According to Wikipedia, Creative Commons is "a non-profit organization devoted to expanding the range of creative work available for others legally to build upon and share. The organization has released several copyright licenses known as Creative Commons licenses. These licenses, depending on the one chosen, restrict only certain rights (or none) of the work."
But don't trust Wikipedia, just go to their site.
My title is actually their headline. Creative Commons provides a great solution to many legal issues; they license creative works and allow you to search for creative works that you are able to use with little or no restriction. Using their search tool, you can find music, video, photos, books, text, and educational material that you can "share, reuse, or remix", well, "legally" without having to go through the painstaking process of getting permission.
This is a great concept and the blog on the site contains many articles related to this subject. One of the most interesting concepts was put forth by the leader of Wikipedia and now board member of Creative Commons, Jimmy Wales, in his blog on why free knowledge requires free software and free file formats. It is really an inspiring entry on quickly the world is changing and what these changes entail.
I'm really grateful that Jessica asked about Creative Commons, because it really helped me sort out some of the legality of this (and that). What's more, I now have a search tool to find usable materials and links to a variety of free software and file formats, which just may help out with this week's assignment.
Since our task is to download and evaluate software, I can begin learning how to actually create a podcast with some of the programs that are out there. It's somewhat eerie that everything is falling into place....
2 comments:
Wow - whata great site! It was full of great information for use in the classroom, just like you said. I like how you provided the Wikipedia definition and the website. Thanks to your post, I can now go to a reliable source and find out what I can and cannot use when I design activities for my students. Thanks!!
Is it eerie that things are falling into place, or just synchronicity?
I often use wikipedia to find images. When you click on an image it shows the creative commons license so copyright issues are clear.
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