Creative commons reminds me of one of the first things I learned in kindergarten…share. It’s amazing that something so simple can make the world so much more collaborative and connected. And isn’t this what we want our students to be able to do in the real world? Connect. Share. Collaborate. Particiapte in a meaningful way. Contribute.
Creative Commons is a wonderful resource fore multimedia projects with students. It is so disappointing to students when they are often “stuck” with the soundtracks packaged with video editing, sound editing, and other multimedia software programs. As an instructor, being informed about creative commons and how to give students access to sound, images, and video that are protected in this way will open a whole new avenue of creative potential.
As for teaching materials, I find that teachers are generous to a fault in swapping materials and sharing units with one another. The danger in this can be that materials posted online can be used by anyone, and the original author never receives credit for their original ideas and work. Furthermore, what if someone takes your good ideas and then publishes a teacher guide based on your work? If you want some credit and you still want to share, this is a great solution for any teacher posting their blood, sweat, and tears.
As for the downfall of creative commons, someone could potentially morph your original ideas in a way that you never envisioned. You may disagree whole-heartedly with the quality or the form of the new work, but you will have little say about the end product.
Oveall, creative commons makes the possible use of your ideas much more clear, if you are willing to share. What a wonderful “out of the box” solution for a long-existing problem. I can’t wait to hook my students up with this new information!
In my own search of creative commons items, I found myself overwhelmed by all the choices to explore. Once again, I see the 2.0 things as a huge time devil, sucking me down the digital black hole. I was pretty excited by MIT’s open courseware designed for high schools. I found an online class on short stories, which would be a great tool for me the next time I teach that unit. Why reinvent the wheel! I also found an awesome pdf document on Web 2.0, defining basic information and how to access the different tools. This is a wonderful reference tool for me as I venture further into the labyrinth of Web 2.0. (Ps. The OER Commons site is cool because it offers a little “bookmark” button to the right of each item, so that you can add it to your google bookmark toolbar. Before this whole Web 2.0 class, I don’t think I would have even noticed the button!)
It is all about collaboration, collegiality, sharing, and learning from each other. One thing I always do is learn from you! I, too, get overwhelmed because I tend to go down a road and get a little lost. Sometimes I remember to find my way back and other times I become so exhausted I quit and come back another day. At least with each of going down different roads, we are bound to make different discoveries. I loved the PDF you found on Web 2.0 and saved it for future reference.