Windrush 6th Grade Computers

If you have not finished it already in class, please finish the proposal for your podcast for homework. You will not be able to do the podcast project in class without a finished, approved proposal!

Your proposal should consist of a paragraph, using full sentences, that includes:

1. Who will be creating this podcast (you alone, or are you working with others?)
2. How long will your podcast be?
3. Is this an audio podcast or a video podcast?
4. What is the format and content of your podcast? For example, is it a talk show (format) about Middle School rules and discipline (content), or is it a radio program (format) about local hyphy artists (content)?

Please write your proposal (clearly), or type it up and print it out. Turn it in to me (or my mailbox) by next Friday, May 11th.

Please read one of the following articles (copies handed out in class if you prefer to read on paper rather than online):

Making Music
Why Media Ownership Matters to Kids

and answer the following questions in a comment:

1. List three reasons (in a full sentence) why it is important for people to be able to access t.v., music, etc. made by a variety of different people.
2. Does the media do a good job of presenting different types of information or opinions? Why or why not?
3. Are there any types of music on the radio, television shows on TV, or magazines in stores that you wish were available but aren’t?

Feel free to respond (respectfully) to other students’ comments and add any opinions or thoughts you have on this topic.

Are you up to the challenge? This week you have a choice about your homework. You can either:

1. Give up TV cold turkey for one full week. This includes videos, and watching TV shows on the Internet. Just get a note from your parent or guardian certifying that you abstained from staring into the eerie blue eye for one full week and consider your homework done.
2. If you simply can’t live without TV, you will need to chart your TV watching habits. For the entirety of the next week (starting today, Friday, April 20th), you must record the name, duration and personal rating (on a scale of 1-5) for every single show you watch. **Note: usual TV watching rules at your home still apply. You may not use this assignment to force your families to allow you to watch more TV.

I will have TV diaries to hand out in class. If you lose yours or are absent, you can download and print another copy from the Homework Site. Please see me with any questions.

Okay, before you get nervous, there is NO homework over spring break.

Exhale.

Now, here are some general guidelines (some slightly revised) about blog homework for this class.

• Grading/Credit: To receive full credit (check plus/5 points) for homework posted to the blog, it must:
  • Be turned in on time
  • Answer all questions in the assignment
  • Be written using complete sentences
  • Explain the reasons behind your opinions
• Absences: If you are absent unexpectedly (due to illness, for example), you are expected to read and complete the online homework within the week of your return. If you are planning an absence (to travel, for example) you are expected to complete the online homework before you leave, or within two days of your return to school. If you have concerns about these deadlines, please speak with me individually.
• Late Homework: One half of a point (out of five) is subtracted for each day your homework is late, up to six days. After that, some homework might no longer receive credit at all. Homework that you can turn in for partial credit, any day before the end of the trimester includes:
  • Homework you use in your projects
  • Homework that we don’t discuss the answers for in class
  • Homework that asks only for your opinion and not for factual answers

  Homework for which we do discuss the answers in class may not be turned in after that class.

• Extra Credit: Occasionally I will offer up ways to earn extra credit on your homework. One way you can always get extra credit is by responding to a classmate’s post. Each thoughtful (i.e., backed up with evidence) and considerate response to a classmate can earn you up to two homework points.

If you have any questions or concerns, please see me during break, Monday Lunch Lab, or after school. I’m always happy to help.

–Lauren

These guidelines apply to the entire 6th grade curriculum. You should have received them from Morgan already, but I thought it would be helpful to have them up here, too:

• Teacher signs assignment book every afternoon to ensure that all assignments are written down; student is responsible for approaching teachers (including substitute teachers)*
• Family/Student will have a specific hour that homework get started every night (example: 6pm after extracurricular activity)
• Homework gets done at a specific desk/table every night
• When homework is completed, it is shown to family and they sign the assignment book ensuring that all homework was completed.
• Family helps to clean out homework folder and transfer any graded work to binder so only homework that needs to be turned in is in the folder
• Homework folder and binders are put in backpack by the door ready to go in the morning. Family verifies that Homework folder is in backpack.
• Calendar with long term projects posted near homework desk
• Family and students break down long-term projects into smaller tasks and mini-deadlines.
• Family helps to monitor progression of project and check off tasks on calendar as they are completed.

*If teacher signature is not obtained, family/student will check homework website or call classmates

If you have any questions about organization/home support, please feel free to contact Morgan @ mlcostanzo@windrush.org

Ladies and Gentlemen, please be careful about which post you are writing a comment for. A lot of homework responses are ending up at the bottoms of other, unrelated posts. I will start moving them to their correct locations but if you want to make sure you get credit for your comments being posted on time, it’s best if I don’t have to hunt for them all over the blog.

Also, though your new nickname may be well-recognized by your classmates, I may not know to whom to give credit when a post is made by “pee wee” or “tink.” Therefore, please also include your first name (remember, no last names!) in addition to any nicknames/handles/usernames you are using.

Okay folks, you took some pretty big steps last week. You published your poetry on our blog so that anyone in the world can read it. You also copyrighted it.

Wait, what? “I don’t remember copyrighting anything last week,” you’re thinking to yourself. After all, doesn’t that involve lawyers and fees and paperwork and all that other unpleasant-sounding grown-up stuff? Nope. Since 1978, your work is automatically copyrighted the second you create it.

But regular copyright is so boring. “Can’t I license my poem under Creative Commons?” you beg. Yes. Your wish is granted. This week in class I’d like you to combine the conditions below to make your very own license. Think about what you want people to be allowed to use your work for. Can they use it in a collage? Can they send it to their friends as long as they say who wrote it? You decide.

**Please write a comment for this post that lists what conditions your license uses and why.

Example: if it were up to me, my band would license our next album as “non-commercial, sampling plus with attribution.” That way, anyone could use our music in their own creations for free as long as they give us some credit and don’t try to sell it without permission. What’s your license?

Attribution: if people use your work they need to mention that they sampled things from you.

No derivatives: people can use and copy your work as long as they don’t change it.

Non-commercial: people can use your work for anything they want as long as they don’t sell it.

Share Alike: anyone can use your work as long as they license it the same way you did.

Sampling: people can make anything they want out of pieces of your work. No one may copy the entire piece or use it for advertising.

Sampling Plus: people can copy your entire work for anything except advertising.

Developing Nations: people in developing countries (countries not classified as “high income economies” by the World Bank) may use, copy and share your work for free. People in rich countries need permission or have to pay for it.

Public domain: people can do anything they want with your work.

Dear 6th grade,

I was totally floored by the poems I heard you read in English last week. I had no idea you guys were such eloquent and expressive lyricists! Jen and I are extremely proud of you and think your talents should be shared with the world. That’s why this week you will all be publishing your poetry on the blog.

Please type up your favorite poem in an application like Microsoft Word, AppleWorks or TextEdit and then copy and paste your poem into the comment field at the bottom of this post. Remember to put your first name only!

–Lauren

Hello, 6th grade. After looking over your trimester grades and discussing them with you, I have noticed a couple of things:

1. The one area in which we could improve the most is homework. I know it’s difficult to keep track when we have so many interruptions but it’s important to do the work, and to do it on time, precisely because we can’t meet as often as we should.
2. Folks are signing up for the lunch lab but not showing up. Again, I know it’s difficult to remember things over the weekend but I don’t want anyone to fall behind, so…

Beginning this week, if you are behind in two or more assignments (including homework and in-class projects), you will be signed up for the Monday lunch lab. You will have 15 minutes to eat and then at 12:45 you will need to come down. The lunch crew will have the list of who needs to go and they will help to remind you. Please see me with any questions.

–Lauren

You’ve learned about copyright. You’ve learned about fair use. You’ve even argued about it a little with each other. Isn’t there anything in between? I’m so glad you asked. There is, and it’s called a “Creative Commons License.” “Wait,” you say, “what the heck is that?” Your homework this week is to find out and to give your opinion on it.

Click the link below to watch two short videos about Creative Commons. Watch the one titled “Building on the Past” first (2 min.) and then watch the one directly above it called “Get Creative.” (4 min.)

http://creativecommons.org/support/videos#gc

When you are done watching the videos, please post a comment below that answers the following questions:

1. What is a creative commons license and what makes it different from a regular copyright?
2. Why was creative commons created in the first place?
3. Do you think it is important to have creative commons licenses along with regular copyrights? Why or why not?

If you cannot see the videos from your computer, you will need to watch them here at school. The lab will be open at lunch on Monday, as usual.