When choosing to use OER in an educational context, there are three main approaches available: adapt, adopt or create. Possibly the most important difference between these is how time-intensive each is. See our FAQ on the difference between adapting, adopting and creating to determine which is the better choice for your situation.
Understanding Open Licenses
Most works are protected by copyright automatically upon their creation (e.g. images, videos, audio, written texts), which restricts how the work may be used (e.g. it cannot be copied or redistributed without the consent of the creator, except in very specific circumstances that are exceptions to the copyright).
An open license allows a creator to share their work more freely with others and allows the re-use and redistribution of that work with few or no restrictions. Creative Commons is the most well known and widely used form of open licensing.
Creative Commons Licenses
Creative Commons licences are standardised tools that provide a range of options for creators who are interested in sharing their works with the public rather than reserving all rights under copyright. Creative Commons works are free to use provided the licence terms are followed.
The four licence elements—BY, SA, NC, and ND—combine to make up six different licence options.
All of the licences include the BY condition, which requires that the creator be attributed in connection with their work. Beyond that commonality, the licences vary whether (1) commercial use of the work is permitted; and (2) whether the work can be adapted, and if so, on what terms.
The six licences, from least to most restrictive in terms of the freedoms granted reusers, are:
Implications for OER
For more information on Creative Commons, see the chapter in the JCU OER Author guide on Understanding Creative Commons or the Creative Commons for JCU Staff Pressbook.
We acknowledge the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first inhabitants of the nation and acknowledge Traditional Owners of the lands where our staff and students, live, learn and work.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) 4.0 International License, unless otherwise noted. Content from this Guide should be attributed to James Cook University Library. This does not apply to images, third party material (seek permission from the original owner) or any logos or insignia belonging to JCU or other bodies, which remain All Rights Reserved.
