Week 4

Last week in class we learned how to use “New Media” in order to have some sources other than books and websites when we are doing research, or other kinds of projects. I thought that the use of Twitter was a good idea because it can be a direct source from a person or a company known nationwide that will be an appropriate source. I was happy that Amanda showed us the website that we can go to in order to search Twitter, because I don’t have one. The fact we could get information from the president or the Wall Street Journal was interesting and quite useful. I also thought it was good how we were taught to use different sites in order to check copyright laws, or just avoid it completely by using creative commons. Creative commons is a site that people have given others the ok to use pictures, articles, videos, or anything else that they posted. These sources are not copyrighted and are open for the public. I would be interested to know if there are any other sites like out that have information we can use without having to worry about copyright laws. Also, I never knew that printing off an article for someone to read was wrong because you’re not taking credit for it however, those are the rules and the only way you can use the article is if it is spur of the moment. That is defined under a process known as “fair use”; this means that you can use something that is copyrighted as long as you didn’t have time to ask for permission in advance. The main thing that Bonnie pushed was making sure that we cite things correctly and are aware of the copyright laws; I found myself worrying about this as I was making the PowerPoint for our group projects! Making use aware of the wrong things we have done in the past definitely has made me more cautious in the present, and hopefully in the future!