Copyright Ownership and Fair Use – A Teacher’s Perspective

Recently, I’ve spent some time exploring the Creative Commons in terms of policies, content, licenses, etc. I will admit that, many times, I have come across the term “creative commons”, but until now had little idea as to the specifics of what it is. After my exploration, I am convinced that, from a teacher’s perspective, this is an excellent pedagogical tool.

Today’s growing children are experiencing more pure digital information than ever before. As things have become more digital, they become more accessible, widespread, and convenient. You could say that digital technology is a form of power, and can be beneficial or destructive depending on the moral compass of the beholder. While the ethics of copyright law today are still sorting themselves out*, it is abundantly clear that children need to grow an awareness for these issues, and so experiences with something like the Creative Commons can certainly help. By providing students with this tool, they will be exposed to a system that forces one to confront the concept of intellectual property (IP), and that, while the waters are “muddy”, blind outright IP theft is never the answer. The Creative Commons can help them understand with more clarity: why do we have to cite sources? What is/isn’t plagiarism? How would I feel if someone stole my work? And the biggest comtemporary doozy (in my opinion) – where is the right place to draw the line between freedom vs. ownership of information?

Furthermore, the Creative Commons is a great symbol of the idea of a free, egalitarian internet (can you guess what side of the Net Neutrality issue I fall upon?). While it certainly has its drawbacks and dangers, the internet has made the sharing of knowledge and culture reach astounding peaks. It allows the smallest person to be a producer of creative content, to share their perspective on life with the world. An ecosystem like the Creative Commons helps to foster the idea of sharing one’s work, while at the same time understanding the value of said work through a user-friendly licensing framework. It would seem that a system like this, if enforced faithfully, can allow us to have our cake and eat it too – a reasonable freedom of sharing and a reasonable level of IP protection!

So, you may be wondering - what does this have to do with teaching? Well, I believe that, as teachers, we have a tremendous influence upon the future of our communities/society via the direction in which we guide (not sculpt) our students. It is important not only to teach them to use the tools of tomorrow, but to learn from within how and why to use them responsibly. I think the Creative Commons can be very beneficial, especially for the latter.

                                             You can visit the Creative Commons at:

                                                      www.creativecommons.org

*Of course things like piracy, plagiarism, and IP theft are generally indefensible. However, one need only look at the state of today’s outdated <often ridiculous> patent system, the net neutrality debate, or perhaps the extortive behavior of “copyright trolls” to see that there is a great divide surrounding today’s intellectual property legislation.