Thing # 23 (Already?) Creative Commons

Twist it, warp it, and make it your own version of something else...
Creative Commons share-alike licensing lets us do that and more. One relevant example is taking the 43Things, a goal setting interactive website, and subtracting 20 things and changing the theme to learning about technology for teachers. Like the 43things, the learning 2.0-23 things for teachers is a progression, a journey of discovery. 

I never considered building on someone else's work before looking at Creative Commons. I always looked at all works of art as intellectual property that could not be altered. I never imagined that anybody would think of changing another person's work; although that is a creative concept, and I like to think of myself as creative, I think that that way of looking at things is unique to younger generations. 

I do think that my possessive nature would prohibit me from licensing anything I create with a share-alike license. I am more of the no-derivs type. But I do see me, as a teacher, seeking out works with share-alike licenses for students to consider warping, twisting, and making their own. I think that creativity, and altering things in our own unique ways, is and important part of personal growth that can be achieved in education. 

Creative Commons licensing is also helpful for those students who are creative ( I really hope I have more than a few). It is very convenient and assuring to know that you can smack a Creative Commons license on anything you create and have legal copyright protection. It is important that students understand copyright and creative commons licensing and the concept of giving credit where it is due or retaining credit when creating.