So, I am not the only one thinking about on-line offerings as gifts.   In this week’s New York Times Sunday Magazine there is a feature about Lewis Hyde, MacArthur genius grant recipient, poet, and essayist.  He asks the question: What is art for if not to share?   In a gift economy, gifts only increase in value when they are given again and again.  The enrich the giver and the receiver.  Hyde is also is a critic of the extended copyright act (the Mickey Mouse Protection Act as it is sometimes called) but is only a partial fan of the creative commons licence.

Copyright and Teachers –

On that note I am remineded that a conversation last year that I took part in with folks from American University’s Center for Social Media has been published.  It is a clear, no nonsense look at how we as teachers can use the work of others as a part of our teaching and how that use is protected under “fair use.”

Creativity is not the enemy of intellectual property.