Copyright Basics For Educators and Students: Creative Commons Licensing

CC BY

This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use. CC BY includes the following elements:

 BY: credit must be given to the creator.

CC BY-SA

This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use. If you remix, adapt, or build upon the material, you must license the modified material under identical terms. CC BY-SA includes the following elements:

 BY: credit must be given to the creator.
 SA: Adaptations must be shared under the same terms.

CC BY-NC

This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. CC BY-NC includes the following elements:

 BY: credit must be given to the creator.
 NC: Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted.

CC BY-NC-SA

This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. If you remix, adapt, or build upon the material, you must license the modified material under identical terms. CC BY-NC-SA includes the following elements:

 BY: credit must be given to the creator.
 NC: Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted.
 SA: Adaptations must be shared under the same terms.

CC BY-ND

This license enables reusers to copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in unadapted form only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use. CC BY-ND includes the following elements:

 BY: credit must be given to the creator.
 ND: No derivatives or adaptations of the work are permitted.

CC BY-NC-ND

This license enables reusers to copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in unadapted form only, for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. CC BY-NC-ND includes the following elements:

 BY: credit must be given to the creator.
 NC: Only noncommercial uses of the work are permitted.
 ND: No derivatives or adaptations of the work are permitted.

What is an OER?

Open Education Resources (OERs) are resources with a Creative Commons (CC) license that allows classroom instructors to adapt them for their own classroom needs or learning objectives. OERs cover a wide range of materials including, infographics, classroom modules, activities, presentation slides, and even entire textbooks. 

How are OERs different than Open Access Materials?

Open Access Materials still uphold the copyright laws discussed in the copyright basics tab, meaning they can not be adapted or reused. Open Access just pertains to how the materials can be accessed (not behind a paywall). OERs, on the other hand, have specific copyright permissions that allow users to use materials in ways usually prohibited by standard copyright. 

Are OERs of less quality than ones behind a payway?

It depends on the resource in question. Most educational OERs (Journal articles, textbooks, chapters of books, etc) are peer-reviewed and written by experts in the field. Sometimes they are even higher quality than some articles and books behind a paywall. Other OERs (presentation slides, infographics, digital images/pictures, etc) can be of high quality, but usually warrant a check to be sure. 

When in doubt, use your expertise to determine if the materials are of sufficient quality to use for your classroom instruction. Remember you can always adapt the resources if you want to use them but find inaccuracies or confusing sections.

Where can I find OERs?

• Search the specialized OER repositories for different source types or materials
  • OER commons - Infographics, modules, lesson plans, etc
  • LibreTexts - Textbooks, academic articles, etc
  • Pixaby - images
• Don't be afraid to adapt OERs to fit your specific needs. Just make sure you follow the requirements of the license

For Faculty

• Find an OER textbook with short chapters or sections within a chapter. Instead of having your students write a traditional research paper, have them adapt the short chapter or section with expanded information and analysis. This allows students to have a voice in the creation of scholarship. This exercise demonstrates that scholarship is a conversation that builds upon itself, and that even as students they can still have a space in the conversation.
• Create an OER with the full class. Have the students work on different, but related, topics that align with the course objectives; perhaps a few students work on a literature review, a few students conduct a survey/study, a few students create an infographic, etc. Then patch all the different parts together at the end of the semester to create a full OER to upload an OER repository. This exercise allows students to be co-creators of knowledge and gives them more utility out of their academic research beyond disposable assignments.

For Students

• If you want to learn more about a topic than a semester allows, look for an OER online class taught by a professor or expert in the field. They can come in the form of video lectures, classic modules (like Canvas), or in platforms like WebEx or another online learning software.  This can help you expand your knowledge beyond the classroom.
• Turn your traditional disposable assignment into an OER to give it more utility beyond a grade. Hopefully, by doing this, you will have more pride in your work and see the usefulness of your scholarship for the general public.