Here in the information age, virtually all intellectual creations can be protected by some form of intellectual property law. This law splits intellectual creations into three domains: copyrights, trademarks and patents. Basically, copyright protects expression, trademark protects names, and patents. Creative Commons is  a free site that has released several various forms of copyright licence , allowing the creators to specify and communicate to the end-user which rights they reserve. The Internet has been characterized as the largest threat to copyright since its inception. The Internet is awash with information, a lot of it with varying degrees of copyright protection. Copyrighted works on the Net include new s stories, software, novels, screenplays, graphics, pictures, Usenet messages and even email. In fact, the frightening reality is that almost everything on the Net is protected by copyright law. That can pose problems for the hapless surfer, ME. I have to say copyright and ownership is a topic I hadn’t given much thought to. If it was there and in the public domain , I’ve used it. I have found that within my department and the colleagues I work with, all are happy to share materials that we have produced. The majority of resources ending up in that online melting pot we call Moodle. Any work that I have produced has  gone onto the VLE with no regard for copyright. Wether I would feel the same if my respective colleagues were less inclined to share  remains to be seen .

I found the Creative Commons easy to follow up to the point of adding to my blog as a text widget . Can anyone help with this ? Maybe a step by step “idiots” guide would suffice.

Tagging is yet more new terminology to me . Previously I have heard the phrase meta tagging in connection with web design, whereby key words are either encrypted into the design of a web site (ghosting) or the sample words are used to highlight the site to search engines . In the past and whether this still happens; tagging with key words has been abused. It is often the case that a specific key word search  would throw up some totally random and irrelevant web site. However used correctly and within say an online community of practise, I do feel a strong feeling of identity and indeed ownership could be developed with the use of relevant tags. Lovell (1989) claims  the personal involvement and commitment that students often feel towards their project may considerably increase their motivation. With my students motivation is often lacking when asked to collaborate with anything college owned. Meyer and Land (2005) go on to say that an extension of language might be acquired, for example, from that in use within a specific discipline, language community or community of practice, or it might of course, be self-generated. Tagging is personal to the individual this can also be a problem within a community if tags are somewhat random.

Whilst I firmly believe in protecting ones own inspirations, I am led to believe that any educational material or resources I produce while contracted to my present employment are owned by the College . Does this mean that in essence I am not within my rights to licence my work under Creative Commons? A grey area in my opinion?

References

Lovell,R.B  (1989) Adult learning. Billing & Sons Limited, Worcester, Great Britain, p134

Meyer, J.H.F. and Land, R. (2005). Threshold concepts and troublesome knowledge(2).Epistemological considerations and a conceptual framework for teaching and learning. Higher Education journal, Vol 49/no3/ April,2005, p374.