Wednesday Night

Our MILI cohort met tonight and as always it was great to meet with this group of educators who are committed to making their classrooms the best they can be and are willing to try new things to make connections with their students.  Do we struggle on some days to connect...U Betcha! But technology and the wonders of the web can make the mundane come alive and hook a kid that might otherwise choose to wander the halls during class time.

Tonight we discussed copyright and fair use amongst other things and it left me wondering if I broke any rules (unknowingly of course) when I show a snippet of The Matrix to my engineering students to emphasize the point that technology and engineering wonders of the world are mandatory to sustain our world as we know it.  Two concerns come to mind, but I think I'm okay on both fronts.  First, the video snap shot is very short and has very real application to my engineering class - so it meets the requirement of having educational merit.  Second, even though the movie is officially R, the video link I show is of Neo and the Counselor talking as they overlook the inner-workings of the engineering level (no nudity, fighting, or swearing -- just a bunch of machines doing their job).  Please post a comment if you think I'm wrong to use this in my classroom.  Thanks.