Working with Creative Commons

I have spent time this past week looking at how copyright law, creative commons, fair share use, and other procedures work. As a teacher, I am often tempted to borrow materials others have presented and reuse them. Many are hesitant to take such actions, as copyright law seams unclear. There are some guidelines some prescribed, but as just a little research would indicated, most of those guidelines are words and not reality. The truth is, copyright law is very unclear. Some sources are entirely copyrighted, some hold partial protection, and others are free source and open to use and editing. Different types of media hold different levels and lengths of protection and that makes things rather confusing.

For any avid user of technology and media, the thing to consider should truly be, "how did I use the content?" If you can make a case that you used the media in a way that respected the content, but created something more than was already there, then you have probably satisfied law. For example, if you use music as a backdrop to a slide show, you've done nothing new or creative with the music, so this would not stand up. However, if you used the instrumental version of a song and laid down an original vocal track on it, then you have created something original. Picture and film can be viewed in a similar vain.

All this got me to think about images. In my own teaching I love to analyze images. As a teacher of world studies, this would be difficult as I have not traveled the world, therefore do not have personal photographs of the world. It is easy to find photos using a google image search, but that isn't always the best way if you intend to accurately site the true source. A couple of good tool for usable content is Creative Commons and Flickrs version of the creative commons. These are places where people put materials they actually want to encourage others to use.

This all inspired me to share some of my images on Flickr. Within a lesson I was reading, I saw a photo that is currently posted in Flickrs creative commons. The photo, taken by Joe Friedoff is titled, "Erickson Hall." I found this title interesting, as it is actually a picture of Munn Field with Spartan Stadium in the background. And so to help the internet community, I posted my own picture of Erickson Hall, with the name printed on the building.

I then continued through the site to look though other picture. I found a photo by user Ennadha of a peaceful protest in the Middle East. I would use this in my classroom to juxtapose the image that the US and world media tend to portray, which is of violent revolution. I think this picture helps to inform people that a mass majority of people in this region are rational and peaceful, just as is the case in any other part of the world.

Photo Attribution:

Original Image:   اختتام الحملة الانتخابية ببن عروس

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ennahdha/6267746396/

By: Ennadha

Feel free to view my Flickr photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/68924841@N04/