Week 4 Multitaking comments

Andrea's comments:

Week 4_Beyond the #$%^ It.
All right, I have to laugh, this was really the last thing I expected to find in this book, although really it makes sense. I've been at that point in my life, and thankfully, like the cellist in the book, it worked to my advantage.

I had spent the previous 4 years working in a building as a building substitute. I worked everyday in the same building and when I was needed in a classroom, I was in. When I wasn't needed, I worked with small groups of students in all the grades. The problem was, I made minimal money and had no benefits or contract. The last year I was in that position, I was asked to be a second teacher in a third grade SAGE classroom that was seriously over "capacity." I should have been given a contract like a regular teacher, or at the least been considered a long term sub, but I wasn't. The administration had interviewed me a few times for various positions, but I was always passed up for the job. I was too good at what I was doing as a building sub. It was disheartening.

I was on vacation that summer with my family in Vail, CO. We were visiting my brother out there for the first time. It's beautiful out there. I had been applying to various districts around where we lived and we were in the middle of a serious hunt for our first house. I got a call from a principal in Kenosha for an interview, she wanted me in the next day and I was 1200 miles away. She offered me a phone interview and I took it. I was BTFI. I went for it and put it all out on the line. She thanked me and asked if I'd be available the next morning for a second interview. I figured, what the hell? Why not, I've gone this far. So I had the second interview and we took the day to drive up the mountain. My phone had no signal, so I couldn't have taken the call if she called to turn me down. We returned and my husband and I went with my two brothers to have a drink together. My phone beeped in my pocket and I knew this was my call. It was my answer.

I listened to the voice mail and there was the principal, offering me A JOB!!! My first real classroom and first real position. Not that what I was doing before wasn't real, but this was a classroom. four years in the waiting and I finally had what I want.

Going beyond the #$%^ it was worth it. It gave me the job I wanted, and my husband and I bought our house in Kenosha. It's all been uphill from there.

My comments:

Andrea,
Thanks for sharing your story. Kenosha is a great place to live and you have the job you most wanted, what a great outcome. From what I've seen of your work in this course and what is obviously your passion, the kids are very lucky to have you in their classroom.

Week 4 Antos B(log) comments

His comments:

Wk4 Reading
I admit I am skeptical person, and a lot of people I know would say I’m hard-headed. While blogging about the book The Art of Possibility, I have questioned a lot of the tactics as they do not always align with my personal theories.

But I really liked the section on “enrollment”. That is something that I think can be helpful in any person’s life, including my own. While I’m not sure about the terminology and associating it with college or a yoga class, I fully support the idea of being excited about things, especially in the workplace. While people may not adopt or agree with your ideas, the concept of offering your excitement, to put it out there, is a wonderful idea.

As the book says, they may not always be receptive, but the possibility is there that they could be receptive. And at what cost to you? Very little. Maybe exposing some passion you have for you job? Big deal. That’s a good thing. And sincerity goes a long way. Maybe they won’t be receptive the first time, but upon seeing numerous, sincere attempts on your part, you could whittle away at any barriers.

In such a busy, stressful time for me, this was a nice closing section to reflect upon.

My comments:

Bryan, Thanks for joining us out on that limb! We need the company and I really need a few more folks helping me keep my head on straight and level. I think your self-proclaimed "hard-headedness" should come in handy, when the downward spiral talkers come a-knockin'.

Week 4 Reading Post

I love being the enroller! I constantly am the one looking for the next big change, finding a possible solution that meets the requirements and then enrolling others in my new project. Or the flip side, I enjoy being the one enrolled. When I see a good idea, I am usually the first one to join the charge ahead. The one thing I am constantly aware of though, is not to get too far out there. A good leader must make sure that everyone's voice is heard and has enrolled in the new process.

Chapter 10, Being The Board was especially interesting to me, because I constantly love to sum up this chapter in a few words, "Quit your complaining, Man Up!" or more concisely, "Nut Up Or Shut UP!"

I find that building a framework for possibility is probably the most difficult of all. To constantly pushing into the realm of possibilities can be a very tiring experience, because you'll spend most of your time fighting the good fight. And you'll take a lot of kicks to stomach along the way. Keep your guard up!

For the past several years, I've had the pleasure to work with teenagers at my church. This has been sometimes a very trying process and sometimes a very rewarding process. When you see a extremely shy young man step out of his comfort zone, learn something new to support the ministry and then take it to the next level...that brings a big smile to my face.

WK4 Publishing Leadership project

I received an email back from NavPress stating that my first choice of publication has been discontinued. So I move to my second, Journal of Interactive Learning Research (JILR).

Of course, I am still going to move forward with building out the content on the website and continue with my plans to publish and promote this Christian-based social networking Learning Management System within the Assembly of God synod offices.

Week 4 Publishing/Leadership part 1 of 2
Week 4 Publishing/Leadership part 2 of 2

You can find my article ready for publishing at: Priebe_Scott_Publishing.doc

Week 4 Publishing/Leadership project part 2 of 2

So I'm thinking of continuing forward with both the article and the presentation. For the class I will submit the article. I'm thinking of submitting to a couple of different journals:

First I sent an email to Discipleship Journal. This is a publication by NavPress, a large Christian media organization focusing on spreading discipleship. Since my AR project is also focused on spreading discipleship through a different media, I thought they may want to hear about it.

I am also considering sending in the article to the Journal of Interactive Learning Research(JILR). This is more of a academic publication, focusing on interactive learning and education. It's a journal I subscribe to in my work life and I believe they may want to hear about a new way of reaching and teaching Christian discipleship to our youth. However, being a more secular journal by nature, they may hesitate due to the religious nature of this project.

Finally, I am also considering another Christian publication/website, Leadership Journal.net. This media outlet has several venues, both online and in-print, for articles regarding Christian discipleship and education.

As far as the Keynote, I'm going to complete that also. I would like to have that as a possible method of spreading the word regarding this project and the support it's received in my church. Someday I envision bringing this project and the website tools to a larger audience than my youth group and I think this presentation can be a good starting point to promote the website.

Week 4 Publishing/Leadership project part 1 of 2

I think I'll be publishing an article regarding my project. Even though I just realized that I put together a keynote presentation for the Wimba session tonight. I don't have the article ready yet.

Here's an image of the conversation I just had with Joe regarding my mistake. Not very smart of me! Oh, well, I'll do both a keynote and finish up the article for publication.

Week 3 Wimba session

For this week's blog post I think I'll answer a couple of the interesting questions posed by Mr. Bustillos regarding our text, The Art of Possibility. My favorite chapter of this book was Ch. 7, The Way Things Are. I tend to always look for ways to change the status quo and fight against those that always tell me that the "glass is half empty" This chapter was all about getting and giving permission to yourself and others to continually changes and make mistakes within these changes.

The thing I will take forward in work and life out of this book was the idea of the calculating self vs. central self. It's going to be a constant project, but I need work on letting go of my childish demands and learn to cooperate better with others.

Week 3 Antos(Blog) comments

Bryan's comments:

Wk 3 Art of Possibility Chapters 5-8
I started out as a PA at my company and then switched over to the edit side, the Yin to production’s Yang. So I loved the first chapter which seemed to be a lot about putting yourself in someone else’s shoes or using your knowledge to help someone else. I was one of the first PAs to ever make that switch and in just my first year as an editor, I was cutting the Super Bowl. That happened because we have intense, pressure-filled deadlines and if I’m editing with production in mind, it makes the whole process easier for everyone. I know what they want and I know what things slow them down.

However, “remembering rule #6” would not be a very useful mantra where I work. A major problem (especially for people coming in from another company) is the amount of intense hostility and shortness at times. You can’t just remember to not take yourself so seriously, you have 60 seconds to know whether or not you have video coming up. You can’t be relaxed. You have to be short, curt, and effective. Facts only. The difference here is that after that incident is over (or more likely: the show is over) you talk with the people involved and tell them no hard feelings. A good producer will work to rebuild after an ugly incident. But most people understand that it’s very serious, and the information has to be transparent and related quickly. Joke after the show, not during.

Not everybody can perform under pressure like that, and it weeds people out. I think that pressure is a good thing most of the time. You are working on instinct and it’s amazing what you can get done in a short amount of time. Now, I’m not like this in every facet of my life, but I am at work, and I am proud of that.

I will say, I did like the story about the two business partners…

The parts about nothing really being good or bad was very intriguing to me. I would say I’m an environmentalist, but when you think about it, what does that really mean? It’s really out of human selfishness. The same with NOT being an environmentalist. When you think about it, millions of species have become extinct. It’s the way of the planet. Greenhouse effects have heated the planet before. It’s the way of the planet. Is it bad for the planet if water levels rise? Not really. It’s bad for humans who have settled near those waters. I’m not advocating one thing or another, I’m just pointing out what book tries to: that good an evil are a human invention.

If anyone reading this hasn’t done so, I highly suggest listening to Bach’s Suite No.2 in D Minor as Chapter 8 talks about. It really is a beautiful piece of music. I suggest listening to Mischa Maisky’s version!

My comments:

Bryan,
I think I keep coming back to your blog because we have somewhat similar jobs and I find your commentary very interesting. During "live" events, the pressure can be very heavy and tempers can be an issue. The only thing I ask and look for during these times, is that everyone involved is pitching in and working as a team, leave your "ego" at the door and let's get the job done! I try to lighten the mood with a bit of humor and work hard to raise expectations. I think it helps to have a "thick skin" in the editing business. Everyone has their own ideas how a production should come together, as the editor you need to listen to these folks, take in their potential ideas (I get a lot of my best concepts from others) and learn to sift through them for the "nuggets of gold". By listening to others, I find it much easier to work everyone when it comes to "crunch time". Thanks for confirming some of my similar perceptions in this business.

Week 3 Reading Post

Once again, a couple of random thoughts while reading (I really have to learn how to focus...but I digress...again).
I really like the idea of a silent conductor, listening for whatever drives passion in others. I try to even extend that thought to parenting, as Zander speaks to in Chapter 5. I am looking for that passionate idea my 16-year old son can grab on to (other than always XBox) and help him steer it toward his schoolwork or teamwork on the football/track fields. Nothing against games (Dr. Siegel), I love to play myself, but I think it's one of the primary responsibilities of leaders/parents to listen to the passion in others and steer it toward a common, agreed upon goal.
While reading Chap. 6, I kept thinking in the back of my mind that I used to be much more my calculating self in my younger years. As I get older, the long-repressed central self has come out. It was during one of these thoughts that I came across what I think is a central theme to this chapter on page 95. The authors write, "It (the central self) is what a person who has survived - and knows it - looks like." The central self smile at the calculating self's perceptions,..." As I get older, I find myself more and more in this position...thinking how silly I was in my younger days, chasing after "stuff" and worrying about myself rather than others.
You know, I couldn't help thinking of a co-worker during my reading of Ch. 7. He constantly talks in a "downward spiral", in fact he is a continual "joke" regarding his "black cloud" over his head. And he's PROUD of this attitude! I am constantly pushing him in a different attitude by pointing out that we need to see the possibilities out there. Yes...we will fall down once in awhile, but if we don't attempt new things, we won't succeed! Before I get too full of myself though...I often have the other problem. I sometimes think everything is possible and can over-committ to something I may have a hard time implementing. Luckily I have been more successful than disappointed in my opportunities, and it has paid off. This is what I think the Zander's call "the art of possibility"
Chapter 8 really spoke to me, for a couple of years now, I have had this nagging feeling that I wanted to start my own business, but didn't know what direction that business should take. Well, this past school year and my corporate media production work has pointed me in a new direction. See last week's blog letter to Mr. B for a the overview.

Week 3 The Eillers Experiment comments

Gregg's blog:

Wk3 BP Entry 1 - EDM613 MAC - Art of Possibility Ch. 5-8
Wow! As I read through chapters 5-8 in "The Art of Possibility," I couldn't help but think of two things: 1) teacher-talk in the staff room, and 2) the power of student- to-student learning. Allow me to explain.

The whole concept of the calculating self vs. the central self completely changed my thinking about how I view certain aspects of the teaching profession. I asked myself, "Self? Am I a person that tends to take things too seriously to where it effects how I interact and lead my students?" Fortunately, the answer from my "self" was a resounding "No!" But what my inner self was convicting me of was how I can somehow be effected by how others relate themselves to the calculating self analogy. In other words, I can at times get sucked in to a conversation at lunch with other teachers that revolves around the common complaints of standardized testing, state standards, decisions by administrators, micromanagement and a plethora of other topics that educators seem to find the time to rant about. I discovered that I will listen to these conversations and walk away wondering what good did that just do for any of our students, other creating a free therapy session for these teachers at my expense? My point is, and I think this is what Zander was getting at, was the fact that there will always be something to disagree with, something that doesn't go the way we want it to, or someone that doesn't do things the way I would do them. But the question is whether or not I choose to stay stuck in that rut or way of thinking, or do I choose this presence without resistance approach? Do I let the obstacles stand in my way, or do I allow myself to say that is the way it is and allow myself to be creative and open the pathway for possibility? Obviously my goal as a teacher is to do the latter, but I know I am guilty of allowing my calculating self shadow the central self and the possibility it can unleash.

Secondly, the whole idea of students teaching other students kept running through my head. After reading the story of the Cuban and American orchestras teaching each other how to play different and difficult pieces, I started thinking about how much power students have when teaching other students. I use this strategy in my own classroom to a certain degree, but this concept of the "silent conductor" really highlighted my thoughts on how I can enhance the learning by disappearing from the lead of the room, so-to-speak, and let the kids lead their own learning with each other. Automatically, my head began spinning with different ways to approach some of my lessons and how to implement a more centralized learning environment to where I enable or give students the freedom to learn from each other. By doing this, I think the dynamics of my classroom would completely change, and if nothing else, a great social experiment for my 6th graders who are mostly English Language Learners!

My comments:

Gregg,
I can't agree with you more! I always are telling people, "Quit complaining, unless you have a solution and are willing to act upon that" The idea of simply complaining for therapy's sake without at least attempting a solution crates against my very soul. You may not succeed in appeasing everyone's sensibilities, however if you don't try to solve the problem in a creative way, you've done nothing but "blown a lot of hot air".

I love your use of power students teaching others. Even though I am not a teacher by trade, I work with youth at church, hopefully teaching them something else than what you are educating our youth. We've engaged a similar technique in our youth group. By identifying student leaders, mentoring them and allowing them to mentor others, creates an education cycle that extends beyond those that I or the other adult leaders can reach directly.

Week 2 WIMBA session

Enjoyed the archived edition of copyright...IDK, it's a good thing for me to hear it at least twice for stuff to sink in to my head (that problem seems to be getting worse as I get older).
A couple of thoughts occurred to me as I listened in on the session:
- once again, at work just yesterday I was fighting with one of my associates regarding the use of certain media (this happened to be music) in an upcoming training course we are putting together. His comment to me was simply, "it's education, so it's OK. I am constantly amazed at how that falsehood, or myth to Joe's list got spread. So it was an excellent educational opportunity for my to teach back to this associate the correct use of copyrighted material and to steer him in a different direction.

- on the flip side of that thought...I was struck by the length of time copyright lasts: lifetime + 70 or 100 years for corporate! The comparison was briefly drawn during the session between copyright and patent. It seems like the patent law is much weaker from a timespan basis. I know there is more to it than the simple 20 years I understand with patents, but really! A patent is truly something that could change the world! The holder only received 20 years to capitalize on that patent, while the copyright holder receives his/her lifetime + their childrens and even potential grandchildren. Seem to be a little lopsided!

Just some random thoughts I had during the session...Don't copy them or I'll come after you ;>}

Week 2 Antos B(log) comments

Bryan's Blog entry:

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2011

Wk 2 Blog post: Art of Possibility 1-4
Reading the first chapter reminded me a lot of playing Mindtrap with my friends in middle school. It would pose questions like these:

Picture a bridge four kilometers long and strong enough to hold ten thousand kilograms, but no more. A loaded transport truck weighing exactly ten thousand kilograms drives onto the bridge. At the halfway point, a sparrow weighing 30 grams lands on the truck, yet the bridge doesn't collapse. How could this be?

The answer is:


The truck will have used up 30 grams of gasoline by the time it reached the halfway point.

Playing these games for hours upon end has helped me with lateral thinking and questioning what is presented in front you. But the sad thing about society is that from the moment you enter school, you are trained to be part of the group; to follow rules and not question. It continues into professional career as well. People rarely react negatively to conservatism and status quo, but present a radical idea and you suddenly have a lot of attention on yourself.

I don’t get why fierce competition is a terrible thing for musicians but the author is delighted some student had his heart broken. Both instances, losing a competition or a girlfriend, can be sources of creativity. Should the musician take up heavy drinking so he can use that experience in his music? Or kill a man in Reno, just to watch him die? I don’t see the causation of either. There’s a great Mr. Show sketch that has parents depriving their kid of affection as a baby so he would have confused feelings about love and grow up to be a famous playwright. Here’s the clip:

http://www.ifc.com/videos/mr-show-205-brightcove.php

I liked the idea of contribution. The problem with that – for me – is I know I cannot be that type of person when my own personal schedule is jam-packed. The author specifically mentioned this exact thing and how he went to speak to the old people anyway. I know that going to Full Sail has robbed me of some of generosity in the world. I’m a worse boyfriend. A worse friend. Worse at work. I’m just much more busy and stressed out. I know my limitations. But I did like the idea of this…
Posted by antosb at 9:08 AM

My comments:

Bryan,
I understand your comment regarding the radical idea and attention, I am constantly enjoying this attention at work, in fact I believe it's one of my primary duties at work to provide additional customer value and question the status quo. The decision to do so is definitely chancy, sometime I fall down, but then again if we don't take chances...we can never succeed and learn by our failures. Don't give up!
While I agree with most of our reading this week, I too wondered about the "suffering musician" syndrome. While the short term "craziness" of your current schedule may be some cause for concern, I too feel concern regarding what I have not accomplished, or simply a good fiction book I'd like to read, I have enjoyed my Full Sail experience. The end is in sight...

Week 2 Taylor-Roman comments

wk2 reading – Initial response
Ok. So this was a great read: The Art of Possibility by Benjamin Zander and Rosamund Stone Zander.

I was so inspired that I made this visual collage from pictures that I have taken over the years. Take a look at it!
I was touched in so many levels by the first four chapters of this book. And, I feel like sharing this personal anecdote.

In 1996, my whole family moved to the U.S. from Mexico because my dad was getting his master's degree. My sister and I did not know any English and this was the day before school. Our parents called us to the living room and told us something that went like this: we want you to know that to us you are the most beautiful, intelligent, funny, and amazing daughters in the whole world and nothing or no one will make us think differently of you. We know that you don't know any English. We know that you will struggle, and when you get a failing grade, we want you to know that we will see an A because we see the effort you put in, because we see you growing, because we see you becoming women of outstanding character. Don't worry about grades, go live and enjoy our two years here. Make the most of it and if in the way, your grades happen to be A's, so be it... That evening, a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders, I was no longer scared, I was ready to take over the world!

Needless to say, my sister and I did extremely well. Due to language immersion, we were proficient in English within 4 months. I went on to tutor in Spanish, French, and Chemistry after school and took some extra courses to graduate a year early. My parents believed in me and that made the difference. I was given an A and the rest was history.
Posted by Saray Taylor-Roman at 5:56 PM

My comments:

Scottie Dog said...
Saray,
Very nice photo collage. Your story of your family's move to the US is inspiring. Eliminating the pressure for good grades by your parents was obviously an important milestone in your family's life. By removing that "artificial" metric within the current school system, they helped you and your sister create a learning environment truly condusive to "real" learning of all the possibilities. I hope to make a small contribution to this "lack of grades" mentality by currently working with my local school district. We will be re-designing several courses to bring game theory and eliminate the need for traditional grades. Once again, the metrics must be questioned and possibilities, without traditional boundaries need to be presented.
February 10, 2011 2:20 PM
Scottie Dog said...
Saray,
Enjoyed your photo collage very much. Thank you for sharing your family's move story. I was amazed at the thoughtfulness and far-reaching implications your parent's decision had on your life. I am beginning to work with my local school district to re-construct several of their courses in a similar fashion. Combining game theory, an engaging story and no grade point average to be concerned with, we are hopefully bringing a similar story to other students. We hope to eliminate the pressure of traditional grades, provide an engaging learning environment and simply "teach" our kids. Thank you for a very important story!
February 10, 2011 2:34 PM

Week 2 Reading Post

I loved the Zander video, he is helping us see that small changes in the way we look at familiar areas of our life (like the familiar strains of Chopin) from a slightly different perspective can lead to a wholly unique viewpoint.
In Chapter 1, the Zanders direct us to question the framework and the underlying assumptions of our environment. One important way I like to question the assumptions around me is to create a process flow diagram of the process in question. Prior to joining a media production team, I was a business process consultant to several companies, hired to look at a particular process, document it and then work with those involved to improve the process. I have taken this skillset to just about every aspect of my life. By critically documenting and analyzing a process, looking for areas of improvement and working to create those improvements our framework for a particular business process is constantly examined.
I completely agree with the thought of a world of measurements. If we don't measure it, we won't try to perform up to that measure. It's only the most important decision you can make...What to measure? I think this is the point to this chapter. Not only do we have to measure our world, but we must also make good decisions on what we are going to measure. I have attempted to come up with those "right" measurements for my life, not measures that always matter to the rest of the world, but correct metrics for me. My metrics typically revolve around church (involvement, attendance, leadership), family (provision, shelter, friends) and work (adding value to customer, improvement).
Dear Mr. B,
I received my grade of A because I worked hard and during my time in the EMDT program at FullSail and within the media production department at OfficeMax. It was at this time that an idea began to form in my mind. I began the formation of a production company and business plan to support that company. My idea was to utilize my media production resources and skills to help other small businesses in their growth goals. I have applied and received a small business grant from the federal government in the formation of this company, in support of the Small Business Administration. This decision has taken hold in both my church and work life. I have taken the AR project forward, extending it's reach throughout the youth group and adult membership. We are even in preliminary talks with the church-wide offices to push this project beyond Yorkville's boundaries. Thanks for the "kick in the pants" I needed...
As I have mentioned previously, my family is very involved in our church's youth group. This is where I am a contribution. The unfortunate fact is that there are a lot of teenaged kids dealing with all sorts of today's issues. In my small way I really enjoy helping them through these issues, especially through my actions. Hopefully by simply living my life , working hard, showing leadership at church and providing for my family, and extending my family beyond blood bonds, I can affect one or two of these young men's lives. Recently this came to a small token of fruition, one young man, dealing with an issue with a girlfriend issue, came to me the other night and we spent 3 hours simply talking. When he walked out of here, a confused young man had a clearer direction and a path that included "owning up" to his problems while steering his girlfriend down a better path. I feel that I may have contributed favorably to this young man's life and will continue to be in his life.

Week 1 Freeform Post

Too much fun in the snow...

Someone thinking they need a hug...

Well it's been an interesting week!  Started off with the blizzard of the decade (turned out to be the 3rd largest snowfall in Chicago history).  I had 5 foot drifts in front of my garage!  The next day was clear and cold, everyone was out digging out.  It kind of turned into a fun time, neighbors helping each other out and warming up in each others house, enjoying hot chocolate.  The following day I had knee surgery to repair some old damage that had re-appeared recently during one of my workouts (that'll teach me to work out...).    So I have gotten a little behind in my schoolwork...Luckily my Lit Review seems to be in good shape and I received a note regarding my AR project site and it seems to be also in pretty good shape, some adjustments are in order.  Thank you Ms. DeLeon.  Time to get busy...

Week 1 Eilers Blog Comments

His blog entry:
Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Many thoughts ran through my head as I watched the plethora of videos regarding copyright laws, Fair Use, and Creative Commons. Albeit, most of my thoughts were those of confusion and how my brain was dissecting the confusion. However, after digesting all the information, I feel that I have a better understanding of how copyright works and how organizations like Creative Commons is attempting to bridge the gap in allowing the creative mind the freedom to create and/or re-create. As technology continues to advance and public domain forces copyright laws to change and modify its parameters, Creative Commons, Fair Use, and all the other attempts to assist the freedom of creation will continue to expand. I really felt that the TED video featuring Larry Lessig put all of this into a grand perspective for me. There were many great aspects of his presentation, but I think the thing that struck me was his comments on how the "RW" (read/write) culture turned into a "RO" (read only) culture in the 20th century. Obviously we are seeing a major paradigm shift in this way of thinking because of the rapid change in technology advancement and the speed of the Internet at the turn of the 21st century. At any rate, copyright laws, Fair Use, and Creative Commons have their place, but its what is done to work with/around them to keep challenging culture to create and re-create something new and different for future generations.

My Comments:

Gregg, You hit upon a very telling aspect of this lesson, the RW culture mentioned in Lessig/TED video. Of course, this statement is a further indictment of the Web 2.0 culture we all live in and have been learning further about during our time in this EMDT program. As we learned early on in our program, Web 2.0 is the Read-Write/Re-Mix aspect of the Internet. I too commend the work Creative Commons continues to attempt to resolve within the creative and legal communities. As I mentioned in my blog post, Fair Use is "thrown around" too freely in the education and training environment and I feel this series of videos helped clarify in my mind the appropriate use of this position.

Week 1 Antos Blog Comments

Bryan's Blog:

wk1 reading: copyright issues

Every day I work, I create video for my company that is seen by millions of people. But that video is protected by copyright that my company owns. I cannot post my work on youtube or anywhere. And that's a personal problem as I want as many people as possible to see my work. At the very least, I want my friends to be able to see it.


Additionally, not every piece is saved by my company. The best thing I ever produced (and was copied by Nike and NBA Productions, poorly, except for getting Marvin Gaye's version of the National Anthem, which is awesome) is gone forever. That is sort of devastating to me.


I understand the point of copyright but there will always be pirating. The trick is to embrace the new techniques and create a legal version of that. 5 years ago I suggested making shows available for download and I got laughed at. Every single person laughed at the idea. And now it's one of the biggest priorities of the company.


You just have to wait for the younger generation to get in there and try and change these laws. Like I said in a comment, the musical genius of an album like Paul's Boutique cannot really happen nowadays. That needs to change.


But you really have to give the law some credit. Being able to use any copyrighted work for parody or education is great.

Week 1 Reading Reflections

First of all let me reiterate my classmates viewpoint, I really enjoyed the "Good Copy, Bad Copy" video.  Very thought provoking.  Several highlights and random thoughts regarding the video I would like to point out:

• I enjoyed how the director cut together and used the NYU music director, the copyright lawyer and the Bridgeport Music representative, all very "upright and proper" folks talking about rap music, sampling and the George Clinton song.  It definitely got my attention quickly due to the inflammatory dichotomy between these "straight-laced" folks and the hip-hop culture they are talking about during this piece of the film.
• My personal feelings with this idea of sampling and re-mixing of music and the folks shown in the video are not doing anything really creative and inventive, even though they think a lot about themselves and their so-called "music".  The real creativity is with the original music creator and the idea of simply cutting up another's notes, putting them together with other cut-up notes is not creative.  The video even mentions this several time throughout, speaking of anyone with a high-priced computer and good audio equipment can accomplish this feat.  
• I am constantly amazed by those folks who put together the pirating websites featured in the video.  Not sure what they get out of it, expect the notoriety of "bucking the system".  People will always rally around someone or something that looks to be creating a counter-culture and the music piracy business capitalizes on this idea.

While I was initially intrigued in the beginning conversations around 
Creative Commons, I especially enjoyed the followup short videos Joe put together regarding this interesting and relatively new idea around IP and creativity.  I have begun to utilize this CC content licensing in both my work-related and personal media creations.  I remember when that story Joe shares with us regarding Adam Curry's pictures came out and he's gone on to create his own internet media empire in podcasting and blogging.  


Finally, I'd like to comment on the Fair Use area we looked at this week.  In my daytime job as a corporate communication, training and video producer, I have come across this area of fair use.  I have been asked by my work associates to utilize various music clips and songs in a training video and they will build an entire training video around a song.  When I let them know that they maybe encroaching upon copyrights, they consistently throw that "training" label back at me.  I really appreciated the series and now have an even better understanding of this area.  I can more effectively stand my ground and point out the limitations of fair use.  Thank you,