Creative Commons provides a standardized way for creators to share their work with the world while retaining some control over how it's used.
Imagine you're working with a Subject Matter Expert on a course, and you need images, videos, or text to enhance the learning experience. Instead of starting from scratch or relying solely on content that we've created in-house, Creative Commons allows us to tap into resources that other creators have generously shared.
Creative Commons offers a range of licenses, each with its own permissions and restrictions. For instance, some licenses might allow us to use content freely as long as we provide attribution to the original creator, while others might restrict commercial use or require us to share any adaptations we make under the same terms.
By understanding these licenses, we will know what we can and cannot do with the content we find. This not only saves us time and resources but also ensures that we're respecting the rights of other creators.
Creative Commons (CC) licenses provide a standardized way for creators to grant permission for others to use their work under certain conditions. There are six main types of Creative Commons licenses, each offering different levels of permissions and restrictions:
Attribution (CC BY): This license allows others to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the work, even commercially, as long as they give appropriate credit to the original creator(s). This is the most permissive license, allowing the greatest freedom in using the work.
Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA): This license allows others to remix, adapt, and build upon the work, even for commercial purposes, as long as they credit the original creator(s) and license their new creations under the same terms. This means that derivative works must also be licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license.
Attribution-NoDerivatives (CC BY-ND): This license allows for redistribution, commercial and non-commercial, as long as the work is passed along unchanged and in whole, with credit to the original creator(s). This means that others cannot remix, adapt, or build upon the original work.
Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC): This license allows others to remix, adapt, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as they credit the original creator(s). However, they cannot use the work for commercial purposes without prior permission from the creator(s).
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA): This license allows others to remix, adapt, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as they credit the original creator(s) and license their new creations under the same terms. This means that derivative works must also be non-commercial and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (CC BY-NC-ND): This is the most restrictive of the Creative Commons licenses. It allows others to download the work and share it with others as long as they credit the original creator(s), but they cannot change it in any way or use it commercially.
