Animoto

I thoroughly enjoyed experimenting with Animoto. Animoto allows users to create a brief slideshow video using images, text and music. The only drawback is that you must upgrade the user level in order to fully utilize the perks Animoto offers. The currently limit is a 30 second video but upgrading allows you to create a longer slide show and edit the time for each slide as well. In addition, there more styles, music and themes to choose from if you upgrade your account.

Photo copied from: http://logos.wikia.com/wiki/File:Animoto-Logo-300x300.png

I had never fully understood the concepts of Copyrights or Creative Commons (CC) until now. Having to find and use images owned by others and posting them onto Animoto helped me reflect on Copyright and Creative Common issues as at times, I was unintentionally taking work created by others and using it in my own work. As I researched about Creative Commons in-depth , I learned about when work can be copied and under what conditions. For example, a licencing deal of attribution and no derivatives means that this license allows for redistribution, commercial and non-commercial, as long as it is passed along unchanged and the owner is given full credit (with proper citation). Basically you have to be careful about the conditions in which you can use an owner's work. This has helped me gain more knowledge about Digital Literacy and Citizenship. I improved my Digital Literacy because I did not know about the different licensing types but now that I do know, I will be more cautious when using copyrighted material. For example, if I wanted to use an image for an advertisement and the owner did not want commercial use for it then I would have to respect their rights by not using it. I can become a better digital citizen because I learned that I must always give credit and citation for intellectual property like music and images when it is copyrighted by an author. Not only is this about being a good digital citizen, it is about being a law abiding citizen.

The following is a brief slideshow I created about Creative Commons and Copyrights.

Music: Everybody Smile (Instrumental) - Michelle Lockey
Retrieved from Animoto Music Library

1. Specialities Plus. (2014, July 6). Copyright [Online Image]. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/1oqtKQX

2. Readers Paradise. (2012, December 12). Intellectual Assets [Online Image]. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/1vP2y12

3. Hall, Allan. (2012, December 22) Forbes - Jail [Online Image]. Retrieved from http://onforb.es/1oqumGk

4. Creative Commons Wiki. (2008, February 28). Sharing work [Online Image]. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/1ktVWQq

5. Creative Commons. (2014, July 6). Creative Commons [Online Image]. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/1m6VkVf