copyrights versus copy and paste

Images are very important for blog posts for making them more interesting and appealing and many bloggers choose to communicate ideas through pictures. When I was watching others bloggers use visual images I learned that there are some very nice resources that raise awareness about copy rights and creative commons. I came across a very nice video about Creative Commons in Hey Jude’s blog and there were 3 more YouTube Videos in Tabitha’s blog; Copy Rights, What’s Copy rights? , A Fair(y) Use Tale , and Creative Commons, Get Creative.

In addition to awareness raising information regarding copyrights, I learned that there is a wide variety of reosucres that could be used to copy images, sounds and videos. For instance Dorene Bates shared some creative commons information in her Diigo account(s); one of them is here and click here to see the other . In Selig’s blog in addition to pictures, some resources for cliparts, videos, photos and sounds are suggested.

When I reflect on copyrights I observe that there are many resources that can make our lives easy. However I also observe that there is a resistance. There  may be many reasons behind it. After reading baout what some other bloggers think& feel about the issue, the remains of the day are couple of questions that Scott Duncan asked on his blog including:

• “Do you think this is somthing the majority of teachers are aware about ? How can we spread the word ?
• Do you know of any good online activities\lessons\resources that would teach students about copyright and creative commons ?”

Photo by HjConti released under a Creative Commons 2.0 Generic License

 Posts are very important because they convey ideas and connect to readers out there and give life to a blog. The best way to learn about steps to an effective blog post is to read some available tips  and reflect on your expectation as a reader. What do I enjoy reading in a blog post? I believe that effective posts:

• Have a reader friendly lay-out with use of paragraphs and headings and respect copyrights. There are some sources that can give overall information & how to use pictures.
• Have an inspiring aspect. An effective post has an effective conversation with the readers. Writing attention grabbing post titles is very important. At times as in the case of the winner for the most influential blog post in Edublogs 2010 Awards, Frank Noschese an effective post bonds with the readers through a real life experience that motivates readers to see similarities/differences and think.
• Suggest practical ideas. I follow the blog of Burcu Akyol where I can find many practical ideas that I can use.
• Have working links. (of course thinking about an ideal world…)
• Make use of humour. I think that laughter connects us all 🙂

How about you? What characteristics do effective posts share for you? Please leave a comment.

1. Blogging process is a communicative process which includes reading other people’s blog posts, interacting and commenting on other people’s blog posts and writing posts in response to other bloggers’ posts.
2. Blogging brings about ‘Groupthink’ and creates a synergy when other people respond, comment, suggest, ask questions, and answer questions. Blogs link to other blogs, creating a network of people who follow each other’s postings through RSS feeds.
3. You can use any free blogging platform you would like including Edublogs, WordPress, Blogger and TypePad.
4. Blogging challenges you and brings about the fighter who gradually turns you into a tech-sawy person in you. Will you give up when you encounter a technological challenge? (say,when you cannot find your dashboard).
5. Have I mentioned professional and self-improvement?
6. There are spinoffs of blogging such as providing opportunities to learn about other web 2.0 tools. For instance watch this post becoming a word cloud in a moment..
7. It is very entertaining.
8. There are now many examples of blogs being used in education (edublogs) in forms of ‘The Tutor blog’, ‘the Learner blog’, and the ‘Class blog’ and they offer a great potential in extending the borders of the classroom.
9. Blogging can make you organise your thoughts and get your voice heard.

10.  Blogging brings about and mirrors the life-long learner in you.