eSchools News reports that the state of Florida has recently added the open content reading website Free-Reading.net to its list of approved curriculum resources. Officials said Free-Reading.net is the first open instructional program granted bona fide state approval, and OER supporters see momentum building in the idea that a “public, collaborative, continuously modified online curriculum…

Over the holidays, we caught up with acclaimed writer (and podcaster) James Patrick Kelly and asked him some questions regarding the interesting and unique ways he has embraced CC licenses for his work. Read on to find out what positives Kelly has seen in using CC as well as which CC evangelist (hint: he also…

Ground Report, the excellent citizen journalism site we have talked about before, recently released their very own news widget. All stories are released under CC licenses and the widget works on iGoogle, Apple Dashboard, Netvibes, and Vista (as well as a variety of other widget applications). Check it out for a tiny, widget-ized, window into…

I wouldn’t steal is a new and cute one minute video making the case that sharing is fair and people who would never steal a handbag, car, or television nevertheless download film and music. Whatever you think of that, there’s no ambiguity around downloading and remixing I wouldn’t steal — it is licensed under CC…

The awesome Wikimedia Commons community just finished selecting its 2007 picture of the year: Newton2 / CC BY We neglected to mention last years’ winner: United States Air Force photo by Senior Airman Joshua Strang / public domain All content on Wikimedia Commons is free to use and remix, including commercially, often under liberal CC…

Cory Doctorow posts an interesting story about Ford car fans whose fan creations were pulled from CafePress, supposedly due to trademark. Ford backed its fans. That shouldn’t be unusual, but good for Ford for being not stupidsmart about the matter. And Ford has further demonstrated that it values and respects people who love Ford cars…

From February 8 – 10, the Institute for Multimedia Literacy at the University of Southern California will be holding a phenomenal series of panels and screenings focused on DIY video in the digital age, tittled “24/7: A DIY Video Summit“. Topics of discussion range from the artistry and aesthetics involved in this new form of…

Reports are pouring in from ACIA: the International Workshop on Asia and Commons in the Information Age, held on January 19-20 in Taipei, Taiwan. The resounding conclusion: it was a phenomenal success! The workshop, organized by CC Taiwan and hosted at Academica Sinica, focused on bringing together members of the “Asia Commons” to meet and…

Congratulations to the winners of the first annual SPARKY Awards. The SPARK(IES) challenge entrants “to imaginatively illustrate in a short video the value of sharing ideas and information.” Check out the winning videos over at Blip.tv. “Share” – Habib Yazdi, CC BY “Pri Vetai: Private Eye” – Tommy McCauley and Max Silver, CC BY “An…

It was a busy day yesterday for campaigns to open up educational access and opportunities. In addition to the Cape Town Declaration, the Student PIRGs in the United States just launched a major campaign to encourage faculty to adopt open educational resources in their classrooms, which will provide significant benefit to students in making college…