Tuesday, 7 August 2012

Cease and Desist - a Solution?

As I hop between blogs, I see some of the most wonderful, creative resources. I never fail to be amazed at the creativity and skill that you all show. So it was a huge disappointment to hear about the Cease and Desist letter sent to TPT in June instructing them to remove all resources involving Daily 5, CAFE, Angry Birds, Pete the Cat etc.

I can understand how the owners of this material must feel - I'd hate to see my work being paraded and passed off by others as their own. However, in the case of many teaching resources on TPT or TN, whilst they may be wearing the banner of Daily 5 or Pete the Cat or Harry Potter or anything else, the resources themselves are original and are there to support the methodology and appeal to children. OK, it may amount to the same thing, but we all know that we get the best out of children by sparking their interest through the familiar or the fantastic and definitely the popular, and sometimes a jingle, slogan and yes, a cartoon character like Mickey Mouse or, dare I say it, Barney (..!), can do just that more effectively than any text book or lesson plan.

Cease and Desist is a pretty hot potato at the moment. It makes our job much tougher and we all have to be on our toes when it comes to what we can and can't use in our work. I remember reading an email from someone at TPT a few months ago (try as I might, I just can't seem to find the thing...) encouraging us to go out and build up a bank of original images that we could use without fear of receiving a Cease and Desist letter. What a great idea! So here you go - my first offering. I've scoured my photo gallery and put together my first packet of photos - settings and characters. Use them as you wish - writing prompts, story starters or just display them (they would make a great bulletin board display if you are learning about the UK..). Copyright remains with me, but I guarantee you won't be receiving a Cease and Desist...


Click the image for Teachers Notebook or here for TPT.

I have another pack of photos in the pipeline, this time summer flowers. Do get in touch and let me know what you think, and your views on Cease and Desist.


11 comments:

  1. Yeah, this whole cease and desist thing is crazy. Just have to stay away from certain things which is a shame.


    Journey of a Substitute Teacher
    Endless Pinabilitites!

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  2. Sue,

    You are so sweet and thoughtful. It really is a shame and can even hinder our creativity. I think we all try to be careful and certainly work hard to give credit when it is due. Regardless, the blogging world has brought so many of us together and because of this collaboration better teaching is happening!

    Thank you for putting together these photos. This would make for a great link party... get everyone to gather photos as freebies for teachers to use in their work.

    Thank you, again for sharing!
    Hope
    Teachingwhope.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, Hope. Great idea about a Linky party - I'll definitely have a go at that this week. I do love a challenge :)

      Sue

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  3. What a great idea! Thanks so much for the photos.

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  4. Am I missing the point with the Cease and Desist? It's because of all the resources that I see on blogs (freebies or for sale) that I even know what Daily 5 is. I'd call that free advertising.

    Or take Pete the Cat. The author should be grateful that teachers are creating activities to accompany the books. Without all of these resources, I would have never bought two of the books.

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    1. Absolutely right! I'm over here in the UK and I wouldn't know what Daily 5, CAFE or any of the othere initiatives are were it not for the fabulous resources and books I see on TPT and TN. These resources supplement the methodology and are tailored to whst we know works best for our children. As you say, perhaps the authors of Daily 5 etc should be paying us for advertising their products for free - and for giving them new ideas to turn into their own resources...

      Thanks so much for your comments - I really appreciate hearing your views

      Sue

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  5. I agree with Mrs. Yazzie -

    I have purchased many books because of the resources I found on TpT or blogs that connect with the book or program. Had I not found the activity or resource, I probably would not have purchased the item.


    ✿ Stacy
    Land of Aha-Z!

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    1. Same here, Stacy (see my reply to Mrs Yazzie). Look out for my second photo pack today - I hope they're useful in some way.

      Sue

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  6. Your post today reminded me of my clipart.

    I solved this type of problem a few years ago by making my own clipart ( at the time ). It was a LOT of work, but it was well worth it. I now have clipart that no one else has. LOL

    Now I mix and match with bought clipart as it pleases. But yeah, before that, a lot of work.

    The Paper Maid

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    1. I wish I was that creative... Like you I use a lot of bought clipart, but it does come expensive, and I often can't find exactly what I'm looking for (eg clipart for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics believe it or not...). I have looked for UK based clipart sites, but there doesn't appear to be anything - there's a niche in the market for you... :-)

      Sue

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  7. Thank you for this! I feel sorry to those who worked hard on those resources and is watching all that come to a stop. Us teachers always seem to be put into some tough places and told to still perform miracles. Ugh. Oh well. We will prevail!
    Shibahn
    www.landoflearning.wordpress.com

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Thank you so much for taking the time to leave me a message. I read every single one and try to reply to as many as possible.

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