Thing 23 Sharing the Creativity

Out of curiosity, I entered “Learning 2.0 +23 Things” into the search engine to see what results would surface.  I was amazed to see that other colleges and universities had similar programs to the one we are completing.  After looking through a number of the other programs, I found that we are right on par with the larger named schools (Go APSU!).  All of the Learning 2.0/23 Things were comparable with only a few topics that varied.  While exploring around, it appears the the 23 Things project is based off of two other pieces of work.  The first is the website entitled, 43 Things.  It is a site that allows people to list and keep track of 43 things that they would like to do, or goals they would like to set.  The second is an article from Stephen Abram, entitled “43 Things I (or You) might want to do this year.”  This is designed as a 1-year project, where the other is for a longer period of time. 

The Creative Commons assignment that we completed as part of our larger LiveText project, really put copyrighting and copyright infringement into prospective.  I must admit that I have ‘copied and pasted’ a few images that I have found while surfing the internet.  In my defense though, I did not use it for commercial purposes, did not manipulate it in any way, and in no manner profited from it.  I did not realize though, that what I was doing was wrong.  I just assumed that since the material was on the internet, it was open for others to use.  Now that I have learned more about copyright infringement and Creative Commons, I will know the correct and legal avenues to take without violating any laws.  This is definitely a serious topic that I will cover with my students.  It is inevitable that they will also publish their own creative material on the internet for others to see.  They will need to know how to protect their creative/intellectual property as well.  They will need to be aware of locations on the internet where they can search and use material without legal ramifications.  Exposing information like Creative Commons to my students early will help them later in the future.  They will be able to apply that knowledge and have peace of mind when they work all of their future projects.