When we use images/videos/gifs in our blogs, we need to be sure that we are allowed to; that is that we have permission to and that we give credit to the creator of the original work; that is to give attribution.
Many people believe that content found through a Google search is free for the taking. This isn’t true. It is true that under Canadian Copyright Law, educators and students have the ability to use and share items found online in the classroom. But when begin to construct electronic texts, like our blogs, then the rules change.
Copyright Matters! 4th edition
What do we do?
We need to remember to satisfy two conditions:
How to Find CC images?
Here is a beginning list. We can, and should, add to it as we learn more about where to find accessible images:
Google Image Search: Once you have entered your search terms, drop the SEARCH TOOLS menu, and choose USER RIGHTS and then choose how you will filter for images.
The MorgueFile high-quality images, large collection. Arranged by subject.
Public Domain Pictures.net Beautiful pictures. Not a huge collection, but nice search feature and includes search by category.
Pics4Learning Nice pictures. Smaller size images (which means lower resolution) than other sites, but plenty big enough for our purposes. Nicely arranged by categories and subcategories.
Image After Many high-quality images on many different subjects. Good search feature. The only drawback is they also pull up another search for images that are not free, which can be confusing as well as annoying.
CopyrightFriendlyImages This page is a list of image collections with brief descriptions.
Wikimedia commons Includes almost everything! Image quality varies. Check individual images for copyright status; many images are public domain, others have some restrictions. You can use them as long as you attribute them as instructed on the image.
But never assume that an image that is returned by any search is licensed for free access. Always double check to see how the image is licensed.
Looking for icons?
The Noun Project has them!
Video and Audio
Internet Archive is a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more.
Project Gutenberg offers over 54,000 free eBooks: Choose among free epub books, free kindle books, download them or read them online. You will find the world’s great literature here, especially older works for which copyright has expired. We digitized and diligently proofread them with the help of thousands of volunteers.
Moving Image Archive–This library contains digital movies uploaded by Archive users which range from classic full-length films to daily alternative news
Vidsplay. Free video stock
SoundBible. Royalty free sound effects