Creative Commons.  Such a simple term for a very powerful idea.  This was certainly an informative lesson that allows me to adress my current task of creating my own text book with a deeper understanding.  While I thought I had a grasp on the basics of copyrighting, this  opened my eyes to things I hadn’t considered.  When I create, I own.  I never really thought about the power of my own work, and instead was more concerned about not stepping on other people’s toes.

I have struggled in the past to help my students realize that they can’t put music in their presentations, or emphasized to my students that they had to get images from “free to use or share” searches on google.  It is such a difficult area to work with kids, because they feel that as long as they don’t take words, and in their mind, that means a whole page of words, then they can “borrow” whatever they want.  I have spoken to many people at my school, including librarians, who say that students can use copyrighted work, as long as it is attributed to the owner, and wasn’t for profit.  Other sources say that all work that is being displayed or shown beyond the teacher, and that means hung in the hall or presented to the class, has to be original work.  Now, I am struggling to add creative commons work into the scope of what can legally be done.  I am sure that as I explore the topics in this course, it will become more clear for me.