Week #10: Synthesizing, Remixing, & Creating: Images & Slideshows

Weekly Report & Reflection Blog Post #10: 
Having the Right To Be Creative

I have to admit that I felt like I was in my comfort zone when I first read, in this week’ learning activities, that I would have to create an online slideshow using a creative tool.  I ‘love’ the process of designing and creating any project (with time permitting) and have always tried to think out of the box.  As an educator I have relied on the ingenuity of Power Point (PPT) to be innovative while clicking my way through my lectures – yet, over the years I have found that the once great PPT has become static. I wanted to be inspired with other tools but just did not know where to begin looking. With the introduction of creation and collaborative tools such as Google Docs presentations, I have discovered ways to being creative with others. Yet, I have to admit, that this week’s exploration of Animoto and PhotoPeach as creation tools, was a bit disappointing. While I can value the creativity that these tools bring to the user they do have limitations on how far they can be used in a learning environment. My point being that they are great for short presentations but become monotone when using them for a lecture every week.

BEING CREATIVE TAKES TIME - BUT IS REWARDING FOR THE CREATOR

Maxwell, S. (2008, February 26). 

LuMaxArt Golden Guy Trophy Winner [Online Image].

 Link

Let’s say I now know why the use of Google Images are so popular – trying to find appealing, copyright free, pictures through photo-sharing sites such as Flickr , Creative Commons , Wikimedia Commons, Pixabay, and even, Google’s advanced search option, was a task in itself. I spent well over the required time to complete my slideshow activity which made me think twice about the entire process. Is it worth it? Ethically – yes; legally – yes; therefore, enough said and so I kept searching and searching through images that I found less than visually appealing. In retrospect, I can now understand why most of the unique digital media sources has copyright restrictions - creators spend a vast amount of time in creating them therefore they must be acknowledged and compensated.



HAVING THE RIGHT TO BE CREATIVE THROUGH CREATIVE COMMONS

Are you copying, sharing or using digital images and media created by others, fairly? Are you giving credit where credit is due? Would you want to lose rights to your creative artwork? Using any copyright digital media is ethically wrong and illegal.  Copyright, in essence, exists at the moment of creation. Copyright is a legal term that provides creators of original work exclusive rights to it. Simply, it means all rights are reserved to the creative owner and that you need to ask permission before using their material. However, some creators do not mind sharing their work and rather not be asked permission – well this is when Creative Commons (CC) steps in.  CC does not diminish the ethical or legal existence of copyright but rather compliments it by offering creators the control over their work; CC in brief, means some rights reserved (CreativeCommon,2007). Creators who use photo-sharing sites such as CC (or Flickr) are able to choose how they prefer to license their work. In doing so, it allows others, who wish to use creative works of others, the ability to know, and identify (with CC attributions), when they can share, use and/or modify digital media from their innovators, with or without permission.

Ozymandias. (2011, March 21). Digital Responsibility [Online Image]. Link

As digital citizens we have the right to be creative in our digital society; yet we must also have the responsibility to respect the legal and moral rights of creators and right holders. All digital users are responsible for honoring copyright, seeking permission, citing sources, and understanding what constitutes fair dealing.  Basically - we are responsible for giving credit when credit is due! 

EMBRACE THE REMIX 

Keith Ferguson’s ‘Embrace the Remix’ analogy to creative works brought laughter to my face as well as a better understanding that we are all creators taking from other creators to be creative. His unique stance on copying creative works of others helped me understand a bit about fair use standards and how we are all creators in one way or another. He does acknowledge the rationale behind copyright material but brings a twist to the idea that we “are not all self-made - we are dependent on one another’ (Ferguson, 2012). This dependence is what allows us to be innovators by using ideas or thoughts of others and maybe adding, or modifying, it to allow new ways of creativity to be born. If this is confusing to you - just watch the video – it is worth the ten minutes and sheds some light on the critics who may say ‘it’s ok to copy - as long as it is not from me” (Ferguson).  

“I invented nothing new. I simply assembled the discoveries of other men behind whom were centuries of work…progress happens when all the factors that make for it are ready and then it is inevitable” 

(Henry Ford as cited in Ferguson, 2012, 5:05m)

ADDING CREATION TOOLS TO MY PLE

While the process of finding copyright-free images was time consuming, especially with Flickr, I can value the significance of Creative Commons and what it does for the owners of digital media. If I have to be honest here, I thought that the process of citing any images was ethical enough however, it is more than that. I feel that it is my digital responsibility to add Creative Commons to my PLE under my creative tools. Having said this, I am committing to adhering to the ethics of fair dealing in digital media and the Canadian Copyright Act  when I use any digital media from Creative Commons, or any other place. The inclusion of Creative Commons in my PLE establishes a code of ethics to my model and I would like to think that it ensures that I am abiding to the rules of becoming a model digital citizen. 

As for the creation tools that I explored such as Animoto and PhotoPeach, the only one that I am willing to keep exploring is PhotoPeach. While Animoto was fun to explore, it restricts a basic account user to a 30-second presentation (which only leaves room for only about five slides); therefore, not leaving me room to actually explore this tool or its features for any future use. On the other hand, I found PhotoPeach more user-friendly and more adaptable to my liking. In addition, one of its added features allows you to create an interactive quiz within the slideshow.  For these reasons I am placing this tool in my create category of my PLE and think that it does justice for when I want to use it for presenting short and fun animations to family and friends. 

FEEDLY UNVEILS BILL C-13

Irish Typepad. (2012, October 29).   

Tragedy of Cyberbullying [Online Photograph].  

Link

Over the last few weeks I have been modifying my Feedly news reader in hopes to gain information on current and local news. I added The Star to my Feedly last week and sure enough one of the first articles I read, Lawful Access Returns Under Cover of Cyber-Bullying Bill (Geist, 2013), discussed the newly proposed Bill C-13 - The Protecting Canadians from Online Crime Act, that Peter MacKay just revealed. There is some debate to the intent of this bill since is seems to not just involve anti-cyberbullying measures but also, the power that is given to law enforcement and the tactics that are used to access information on the Internet. However, no matter how true this controversy may be, in the end, it is the power it provides in protecting our digital society and the safety that in brings to our children of the net.

FINAL WORD - #OVERWHELMED

Over the weeks, I have been locating, evaluating, validating, collecting, curating, and sharing resources that I have found all while researching and exploring! Somewhere during all this process I discovered digital tools that would be appropriate for inclusion in my PLE – well at least this is what the outcome of my learning should be - but, instead I am feeling awkwardly overwhelmed with the entire process. The exploration of cloud-computing, curation, collaborative and now, creation and, soon-to-be, podcasting, tools – has made me feel pressured to know what exact tools are best-suited in my PLE and, most importantly, my learning. Applying the knowledge attained during the course of these last ten weeks was, at most times, fun and intriguing. Working through the glitches that accompanies technology, however, was not always a stress-free learning environment.  

Siviero, M. (CC) 2013.

Where do I start? Where is the end? In reality, time constraints make it impossible to have any type of significant exploration to determine if any of these ‘new tools’ are worthy in my PLE model. With a critique paper on the topic of the digital tools that I adapted through my weeks of exploration,  due in less than two weeks, I am thinking, at this point, that it will only be a ‘look good’ type of paper instead of explaining that these tools are all under a shifting and active model. Since technology changes with every fallen star it seems more likely that a current PLE is more of a ‘let’s see what works for now’ type model.

FYI: Our reading resources this week offered copyright friendly resources, and copyleft sources that can be used in media projects, blogs, wikis, etc…as well as a list of resources that educators might share with students as a starting point for all manner of creative projects. Take a look next time you feel like being creative in the right way.

REFERENCES: 

CreativeCommons. (2007). Get Creative. Retrieved from http://mirrors.creativecommons.org/getcreative/Creative_Commons_-_Get_Creative.swf 

Ferguson, K. (2012, August). Kirby Ferguson: Embrace the remix. Retrieved from TED Talks at http://www.ted.com/talks/kirby_ferguson_embrace_the_remix.html 

Geist, M. (2013, November 22). Lawful access returns under cover of cyber-bullying bill. Retrieved from The Star at http://www.thestar.com/business/2013/11/22/lawful_access_returns_under_cover_of_cyberbullying_bill.html