Thursday, October 27, 2011

Media Asset Creation: Copyright Issues

Thank goodness for Ted talks.  Watching these hours worth of copyright issue videos was enough to make a teacher quit her job.  So, rather than dwell on the extremes that many of these videos did, I want to focus on the little bit of hope I found within the creative commons information and within Larry Lessig’s TED talk.   
Lessig quoted John Phillips Souza in 1906 who said that these “talking machines” referring to radios will ruin the artistic development in this country.   And, in fact, the 20th century became a culture of “read only” people.  However the 21st century seems to be assuming artistic development again.  Thanks to the $1500 computer, the tools of creativity have become tools of speech.  It is what the next generation bases its life upon.   Yet, Lessig insists, the law has not greeted this revival with very much common sense.  It prohibits to such an extreme degree that legal creativity becomes stifled, at best.  
Creative Commons offers possibilities and hope and does in fact seem to be a “bridge to the future”.  This will begin our journey to thinking more about communities and less about content.  However, in the meantime, educators have to find a way to give our students the tools and information they need to legally create, express, and use the digital technologies that are available to them.

Shutterstock image used with permission!

6 comments:

  1. Agreed, Jennifer, CC is the bridge to the future. As educators, we have a responsibility to make sure that our students are well-informed citizens, and that they are provided with the proper instruction that will aid them in creating lawful works of art. As always, thank you for your insight.

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  2. Excellent point about use of works. There is a movement called "Copyleft" that is trying to gets protected works for use for free just like CC is. It is important to make sure our students do follow the regulations and also try to get them to create something original as well.

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  3. Jennifer, I too find that Lessig and Creative Commons have come up with a viable solution for artists to use for their copyrighted materials. I agree that they are attempting to build that “bridge to the future.” My hope is that the direction that they have taken is the beginning of the dialogue and opens more avenues to protect and promote artistic creativity in its many forms. And yes, we must make our students aware of the legalities when it comes to the productions and use of created works including their own.

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  4. Media Asset Creation: Week 1 Comment on Jennifer Williams’ Blog

    The reason I picked Jennifer’s blog to comment on is I am a huge fan of Ted talks. I have it on my Mac as well as my iPhone. I also find it interesting how history is repeating itself. I say that as she noted in 1906 how John Phillips Souza thought radio was going to be the death of artistic development.

    People thought television would ruin our society, Elvis was evil and what the $%*l was the band KISS about. (Yes my father repeatedly asked my mother why she bought me my first KISS album.)

    The point I am trying to make is this. With each new age, technology has changed and what was once taboo is now not only acceptable but also welcomed. With technology today, it is possible for a small group of people to have a weekly “TV” show on You Tube. You can create your own music and other media. Everyone can be a rock star.

    This does lead to copyright issues. With the large number of performers who are sampling others work it is only natural for others to do the same. Yes, I have the technology why can’t I create my own music taking small samples from many people?

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  5. This issue has always been since the late 1990s and the beginning of the twenty-first century. Even before the $1500 computer, its been the programs that have made it possible to allow the mixing of music and film. Most notable are the programs of Audacity and Windows Movie Maker, which have been free and available since 2000. I think the issue has escalated and things will only get worse or better because these freeware programs will only continue. The TED talks are always so enlightening.

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  6. amen to that, we're not read-only any more. BTW, for a number of years, beginning in 1985 every computer that I bought came to $1900 almost every time. I'm happy to say that my last computer purchase, an 11" macbook air was $1500, but topped out at $2000 with a printer and apple-care. Ack. Oh well, yeah, not read-only.

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