Friday, June 28, 2013

EDIM 514: Creative Commons Licensing

Even though I consider myself to be fairly active online, Creative Commons Licensing was a new concept for me in my last graduate course (EDIM 510 - Web 2.0 Impacting Learning Environments). I was not surprised to see this topic explored again for my new course, but I was explore CC licenses in more detail and to learn about the different types.  In my opinion, the Creative Commons wiki made the types of licenses easy to understand by providing clear examples of how CC might be used by educators.  It was easy to connect to those examples and see how they might apply to my own educational works, in particular my EDIM blog.

Using the Creative Commons wiki, I was able to answer a few short questions and generate a badge that outlines the particular license I have chosen for my blog.  A few more clicks allowed me to add the badge to the sidebar. This makes it clear to visitors who may wish to share my work (if I could be so lucky!) that they must abide by the license I have chosen.

The first aspect of my license is Attribution.  This means that anyone who wishes to use information or media that I have created and posted on my blog needs to give me credit.  I fully support sharing resources among colleagues and encourage it! However, I feel equally strong about giving credit where credit is due.  If I've worked hard on writing something, creating a video, or taking a photograph, I wouldn't want someone else to steal it and pass it off as their own work.  Simply attributing it to me, the creator, is all that I ask. Also, I spend a great deal of time harping on reminding my 6th grade students to cite their sources whenever quoting or using someone else's work, and this is a great real world application of that lesson on plagiarism!

I did not elect the No Derivative Works option for my license.  I like to borrow pictures and videos from websites and other educators (when given proper permission, and always giving proper credit!) and add my own captions during lessons or on printed materials.  I don't think someone else editing a photograph of an elephant I've taken ruins the integrity of my work. If it allows them to use it in a worthwhile manner, and they've given me credit for the original photography, then go right ahead!

I also chose to add the Noncommercial option to my license.  I don't mind sharing my work with others who are using it for educational purposes or just for fun.  As a teacher, I love finding free resources that I can use with my students, and I'm more than happy to give credit to the author.  However, I do not believe others should be allowed to make money off of something I have created. I believe I should reserve the right to distribute my own work for profit if I so choose and to also determined the parameters in which it would be used.

Finally,  I added the Share Alike option to my license.  Since I am allowing others to use my work, and modify it, I'd prefer that they share it under the same terms.  Otherwise, someone could take what I have allowed someone else to use with proper permission and turn around and sell it or not give credit to me as the original creator.

While learning more about Creative Commons Licenses may seem boring to the average internet surfer, I think that they are something everyone who intends to share content online should learn more about. In particular, those in the education field who routinely guide children through the writing process, including sharing their work and citing sources, should also consider opening students' eyes to Creative Commons Licenses.  We want students to follow the proper guidelines in protecting the work of others, so it only makes sense to teach them to protect their own work too.