Home > The Treasure Hunt Club > No. 53 Copyright-free Materials and EnglishCentral
No. 53 Copyright-free Materials and EnglishCentral (2009年12月10日)
カテゴリー: The Treasure Hunt Club
投稿者: 名ばかり編集長
Marcel Van Amelsvoort
（Kanagawa Prefectural College of Foreign Studies）
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Hello everyone and welcome to the last Treasure Hunt column of 2009.
This month I have another mixed bag of online resources to share with
you. And since I know everyone is busy in December, I’ll get right to
the goods.
One of the biggest problems anyone can have with making materials for
learners is that you can’t just use images and other things you find
on the web in your media projects, your blogs, etc. Copyright
violation is commonplace, I know, and most people rationalize it away
by saying that their materials are only for educational use with their
own small groups of learners. But the truth is that unless you bought
them or have received permission, you shouldn’t be using copyrighted
materials. I recently was introduced to a collection of links on the
web where copyright-free images and sounds can be found. It’s a wiki
site called Copyright Friendly. Here you’ll find information on use
and links to loads of sites where you can get content. You’ll still
need to cite or attribute the materials when you use them, however.
http://copyrightfriendly.wikispaces.com/
A new listening and pronunciation tool has recently become available.
It’s called English Central. You choose a video, listen, and then
record your voice. The system then gives you a pronunciation score and
detailed feedback about your weaknesses and how you can improve them.
This is a great tool for intensive listening and pronunciation work. I
really recommend that you take a look at the demo at the site. The
site allows both student and teacher registration. Teachers can manage
and track their students using the tools at the site. Registration is
free for the time being. http://www.englishcentral.com/en/videos
That’s all for this month. Good luck getting through December. And
best wishes for a great holiday and a wonderful 2010. See you next
year.
（Kanagawa Prefectural College of Foreign Studies）
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝□■
Hello everyone and welcome to the last Treasure Hunt column of 2009.
This month I have another mixed bag of online resources to share with
you. And since I know everyone is busy in December, I’ll get right to
the goods.
One of the biggest problems anyone can have with making materials for
learners is that you can’t just use images and other things you find
on the web in your media projects, your blogs, etc. Copyright
violation is commonplace, I know, and most people rationalize it away
by saying that their materials are only for educational use with their
own small groups of learners. But the truth is that unless you bought
them or have received permission, you shouldn’t be using copyrighted
materials. I recently was introduced to a collection of links on the
web where copyright-free images and sounds can be found. It’s a wiki
site called Copyright Friendly. Here you’ll find information on use
and links to loads of sites where you can get content. You’ll still
need to cite or attribute the materials when you use them, however.
http://copyrightfriendly.wikispaces.com/
A new listening and pronunciation tool has recently become available.
It’s called English Central. You choose a video, listen, and then
record your voice. The system then gives you a pronunciation score and
detailed feedback about your weaknesses and how you can improve them.
This is a great tool for intensive listening and pronunciation work. I
really recommend that you take a look at the demo at the site. The
site allows both student and teacher registration. Teachers can manage
and track their students using the tools at the site. Registration is
free for the time being. http://www.englishcentral.com/en/videos
That’s all for this month. Good luck getting through December. And
best wishes for a great holiday and a wonderful 2010. See you next
year.
