#go easy on me pls i’m not media educated Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[deathon1leg]

byler & yellow curtains (inspired by this incredible post by @love-byers)

i wanted to contribute some of my own findings (which i’m sure have all been pointed out before—i’m no genius discoverer) and personal analysis!!

this post got way longer than i thought it would, but i kept noticing more things to talk about. it’ll be s4 focused but i have some from other seasons too if anyone’s interested in another post :)

mike and el’s fight:

outside of el’s room you can see yellow/orange curtains through jonathan’s door, and some of el’s window through hers. when mike goes in, the window is the brightest and most vibrant thing by far and its curtains are WIDE open. when he goes to put a plate down the left curtain is almost perfectly between them, dividing them like a wall.

at first she doesn’t look at him, so only we (and not mike) get to see her face, which is cast in light and a bit out of focus. (also, the yellow-green tree she’s putting back together for her diorama is peaking out in the corner.)

the bottom two pics are el’s POV, hence the blurry background mike—she feels disconnected from/misunderstood by him.

when she finally turns around is when she’s talking about being different and not belonging anywhere (which, while in an entirely different way, mike can relate to). the light hardly hits her face anymore because it’s shifted to mike’s POV. he sees her in shadow.

the next time we get a full shot of the window is when el says mike can’t even write “i love you”, when she stands in front of it and it frames her.

i wanna point out mike’s face here. he looks so—guilty? afraid? vulnerable? just more genuine than he does the rest of the fight. he knows he’s been caught, and he doesn’t have an excuse (which is why he ends up deflecting and calling her ridiculous)

when el grabs the letters, the window is between them, separating them, and a curtain is directly behind her. also, she says “from mike” or “from” a total of 7 times. coincidence? idk. maybe i’m reaching.

the window/curtains take up a whole half of el’s shot here, and are still “between” them in continuity—it’s as if they’re another character interrupting the shot, just like will did many times in s4 m*leven scenes.

a few lines before “they’re nobodies and you’re a superhero” mike says “you know what i think of you, you’re the most incredible person in the world”. it comes across as ‘i think you’re the most incredible person because you’re a superhero’.

i think el’s “not anymore” is a response both to “you’re a superhero” and the “you know what i think of you”, because this is when she comes to the conclusion that mike doesn’t see her as the most incredible person anymore, and that mike loved her powers/his idea of her rather than her as a person (i do believe mike cares for her a ton and loves her as a friend, but this is el’s perspective) .

her expression changes as she realizes these things, and mike can tell he didn’t convince her.

mike’s talk w/ will about his and el’s fight:

will paces back and forth in front of the yellow/orangeish curtained window in jonathan’s room, venting about everything. it’s not actually a curtain but a sheet/tapestry, so it doesn’t do much at all to block the bright light. (note the bright lava lamp, too.) mike’s not really listening, and is instead staring at the note el left: Dear Mike, I have gone to become a superhero again. From, El

mike knows what el’s saying here. ‘superhero’ = a version of herself that mike can love again, and ‘from, el’ = her acknowledging he doesn’t love her (again, el’s pov) OR implying she doesn’t love him anymore, either. imo it’s a coded breakup/pre-breakup.

this is preoccupying his mind enough that he’s not paying attention to will talking about the very serious situation they’re in.

the note is a symbol of mike’s lack of romantic feelings for el, which lead to the deeper truth of his true romantic feelings for will. with that in mind, here’s what will says when it cuts away from mike looking at the note:

i audibly gasped when the cogs turned in my brain while collecting these screenshots

textually, he’s talking about hawkins here, but COME ON. if we read between the lines…

imagine will’s rhetorical “you” is actually directed at mike—which is easy to do since he’s the only other person in the room—who’s currently staring at the symbolic note.

the thing that needs to be kept contained is mike’s feelings for will, which cannot be contained at all without el. she’s his cover, his beard, his excuse to not face what he’s trying to suppress.

the window appears even brighter when the camera focuses on will.

after this, mike absentmindedly responds with “yeah,” and will notices how distracted mike is, saying:

AKA, if you keep ruminating on your feelings they’re not gonna change, you know?

so, he crumples up the note and throws it in the trash.

this means one of two things: 1. he’s choosing to continue to ignore and “get rid of” his real feelings, or 2. he’s accepting that his feelings won’t change, and is gonna stop trying to get rid of them.

considering the wide open door/‘closet’ behind him, the poorly concealed window, and the “i didn’t say it” “you didn’t have to” scene that comes later (‘it’ being ‘i love you’, as established here, and this convo being coded as also about mike and will’s fight)… i’d bet on option 2. then again, contradictory things happen later, so it may be a mix of both 1 and 2.

a single proper ray of light is peaking through the window, and it’s landing right on a green (blue+yellow, but you knew that) chair, pointing towards them.

even though they’re talking about mike and el’s struggles, will is in the forefront of this shot. he’s lit up by the window’s light, and even though mike doesn’t see that side of his face i believe it’s from mike’s pov.

note the red (el’s color) lamp by will’s head signifying that he think the convo’s just about her, and the yellow potted plant below it that the lamp would be shining on if it were on. (also note the upside down cross next to mike, showing that he feels his feelings for will are “blasphemous”.)

suzie’s room:

this one’s one of my favorites. after eden tells them where suzie is she says “make sure to give that selfish little four-eyed shit a nice little shove for me”. they get to her room but she’s not there.

mike’s, in the front, is first to notice the window, which has open yellow curtains w/ blue trim. the window itself is open, with a gentle breeze and birdsong flowing through it as delicate music plays.

it continues to zoom in on mike as he says this. the door’s open behind him. for some reason or another we’re supposed to focus on mike’s reaction to the window.

“give ‘her’ a shove” as in shove ‘her’ out the window—it’s open, it’s beautiful, it’s calling out to mike, he just needs a shove. and whaddaya know, in the next shot…

mike was the first to stick his head out the window, and is still in the forefront. the sun gets in his eyes and he squints and dodges it a few times, but then he smiles. he doesn’t regret it.

and just ‘cause, here’s another shot where mike and will are perfectly framed by suzie’s yellow-beige curtains:

mike and will talk about el and vecna:

in the top one, they each have a window behind them again. the whole house is filled with windows (w/ open yellowish curtains or shades) and just straight up holes in the wall, and unobscured sun rays come through practically every one of them.

the little curtains in the top left are green-ish and look blue from afar. here, sunshine pours onto will, and mike is exactly right outside of the ray—look at his arm and shoe.

will explains that he can still feel vecna’s presence and that they need to kill him. with (yet again) yellow curtains behind him, mike says:

he crosses the distance and puts his hand on will’s shoulder, and the light hits it.

mike’s in the light now—his arm, at the very least. he reached out into it with intent, giving himself a shove, and now they’re sharing the same ray of sunshine. when they hear a car approaching they look behind themselves at the window, acknowledging it, and then they get up to look outside it.

aaaaand that’s it. i hope you enjoyed this post <3 i spent way too much time on it… disclaimer that i have no media education and this is all from my (untrained) perspective. i also don’t claim to be the first to discover any of this, i’m sure i’m late to the party for a lot of things here, so kudos to those more attentive than me. thanks for reading!! :)

[hotchley]

HI HOMIE I'M SUPPOSED TO BE OFF TUMBLR BUT I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION:

(THIS IS URGENT I'M SORRY FOR ALL CAPS I LOVE YOU SUMAYYAH) it would be great if you could answer them within the next 12 hours BUT IF NOT IT'S FINE TOO no pressure!!! (my presentation is tomorrow morning and my group has decided to change examples last minute SOOOOO)

it's for a school research presentation assignment on the effects of mass media on science — basically, i have to find out about how mass media (e.g. social media platforms, traditional news outlets, etc) has affected the area of science? kinda.

and i was wondering if you could share some insights with me as to how the situation is like on your end (WAIT did i remember wrongly you're in the UK..... or did i hallucinate you saying it once)

(but even if you're not from the UK, please i would love to hear your experience!!!) questions to be answered:

- how is the situation in the UK (or wherever you're from) like?

- are misinformation/rumours regarding covid/the vaccines rampant in the UK (or your country)?

- have you personally come across any of such instances/messages/posts online?

- how have they affected you/your family/your neighborhood/your society? (e.g. people's opinions & thoughts regarding the current government officials/system, regarding the vaccine, regarding the pandemic as a whole, or any other social issues that may have surfaced during this period of time)

I'm so sorry for the use of capital letters & for this non cm, non Hotch content omg but you're like the only other person i can go to to "survey" like this 😭 I LOVE YOU and i wish you all the best

pls rmb to stay hydrated too babe I love you so much muah

🌙

Hi I'm putting everything below the keep reading for easy scrolling x

I'm hoping it hasn't been twelve hours... I'm convinced it hasn't. Okay, let's go! Why did they wait so long to change, that doesn't make any sense- okay, anyways, good luck!!

That seems really cool!

I do live in the UK :)

1. it's.... well, it's a bit all over the place. In England (where I live) all restrictions have been lifted so there are no masks required anywhere, and the isolation rules have been changed but the number of cases seem to be rising slightly, but then people are getting vaccinated, and more people are also fully vaccinated, so... yeah. It's weird. They've started vaccinating the under-18s as well!

2. I wouldn't say rampant, but they're definitely there. There were reports of people protesting, and some areas definitely have a lower vaccine take up, and there are also age groups that seem to be taking it less. There's definitely been a lot of rumours about what covid actually does, and people still don't think it's real. There was an incident a few weeks ago, where people were protesting the vaccine and an ex-nurse who spread misinformation said some absolutely horrific things...

3. I have. But actually, a lot of the misinformation and conspiracies I've seen online have been on TikTok, and have therefore tended to come from American people instead of British. My dad has been forwarded a lot of WhatsApp videos about how you don't need to get vaccinated- he deleted them and is fully vaccinated, but still.

3. Okay so some of my family now despise the tories even more than they did before. Others haven't really changed their views, because they're rich enough to actually benefit from the tories being in power (don't ask me how) and think the government did their best. I think it proved to a lot of people that the government really do not care about the future. They were willing to let children starve, they screwed an entire cohort of A-Levels over, and they really only care if you can afford to give them more money.

It's made the people in my life more aware of the role class and race play when it comes to medical care, and it also showed a lot of them how willing the government were to put the economy ahead of people's lives.

When it comes to the vaccine, a decent amount of people in my family got vaccinated, but the running theme there tends to be: public sector or clinically vulnerable. My dad works in education, my sister in healthcare and my mum was shielding. They all got vaccinated. I did as well when it became an option (my arm still hurts like a bitch lol)

But other people in my family have seen misinformation and now don't want to get vaccinated because they think they'll be safe/they heard and believe the conspiracy theories. I also have friends that are going to wait to get vaccinated because they're not convinced it's actually safe for the under-18s. My mum has a friend that will forward the anti-vaxxer videos etc, because she believes them and is firmly against getting any sort of vaccine for anything. So yeah! I hope that answers your questions, if you have anymore, just ask!

Good luck with the presentation! I'm sure you're going to do great <3

Ahh, don't apologise. We can discuss everything here. I hope I'm able to help :)

Love you too x

[sherlock-is-ace]

1/n Yep I remember that 🥂 you can call me bubbles or B :) I like those ALSO oooof even i need to vent today I am so mad at my sister. Now my family is quite religious you know? Especially my mom. She sides with the police on LCDP which says a lot lmao. And like i told you, I have no one to talk to about lcdp because they'd be really mad, and second of all they wouldn't appreciate the nuance of the characterisation, or the cinematography, it's all just black and white and they'd think I'm crazy

Oh B, I’m so so sorry. I understand the pressure, and I know it’s not easy dealing with your parents expectations, and I also know that the whole education thing in India is a huuuuge stressor. It’s normal to feel anxious and scared, even if you don’t have an anxiety disorder. Those are very important exams, and it doesn’t help that everyone expects you to be perfect, and I also know the words of a random guy online aren’t gonna change how you feel. But you can’t let other people’s expectations dictate your life. It’s incredibly hard, and I’m not really the one to talk cause I care so much about what people think of me. But this is your education, this is your future, and you get to create it. You have to do your best, work hard, yes, but don’t punish yourself for not being perfect, cause nobody is ok? You’re gonna be scared and anxious, but you gotta trust yourself, study hard, but stay safe mentally. You’re always gonna worry about more than what’s on your hands, you need to remember that. You can worry about studying, that you can control, you can do your very best, but you can’t worry about what other think of you, what other believe, because that’s not on your hands, that’s on theirs.

You’re gonna do great in those exams, you’re gonna pass, it doesn’t matter if it’s with full marks in all subjects or not (tbh it’s very unrealistic to get full marks in all exams...). Also, a very important thing you gotta remember is, no matter how you do in them, or what people think or say, you are smart! One test in one specific moment of your life does not represent how smart you are or how successful you’re gonna be.

Education is important, going to a good university is important, but whatever you want to do in life, you will be able to do it, because you can. It doesn’t matter if you have the worst teacher in the world, if you’re interested in the subject, you’re gonna learn either way. No matter if you go to the best university, and get the best marks in all exams or not, what you want to do, you will do it, because you’re the one in control. Please remember that <3

That’s awful! I’m so sorry you had to go through that. I’m sure your sister didn’t mean to make things difficult, she probably just made a mistake. That doesn’t eliminate the consequences tho, but you should talk to her, and tell her to be more carefull next time, at least so you both can still have that safe and private space to talk about whatever, and so nobody takes your phones away.

And listen, parents and older people don’t understand these things... You’re not doing anything wrong, and as much as you use media and lcdp specifically as an escape, it’s not interfering with your life, it’s something you use to unwind, it’s a hobby, and a source of inspiration and motivation. It’s not only not wrong, but it’s in fact good! We need those things, it’s helping your creativity, analysis skills, you use it to socialize, to have fun, to express your feelings, to bond with friends and with your sister. You mom can say all she wants, and call it “jobless things”, but those things are what make life a little more bearable. I’m sure she has her hobbies, her interests, this is the same. I know you know all this, but sometimes, hearing it from someone else, helps to settle it in your brain a bit better ;)

I’m not suggesting you confront your parents if that’s not a possibility, I don’t know the situation in your home (and I also understand if you’re just not comfortable cause same with my mom). But at least, don’t let her opinions affect you, easier said than done, I know.

I hope you feel better soon, and get your private space back as soon as possible, that’s important. But I’m sure your mom is gonna forget about this soon enough. Oof I want to hug you so bad right now, please know that I’m always here for you, this is a 100% safe space for whatever you need, I’m always gonna do my best to help, at least listen to you and reassure you that you’re fine and great! <3 I know I keep saying this, and I hope you don’t take it as me pressuring you, these asks really don’t bother me, but if you ever wanna come off anon, and use tumblr direct messages (that have no limit *cough cough i hate tumblr cough cough*) the way you used hangouts with your sis, I’m fully down for it ;)

For what it’s worth, I don’t think your crazy, I think you’re a wonderful human, very smart, with very valid interests that just has a bit of a difficult family, but don’t we all? Please don’t take that the wrong way, I don’t mean it as “yOuR pRobLeMs ArEn’T sPeCiaL”, I mean it as “I get it hun, you’re not alone, pls hang on” <3

Might not be able to give you a real hug (cause countries and also covid lol) but that’s not gonna stop me from sending you a big online bear hug (the bear is Helsinki, obviously ;) ) <3

[mathematicianadda]

20 Texas Education Leaders to Follow on Twitter

I've been a resident of the Lone Star State for over two years now, and I can definitely vouch for the saying: Everything is bigger in Texas! The food, football, insects, hair and arguably, state spirit, are all bigger here.

Another "big" for Texas is education, and when I'm looking to get a pulse on what the current trends and landscape are, I turn to social media! With over 5 million students currently enrolled in Texas public schools alone, the Twitterverse is rich with insights from state educational leadership. These educators use Twitter as an effective tool to engage others in conversation and share their knowledge—all in an effort to teach the state's future leaders.

In no particular order, here are some of my colleagues' and my favorite educational Twitter accounts from deep in the heart of Texas.

Teachers to Follow on Twitter (+ Teacher Experts)

1. Tony Bonazzi @GISDMath

Tony is a PK-12 Math Curriculum Coordinator for Georgetown Independent School District. Folllow him for Texas education updates, fun math content, and some Houston Astros highlights too!

So thankful for the time I had with teachers today! Was able to have deep conversations with all grades and witness vertical connections/relationships among teachers within feeder patterns. I am GISD proud. #GISDB2S @GeorgetownISD pic.twitter.com/0pKeIP8Dwh

— Tony Bonazzi (@GISDMath) August 8, 2019

2. Nicole Shanahan @HCDE_Math

Nicole is a Curriculum Director at Harris County Department of Education. She describes herself as mom, teacher, friend, collaborator, math lover, and problem solver. We love all the math moments she shares, and we enjoy her SEL content too.

Wonderful! Many Ss were dancing at the same time and others were judges and videographers. #PBIS https://t.co/86zynKxl15

— Nicole Shanahan (@HCDE_Math) October 30, 2019

3. Donna Boucher @MathCoachCorner

Donna Boucher is a self-described math junkie! As a K-5 interventionist and blogger, she tweets practical math lessons and motivational quotes.

Links to some great math blog posts, one includes easy ways to use dice to develop fluency https://t.co/ec7L6yB8iv pic.twitter.com/UeBeArzwcZ

— Donna Boucher (@MathCoachCorner) December 16, 2019

4. Nancy Crouch @nancy_lead4ward

Tweeting from El Paso, Nacy Crouch is a source of education excitement. She shares classroom news and mathematical activities. Her enthusiasm for school shows as she posts everything from fire drill recaps to educational conference highlights!

Is it better to solve one problem four ways or four problems one way? @mesquiteisdtx has the answer pic.twitter.com/X9cLmA2Wbx

— Nancy Crouch (@nancy_lead4ward) October 21, 2019

5. Brian Bushart @bstockus

Brian Bushart is an elementary math curriculum coordinator. He retweets a lot of resources from other educators and shares his experiences at educational conferences. Doesn't this tweet make you want to find out what his presentation's all about?  

I love the way @MrsFyffe_BCE shares a variety of examples in this blog post that illustrate how she purposefully orients students to each others' ideas. Reminded me of a great quote from @saravdwerf I had to include in the post. #ElemMathChat #iteachmath #MTBoS https://t.co/icxL4qsPu9

— Brian Bushart (@bstockus) December 10, 2019

Administrators to Follow on Twitter

6. Mary Kemper @MrsKemper

Mary is the PreK-12 Director of Mathematics at Coppell ISD. She's also an Apple Distinguished Educator and President of the Texas Association of Supervisors of Mathematics. We enjoy her enthusiasm for mathematics and all of the practical tutorials she shares.

Math teacher conversations are the best - mostly because they are so very specific. And, we know we’re specific because we #attendtoprecision. 😉 Yesterday, I was asked how to insert (vertical) fractions in @AppleEDU iWork files... this is how I do it.#75019math pic.twitter.com/lbUPg6wDsf

— Mary Kemper (@MrsKemper) December 14, 2019

7. Jill Siler @jillmsiler 

As the current Superintendent of Gunter Independent School District, Jill provides practical truths to powerfully lead through challenging times. In fact, she's writing a whole book about it!

The data that we used to hold on to as teachers, the kids now know and own. It’s great to see kids shift from asking about their grade to real conversations about their goals and learning.” - @weberelem teacher @tasanet #FRSLN pic.twitter.com/0KOleKoWIV

— Jill Siler (@jillmsiler) December 5, 2019

8. Mohammed Choudhury @moh_choudhury

Mohammed is Chief Innovation Officer at San Antonio ISD and is a favorite to follow for insight into education policy.

Building joy and confidence in her students, see how @N_Bernardino @SolarSTEAMGirls in @dallasschools is shaping the future of STEAM #education @wfaahttps://t.co/y2z48UzUks

— Mohammed Choudhury (@moh_choudhury) December 14, 2019

9. AJ Crabill @ajcrabill7

AJ Crabill is Texas Deputy Commissioner of Education. He shares educational articles and photos from around Texas' schools.

This is what all of our students are capable of and deserve, but it requires hard choices. Student outcomes don’t change until adult behaviors change. https://t.co/XGERqy62fn

— AJ Crabill (@ajcrabill7) May 17, 2018

Organizations to Follow on Twitter

10. Texas Star Alliance @TxStarAlliance

Texas Star Alliance is a bipartisan public affairs firm with offices in Houston & Austin. We often look to them for news when it comes to Texas education and other state government topics.

This morning, TSA Principal @ChrisHosek spoke at the Texas Tech Energy Law Symposium with New Mexico Senator Greg Fuller and Texas State Representative @DrewDarbyTX on the #86th legislative session. #txlege @TexasTech #energy pic.twitter.com/5pycpuR1Zb

— Texas Star Alliance (@TxStarAlliance) November 8, 2019

11. TASM @MathLeaders

The Texas Association of Supervisors of Mathematics Twitter feed is the place we turn to when seeking new and upcoming education events.

Can’t wait to see all the TASM members at #CAMT19 in about 3 hours for our summer business meeting... go up the escalator and find us in room 220. pic.twitter.com/p32pgH8IB6

— TASM (@MathLeaders) July 9, 2019

12. Personalize Dallas ISD @PersonalizeDISD

The Personalized Learning Team at the Dallas Independent School District has a great mission: to equip educators and their partners to personalize learning for kids! Look to their feed for lots of inspiration as they share events, resources, and other content.

Day 76 at PL Prep! We're full of "Happy Birthday Smiles" for our principal, dress up as a present day and looking back at our Student Showcase from last night. #plbuzz #choosedallasisd #chooseplsamhouston @personalizedisd @transformdisd @FriendsofPLPrep pic.twitter.com/EadSdBaGgu

— Personalized Learning Preparatory at Sam Houston (@PLSamHouston) December 13, 2019

13. Texas Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) @txascd

To really get a pulse on what's happening in Texas education, follow Texas ASCD. They frequently tweet information and resources about teaching, learning, and leadership topics.

Share your #teaching #learning #leading knowledge! Now accepting submissions for future publications. Details at https://t.co/ZETRnw45Bj pic.twitter.com/6OUGOpuBVB

— Texas ASCD (@txascd) December 6, 2019

14. Region 13 Math @Region13Math

Region 13 Math tweets out of central Texas and shares everything from event opportunities to resources—all in an effort to support math educators.

Thank you @bstockus for a great day of training in Problem Solving Routines! It was an awesome day! @R13Coaches @Region13 pic.twitter.com/G7Ad0pVdMm

— Region 13 Math (@Region13Math) May 17, 2019

15. Texas Elementary Principals and Supervisors Association (TESPA) @TEPSAtalk

TEPSA's got a great pulse on Texas' educational climate because they serve school leaders. Their feed celebrates accomplishments in Texas schools and posts relevant news and links.

6 Ways to Teach Kids to Be Kindhttps://t.co/ah6fvxhfOB#WeLeadTX pic.twitter.com/rBX0lJdQop

— TEPSA (@TEPSAtalk) December 18, 2019

16. Northside ISD Elementary Math Department @NISDElemMath

Northside ISD knows how to make math fun! Their math department's feed shares math activities, accomplishments, and inspiration from their schools and teachers.

Love the student explanation and use of manipulatives! https://t.co/J6pIBhrYOI

— NISD Elem Math Dept (@NISDElemMath) November 23, 2019

17. UT STEM Center @utstemcenter

The UT STEM Center's mission is to improve the teaching and learning of STEM through research, outreach, and educational services. Their feed is a good source of professional development opportunities for educators.

The STEM Center is offering math and science professional development for K-5 teachers this August 1-2. Get evidence-based PD from 7 of @utexascoe best professors in this 2-day workshop. Learn more at https://t.co/m4Fou6mAhn pic.twitter.com/Oy6aLccspr

— UT STEM Center (@utstemcenter) June 12, 2019

18. Raise Your Hand Texas @RYHTexas

Raise Your Hand Texas identifies and pilots promising ideas to improve public education, and support the conditions & policies to scale proven approaches to benefit all Texas students. Their feed is full of success stories and encouragement for their partner schools.

Since 2008, our organization has sponsored more than 1,300 school leaders from Texas to attend week-long summer institutes @hgse. Apply now to be part of the next cohort: https://t.co/Q2sBu6QZNQ#RaisingSchoolLeaders #HGSE #TxEd pic.twitter.com/bEIPu2SlXX

— RaiseYourHandTexas (@RYHTexas) December 18, 2019

19. Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) @TXSBOE

TXSBOE sets policies and standards for Texas public schools. Look to their feed for up-to-date news on school procedures, board meetings, and relevant action items for parents and educators alike.

As the #SBEC meeting opens, Chair Jill Druesedow applauded @donnabahorich for her 4 years of service as chair of #TXSBOE. She recalled the SBOE-SBEC partnership in hosting a conference focused on teacher recruitment, preparation, & retention. #txed pic.twitter.com/jddzVdzODw

— Texas SBOE (@TXSBOE) December 6, 2019

20. Texas Education Agency @teainfo

The Texas Education Agency is the state agency that oversees primary and secondary public education in the state of Texas. It helps deliver education to more than 5 million students, and their tweets deliver timely reminders and updates on the state's educational policies and workings.

Calling all grades K-6 math and science teachers: Nominations for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching are being accepted now! #PAEMST #txed ⬇️ Details ⬇️ https://t.co/0rboSoTZCM pic.twitter.com/bI9UO6xsXF

— Texas Education Agency (@teainfo) December 18, 2019

Bonus: Texas-Specific Education Hashtags to Follow on Twitter

Looking to really engage? Check out these hashtags to keep an eye on conversations when it comes to the Texas education scene. 

#texasedu

#txedu

#teks

#txk12

#txed

#texasschools

#iamtexed

#txlege

#txeduchat

#tasmtalk

from MIND Research Institute Blog https://ift.tt/2ELZT6d from Blogger https://ift.tt/2Z2OjwK

[updatedc-blog]

New Post has been published on https://www.updatedc.com/2018/11/23/internet-copyright-the-wild-west/

Internet Copyright – The Wild West

The internet is still a bit like the Wild West when it comes to copyright. There’s the occasional sheriff wondering around enforcing the law, but for the most part, it’s every man for himself. With so much material on the internet, it’s almost impossible to think that everything and everyone can be regulated and checked when it comes to copyright infringement.

Original work can be just about anything, a video, a design, a book, a photograph, or even a web page. In the case of a photograph or video it’s pretty easy to prove copyright, but what about when it comes to a website or original content from a website. If you create original content and then someone just reposts it, even quoting the source but doesn’t ask the original owner or author of that website for permission, is that infringing on copyright? Well, there are a lot of determining factors and plenty of grey areas. Was it one of your websites direct competitors, or was it what is commonly known as a “scraper” – someone who takes original content and reposts it on their web page.

A lot of websites walk a fine line by using what is called “Fair Use”. Under United States copyright law, “Fair Use” allows creators to incorporate copyrighted materials into their own work without obtaining the permission of the copyright owner when certain conditions are met. Fair use is sort of a lenient interpretation of copyright laws that are designed to not stifle creativity or innovation. Creators should have the freedom to criticize, critique, and comment on the works of others. They should also be able to remix and reuse artistic material in inventive and new ways. This is what “Fair Use” is all about. The problem is, there aren’t any hard and fast rules governing “Fair Use”, it is a very grey area.

No one really wants to get involved in a legal battle, especially with “Fair Use” being such a grey area. If everyone who owned a website, photo, or video spent time filing complaints against work that was republished without their permission, no one would get any work done. I personally don’t have any problem if someone emails me and asks for permission to use an article or a video, especially if it’s educational or informative. The only time I do have a problem is when people are making money directly off your work. We have had numerous instances where individual monetarized YouTube channels were posting up and using our videos without our permission. Yes, you can complain and file a complaint with YouTube but this is time-consuming and tedious.

Whether to file a complaint or just let it go is a hard question for content creators to answer. You really have to ask yourself, is the extra exposure hurting or hindering me? In a lot of cases, I think people are happy to have their work published on other people’s websites even if they didn’t give direct permission because of the extra exposure it gives them. At the end of the day, you have to ask yourself is it fair that someone else is making money off my hard work, or is it a fair trade off that I’m getting increased exposure which will help me out. It really is a catch-22.

Has it just become morally acceptable?

I think a lot of the problems stem from the fact that it has almost become a socially acceptable thing on the internet to just reuse or repost other peoples work. You wouldn’t walk into a store and just take something without paying for it, but on the internet, it seems to be socially acceptable to take someone else’s work and use it without paying. If your video, photograph or work is used without your permission and someone is using it directly to make money, shouldn’t you be getting a piece of that pie?

Again, there are so many factors as to why a lot of people don’t complain or demand payment. The main reason is exposure. If you are a YouTuber who is making your income directly off views then you probably don’t care who reposts or reuses your work. The more views, the more money. Look, I get it, not everyone cares about having their work reused or republished without being asked or compensated, but seriously, is it morally right that there seems to be one rule in the real world and another for the internet.

It’s not just individuals ripping off others work

The Selfish Ledger, a concept video produced within Google in late 2016, used a ton of stock footage in which some of it wasn’t properly licensed by Google. Philip Bloom had snippets of vision from 7 of his short films used in The Selfish Ledger without any license or authorization from him. This is just one of many cases where very large companies have used content without any license or authorization from the owner of that material.

  Vimeo

Recently there has been a lot of anger online with people having their Vimeo accounts completely deleted due to copyright infringements. This is usually to do with the use of music. Music is a hard one, with so many stock music sites and so much music out there it is very easy to have a video flagged as breaching copyright. If you have used music for a personal project is it really harming anyone? It also seems to be a big problem for music video directors. Multiple music directors have had their Vimeo accounts suspended simply because they are posting up videos that get flagged by recording labels.

Vimeo’s 3-strikes and you’re out DMCA policy is fairly ruthless and it has lead to a lot of users having their accounts completely deleted, and by deleted, I mean everything vanishes as if your account never even existed. All of your videos, all of your statistical data, all of your views, all of your viewers, and even the ability to download your videos- gone, gone, gone.

This is not a new Vimeo policy, it has been in place for quite a few years now, but it’s enforcement seems to come in rolling waves rather than be consistent. A lot of this may have to do with various recording labels suddenly deciding to file copyright complaints.

The situation has become dire for a lot of music video directors that some have started up petitions. Jason Filmore Sondock of Rubberband is one of those directors. The online petition states the following:

“To whom it may concern,

We as short form filmmakers in the music video industry have recently come to a crossroads. We direct music videos in the continually dwindling music industry and as of this week have seen a large legal sweep of our work across the video streaming platform Vimeo. Vimeo has served as the main hub to showcase our work for nearly 10 years and our hosting of work, which (at least, in the case of music videos) we make for little to no fee whatsoever. The simple fact is that pitching music videos today is the wild west, which has no regulation of any kind, unlike most advertising work that is done in some type of bid structure. We don’t know how many directors we are pitching against. We don’t know who they are. We don’t hear back from commissioners for many weeks. Budgets are tiny. Most can not make a living. The list of grievances go on and on. I understand that some of these things are unfixable, maybe primarily the budgets. We may not be able to demand more money from an industry that simply doesn’t have more money to spare, especially as much more videos get made, the slices of the pie get much smaller. Additionally, while we have been discussing unionization internally, this letter is not about that.

Our ability to simply present our work as our own is coming under fire. This is perhaps the most basic reason why any of us do music videos to begin with, beyond the fact that we love them.

We put our blood, sweat, tears, and in many cases our own money into these videos because we love music and we love the idea that we can have creative freedom (in some cases) to create things and have a platform for people to see them on a large scale. Sometimes (often) this is the first step a budding director has to get noticed because we can directly attribute the work we do, on a public scale, to ourselves. This seems like something that should be a right of a creator. We create to reach people. This is a director’s job, to emotionally connect with an audience, and to be attributed to that work. We can not have this ideal be put into jeopardy, as this is the core tenant of why all of us ever wanted to be directors in the first place.

We are writing this letter to ask Vimeo, our reps, production companies, record labels, commissioners, artists, and media companies to allow us to have a reserved right to be able to publish our work under our names and to be free from prosecution and removal, in a public space. We have as much right as the artists to the work we make for them. We are artists too.

Please don’t further alienate directors in the music video industry. We want to keep creating.”

Sincerely,

International Music Video Filmmakers

So far almost 3,000 people have signed the petition.

What is DMCA?

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA) is a U.S. law that limits the liability of online service providers for the copyright infringement caused by their users. To qualify, online service providers must do —and not do — certain things. The most well-known aspects of the DMCA are its requirements that a service provider removes materials after it receives a notice of infringement and has (and implement) a policy to deter repeat infringement.

Too harsh?

Look, I’m all for making sure that copyright infringement is upheld, but come on Vimeo,  deleting someones entire body of work when they are paying for your service seems a little over the top. Surely just deleting or banning the actual individual video(s) that are deemed to have breached copyright regulations is enough.

Vimeo has around 70 million users, which pales in comparison to the more than 1 billion that YouTube has. Here at Newsshooter we primarily use Vimeo because it’s an ad-free platform and it is primarily used by working professionals. YouTube has far greater reach, but it’s also full of ads and very hard to moderate comments.

I tried reaching out to Vimeo via both email and Twitter to find out some answers about why accounts have been deleted and if they had a response to the open letter from music video directors. Unfortunately, I didn’t receive any replies.

Vimeo’s DMCA Policy

This is Vimeo’s official DMCA policy:

VIMEO respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask our users to do the same. Each user is responsible for ensuring that the materials they upload to the Vimeo Site do not infringe any third party copyright.

VIMEO will promptly remove materials from the Vimeo Site in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) if properly notified that the materials infringe a third party’s copyright. In addition, VIMEO may, in appropriate circumstances, terminate the accounts of repeat copyright infringers.

How does Vimeo handle trademark complaints?

According to Vimeo, “Once we receive a trademark complaint, we will investigate the alleged trademark infringement. In most cases, we will provide the alleged infringer with an opportunity to respond to the complaint. If we believe in good faith that a user is infringing a valid trademark, we will take corrective action, which may include deleting the infringing content (such as a video, profile name, or custom URL).”

What can you do to defend yourself?

So if you have had material removed from Vimeo and believe it didn’t infringe on a copyright claim, what can you do? Well according to Vimeo, you can do the following:

Filing a DMCA Counter-Notification to Restore Removed Content—for Vimeo Users

If you believe that your material has been removed by mistake or misidentification, please provide VIMEO with a written counter-notification containing the following information:

Your name, address, and telephone number.

A description of the material that was removed and the location on the Vimeo Site (e.g., the URL) where it previously appeared.

A statement UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY that you have a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification.A statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court for the judicial district in which your address is located, or if your address is outside of the United States, any judicial district in which VIMEO may be found (which includes the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York), and that you will accept service of process from the person who filed the original DMCA notice or an agent of that person.

    4. Your electronic or physical signature.

You may submit this information via:

Online: Our DMCA Counter-Notification form Email: [email protected] Offline: VIMEO’s Copyright Agent

Please note that we will send any complete counter-notifications we receive to the person who submitted the original DMCA notice. That person may elect to file a lawsuit against you for copyright infringement. If we do not receive notice that a lawsuit has been filed within ten (10) business days after we provide notice of your counter-notification, we will restore the removed materials. Until that time, your materials will remain removed. We will provide a copy of the original DMCA takedown notice upon request.

Vimeo goes on to list their repeat infringer policy and a warning message.

Repeat Infringer Policy

VIMEO will terminate user accounts that have been the subject of three (3) separate DMCA notices. In the event a user’s materials are removed due to a DMCA notice and then subsequently restored due to the filing of a DMCA counter-notification, VIMEO will treat the underlying DMCA notice as withdrawn.

VIMEO reserves the right to terminate user accounts that are the subject of fewer than three (3) DMCA notices in appropriate circumstances, such as where the user has a history of violating or willfully disregarding Vimeo’s Terms of Service.

Warning

In filing a DMCA notice or counter-notification, please make sure that you have complied with all of the above requirements. If we request additional information necessary to make your DMCA notice or counter-notification complete, please provide that information promptly. If you fail to comply with all of these requirements, your DMCA notice or counter-notification may not be processed further.

In addition, please make sure that all of the information you provide is accurate. UNDER SECTION 512(f) OF THE COPYRIGHT ACT, 17 U.S.C. § 512(f), ANY PERSON WHO KNOWINGLY MATERIALLY MISREPRESENTS THAT MATERIAL OR ACTIVITY IS INFRINGING OR WAS REMOVED OR DISABLED BY MISTAKE OR MISIDENTIFICATION MAY BE SUBJECT TO LIABILITY.

Vimeo may disclose any communications concerning DMCA notices or other intellectual property complaints with third parties, including the users who have posted the allegedly infringing material, and may provide DMCA notices to Chilling Effects

If you have questions about the legal requirements of a DMCA notice, please contact an attorney or see Section 512(c)(3) of the U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3), for more information. If you have questions about the legal requirements of a DMCA counter-notification, please contact an attorney or see Section 512(g)(3) of the U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 512(g)(3), for more information.

What is Vimeo’s end game?

Vimeo has publically stated that they are trying to move away from being a being a streaming platform to being more of a tech company. This is probably not good news for people in our industry who use Vimeo primarily because it is a streaming platform without ads. Even though Vimeo claims that they will continue to support the existing video platform, as soon as a company pivots its business direction that usually means manpower and resources are directed to other areas. Vimeo already has a pretty bad reputation when it comes to customer service, and their facebook page is always littered with complaints from users.

YouTube

YouTube, unlike Vimeo, is completely free. As YouTube has so many more users than Vimeo, it’s in their best interests in a lot of cases to leave videos up that directly infringe on music copyright. In late 2017  YouTube signed a deal with Universal Music Group and Sony Sony Music Entertainment to establish royalty rates between YouTube and rights holders for professional music videos and user-uploaded clips. YouTube has for a long time been criticized by the recording industry for its lackadaisical approach to enforcing copyright and failing to compensate artists appropriately. The thing is, YouTube is probably making millions and millions for artists indirectly just from the extra exposure they receive from their music being used on the site. Recording companies are in a bit of a catch-22, they want the extra revenue that they aren’t currently getting, but they don’t want to pull their music off YouTube because of how popular the site is.

Just like Vimeo, YouTube also has copyright infringement policies, and just like Vimeo they also have a three strikes and you’re out rule.

Below is YouTube’s policy on copyright:

You should only upload content (including music, videos, and artwork) that you created or that you’re authorized to use; otherwise, this could result in a copyright violation. Learn more.

If you use someone else’s content on your YouTube channel, the copyright owner can submit a takedown request. If this is a valid request, your video will be removed from YouTube and you’ll get a copyright strike. You can wait for a copyright strike to expire, seek a retraction, or submit a counter-notification. If you get three copyright strikes, your channel is subject to termination.

Alternatively, if you upload a video that contains copyright-protected material, you could end up with a Content ID claim issued by the party who owns the music, movies, TV shows, video games, or other copyright-protected material. A Content ID claim may result in a takedown or lost revenue depending on the actions specified by the copyright owner (but you can dispute a claim you believe is wrong).

We believe it’s important to keep YouTube a platform that inspires vibrant creativity and protects creative rights. If another channel uploads your content without your permission, you may file a copyright complaint via our web form.

Note: Some countries have rules for “fair use” (or “fair dealing”) of copyright-protected material under certain circumstances. If you’re not sure about your situation, you should get legal advice.

  Despite having a similar policy to Vimeo, YouTube seems to be a lot more liberal and easy going when it comes to copyright. They even have a video using non-threatning puppets to explain everything.

Music that won’t get flagged by YouTube

Musicbed uses a system called YouTube Clearance with SyncID. So what is Sync ID? SyncID is a Content ID clearance system created by Musicbed and offered as an exclusive benefit to members. SyncID provides a smooth, streamlined process to clear videos of ads and allows you to monetize your YouTube videos. In the past, claims from YouTube have been a source of frustration for filmmakers, but now, when you receive a claim from YouTube, SyncID should in theory sort that problem out for you.

Here is more of YouTubes answers that can be found on their website when addressing copyright issues:

What is a Content ID claim?

If you upload a video that contains copyright-protected material, you could end up with a Content ID claim. These claims are issued by companies that own music, movies, TV shows, video games, or other copyright-protected material.

Content owners can set Content ID to block material from YouTube when a claim is made. They can also allow the video to remain live on YouTube with ads. In those cases, the advertising revenue goes to the copyright owners of the claimed content.

If you have received a copyright strike, get help with copyright strike basics instead of using this article.

Where do I see my Content ID claims? To see if you have any Content ID claims on your videos, go to the copyright notices section of your Video Manager. We may also email you when you get a Content ID claim, if your video or account is affected.

Am I in trouble? Probably not. In most cases, getting a Content ID claim isn’t a bad thing for your YouTube channel. It just means, “Hey, we found some content in your video that’s owned by someone else.”

It’s up to the copyright owners to decide whether or not others can reuse their original material. In many cases, copyright owners allow their content to be used in YouTube videos in exchange for having ads run on those videos. These ads may play before the video or during it (if the video is longer than 10 minutes).

However, there are some actions copyright owners can take if they don’t want their material reused:

Blocking a video: Sometimes, copyright owners may block your video, which means people won’t be able to watch it. They can decide to block your video worldwide or just in certain countries.

Muting a video: If your video contains copyright-protected music, the owner may choose to mute it. This means that people can still watch your video, but they won’t be able to hear the soundtrack.

Blocking certain platforms: Sometimes, copyright owners may restrict the devices, apps, or websites where their content can appear. These restrictions won’t change the availability of your video on YouTube.com.

In some cases, you can’t monetize a video that has a Content ID claim. Instead, the copyright owners can choose to monetize your video. But in other cases, like if the music is claimed in your video, you may be able to share the advertising revenue with the music’s copyright owners.

What can I do about this claim? If you get a Content ID claim, there are a few different things you can do, depending on the situation:

Do nothing: If you agree with the claim, you can just move on. You can always change your mind later if you disagree with the claim. Remove the music: If you get a claim for a piece of music in your video, you can try to remove the song without having to edit and upload a new video. Learn more.

Swap the music: If music in your video is claimed, but you still want to have music in the background, you can swap out your audio track with one of our free-to-use songs. Learn more.

Share revenue: If you’re a member of our YouTube Partner Program, and you’ve included music in your video, you may be able to share revenue with the music’s rights owner(s). Learn more.

Dispute the claim: If you have the required rights to use the copyright-protected content in your video, or if you think the system has somehow misidentified your video, you can dispute the claim.

How to dispute a Content ID claim Sign in to YouTube. Go to Creator Studio > Video Manager > Copyright Notices. Click the link to the right of the video’s Edit menu. This will take you to a page with information about what’s been claimed in your video and who claimed it. You’ll see an option to dispute the claim. If you dispute a claim without a valid reason, the content owner may choose to take down your video. If this happens, your account will get a copyright strike.

Will anything change or should things stay the same?

Opinions are always going to vary when it comes to anything to do with the internet. Copyright is a very grey area in a lot of regards, especially when it comes to the internet. With somewhere between 1.3 and 1.8 billion websites existing on the internet enforcing copyright equally and fairly for everyone is literally impossible. Whether you think its ok to use someone else’s work with or without permission is more of a moral decision than a legal one in a lot of cases.

What are your thoughts on the internet and copyright? We would love to hear from you in the comments section.