in the BLA

Makey Makey - Available in the BLA

Makey Makey is an invention kit for the 21st century. Turn everyday objects into touchpads and combine them with the internet. It's a simple Invention Kit for Beginners and Experts doing art, engineering, and everything inbetween: The kit will include everything you see above: Makey Makey, Alligator Clips, USB Cable.

Cucumber Piano

Carrot Wind Chimes

Potato Bongos

Want to try Makey Makey?  
Let us know at  bla_librarians@stisd.net

The Next Chapter Book Club

Watch the book trailer

STISD Battle of the Books 2017-2018

This year's district Battle of the Books team gets to advance to the 

Region One Competition Battle of the Books Competition.

Tech Tip of the Week: URL Shorteners

Tech Tip of the Week: Google Docs

Google Docs is fun and easy to use.

Google Docs is a word processing program developed by the fine people from Google.  It's similar to Microsoft Word with some added benefits.

• Use premade templates. Use these 50 pre-made templates to track spending, keep up with your health, and much more.

• Collaborate on group projects. Google Docs allows for real-time collaboration, so make easy work for everyone next time you have a group project due.

• Free. There is no need to worry about expensive software subscriptions.  Google Docs is free.

 

• Create graphs from spreadsheets. Once you have populated a spreadsheet with data, you can easily create a graph. Google Docs allows for pie, bar, line, and scatter graphs. No saving is necessary. All work is saved as you go.

• Create online surveys for research projects. Quickly and easily create online surveys for any research project that requires feedback from others. The answers are saved to your Google Docs account.

• Add video to your presentation. Learn how to seamlessly add video to your Google Docs page to really give your presentation or project a boost.

Tech Tip of the Week: Formative

What is Formative?

Formative is a technology tool designed for formative assessment.

How can teachers use Formative in their classrooms?

When the teacher creates an assignment on Formative, students can work on the assignment from their own device.  As the students answer, teachers can see live results from the students.  This allows teachers to provide feedback to the the students.  Formative runs on any internet connected device and is great to use in a BYOD, flipped or blended classroom.

Learn Formative

Tech Tip of the Week: Padlet

What is Padlet?

Padlet is an online collaborative bulletin board that allows for sharing of text, links, videos and images with a group.  It can be customized to be private and/or moderated.

How can teachers and students use this tool in the classroom?

• Book Reviews

• Brainstorming tool

• Formative assessment

• Question boards

• Timelines

• Resource sharing

• Inspiration Board

• KWL

• Portfolio

• Presentation tool

Learn Padlet Here:  

Combat Fake News

Author Kenneth Oppel visits Biblioteca Las Americas

Kenneth Oppel:

• Born:      Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada
• Website: http://www.kennethoppel.ca/
• Genres:  Children's Books, Young Adult, Thriller
• Published 31 books.

Latest Books:

• Every Hidden Thing (2016)
• The Nest (2015)
• The Boundless (2014)
• Such Wicked Intent (2012)
• The Dark Endeavour (2011)
• Half Brother (2010)

Book Trailers:

Author Kenneth Oppel shared his experiences as a writer and encouraged students to persevere when faced with setbacks.

Overdrive Books!! We have them at the BLA.

Read eBooks.

Listen to audiobooks.

Download the app to your phone.

Watch this video and learn how to get them.

Our Top Ten Best Reads

Book you Should Read: Pax by Sara Pennypacker

Summary:

Pax was only a kit when his family was killed, and “his boy” Peter rescued him from abandonment and certain death. Now the war front approaches, and when Peter’s father enlists, Peter has to move in with his grandpa. Far worse than being forced to leave home is the fact that Pax can’t go. Peter listens to his stern father—as he usually does—and throws Pax’s favorite toy soldier into the woods. When the fox runs to retrieve it, Peter and his dad get back in the car and leave him there—alone. But before Peter makes it through even one night under his grandfather’s roof, regret and duty spur him to action; he packs for a trek to get his best friend back and sneaks into the night. This is the story of Peter, Pax, and their independent struggles to return to one another against all odds. Told from the alternating viewpoints of Peter and Pax. 

Book Review: Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman

HarperCollins Summary:

Caden Bosch is a brilliant high school student whose friends are starting to notice his odd behavior.

Caden Bosch is designated the ship's artist in residence, to document the journey with images.

Caden Bosch pretends to join the school track team but spends his days walking for miles, absorbed by the thoughts in his head.

Caden Bosch is split between his allegiance to the captain and the allure of mutiny.Caden Bosch is torn.

A captivating and powerful novel that lingers long beyond the last page, Challenger Deep is a heartfelt tour de force by one of today's most admired writers for teens.

Caden Bosch is on a ship that's headed for the deepest point on Earth: Challenger Deep, the southern part of the Marianas Trench.

Review:

Caden Bosch is a teenage boy descending into the world of schizophrenia.  His parents become alarmed when his symptoms begin to interfere with his real life.  The book is split up into two storylines:  Caden’s real world and Caden’s fantasy world.  Sometimes the two worlds come together and cause problems for Caden.

Readers may get a little frustrated with managing the two storylines but this style of writing is necessary to show how difficult it is for Caden to keep things sorted out for himself.  The book is beautifully written and was inspired by Schusterman’s own personal experience of watching his son Brendan, descend into schizophrenia.  Brendan even lent his personal drawings for the book to show what it is like to live with schizophrenia.

Just like Caden’s mind, it isn’t always clear where the story is going.   You might feel a little frustrated when you begin reading it but don’t stop reading it.  After a while you begin to sense the chaos within Caden’s mind because of this writing style.  There are some really beautiful moments that help the reader understand why Kaden’s fantasy world is so appealing.

This book is important because it brings about an awareness of mental illness.  And that mental illness can happen to almost anyone; even to people who have always seemed “normal”.

This book is a fascinating read; worthy of the National Book Award. 

Awards:

•  National Book Award for Young People’s Literature (2015)
•  Milwaukee County Teen Book Award Nominee (2016)
• Booklist starred
• Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books starred
• Horn Book Guide starred
• Kirkus Reviews starred
• Publishers Weekly starred
• School Library Journal starred
• Texas-Tayshas High School Reading List 2016
• Voice of the Youth Advocates (VOYA)
• Utah-Kiss The Book 2015: Secondary

Neal Shusterman discussing Challenger Deep: