Creative Commons

A short video to introduce Creative Commons - very helpful for us visual learners :)

 

Creative Commons is the place that fills the gap between "All Rights Reserved" and "Public Domain" when it comes to copyright laws. Anybody is free to post their creative work on CC, and then determine their own copyright terms. Dependent upon what those are, educators are allowed to share and use other people's work without the fear of copyright infringement. It takes away the stress of feeling like they are always in violation of copyright laws because they know that what they are doing is not only allowed, but encouraged! It opens up a realm on possibilities for not only educators, but artists, musicians and writers among many others.  Below is a graphic that breaks down the different types of copyright licenses that a person who is choosing to share their work can set:

By using Creative Commons, educators can create presentations and share work legally, knowing that they are not "stealing" or doing anything illegal, if they only adhere and respect the terms set by each individual of the work. They set a good example for their students by following rules, and can encourage their own students to use Creative Commons as a means for them to build upon the ideas of others or share their own work with the world.

Hooray for Creative Commons! I had never heard of this before doing this assignment, but now that I know about it, I am grateful for it's existence, and know that I will be utilizing it in the future for teaching and art.