Bloom+County+Gazette

=Bloom Picayune=

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Paideia School, in a obvious attempt to avoid lawsuits for prior infractions, has posted enlisted the use of [|Creative Commons] to help distribute copyrighted material without penalty. When asked for comment, a Paideia representative stated:"We work diligently to ensure that the material we post on the web doesn't violate the copyright of any individuals."=====

An inside source at Paideia had the following comment:

==="Task 1: This idea of partial reduction of copyright presents an interesting potential to use others material. It really strike me as being in the collaborative nature that web2.0 sort of provides. Instead it is the first in (no doubt) many attempts to attach reasonable restrictions to free use. At first I thought that I wouldn't really have much of a use for this, but then I realized that I make a lot of videos in class and those might be used by others. I guess I should start adapting my copyright so others can legally use my videos."===

New Voicethread Application Threatens Reading Skills
A new internet application called [|Vociethread] has gotten recent acclaim for its ability to use multiple formats for comments on a piece of media, most notably audio comments. The site allows a user to take a document, image or video, upload it to the site and allow other voice thread users to add comments in a variety of formats. When asked for comment a Voicethread representative said:

"Voicethread is excited to offer multiple options for leaving comments on existing work. This will expand the comment user-base of a document to new populations. Imagine a young child who can't write yet is allowed to leave comments on a picture or song. Previously they would need to be able to type and write in order to participate in the online dialog, but now they can start at an earlier age."

It is clear to this reporter that there is a hidden message in this statement: don't learn how to read or write. Voicethread is trying to set this country back hundreds of years by no longer requiring even the most basic of skills to participate in their "online dialog." In a sample taken from Voicethread's site it is clear that written language is not a concern of theirs. Both the content and comment are completely devoid of written words, just begging our populace to forget how to read and just focus on the sounds. The Picayune will continue to follow up on Voicethread's attempts to undermine the American people. media type="custom" key="3338498"

**Cat's Learn to Fight: New Threat to the Human Race?**
In a shocking turn, domesticated house cats have begun studying Hotetsu, an ancient style of martial areas. No cat's have been witnessed participating in the deadly art, but photos have been taken from hidden camera's as owners were away. As can be seen in the photos, these cats have begun sparring in what we can only assume is an attempt to eventually eliminate dogs entirely or perhaps even take on their owners. No cats could be reached for comment, and we suspect that if we cornered them our reporter would not have come back alive. Photos have indicated that cats are learning these skills at a very young age. Cat owners beware, your felines may be planning your eminent demise. [Mouse over to get the URLs]

Muffi & Tiger: http:// http://www.flickr.com/photos/matsomuffi/439909273/page2/ KJarrett:http://www.flickr.com/photos/kjarrett/449795850/ Buntekah: Link:http://www.flickr.com/photos/buntekuh/110548415/ Kevin Steele: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinsteele/18256000/

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Picayune Radio: Podcasting
This week Carl Ritzkoff explores the expanding world of Podcasting. Carl plays a segment of an interview with BSCU student Evan Schuley regarding his use of podcasts and then plays a representative section of another podcast. Next week Carl will be interviewing some of trainers in town for the Bloom County Dog Show.

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Editorial: Video Usage ("Thing 19")
As a local high school teacher I have frequently heart my students at Bloom County High (BCH) refer to the youTube pretty frequently. Apparently it is some video site that is located On A Boat where average people can access amateur videos about different topics. We put our crack Technology Team on the task of finding out how exactly this youTube works and what it is and here is what they found:

media type="custom" key="3608464" media type="custom" key="3608424" Our team also found other "websites" (presumably also On A Boat) that offer similar services. They made a video to show us the things they did during this assignment: media type="custom" key="3608436" When reached for comment the Team Technology Lead had the following to say about youTube:

"youTube and other videosharing sites are going to change the way that we teach our children. Video production and replay will allow us to students to relive the classroom, and create content for the classroom. It is up to teachers to figure out a viable way to integrate youTube, Vimeo and other sites into their classrooms in ways that will be beneficial. There will be some flawed applications, but eventually the best way to use youTube in different classrooms will come to the top."

Breaking News: Tiny Balls of Goo Are Taking Over The Planet
Recent Photos have been taken showing tiny [|balls of goo] forming bridges to cross gaps. Surely these alien forms are honing their skills to cross the Bloom County Gorge and take over our beautify city. No one knows if these balls are part of a scout team for a alien race, or if they are the full force of the alien onslaught. What's worse is that apparently they are getting help from one of our own. We got video captured from a cellular phone belonging to Ms. Hinklebottom showing the goo balls building a bridge (out of themselves) using balloons and the help of a human heard in the video. No one knows who the traitor is, but he or she is the lead suspect in the recent disappearance of Ms. Hinklebottom. Authorities have assured The Picayune that there is nothing to worry about, however we remain skeptical. Please, if any of you see these goos training or attacking in any way, shoot video of the occurrence and send it to The Picayune. Perhaps if we get these instructional videos in front of enough eyes we will find a way to stop them before they cross The Gorge.

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Friday, May 1st, 2009
media type="custom" key="3740397" Don't forget to sign up for the Bloom County 5k held through and around Riverview Park this summer. The race is in its 84th year, dating back to the original race in which Mayor Bloom raced against local business man Merle Springfield for the right to name the county. Registration is due by May 13th and can be sent by mail to The Picayune or dropped off at Ms. Evan's Jam-porium.

Goodbye Loyal Readers
After 37 years in the industry, The Bloom Picayune will be closing its doors as of June 5th this year. Our owner, Mr. Pillblatt, has purchased a wiring company and has determined wire-sent communication to be the wave of the future. Many of our staff will stay on as wire operators, tapping away dots and dashes, sending breaking news to the masses. A few of us (myself included) will be moving on to another project using The Internet (tm) to distribute our editorials. We are not entirely sure how that will work, but fortunately they are people in each department that will be moving with us. Our new Web-Log (it took Reggie in research 2 years to figure out what kids were talking about when they said "blog") will be sent to your Internet (tm) brower each week. We are going with Merryl's suggestion of The Oddly Standard as a title, in honor of her Uncle Oddly who has donated the shed behind his house to be our office.

We are hoping to continue to bring you the high level editorial content that we have for the past years, and we will still be covering the Poultry Parade each summer. According to Frank we will be "web-casting" the Parade. When asked for comment on the process Frank stated:

"I've been really happy with the process for Pi 2.1. I still wish that there were some sort of meeting of everyone involved at some point, but I really like the use of the Wiki rather than the blog. The blog is cool, but I seldom go back to it to look at the comments. It could be a really cool idea to extend one of the tasks a bit farther and let people collaboratively create either a lesson plan or a single activity and post it on the wiki. There would clearly be a focus on the skills/tools we have learned in the class, and it would create a database that would grow as time goes on. Since the power of the internet is in allowing users to create content (when inclined) and then having others revue or use that content, we should leverage that to make stuff for Paideia. Through these two courses we have been given tools to develop things, but I have lots of tools in my garage that I know how to use but never do. If asked to do an assignment (either individually or in pairs) we would be gently forced to implement these tools in our classroom at a faster rate. There are plenty of lessons that I can find online to teach different things, but often they require just as much time to adapt as it would to create something new. Also, the process of creating something new with someone else will cement out comfortability with a tool. With all that in mind, it really has been a fun course, and I eagerly anticipate Pi 2.2 [Photo-Synth & SkethcUp!]."

No one understands what Frank is talking about, but he clearly knows more than the rest of us, so we hope he can help us on this massive undertaking. Thanks again for many years of loyal reading, we are all sad to see The Picayune disappear. Hopefully we will see you "online," but if not I'm sure we'll see you on Friday nights at McKlosky Field (Go Penguins!).

Picayune Editorial Staff (Martin Aguilera)