CEP 810 - Creative Commons

Pumpkins, Charlecote
  © Copyright Derek Harper and licensed for reuse under
this Creative Commons Licence.

 I use pictures in my curriculum a lot.  My students love to see pictures on the SMART Board.  I have created several digital storybooks that use pictures to tell a story.  I tell a story or talk about a subject as the pictures go through a slide show.   Just this week I started talking about Halloween and we are going to a pumpking patch for a field trip.  I used this picture to show my students how they will be selecting a pumpkin to bring back to school. I also had a picture of a pumpkin patch to show them what the pumpkins look like in the field. 

I haven't given much thought about copyright laws when using pictures in my classroom.  This week's lessons have been an eye opener for me.  In the past when I have come across pictures that had a faded label or image over the picture, I assumed that meant that the picture was copyrighted and couldn't be used.  If I was able to copy the picture and there wasn't a notice to stop me, then I assumed that I was free to use it.  I understood that if I was going to use a picture or video in a presentation that I would be expected to ask permission or to cite that I used someone else's photo in my reference section.  It does make me wonder what would happen if you were caught using someones video or photo?  What is the penalty or price that you would pay?  I have a Flickr account from another class I took, but don't use it much because it is easier to google for the images that I want.  Knowing more about the copyright laws makes me think that I will make use of my account a lot more now.

Here is a link to an image that I uploaded to Flickr and copyrighted using Creative Commons.