Creative Commons opens Cybersmart resources to schools
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Popular teaching resources on the Cybersmart website’s Schools Gateway are now available to schools under Creative Commons licences.
The new licensing conditions are more flexible than existing copyright, enabling schools and teachers to use, adapt and re-publish material from the resource, without seeking permission to republish from the ACMA.
There are two types of Creative Commons licences used for Cybersmart resources:
1. 
Attribution (BY), Non-commercial (NC), No-derivatives(ND)
2. 
Attribution (BY), Non-commercial (NC), Share-alike (SA).
Each licence has specific conditions:
- BY—the new work must credit its original creator
- NC—the work cannot be used commercially
- ND—the work can be used, copied, distributed and performed, but no derivative works can be made
- SA—the work can be changed, and can only be re-licensed under the same license.
Some elements of the School’s Gateway resources (such as the lesson plans) have been licensed under BY-NC-SA. Under these licences, the materials are available for free use and adaptation so teachers can change, translate and share new creations with other teachers and students.
Other elements are licensed under BY-NC-ND, which enables teachers to republish content without modification, so the resource can be hosted on school websites or intranets. This offers a convenient, easy way for schools to offer the material.
Materials now covered under Creative Commons licences carry the Creative Commons Licence logos that indicate which licence applies. Following review in 2010, other Cybersmart teaching resources will be also offered under Creative Commons licences.
Visit the following, for more information on Cybersmart’s use of Creative Commons, Creative Commons licences and the Schools Gateway.