trakAx

trakaxPC in the Classroom

We realize that teachers across a wide range of disciplines are embracing multimedia as a means to engage students and bring subjects to life. We have created a series of sample lessons that can be incorporated into many aspects of the school curriculum. The lessons are intended to provide inspiration to teachers and provide them with the resources they need in order to build interesting and stimulating classes. You can browse the lessons from the menu on the left and each lesson can be downloaded as a PDF from the appropriate links.

Different institutions have various rules and regulations when it comes to using recording equipment and the internet - please find below a few issues you may need to address before embarking on any multimedia projects.

Sample Lessons

If you have any questions on the sample lessons or a particular topic that you would like to see covered, please contact us.

Use of Photography and Video Recording Equipment in Schools

Many schools have explicit policies in regards to photography and video recording equipment on school grounds, taking video or still images anywhere on school property, as well as sharing videos and images that identify students. Check your school’s rules and regulations before undertaking any of these projects.

Acceptable Usage Policies

Discuss with your students the acceptable usage of tools such as the internet, video recording equipment and other technology tools. You will need clear rules for the usage of these tools and an understanding of the appropriate punishment for breaking these rules. You may want to get further guidance from your principle or school board on acceptable usage policies.

Copyright

In most of the projects outlined, students most likely will want to use radio and video clips as well as photos that are copyrighted. However, if the distribution is purely within the classroom and will not be distributed outside the classroom, then the content may be covered by the Fair Use Guidelines of Copyright.

Fair use is a doctrine in United States copyright law that allows limited use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the rights holders, such as for example commentary, criticism, news reporting, research, teaching or scholarship. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use for more information.

However, students should be made aware that if they would like to distribute their projects online or in any format outside the classroom, such materials may be protected by copyright and they would need to gain permission before using them.

For more information on copyright, please see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright
For information on Creative Commons, please see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creative_Commons

Limited Resources

We understand that most schools work with limited resources. For this reason, we suggest that students are broken into groups for all the projects. Students can then be given particular roles within the group – script-writer, director, reporter, lighting, editor etc. – so all students are kept occupied during class. Marks can be given for team work and communication skills to help with control and discipline. We would suggest assigning one student with particularly strong technical skills to each group, as this can minimize time spent on answering technical questions and help decrease disruptions.