Copyright Legalities

What?
This week we learned about copyright laws concerning images and information online.  We reviewed many of the laws and the procedures to copyright our own things and how others works are copyrighted as well.

So What?
This was a very useful lesson for me because I had no idea all the legalities that come with copyrighting.  I think that the internet is prime for copyright issues and thus, since the internet has come about, many laws and new copyright information has had to be changed, verified, and improved.  The one thing that really stood out to me is that just because an image doesn't say it is protected, doesn't mean it isn't.  New laws state that an image is protected no matter if it is stated or not.  An image is only free for use if it is stated specifically as such.  I thought it was the other way around, so I was very glad to learn that information. 
It was also nice to learn how to copy protect our own works through Creative Commons.  It seems so simple which is nice. I guess I expected the copyrighting process to be much more time consuming and difficult.  Both of these topics are essential knowledge teachers because of the high use of technology in lesson planning and teaching now day.

Now What?
I was a bit worried about finding images that are okay to use so was happy to learn of the google advanced search option.  It makes me feel safe legally, and allows me to still find searching convenient and successful. I will definitely use this search option from now on when finding images for a technological project or print.  There is so much useful information out there for teachers, but it is good to know how to check, protect, and use this information safely.