Whenever a song is played before a group of people, especially in a public place, that’s considered a public performance. Whoever owns the copyright to that song is supposed to be paid for that performance. Songs you’ve heard in concerts, at restaurants, and even in church are supposed to be paid for, usually via licensing fees. There’s a reason that restaurants that sing to their patrons usually have their own songs.

If you have sung “Happy Birthday to You” to your nephew at Chuck E. Cheese, you should have paid for the privilege. If you put a video of it on YouTube, you probably should have paid a lot more, because now you’ve distributed that performance. At least, that’s true if Warner/Chappell really owns it.

According to Good Morning To You Productions, a documentary film company, they don’t. The case is complicated, but it boils down to two key ideas. The women that Warner/Chappell claim to have written the song really wrote something else, and the individual copyrights on versions published since then have all expired.

It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out, not only to clear you for your egregious cases of copyright infringement, but also because it would mean that Warner/Chappell would have to repay millions of dollars it has collected over the decades from film and television producers who wanted to use the song.

It was an exciting afternoon at the Broken Arrow library today. Humidity from the stormy weather and a blocked floor drain in the mechanical part of the building caused a small flood, which created leaks in the ceiling tiles and light fixtures over two ranges of books and other materials.

Fortunately, staff members were quick to act on the situation. Jiles spotted the first falling drops and alerted Tom and Karl. The three of them covered the shelves with plastic sheeting, then worked with Pamela and Rickey to pull materials in danger of being dampened. Maintenance staff also joined in to dry the carpet and set up fans to dry off books.

In all, only about two dozen volumes were affected, and most should be able to be dried and returned to the collection. Great job, everyone!

Posted by Karl G. Siewert
 

Digital Learning Now! is a national campaign under ExcelinEd with the goal of advancing state policies that will create a high-quality digital learning environment to better equip all students with the knowledge and skills to succeed in this 21st-century economy. The policy framework stems from the belief that access to high-quality, customized learning experiences should be available to all students, unbounded by geography or artificial policy constraints.

Digital Learning Now! recently released the 2012 Digital Learning Report Card, which measures each of the nation’s 50 states against the 10 Elements of High Quality Digital Learning as it relates to K-12 education.

Highlights of the report indicate that states are:

• Advancing student-centric reforms
• Reducing barriers to blended learning
• Encouraging the use of technology
• Offering a more personalized college- and career-ready education

How does Oklahoma fare?  It doesn’t look good folks! Read on for more information: This work produced a consensus around the 10 elements of high quality digital learning that identified specific issue and polices states need to address in order to support emerging next general models of learning.

Where does Oklahoma stand, you may be wondering?  Well, the state’s overall score is a 69% — that’s a D+ when combining all ten digital learning element scores.

One of the most encouraging findings from Digital Learning Now’s research is that more than 700 bills involving digital learning were considered in 2012, with over 150 signed into law.  Along with DLN, it is encouraging to know that leaders in nearly every state proposed or enacted policies to advance digital learning since the release of DLN’s first state report cards in 2011.  Examples from Oklahoma include SB 1816 signed on June 8, 2012 that created the statewide Virtual Charter School Board, and SB 169.  It establishes that a virtual education provider that offers full-time virtual education to students who are not residents of the school district with which the provider is contracted shall be considered a site within each school district and subject to the state’s accountability system.

To learn more, check out the report.  Also, check out the Digital Learning Now Report Card website which features an interactive map, a tool to compare state scores and downloadable state profiles for more details on where Oklahoma stands when it comes to providing high quality digital learning.

Posted by Pamela Louderback

Anke has studied painting in watercolor and pastels with nationally known artists and in recent years added the art of printmaking (more specifically, monotypes).

Anke was invited to teach a monotype workshop in conjunction with the “Rauchschenberg at Gemini” exhibition at the Philbrook Museum of Art in June of 2011 and had a solo exhibition at the gallery of the Performing Arts Center (PAC) in Tulsa in October of 2011.  Included in the PAC exhibit were a large number of monotypes portraying the change of seasons on the prairie.

This NSU exhibit also includes a large number of monotypes.  So, stop by the Visitor’s Gallery on the Broken Arrow campus of Northeastern State University to enjoy the wonderful art of Anke Dodson.  You’ll be glad you did.

Our own Jiles Pourier received the Shining Star Award for his community work helping to rebuild homes in areas affected by Hurricane Sandy.   He was chosen to be one of the five team leaders for MTV and United Way’s Spring Fix Alternative Spring Break, in areas affected by the Hurricane.

For those of us honored to know Jiles Pourier, this self-less attitude isn’t surprising.  He is well known for his quiet leadership and service to others. We’re all particularly proud of him and his achievements!

This year Spring Breakers from across the country volunteered to help those impacted by Hurricane Sandy. Here is a look at just some of their restoration efforts at a damaged church in the hard hit area of The Rockaways in NY.  Read more at: http://www.mtv.com/shows/spring_break/2013/series.jhtml

As well, we are extremely proud that another of our student workers, Diamond Urbano received the Outstanding Senior Award.

The Outstanding Senior Award program, or Jack Kaufman awards, are given to deserving seniors each year who are nominated by NSU faculty and staff. Award guidelines include that a nominee must: have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.25 or higher; have demonstrated his or her concern for NSU through campus involvement; and be an all-around student who typifies the spirit of NSU.

We are exceptionally proud of both Jiles and Diamond! They are talented, driven and intelligent individuals who have freely given of themselves to NSU, as well as a number of civic and student organizations.

Posted by Pamela Louderback

1. a STEM Lab.
2. Genius Hour.
3. Flat Online Connections and Collaborations. 
4. A network engineered to support 1:1 or better.
5. A Connected, Passionate Educator
6. A Worthy To Be List
7. The Flexibility to  be a Teacherpreneur”

Here’s a link to the original post (with more detailed explanation of each ingredient).

Posted by Tom R.

The Northwestern Institute of Citizenship Studies has begun publishing a peer-reviewed journal, Civitas: Journal of Citizenship Studies. According to their mission statement, “Civitas is an annual, interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed publishing venue aimed at promoting scholarship concerning the Humanities and Social Sciences as they relate to citizenship matters. The Journal, which is facilitated by the NWOSU Institute for Citizenship Studies, draws upon the talents and perspectives of a diverse Review Board from the United States and abroad.”

Volume 1 is available free for download at the Civitas site, and print copies may be purchased there as well. They are also seeking submissions for Volume 2, with a deadline of July 1. 

Congratulations to NWOSU on this prestigious publication!

-posted by Karl G. Siewert

… that today is the anniversary of the Oklahoma Land Rush?
The first Oklahoma land rush began at noon in 1889. More than
50,000 people took part. A number of the people who
participated in the run entered the unoccupied land early and
hid there until the legal time of entry to lay quick claim to
some of the choicest homesteads. These people came to be
identified as “Sooners.”

Posted by Tom R.

“National Library Week” – a song
lyrics by Karl G. Siewert, based on “National Brotherhood Week” by Tom Lehrer (who, it is hoped, has a forgiving nature)

Oh, the e-books hate the print books
And the “snooty” books hate the “trashy” books
To insist your books are the best books
Is an old established rule

But during National Library Week
National Library Week
Danielle Steel and Hemingway
Are dancing cheek to cheek
Fiction or Biography
Makes no difference to me
I’ll check your book out to you with a smile.

Oh, the poor folks and the rich folks
And those crazy middle-class folks
Are all equal at the library
It’s American as apple pie!

And during National Library Week
National Library Week
It’s National Everyone-Lend-a-Book-to-
One-Another-y Week
Caroline Kennedy tells us all
To come and have a ball
At the library in your college, town, or school.

Oh, there’s research, and there’s job help
There are movies, and music CDs
All free to use at your library
Let me tell y’all the news

This week is National Library Week
National Library Week
Academics love the publics
‘Cause it’s very chic
Think of librarians who
Have been helpful to you.
It’s only for a week, so if you please
Remember to support your libraries!

Come and visit our National Library Week display on the first floor!

-posted by Karl G. Siewert

Karl comes to NSU from the Tulsa City-County Library, where he has been a reference librarian for 11 years. Since 2007 he has worked with teens, but prior to that, he was focused on business reference. Karl received his MLIS from Dominican University, taking his courses through the College of St. Catherine (now St. Catherine University) in St. Paul, Minnesota. He grew up in Kansas and attended Fort Hays State University for his BS in English Education.

Karl’s reading interests include horror, fantasy, teen fiction, comics (DC more than Marvel), history and art. He considers himself a “maker,” building new things from old materials. His greatest accomplishment in that arena is a ukulele he made from an old candy tin, which he’s teaching himself to play. He also worked during library school as a professional yo-yo performer.

Welcome aboard Karl!

Posted by Tom R.