Understanding Creative Commons

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Although Creative Commons has been around over a decade, many teachers and students are unfamiliar with what it is and why they should know about it.  Creative Commons was founded out of the need for people who wanted to share content they created with other people on the web and not be bound by restrictive copyright licensing. Creative Commons licensing allows creators to decide how their work can be used, shared, and remixed by others.

You might ask, "Well what does that have to do with what I do in my classroom?" Well...if you assign projects that require the use of any multimedia culled from the web such as video, audio, images, photography, etc...then Creative Commons has everything to do with what you do in your classroom.

There are 2 short videos I'd like you to watch before we talk about Creative Commons next week in class and then post your response in the comment section.
This 3 minute video will give you an overview of the emergence and purpose of Creative Commons.




This video will give you more specific examples of the types of Creative Common licensing available and how it can be used.



While you and your students may be creating and/or sharing content on the web, that is not the primary reason for teaching you about Creative Commons. My main purpose in exposing you to Creative Commons is from an "end user" or consumer standpoint like when you or your students are searching for content to use like pictures, music, video, audio, worksheets, etc

How does knowing about Creative Commons licensing change your thinking or perspective on your use or student use of content from the web?
Why is it important for all educators to be aware of, teach about, and/or adhere to Creative Commons licensing?