I would be surprised to learn that Creative Commons is something my students are aware of; based on much of the work they produce. The implementation of CC will most likely not have a major impact on most of the work the students complete, because most assignments are not published, or use outside the classroom. Although, as I make the push to incorporate more web-based tasks for my students Creative Commons will play a larger role in the work produced by the students. I must admit, due to the ultimate use of most of my work, the digital images and video clips that I used for my lessons are not cleared through CC channels. With that being said, when I post of my professional teaching blog, I use only my own created material and work.
Immediately when reading about Creative Commons, I sadly thought to myself, “How are people going to take advantage of other people’s work for profit?” Jomo S. Thompson of The Fine Print states “If, however, you want to collaborate with others to make money, especially through exclusive agreements, or want to reserve the right to take your art back from the public at some point, it’s probably best to steer clear of CC.” The main point that sums up any reservations I have with Creative Commons is loss of control of your own work. If the correct measures are not taken there is a chance you could effectively donate your work to the world for whatever anyone will ever choose to do with it, and it is unlikely you will ever get control back. If the proper license selection is not made, your work can be incorporated with others, who can profit from it, and not pay you anything.
My first experience with Creative Commons was with Flickr, a site Richardson feels is one of the best (Richardson, 2010). I have always enjoyed photography, so after spending much time viewing several collections of beautiful photos, I narrowed my search with the Creative Commons selection, and started a “goals” collection. I thought goals would be an enticing topic to begin talking about “goal setting’ with my class. We can use Flickr to find pictures of all kinds of goals, and use those pictures as a platform to discuss the importance of goal setting when beginning an exercise program.
IIncorporating Creative Commons in conjunction with Flickr is something I look forward to introducing to the students in my classroom. I feel strongly that my students will actively engage in the assignment, and it is a renewed way to begin talking about a subject that will benefit them personally in the future.
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. (3rd ed.). Thousand Oak, California: Corwin