Thing #23 - Creative Commons

Since many social and sharing sites like Flikr, My Space, blogging, Del.icio.us, shared online productivity tools, wikis, and others have been developed, it only makes sense to change copyright to compliment the shared atmosphere of the Internet which, like many trends, will likely continue to improve and develop. The historical copyright that allows use and sharing on certain limited conditions or with the creator's express permission needed to relax to enable and promote sharing. Creators who want to share all or part of their works needed a way to allow and notify others of their intent. Creative Commons makes this possible with licensing and symbols that come with your membership. This is a wonderful development for the library world in education, particularly since many teachers are looking for creative ways to allow students to express their findings in an interesting and timely manner--ways that are so much more interesting than the historic research paper. It allows both educators and librarians to work collaboratively with people that they will never see or meet. Also, it will help me in educating both students and teachers on this new direction taken by copyright.