Week 2 Wimba Archive - Copyright, Creative Commons, and Leadership Project

Yes, I’m back again for another Wimba blog. This week we covered the content from the week 1 content about copyright and fair use. A majority of the session dealt with some of the black and white areas of copyright, specifically: what it is, what can be copyrighted, duration of copyright, myths of copyright, and fair use.

After viewing the videos from week 1 I thought I had a pretty good handle on the basics of copyright, and after the week 2 Wimba session I was relieved that I had retained a majority of the information. Copyright is extremely complex with many shades of grey areas.

The one thing from the Wimba that made the most sense for me was that fair use is extended to educators as they teach, and qualifies if the teaching unit can’t be taught without the media.

One other misconception I had about fair use was that people can’t use others media for commercial gain. I didn’t take into account the fact that the media is able to pitch stories including others work and create gain from it. It makes sense though.

Finally, Creative Commons has opened a big arena for media creators to share, and use others work. There is even media that can be used for commercial venture. The bottom line is, give credit where credit is due.