Copyright Issues in the Classroom

     I think the idea of Creative Commons is really great. It works to allow internet users the openness to share their own work as well as learn from and gather other people's work. Especially in the world of education, it is important for teachers to be aware of copyright laws and in turn, teach their students about the dangers of using material from the internet.
     I particularly enjoyed the article about the 5 myths surrounding copyright infringement on the Internet. These five myths would be an important source to use in the classroom because many students probably succumb to many of these falsities surrounding copyright infringement. I, admittedly, believed many of the myths that were provided. I was aware that pulling images from Google without sourcing was most likely an issue, but, like myth #4 points out, I never thought too much about it because others were doing it all the time. Many of my past teachers use Google images in PowerPoint presentations often, which gives the false impression that this is acceptable to do. But as the Myth presentation points out, "It's not uncommon for people using images stolen from Google to be smacked with a bill for unpaid license fees" (http://brittanysbest.com/2013/08/5-copyright-myths/). This is something I certainly want to inform my students about in hopes that they can avoid this fate, as well as respect the people who create the original images used on Google.
     The idea of Creative Commons is especially intriguing as an educator. I was unaware of the fact that when you create a song or video and upload it to the internet it automatically creates a Copyright- own all rights reserved, in order to protect your material from being used. So when you actually WANT people to share and use your content, Creative Commons is the way to get around this. It provides free copyright licensing that allows you to choose specifically which portions of your content you want to protect and which you want to share. As advocates of the service explain in a Youtube video, Creative Commons "saves the world from failed sharing" (http://drapestakes.blogspot.com/2008/12/educators-guide-to-creative-commons.html).  It exercises our copyright in more ways, more simply. And most importantly, it creates the sense of an online community, an idea that we, as teachers, always want to be instilling in our classroom. Creating a community in which students can freely and safely share their work, and in the process learn from it, is an advantage for the Internet-riddled education world.

image from: http://virulentwordofmouse.wordpress.com/2012/06/17/what-does-the-average-surfer-know-about-creative-commons/