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Calvin Barron
EDUC-W200

Contemporary Topics + Bound-By-Law Assignments

Bullet Points of Bound By Law

In the introduction, the author, Cory Doctorow, made one of his main
arguments that would most likely be a main theme for the graphic
novel. He argued that taking material from the culture around us and
using it as our own is an intrinsic concept in our culture.

We use

culture to communicate with people. It sounds like he favors copyright

laws that would allow easier distribution of material.
Early in the graphic novel (p. 4), the point was made between the
opposite forces of protecting intellectual property rights of art versus a
documentarians right to portray culture full of legally protected
material.
On p. 14, the point was made that an accidental cell phone ringing to
the tune of the Rocky theme song during the filming of a documentary
would be a good argument in favor of fair use. Another example was
someone shouting, Everybody dance now, an identifiable line from a
popular song, in the same documentary. Although these excerpts in the
documentary were unintentional, the film-makers were still charged
thousands of dollars from the copyright owners. This exemplifies the
tremendous extent that copyright laws financially prevent people from
producing their work.
Another important point made on pp. 19-20 that even copies of preexisting works can be under copyright laws, such Andy Warhols art

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that was a representation of the Last Supper. Also, if someone pays

for a copyright to a particular work, the new copyright holders may
turn around and demand copyright payment for their own copied
works.
On pp. 30-31, it was noted that copyright laws still do much good for
independent artists who wish to stay in business and make money.
These laws can protect their rights from large corporations and others,
stealing their work to make a profit without paying the owners of the
work. This particular point of contention often leads to financial deals
that allow holders to transfer their copyrights, so that independent
work can be successfully commercialized while paying upfront and
giving credit to the original artists.
On p 39., there was an example of how parodies hold a protection of
fair use. Author Alice Randalls parody, The Wind Done Gone, (which
criticized Gone with the Wind for its romanticized depiction of slavery)
relied on copyrighted portions of the original work for the intention of
the parody. In this respect, Randall won a copyright court battle in
favor of fair use.
On p. 45, the text mentioned that modern laws increasing the length of
time of copyright ownership after an authors death makes it harder to
track down copyright owners while officially barring people from using
these old works. Works that may have once been regarded as in the
public domain in the nineteenth century may not achieve that status
for about a century as of today.

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On page 52, the comic mentioned Errors and Omissions Insurance,

which covers possible copyright lawsuits. However, they typically need
detailed lists of sources and licensing status of the material in
question. This can require multiple lawyers just to prove that material
is fair use, another barrier to cheaply producing material.
On page 55, it was noted that many people receive malicious Cease
and Desist letters that try to scare people out of producing material
for threat of a lawsuit. These letters may consist of false claims about
breaking the law and unfair demands about material perfectly under
the realm of fair use. If one were to obtain these letters, they should
visit www.chillingeffects.org for useful information.
Bound by Law ended with the message that fair use should be
protected as much as copyright holders should be protected. Creative
ideas and material should be optimized by paying the producers for
their works as well as protecting innocent incidents of fair use. A legal
system that emphasizes one over the other is not preferable and we

should have a sustainable development.

Flipping the Classroom
The first point is addressed in the article, The Flipped Mobile
Classroom: Learning "Upside Down, by Beth Holland, at
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/flipped-classroom-learning-upside-downbeth-holland. The basic premise is very neat: Instead of presenting new
media material in school and in the classroom, students look over
material at home and then devote classroom time to discussion and
further development.

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The article makes the important note that the flipped classroom model
helps to ensure multiple ways for students to learn and provides a new
opportunity of learning in the classroom. For instance, students might
be able to truly experience the artistry of Shakespearean plays
together in a classroom and leave analyzing the material at home in

this flipped classroom model.

Hollands article also addressed two assumptions, which are not always
true, about flipping the classroom: students have access to content
outside of school, and students have the capacity to be independent
learners. However, some teachers have been able to provide access
to material outside of class but also inside school. There are also
methods, such as use of iPads that can address these two

assumptions.
Other points are made in the New York Times opinion article, Turning
Education Upside Down, by Tina Rosenberg. The article first
addressed the scope of how many classrooms are suddenly doing
homework in class, by way of using technology in and out of the
classroom. http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/09/turning-

education-upside-down/?_r=3&
Rosenbergs article noted that as a brand new method of teaching,
there is only one research paper that has been routinely cited,
Student Performance in a Flipped Class Model, by R. Pierce. In the
papers abstract, some collected data suggested that student

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performance increased and student evaluations were more favorable in

a flipped classroom model.

Pierce, R. (2013). Student Performance in a Flipped Class Module. In R.

McBride & M. Searson (Eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information
Technology & Teacher Education International Conference 2013 (pp.
942-954). Chesapeake, VA: Association for the Advancement of
Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved March 20, 2015

from http://www.editlib.org/p/48235.
Indeed, Rosenberg's article demonstrated that an entire Michigan
school had turned around when they implemented "flipped classroom"
For instance, in 2011, the failure rate for Clintondale High School in
each class hovered around 10% when flipped classroom approaches
were implemented.
Rosenberg mentioned that assigning 3-6 minute videos from sources
like the Khan Academy or TED would promote re-watching to fully
grasp concepts. This would help the issue of students feeling afraid to
ask questions when they don't understand something.
One particular major point in Rosenberg's article is that assigning
videos/lecture for homework frees up ample time for in-class problem
sets. That way, students will have fewer distractions and more
guaranteed support to complete the application of problems in the
classroom.
In the article, "Flipping the Classroom," Cynthia J. Brame explains that
some flipped classes may give out homework that should be turned in
to assess understanding of the videos/lecture.
http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/flipping-the-classroom/

Brame pointed out that hands-on in-class material can aid in deeper
learning and metacognition (defining goals and monitoring progress) for
students.
Digital Divide
Sarah Garland's article addresses many concerns about the digital divide. Most
school districts that are lacking useful technology to aid learning have high poverty
rates in urban areas. This is because most state and local budgets cannot support
these schools to a full extent and will require federal funding to meet demands for
Internet access and technology development.

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There have also been federal hurdles in funding these poor districts. Federal funding
has remained practically flat in recent years and major technology programs that
would ease this situation have been eliminated.
One of the biggest issues is updating internet connection. Many schools rely on Erate and broadband, but because of the high demand for broadband, there usually
isn't enough left over to connect classrooms to the internet.
In Garland's article, it was mentioned that the president of the Alliance for Excellent
education says that the problem isn't just with the government and that many
important people from the private sector need to step up to solve the digital divide.
The final hurdle that needs to be addressed is the learning curve for teachers and
students to adapt to the technology efficiently. Slow progress for people who are not
accustomed to digital updates and barriers can disrupt academic achievement for
students.
Cyber-Bullying
From the website, http://stopcyberbullying.org/what_is_cyberbullying_exactly.html,
cyber bullying is defined as any attempt from a child, pre-teen, or teen that involves
intentionally hurting a peer on the Internet, digital technoogies, or mobile phones.
Oftentimes, victims become bullies themselves as online bullying erupts.
More often than not, cyberbullying leads to unrest elsewhere in life. Minors often act
out in violence, commit self-harm and suicide, or engage in delinquent behavior.
Oftentimes, schools get into legal issues when they discipline students for their
online misbehavior when the incident took place outside the school or after -school
hours. However, schools can do much to teach students about cyber-ethics and the
law, such as in lesson plans like these:
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/lesson/turn-down-dialcyberbullying-and-online-cruelty-9-10
Points were made in the websites page that explains the legal aspects of cyber
bullying. Law enforcement is usually only involved when threats of real life
ramifications are in place; otherwise free speech is protected. However, bullying
often is a violation of a websites terms of conditions and can result in expulsion of a
bullys access to the site if action is requested. Repeated violations and exposing
personal information online are treated more severely. An excellent list of when
adults should intervene with online incidents is at
http://stopcyberbullying.org/lawenforcement/telling_the_difference.html
This excellent website also points out good ways adults can give anti-bullying tips
for children. Helping kids to understand that words can hurt others is a great first
place to start. Also encouraging children to not stand silently while others are
bullied by telling trusted adults is good.
http://stopcyberbullying.org/take_action/take_a_stand_against_cyberbullying.html
Another good source of an example of cyberbullying and how to address it:
http://stopcyberbullying.org/parents/Goldilocks.pdf

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Calvin Barron
EDUC-W200