In the days when great edtech was a child printing out a Word document to give to the teacher or a teacher presenting a lesson to the class via a garish PowerPoint slideshow complete with lasertext transitions(!?!), the last thing on anyone’s mind was who owned that picture I downloaded from Google. To be honest, I would think the vast majority of users still think every image on the “Interwebs” is up for grabs, along with all those movies and songs we’ve been ‘innocently’ downloading over the years.
Now, however with the advent of Web 2.0 online publishing as a norm in schools, protocols and expectations have to change. A picture on a printed Word document is one thing – it is hidden from public view and the owner of the image is none the wiser. Technically still not abiding by copyright possibly ( I’m not a lawyer ) but highly unlikely you will be chased down for the crime. Publish it on your blog, glog, vlog, podcast, Prezi, iBook, Screencast, etc? You better be following the right protocols. If we are going to open the world of published authorship to our students, it is our responsibility to educate them in appropriate use. Enter Creative Commons – and the fine folk from foter.com who have created this infographic to explain how its done. Not only does it explain clearly through a visual representation what CC is, what it means to you as a user and possible publisher, and what each attribution category means, it also shows how to correctly attribute images you use.
In encouraging our students to publish to a real online audience, not only should we be teaching them to attribute the work of others they use in their content, we should also be teaching them how to apply licences to their own original work so that their intellectual property is also protected.
Once you have scrolled through this lengthy but easy to follow guide, also take time to browse through additional screenshots and resources I have put together to highlight how online heavyweights Google Search, YouTube, Flickr and Creative Commons themselves make it easier for you to find free to use content. (Check out foter.com too – they have an extensive library for you to use.) And remember – if its not sure, make sure your audience knows it not yours. Give credit where credit’s due and you will never be short on content to use in your online work.
ADVANCED GOOGLE SEARCH
Not sure why it is hidden away in hard to find places but once you find Google’s CC search option in Advanced search ( in the little cog icon as shown below) you will have little problem finding CC attributed images to use online.
FLICKR CC SEARCH
One of the best sources for CC attributed images is Flickr. These screenshots show you their explanation of licenses and how to search for them. Click here for a good guide to how to add licences to your photos on Flickr
CREATIVE COMMONS SEARCH
Creative Commons itself as a Search feature itself that allows you to access multiple sites for online content including images, audio and video. Importantly, they also have a timely disclaimer/reminder making it clear you still need to check if the image is CC licensed. We need to instil this habit in our students and teachers.
Two recent additions to Youtube make it easier to use CC licensed video and audio in our multimedia productions. YouTube Editor, a simple to use but hidden video creator available through your YOutube account has instant access to a searchable list of CC licensed videos that you can use and edit straight in the program. Also recently added is a audio library of music that is CC licensed for use and downloadable so you can use off line as well. Below are screenshots showing where these tools can be found and what they look like.