Thing #23: (WEEK 9) Copyright, Creative Commons, and Congratulations!

Putting the ‘social’ into social networks allows us to freely exchange information. But with the free exchange of information comes the responsibility of how we share it, and how we give credit to the author of that information. Check out this video, “A Fair(y) Use Tale” and learn some history of copyright.



In the school library and classroom, we are often faced with copyright challenges of when it is acceptable to copy something and how much of an item [book, website, music, video, etc.] we can copy. Faced with declining budgets and little time, we are tempted to make the copies. But with the advent of file sharing, downloading, and RSS, we must acknowledge and teach the ethics of information gathering and sharing.

Creative Commons is a copyright license that allows us to choose to share our intellectual property. This course is designed under a Creative Commons license and is an example of how one can take a piece of information or a product and re-work it to make it fit your needs. By acknowledging the original authors, they have given permission for you to share. One place for good information about what's going on with the Creative Commons is Lawrence Lessig's blog. Lawrence Lessig is one of the Creative Commons developers and a Stanford University professor.

Discovery Exercise:

Find an example or attribution that shows this program has been modified from it's original.
Discovery Resources:

-Online copyright comic book developed by students at Duke University Law School.
-Creative Commons website.
-“Wanna Work Together?” YouTube video about Creative Commons.
-California Technology Assistance Project, Region IV cybersafety website. See Piracy.

Congratulations!! You’ve reached the 23rd thing. Give yourself a pat on the back for completing the program.

Now you need to go back and check that you completed all required activities. (Yes, adding to the Region One Sandbox is a requirement). You are also required to post on some of the other participants' blogs....and you need to submit your log to esc1library@gmail.com. The blank form for the log is at http://esc1learning23things.pbwiki.com/f/23ThingsLog.doc.

Please give us your feedback on your experience by completing this online workshop evaluation and by relecting on your learning journey by posting a few thoughts. Here are some questions to prompt you:

1. What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey?
2. How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals?
3. Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you?
4. What could we do differently to improve upon this program’s format or concept?
5. If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate?
6. How would you describe your learning experience in ONE WORD or in ONE SENTENCE, so we could use your words to promote CSLA learning activities?

We hope this is not the end of our learning journey together as a staff and a system, but the start of something amazing …such as:

-maintain your blog as your educational journal
-add your blog URL to your e-mail signature line
-re-purpose it as your school library blog
-share it with your colleagues and administrators