Images You Can Use Without Feeling Guilty

Don't be this guy, right?
(Thanks to someecards.com)

I love to include images in presentations and on my blog, and I know enough about Creative Commons licensing to search for content that meets criteria, and I know how to label the content I grab. But occasionally I still wonder if I'm doing it right. Copyright is complicated!

I think most educators--myself included--really want to do the right thing. Most teachers don't deliberately set out to break copyright law. But we might not know just what's required of us, or we're in such a rush to get things together for our lessons that we don't make the time to ensure that we're doing things right.

So here are a few ways you can find royalty free images for your own use...

A sample image from Pixabay

Pixabay seems like a pretty great resource: a place to search for and share public domain images. Public domain = royalty free, and free to use and share for either commercial or private use. Bookmark it!

Many Flickr users make their images and photos available for Creative Commons licensing. Get to know what the symbols mean, and when you search Flickr you'll know which images are freely usable, or what specific limitations there are for your using them.

Google Image Search has advanced searching tools that will allow you to find images that you can use without guilt. On the advanced search page, choose the appropriate option in the last drop-down menu (the "usage rights" menu) for your use. Not sure? Choose "free to use, share or modify, even commercially." (There's lots of other options on this page, by the way, that might help streamline your search and find exactly the image you're looking for.)

Do you have other tools you use to find royalty free images for your teaching practice? Please share!