To understand why the world-wide non-profit organization is used by the likes of MIT OpenCourseWare, Rice University Connexions, Yale University and by high profile sites such as GOOGLE and Wikipedia (http://creativecommons.org/who-uses-cc), you need to know what the Creative Commons license is (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZvJGV6YF6Y), how it works and why it is significant in this climate of global sharing.
Basically, the Creative Commons license gives permission for others to use material you have created while still holding on to some rights. Most original work created automatically becomes copyrighted, meaning the creator of the work has exclusive legal rights to print, publish, perform, film and record their material (and the legal right to authorize a third party to do the same). Within these inherent rights, the Creative Commons license allows the creator to choose from six different content CC licenses (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/) to suit their needs. For instance, I may want to share my original course design for only educational purposes, not for commercial use, and my work needs to be acknowledged. I can design a CC license to let the world know my license preferences and because Creative Commons imbeds a HTML code that can be attached to your Web page, anyone can easily obtain the information. The code contains a logo that links back the Creative Commons Web page where a description of how the work may be used is displayed (http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7023.pdf ). The following link provides information on how to license and mark your content with Creative Commons (http://wiki.creativecommons.org/images/6/61/Creativecommons-licensing-and-marking-your-content_eng.pdf ).
According to Educaus Learning Initiative, (http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7023.pdf), “Creative Commons puts unprecedented power into the hands of content owners and users, creating an environment in which restrictions take a back seat to permissions and the creative talents of individuals benefit the common good.” My question is to educators and creators alike: is the Creative Commons licensing all you need? Are there other options you considered for licensing your work; if so, what were they? When it comes to OER’S (Open Educational Resources), what are the implications for using the Creative commons, as opposed to other licenses?
The Creative Commons site (http://creativecommons.org/interviews) offers a link for interviews with prominent Open Education proponents and users of CC licencing that provide good insight into Open Education and policy. Paul Stacey from BC Campus produced this chart plotting OER projects and their licenses (http://paulgstacey.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/openlicensingcontinuum.jpg). Stacey comments, “The Creative Commons has played a central role in making OER possible in the first place”. The current solution for licencing for BC Campus is BC Commons, which is modelled after the Creative Commons licensing. Whereas the Creative Commons is nation-wide, the BC Commons license is only for use and sharing of content between educational institutions within the BC public post-secondary system. Educators are able to ease into the arena of openness. Stacy points out that faculty members worry about losing the “integrity of the resources they create”, and even though not all worries are alleviated with the BC Commons license, at least they are diminished because “sharing is contained within the Province”. Stacy advocates for the BC Commons license because of the local collaboration that builds from its use. “When you create a license that supports local sharing, it creates a local commons,” says Paul. I was not aware that BC Commons existed until my research on the Creative Commons began. When looking toward our goal of sharing, creating and remixing knowledge, I must admit I see the Creative Commons licensing as a better choice for achieving global learning networks.
What are your thoughts on licensing within BC or nationwide? Are Creative Commons licensing becoming a common culture in our Internet community for sharing, creating and innovating? Will the Creative Commons license packaging be enough protection for our Open Educational resources to thrive within all areas of education?
photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/opendemocracy/542303769/">openDemocracy</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">cc</a>
This work by Jean Kloppenburg is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.