What is Creative Commons licensing? Can I use materials that are licensed under Creative Commons in my online classroom?
Creative Commons is a more flexible approach to copyright licensing which advocates “some rights reserved” instead of the traditional “all rights reserved”. Creative Commons licenses allow creators to make their work available with only minimal restrictions, such as acknowledging the author. Using this approach, creators can distribute their work for free through established, easy-to-understand licenses and users can access a whole range of works, from photos to music to educational materials, for free with only minor restrictions. Most of the time you should be able to use Creative Commons licensed material on your online classroom – you just need to respect whatever conditions imposed, which may including giving credit to the copyright owner or refraining from modifying the materials. For more information, visit Creative Commons.
