Images, Videos, and Creative Commons

A picture paints a thousand words….and may cost you a thousand dollars if you use one without the creators’ permission. 

Your blog is enhanced and sometimes even reliant on images, videos, and other graphics to get your point across. But like anything else you use that doesn’t belong to you if you haven’t asked permission, it’s stealing. Just because something is on the web, doesn’t mean it is okay to use.

So. What do you do?

Before you click over to Google Images there are a few things you need to know. Most of those images are protected, they belong to someone else, and those people and companies will find out you have used them.

There is a straightforward way to find out which of those you can use and which you can not. Watch the video to learn how to filter for images that have permissions for reuse on Google Images. 

This is a great article with an infographic reviewing copyright law and ethical reuse written by the VCG (Visual Communication Guy)

Creation is underrated!

The best way to ensure you are not using someone else’s work is to create your own.

• Create your own images
• Create your own video. I made that video above with a tool called ScreenCast O Matic. 
• Create your own drawings and diagrams
• Here is a list of several resources you can use to create some pretty cool stuff 
  • Example list of graphic organizers: http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/
  • Create Stop Motion or other Video Graphics with ADOBE Spark
  • Voki uses speaking and animated characters VOKI
  • PowToon creates animated videos PowToon
  • Create digital Comic Strips ToonDoo

Creative Commons

What is not said is just as important as what is when it comes to copyright. The rules simplified. EVERYTHING on the web is protected by copyright unless the owner says its okay to use, it’s not!  That includes photographs, videos, music, speeches etcetera. Creative Commons lets creators tell the world at large what they can or cannot do with their material.

• Learn about Creative Commons
• Creative Commons Licensing
• How to give Attribution

Easy Student (and Teacher) Resources

Its all a bit overwhelming. I know!  Here is the poster from the top of the post, designed by Kathleen Morris from Edublogs, that offers some sites that have free resources for students 13 and above. They are also linked below. These are easy options because you don’t have to give attribution. Just be sure you don’t link to another site through an advertisement on those pages.

Unsplash

Pixabay

Photos For Class

Openclipart

Pics4Learning

Final Thoughts

Don’t be afraid of using images, videos, and other media in your posts. A little bit of research and effort can help you avoid the pitfalls of plagiarism and potential lawsuits. 

Once you are familiar with how to search for useable media, you can snap one into your post or project without worry.