Thing 9: Getting Creative with Creative Commons/Stretch Activity

I really like the idea of Creative Commons, but I was eager to check it out to see how useful it would be for the classroom.  Before my students begin our unit on the Titanic, I plan to work with them on a mini unit on archaeology.  I have photos from some of the historic and prehistoric sites I’ve worked on, but I was eager to show the class a variety of photos from digs around the world.  I also wanted them to see some of the elements of mathematics that are involved in archaeology.  After doing a quick search on Creative Commons, I found some photos that would be great to include in a slide show presentation for my students (archaeologists measuring depths, digging shovel test trenches, measuring grid units, using a trowel properly, etc.).  I was thrilled to find photos of marine archaeologists at work as well.  Those photos are a great bridge to our study of the Titanic and Robert Ballard’s discoveries. 

 I think there are lots of positives for using Creative Commons.  First of all, it gives the artist/author the ability to determine the types of permissions he wishes to grant at the time of publishing.  This prevents people from having to track someone down for permission to use music, for instance.  I think it may also protect an artist in the event that there is a dispute over ownership.  Someone may be able to use it as proof of authorship in a copyright infringement case.  Using material from Creative Commons is a great way to teach our students about proper use of copyrighted material.  It takes the guess work out of using songs, images, videos, or text to create a new product.  It also allows people to get their work noticed and used by a variety of people. 

I think there may be some cons for using Creative Commons.  Since I enjoy photography, most of my cons are geared in that direction.  I wonder if people are prevented from posting someone else’s work on CC and declaring it as their own.  It seems that, even if they are caught, that owner’s work has already been distributed and used without permission.  I also wonder if the people appearing in the images have signed releases agreeing to the use of their image to produce other creative projects by other artists.  While most artists would probably adapt the original work in a positive way, some may manipulate the original work and use it in an unflattering or offensive way.  I’m not sure about any of this…just wondering.

I have noticed the CC logo on several sites.  One site I found, “Writing Poetry Like Pros,” had the CC logo.  This is from a group of  lesson plans compiled by the Education Department of the University of North Carolina.  The lesson plans have many authors.  This particular lesson plan was provided by National Endowment for the Humanities.  It contains state learning objectives and links to resources, such as titles of books that may be used to enhance the lesson.  By exploring this lesson plan, I found many others provided by UNC.  Creative Commons is one more avenue for sharing lesson plans with other teachers.  Instead of reinventing the wheel, teachers may adapt lesson plans to suit their needs.  I looked at the CC license for this particular lesson plan to determine the ways in which it may be used.  The license agreement was easy to understand.

I look forward to learning more about CC and its many uses.