Creative+Commons

Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that enables the sharing and use of creativity and knowledge through free legal tools. It allows people to issue creative works under a license that allows more flexibility than the default "all rights reserved" of copyright law.

Mission of Creative Commons:

"Creative Commons helps you share your knowledge and creativity with the world."

"Creative Commons develops, supports, and stewards legal and technical infrastructure that maximizes digital creativity, sharing, and innovation."

Resources and links
__http://creativecommons.org __


 * Articles and tutorials- **

__http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-3000_7-6357305-1.html <- a review of Creative Commons by CNET __

Strengths:

 * Creative Commons serves as a license that people who want their work to be shared can issue
 * It allows people who want their work shared to do so without fear of copyright infringement
 * Since many projects are now done online through use of multimedia, Creative Commons has tools to help students choose what media they can use in their projects
 * Allows students/users to search for works covered by Creative Commons license
 * <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">Favors "open education"-- students can access lectures without being students of a particular college
 * <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">Can help students make their music, art, or writing famous because it encourages sharing without fear of retribution

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">Weaknesses:

 * <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">No registration necessary to use a creative commons license, thus teachers cannot regulate what is happening
 * <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">Difficult to implement with younger students in an educational context

<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">Opportunities:

 * <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">Teachers can make learning more meaningful and give real incentive for students to edit their own work more carefully
 * <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">Students can make work for an authentic audience

**<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">Threats: **

 * <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">Teachers cannot trace where a student's work goes
 * <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">Universities may lose money in the long run if education becomes free (not that this is necessarily a bad thing! Knowledge for all!)


 * <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">Ideas in the Classroom: **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">Use this as a culminating project- help students get a creative common license for their best piece of writing or music, etc.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">Use this to teach about copywriting law, freedom of speech.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Lucida Console',Monaco,monospace;">Use this to spark an ethics debate (use the CNET review that I provided in this page to think of ways to frame the debate).