http://childressitrt.wikispaces.com/Creative+Commons
Jeremy Arnold
BACKGROUND
Creative Commons is an non-profit organization, founded in 2001 and headquartered in San Francisco, CA that is devoted to expanding the range of works for others to build upon and legally share.
Creative commons offers creators alternatives to the typical "all rights reserved" nature of a traditional copyright. The organzation does this by allowing creators to choose a more flexible "some rights reserved" form of copyright that allows the creators to specify what specific rights they wish to reserve and which rights they will waive for the benefit of recipients or other creators.
The table below explains the various options that creators have under a Creative Commons license. The organization makes this same table readily available on its website and also as a 1 page handout to anyone seeking more information about the options available at Creative Commons
Since it began issuing licenses in 2002, a variety of works have been released under a Creative Commons license, the most famous of which is probably Wikipedia.
Creative Commons' official website features pages such as an FAQ and articles devoted to the use of Creative Commons-related work in education.
IN EDUCATION
Creative Commons' licenses can assist classroom teachers in a variety of ways.
One way is that Creative Commons material is made freely available for non-commercial material under every type of Creative Commons license. A teacher can use Creative Commons' licensed material free of worry over possible copyright infringement.
Another way to utilize Creative Commons material is by encouraging students to take material that allows derivatives and create their own versions of it. Re-writing a story, editing a wiki, creating a collage... these are all excellent clasroom tools.
It also has the potential to help teachers by creating professional resources under Creative Commons agreements. Education wikis and similar types of sources can be powerful tools in teacher training and professional development.
