I’ve long been aware that many people don’t realise that you can’t use just any image off the internet for your own purposes.
Many of my students join my class with the habit of reproducing Google Images strongly ingrained. This habit is often either taught or not questioned by parents or previous teachers.
I also find that many people who use any online image think that “attributing” with a link to the source makes it acceptable. Little do they know, all creative work a person makes is copyright unless stated otherwise. Linking to the source doesn’t change this fact.
There seems to be another group of people who know it’s not right to reproduce any online image in their work, but do this as they don’t know how to source and attribute Creative Commons images.
Despite having a lot of anecdotal experience of others not knowing about Creative Commons, I was surprised to read that more than 90% of Creative Commons images are not attributed at all and more than 99% are not adequately attributed.
This shows that even people trying to do the right thing with Creative Commons images often aren’t. I’m certain I’ve been guilty of this in the past.
With more and more people becoming producers rather than consumers of the internet, I find this general lack of knowledge concerning. For that reason, I try to teach students the correct way to source and attribute images for their blog posts and published work. This guide to Using Creative Commons Images in Blog Posts is just one resource I’ve created for teaching about Creative Commons.
I recently came across this excellent infographic on Twitter via @suewaters and @joycevalenza. I think it’s something all educators would benefit from taking a look at! It certainly refreshed my own understanding.
Click on the image to view a larger version.
How To Attribute Creative Commons Photos by Foter
Educators might also find this guide to Copyright, Fair Use, and Creative Commons by Ronnie Burt useful in upskilling themselves.
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Fantastic blog you have here with lots of useful information. That’s a very useful info graphic and I can say that having done a few web development jobs for my business Intraplex IT Services, I often encounter the issue of clients not being aware that you can’t just use any image or content you find online.
I’ve only just found your blog and I’m very interested in the topics you cover as I’ve always been interested to see how technology can be used to teach more effectively.
Looking forward to more content,
Hi Guy,
Thanks for taking the time to comment. I had two very interesting experiences mid-2013 when two separate high profile companies used an image of me that they found online in their advertising! It seems that many web developers and clients aren’t aware that you just can’t do that, as you mentioned. More education in this area is definitely needed. I guess students is a good place to start.
Cheers,
Kathleen
I don’t know why, but infographics are my favorite thing in the world right now. I am able to get more information in less time because of them and that’s what’s important in the end.
This post was fantastic. I know that many people, myself included, are guilty of not attributing correctly if at all. Most people are just not aware. This infographic also helps answer a lot of questions very efficiently. The image also helps me understand the problem and solution better than a couple paragraphs would.
I love using infographics and use them quite often. I never had really though about using one in a classroom until now but the points you made have definitely sold me on the idea.