Thing 10: Get Creative with Creative Commons
When I followed the link to the copyright chart in the introduction to this lesson, I immediately downloaded a PDF so that I would have that chart to offer as guidance to teachers concerning the fair use of copyrighted material. I also wanted to create a file for Creative Commons info, as well. Upon linking to the License Your Work page and viewing the various legal codes for the different methods of use, I discovered that, although it is a brilliantly simple concept, it is comprised of fairly complex legal definitions. So, I just created a bookmark for the Creative Commons homepage. The site is comprehensive and the information found within is useful and easily located.
With the advent of Creative Commons, a bridge between the completely open Public Domain and the very restrictive Copyright laws has been created. I’m certain that, in the long run, this innovation will have a lasting impact on the way teachers use images, audio and the written word in their lessons. I find it interesting to note that the first federal copyright act was intended to enable the sharing of ideas. Perhaps the Creative Commons concept can bring us to a new Age of Enlightenment.
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Thanks for your ideas and thoughts on dealing with the “legal” side of Creative Commons. I’ve been wrestling with that and worried about getting into Creative Commons with students for fear of opening the proverbial can of worms! Thanks for sharing.