"Help Yourself" with Caveats

Creative Commons seems like a great idea. I, usually, extensively research a topic upon which I an expected to teach. I often find someone who has created exactly what I need and don't feel that I could do better. Do I write to the individual and ask permission to use the material? What if that person is on sabbatical, or doesn't have e-mail or has moved to another location? I have spent due diligence looking for permission; is it okay to use the material as long as I give proper attribution?

It appears that with Creative Commons a lot of these questions can be answered quickly. Why not take something that "mostly" fits your circumstances and rework it rather than starting from the beginning? There is so much information available, it is impossible to know what's out there, readily available. Creative Commons is another way to provide collaboration, hopefully for the betterment of an individual's teaching.

I don't know that students think much about copyright law. I always mention that just because you see something you like, doesn't mean you can use it with impunity. A discussion of what Creative Commons is could certainly help students understand what copyright means and why one needs to ask permission and/or provide attribution before using copyrighted material.