Are there copyright considerations when using open content?
Open content includes a wide variety of instructional material, such as lesson plans, photos, video, audio, and student texts. Some open content has been aggregated by official entities, such as the National Science Digital Library. In such cases, the rights are usually carefully described for each piece.
Other content is available through hundreds of smaller formal and informal websites. The content is often created by amateurs who may not have paid close attention to the fine points of getting permission, crediting, etc.
Sending students to links on the Web is fairly safe since the Web is a public place and visitors are not responsible for what is found there. However, copying materials with uncertain pedigrees onto school servers could create a legal issue in the future. Changing these materials and sharing the results further compounds the problem. If you are intent on harvesting open content into your own content management system, be sure that the system has a way to track the origin and rights for material within it.
