Opening the Gate: Using OER to Create and Share Courses

Editor's Notes

• #3: The purpose of this session is to provide information and experience in using open educational resources (OER) in your teaching practice. We will discuss the concept of OER and open licenses. We will also provide plenty of practice in locating and sharing open educational resources.  Upon completion of this session, the participants will be able toDescribe the meaning of open educational resources.Differentiate the concepts of open licensing, public domain, and all rights reserved copyrights.Identify resources that are openly licensed or in public domain.Distinguish the different types of Creative Commons licenses.License works under a Creative Commons license.Find the open educational resources, and properly attribute a work offered under a Creative Commons license.  
• #5: Have you ever found something from the internet that could be a perfect resource (image, video, quiz, etc.) for your course, and you spent hours trying to figure out the copyright issues with that resource? You couldn’t find any Terms of Use, and there was no author information, so you didn’t know who to contact to get the permission? Wouldn’t it have been nice if that resource somehow said “I’m free to use, no strings attached, you don’t need to ask for my permission because it is already granted”? Open Educational Resources (OER) are answer to that need. There are millions of educational resources out there that are available for others to freely use. There are all kinds: full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and many other tools, materials and techniques used to support access to knowledge. Here is how OER is defined in more specific and fancy terms: Open educational resources (OER) are educational materials that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open license that permits their free use and re-purposing by others (definition by Hewlett Foundation). Let me put it another way. OER are: Format: materials in any medium, digital or otherwiseConditions: that eitherresides in the public domain orhas been released under an open license,Nature: which permits its free use and re-purposing by others.  To see how others define OER, please visit What is OER by Creative Commons. Now that we’ve had a chance to discuss the concept of OER let’s dig a bit deeper. We’ve just learned that, in order to be an OER, the resource should be either in the public domain or released with an open license. Let’s talk about what the open license and public domain mean in the next Modules.
• #6: Open Educational Resources (OER) are answer to that need. There are millions of educational resources out there that are available for others to freely use. There are all kinds: full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and many other tools, materials and techniques used to support access to knowledge. Here is how OER is defined in more specific and fancy terms: Open educational resources (OER) are educational materials that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open license that permits their free use and re-purposing by others (definition by Hewlett Foundation). Let me put it another way. OER are: Format: materials in any medium, digital or otherwiseConditions: that eitherresides in the public domain orhas been released under an open license,Nature: which permits its free use and re-purposing by others.  
• #7: A side note on OER iftrhing to use the “public domain” clauseIf it is in the “public domain” I can use it, right?MAYBE????Copyrights typically last 95 years, and can be renewed during the first 28 years for an additional 95 yearsSo, if it was created before 1923, then indeed the copyright has most likely aged off.Or if the work is between 1/1/1923 and 1/1/1964 then there MIGHT be a copyright still on the material, however this is an extremely small number of items.How about if the work was created/published between 1964 and 1977 ? The copyright has automatically been renewed so you must get copyright permission.And finally, if the work is dated after 1977 you MUST receive written copyright permission.
• #8: Our consortium as 16 colleges needed a cost efficient way to develop or revise 270 courses in under 2 years.Across Colorado, all the colleges have published all the courses under a certificate program into various OER’s, but it wasn’t until we developed a website that each college could effectively “peek” into each other’s courses.  Did this create a sense of discomfort? Yes! Were instructors reluctant to share? Yes! However, due to the terms of the grant, OER publication was not voluntary and all courses must post Creative Commons License 3.0 which basically allows the shared courses to be copied, distributed and remixed. Publication to OER had the same “bell curve” the technology adoption curve: the early adopters eagerly submitted their courses whether they were “final editions” or rough drafts. As the website was built, more and more colleges, were peeking and willing to share. Amazingly, there were five different versions of EIC 130, meeting the same common course numbering competencies, published as OER. Instructors and institutions began to see similarities and differences and began contacting each other/other institutions for resources. That contact started a intrastate collaboration on course development, leading to several exemplary course that are now being used system wide. The search for OER began with  Open CultureCourseraNational Repository of Online CoursesEdXOpen2StudyCanvasAnd ended with just 2 OER repositoriesConnexionsMERLOT
• #9: There were many set backs to full implementation of using and creating OERQuality Assurance The underlying feeling was that our instructors were reluctant to “accept other instructors work” because they have always taught/used material this way, they were the expert, or even “I have outside commercial offers for my material”A growing number of digital resources are available but becomesharder to judge the quality and relevance. Many institutions that supply OER go through an internal review process before releasing them to the public but these processes are not open in the sense that the user of the resource can follow them.Also there is a lack of research data focusing on comparing the amount students learn from OER compared to the amount they learn from prevailing publisher materials. Whether the material is free or expensive, quality does matter. Intellectual Property disputesPolicies on academic freedom, open access licenses (CC BY) were clarified….as long as you are an employee of the CCCS system of colleges, the System owns any material, or products you produce. AND under the grant, all property touched by grant funds must be published to OER—but the undercurrent of “reluctance to “share”Sustainability of OER Many OER initiatives begun in recent years were dependent on one-time start-up funding. Although some projects have a strong institutional backing, it is likely that the initial funding will cease after a few years and maintaining the resources will be difficult and expensive. Without serious maintenance the resources will become obsolete and the quality will be lost. Therefore it is critical to figure out how to sustain these initiatives in the long run.  Lack of public understanding in OER At just over ten years old OER is a very recent development in education. It requires a huge paradigm shift and attitude change and this is a much bigger challenge than introducing a new tool or knowledge. Many in education do not understand the potential of OER and feel that it threatens their ownership of intellectual property. It takes some time to understand that open licenses, such as Creative Commons licenses, clearly recognize and can reinforce someone's intellectual ownership. The open licenses are simply to make the sharing process easy while protecting the copyright. Non-revocable nature of Creative Commons licenses This is technically not a concern regarding the use of OER, but rather something that OER providers might find challenging in releasing their works using these licenses. Creative Commons licenses are completely non-revocable. This means that you cannot stop someone, who has obtained your work under a Creative Commons license from using the work according to that license. You can stop offering your work under a Creative Commons license at any time you wish; but this will not affect the rights associated with any copies of your work already in circulation under a Creative Commons license. So you need to think carefully when choosing a Creative Commons license to make sure that you are happy with people using your work consistent with the terms of the license even if you later stop distributing your work.
• #10: So What Really Happened?We developed a website where each college could effectively “peek” into each other’s courses, www.cccscoetc.weebly.com.  Did this create a sense of discomfort? Yes! Were instructors reluctant to share? Yes!However, due to the terms of the grant, OER publication was not voluntary and all courses must publish under a Creative Commons License 3.0 which basically allows the shared courses to be copied, distributed and remixed.
• #11: Success to DateSeptember2012- 0 courses in OERJanuary 2014- 97 Energy courses in OER, 49 DevEd redesigned courses in OERSeptember 2014—end of TAACCCT1- approximately 270 courses in OERStarted working on TAACCCT 3-Colorado Helps Advanced Manufacturing Programs should have 317 master courses published to OER by end of early 2015.
• #12: Baby StepsPublication to OER had the same “bell curve” the technology adoption curve: the early adopters eagerly submitted their courses whether they were “final editions” or rough drafts. As the website was built, more and more colleges, were peeking and willing to share. Amazingly, there were five different versions of EIC 130, meeting the same common course numbering competencies, published as OER. Instructors and institutions began to see similarities and differences and began contacting each other/other institutions for resources. That contact started a intrastate collaboration on course development, leading to several exemplary course that are now being used system wide. The search for OER began with  Open CultureCourseraNational Repository of Online CoursesEdXOpen2StudyCanvasAnd ended with just 2 OER repositoriesConnexionsMERLOT
• #13: Aims and CMC courses published to OER—Merlot.org and cnx.org
• #14: Red Rocks CC and Northeastern Junior College courses published to OER—Merlot.org and cnx.org
• #15: General Benefits of using OERLearning EffectivenessBetter Quality or More recent materialThe content is compiled and edited by the instructorUpdating is instant and constant on an on-going basisAccessWider Variety of Learning MaterialsOpen Yale courses (from Yale University),JHSPH OpenCourseWare (from the Johns Hopkins University)Webcast.Berkeley (from the University of California at Berkeley),Stanford Engineering Everywhere (from Stanford University),MIT OpenCourseWare (from MIT)Open Learning Initiative (from Carnegie Mellon University)Harvard Open Courses at Harvard Extension School (from Harvard University) If an instructor opens his/her own course materials, and shares them with the public it greatly enhances opportunities for learning for both students who already took the course and the prospective students.    Students often like to check out the course materials before the term begins. If students have that opportunity to take a look at the course materials it will help them make an informed decision in choosing the right course, and preparing themselves for the class. Students also would like to revisit their course materials after the quarter/semester is over to refresh their memories or to further study the topics. Open course materials will help them reinforce what they have learned and further develop their level of understanding in the area.ScaleCost effectiveOpen sources are adapted and re-organized as needed
• #16: General Benefits of using OERFaculty SuccessAvoiding reinventing the wheelContent is complied and edited by the instructorProject examples are sometimes included with grading rubricsMaterial usually includes multimedia: simulations, slideshow or videosStudent SuccessBetter Quality and easier accessDigital OER textbooks, text readings are reduced and condensed compared to regular textbooks
• #17: Other benefits Showcases research to widest possible audienceEnhances a university’s reputation as well as that of the teacher or researcherSocial responsibility – provides education for allShares best practice internationallyAllows for peer reviewMaximizes the use and increases availability of educational materialsRaises standard of educational resources by gathering more contributorsCourse Design stresses interactivity, problem solving and feedback
• #18: Benefits the Consortium Realized Contents are displayed in multimedia formats so user knows how the student will see the materialContent can be enhanced with presentations, slideshow or videosInteractive functionality is facilitated with online quizzes, blogging, twittering, and student personal Wiki website, which is also used as an e-portfolio for the courseContent is compiled and edited by the instructorUpdating is instant and constant on an on-going basisPeer ReviewedAdaptability for individual colleges and instructorsOpen sources are adapted and re-organized as neededDigital OER textbooks, text readings are reduced and condensed compared to regular textbooksBuilding and sharing content decreased development time and maximized resourcesContent was “standardized” between the 7 Energy colleges
• #19: TechnologyTimeQuality Assessment-Reluctance to “share” and the reluctance to “accept other instructors work”Policies on academic freedom, open access licenses (CC BY)Development of a master course with core competencies coveredEvolving Online/Hybrid Pedagogy QualityDiffering learning management systemsResistance to being required to publish Online/hybrid courses as OEREvolving Online/Hybrid Pedagogy Differing learning management systems
• #20: Challenges to Contributing to OERTechnology—OERs are built on the different platforms such as HTML vs. XML Time—Sharing to an OER Repository requires manual recreating of content since SCORM or common cartridges uploads are not standardQuality Assessment—reluctance to “accept” others work as “equivalent” as their own material or view as “inferior” to publisher created materialCollege or Faculty Property—who actually “owns” the content created within a college system? If a system owns all material created by faculty/employees while being paid with system funds, can course material be contributed to OER?Creating a different CC BY license for each OER publishedNo Central OER repository
• #22: What is OER, OPEN and Creative Common License?And where do you start….You can jump into a search for OER in: Open CultureCourseraNational Repository of Online CoursesEdXOpen2StudyCanvasConnexionsMERLOT
• #23: How do you really know if it is OER?Let’s investigate the world of licenses, OPEN resources, creative commons and public domain……..
• #24: There are many open licenses developed for different areas of knowledge. However, when it comes to open educational resources the most typical and common open licenses used are Creative Commons Licenses. 
• #25: You have probably heard of an open source license, a type of license for computer software that allows source code to be used, modified and shared under defined terms. The free software movement was launched in 1983. Since then the folks in the computer software world have been widely developing and sharing the open source code with a clear licensing system. Additionally, other open licenses in the computer-related areas have been developed, such as open database licenses and open game licenses. But what about the rest of the knowledge materials that are not computer program related? In 2001, inspired by this open source license move in the computer software world, a group of experts comprised of educators, technologists, legal scholars, investors, entrepreneurs and philanthropists gathered together to come up with a set of copyright licenses that would allow creators to easily share materials that were not software code, such as blogs, photos, films, books, etc. They founded a nonprofit organization called Creative Commons and developed the first set of open licenses in 2002. These Creative Commons licenses brought clarity and ease to sharing materials online. In summary, there are many open licenses developed for different areas of knowledge (please see the diagram below). Creative Commons licenses are mostly widely used copyright licenses that would allow creators to easily share materials that were not software code, such as blogs, photos, films, books, etc
• #26: There are many open licenses developed for different areas of knowledge. However, when it comes to open educational resources the most typical and common open licenses used are Creative Commons Licenses. Allow me to give you a bit of background. You have probably heard of an open source license, a type of license for computer software that allows source code to be used, modified and shared under defined terms. The free software movement was launched in 1983. Since then the folks in the computer software world have been widely developing and sharing the open source code with a clear licensing system. Additionally, other open licenses in the computer-related areas have been developed, such as open database licenses and open game licenses. But what about the rest of the knowledge materials that are not computer program related? In 2001, inspired by this open source license move in the computer software world, a group of experts comprised of educators, technologists, legal scholars, investors, entrepreneurs and philanthropists gathered together to come up with a set of copyright licenses that would allow creators to easily share materials that were not software code, such as blogs, photos, films, books, etc. They founded a nonprofit organization called Creative Commons and developed the first set of open licenses in 2002. These Creative Commons licenses brought clarity and ease to sharing materials online. In summary, there are many open licenses developed for different areas of knowledge (please see the diagram below). Creative Commons licenses are mostly widely used copyright licenses that would allow creators to easily share materials that were not software code, such as blogs, photos, films, books, etc.
• #28: Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that enables the sharing and use of creativity and knowledge through free legal tools. Their free, easy-to-use copyright licenses provide a simple, standardized way to give the public permission to share and use your creative work — on conditions of your choice. CC licenses let you easily change your copyright terms from the default of “all rights reserved” to “some rights reserved.” (Definition from Creativecommons.org) 
• #31: Why Would I Want To Release My Work With A Creative Commons License?Choosing a CC license is a fast and easy process with a CC license chooser application. However, in order to release your work with a CC license your work should be cleared from all copyright issues. To do so, your work should be one or combination of the following types:your original work,built from open resources,built from the public domain, built from copyrighted work that you obtained permission to use, orcombination of above works*Note: For any third party materials, whether openly licensed or copyrighted, those materials need to be attributed as not governed by the CC license you chose for your work, but under different terms and by different authors).  If you must use any items that are not openly licensed, please be sure to obtain the permission letters from the authors
• #32: *Note: For any third party materials, whether openly licensed or copyrighted, those materials need to be attributed as not governed by the CC license you chose for your work, but under different terms and by different authors).  If you must use any items that are not openly licensed, please be sure to obtain the permission letters from the authors
• #33: A Cautionary NoteCreative Commons licenses are non-revocable. This means that you cannot stop someone, who has obtained your work under a Creative Commons license, from using the work according to that license. You can stop offering your work under a Creative Commons license at any time you wish; but this will not affect the rights associated with any copies of your work already in circulation under a Creative Commons license. So you need to think carefully when choosing a Creative Commons license to make sure that you are happy with people being able to use your work consistent with the terms of the license, even if you later stop distributing your work (text from Considerations for licensors and licensees by Creative Commons, CC-BY).  To learn more about basic conditions that you should think about before you apply a Creative Commons license to your work, please read CC Wiki: Considerations for licensors and licensees. 
• #34: To Learn More About…..To learn more about basic conditions that you should think about before you apply a Creative Commons license to your work, please read CC Wiki: Considerations for licensors and licensees. 
• #36: How do I Find OERThere is NO central OER repository!However, there is one place to start:http://open4us.org/find-oer/
• #37: Other Sources for OERCHAMP Dashboardhttp://www.symbaloo.com/shared/AAAACMSNVS0AA42Agd4JvQ==OPEN Courses: Merlot, Connexions, MIT OpenCourseWare, Open Yale Courses, Harvard Open Learning Initiative, Open Culture, Coursera, OpenCourseWare Consortium, MOOC List, edX, OpenCourse Library, Videos: YouTube, Vimeo or the Internet ArchiveAudio/Podcasts: Soundcloud or the Internet ArchivePresentations:SlideshareOPEN Content: Google DriveDigital Public Library of AmericaPhETP2PUOpenStaxDOL OER or OPEN informationhttp://open4us.org/faq/http://open4us.org/resources/cc-by-license-implementation-deep-dive-resources/
• #39: CC Licensed Video SearchGo to http://open4us.org/find-oer/.   Please scroll down a bit and see the categories. Find the category that is most suitable for your needs. Since we are looking for a video, click Video Search from the Categories that are highlighted in blue.Let’s try YouTube for now. Simply go to http://youtube.com.  Type in your keyword and click the search button that looks like a magnifier.You will see the list of videos that corresponds to your keyword.To filter these videos and find the CC-licensed ones, click the Filters button and choose Creative Commons under the Features.All of the videos that are released with Creative Commons Attribution licenses will appear. However, you have to double check to see if the video you want is truly CC licensed. To do so, let’s choose one of the videos.
• #40: Check to confirm if the selected YouTube video is CC licensed, click the About tab and Show more option.At the bottom of the About page, you will see the License option. If it is CC licensed, it will say Creative Commons Attribution license (reuse allowed). If it is not CC licensed, it will say Standard YouTube license. If you wanted to use the videos that are not openly licensed, you must obtain the proper permission from the author.Since this video is CC licensed, it is safe to use in your work. YouTube is an excellent tool to find CC licensed videos, but try other repositories that provide openly licensed videos (Check under Video Search at http://open4us.org/find-oer/) You may find the repository that serves your needs best.  **Many content-aggregator websites, such as YouTube and Google Video have significant amounts of copyright-infringing material. Please double check if the video is truly CC-licensed. Some owners might upload their work on YouTube and claim it is theirs (when it’s not) or that it is under certain terms (when it is not). This is just a part of dealing with content on the internet, and the burden is on the user. So, when in doubt, contact the creator or do a little more research.
• #41: CC Licensed Image SearchPlease go to http://open4us.org/find-oer/.Scroll down a bit to see the categories. Find the category that is most suitable for your needs. Since we are looking for an image, click Photo/Image from the Categories that are highlighted in blue.Among repositories appeared, I would choose Flickr.Many Flickr users have chosen to offer their work under a Creative Commons license and you can browse or search through content under each type of license. Flickr organized their collection based on the types of CC licenses.Click See more under any types of CC collections.Type your keyword in the search window.Images will appear. Please click on the image you need.
• #42: CC Licensed Image Search part 2Right-click on the top of the image. You will see the choice of image sizes and the CC logo with a link to the specific CC license the photo is under.Choose the size you need. You will then be taken to the page where you can copy or download the image. Another way to search Flickr is via its advanced search (which is what I usually use). There at the bottom you can filter by reuse choice and search by any keyword term you like. This has the advantage of not having to browse for pictures. Try other image repositories that provide openly licensed images (Check under Photo/Image Search at http://open4us.org/find-oer/). You may find the repository that serves your needs best.
• #43: CC Licensed Course MaterialThere are tons of specific course items that are openly licensed. Whether you are looking for a syllabus, an assessment item, or a whole textbook, it is likely that you will be able to find a quality, openly licensed one. Let’s say you are looking for an assessment for the course you are teaching.Go to http://open4us.org/find-oer/. Find the category that is most suitable for your needs, such as an assessment or an activity, choose Complete Course Search, as those items will be part of the complete course package. You can also check Modular Course Components Search.Let’s choose Open Course Library for now.Click Courses to browse the course you are looking for.
• #44: CC Licensed Course Material Part 2Type your keyword in the search window, or scroll down to find the course.Click BROWSE to see the contents.Find the course material. The same logic applies to almost all other open course packages available. First, find the course listing (usually it says “Courses”), then browse the content and locate the specific course item you are looking for. Try other repositories that provide open course materials (Check under Modular Course Components or Complete Course Search at http://open4us.org/find-oer/). You may find the repository that serves your needs best.
• #45: CC Licensed TextbookGo to http://open4us.org/find-oer/.Find the category that is most suitable for your needs. For an open textbook, choose Open Textbook Search.Choose a search tool. Let’s choose Open Stax College for now.Click OUR BOOKS.Browse the books.Let’s choose a textbook. Download or view the content.Make sure to always check the license information.Try repositories that provide open textbooks (Check under Open Textbook Search at http://open4us.org/find-oer/). You may find the repositories that meet your needs best
• #47: Title -  What is the name of the material?              If a title was provided for the material, include it. Sometimes a title is not provided; in that case, don't worry about it.Author - Who owns the material?Name the author or authors of the material in question. Sometimes, the licensor may want you to give credit to some other entity, like a company or pseudonym. In those cases, just do what they request.Source - Where can I find it?Since you somehow accessed the material, you know where to find it. Provide the source of the material so others can, too. Since we live in the age of the Internet, this is usually a URL or hyperlink where the material resides.License - How can I use it?You are obviously using the material for free thanks to the CC license, so make note of it. Don't just say the material is Creative Commons, because that says nothing about how the material can actually be used. Remember that there are six different CC licenses; which one is the material under? Name and provide a link to it, eg. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ for CC BY.The above content is from CC Wiki, CC-BY.Let's do some practice. If you found a CC BY licensed image Let’s say you found a CC-licensed image of an elephant from Flickr, and you want to add it to your document. You can do it without asking for anybody’s permission, as this image was released with a CC license, but you would still have to attribute the work in the manner specified by the author. 1. After successfully locating the image, first check the license information to see if the image is truly openly licensed. All image repositories offering CC licensed images, such as Flickr or Wikimedia Commons, have their own way to provide license information. For example, in Flickr it is located on the right corner of the screen under the image.
• #48: Let’s say you found a CC-licensed image of an elephant from Flickr, and you want to add it to your document. You can do it without asking for anybody’s permission, as this image was released with a CC license, but you would still have to attribute the work in the manner specified by the author. After successfully locating the image, first check the license information to see if the image is truly openly licensed. All image repositories offering CC licensed images, such as Flickr or Wikimedia Commons, have their own way to provide license information. For example, in Flickr it is located on the right corner of the screen under the image.Click the “Some rights reserved” link. You will be taken to the Creative Commons license deed where you can check the type of CC license used. To cite the license link in your attribution, copy the URL of the deed in the browser.
• #49: Let’s Practice Adding An Attribution part 2After confirming the image is CC licensed (which means it is safe to use) and copied the URL of the license deed. To complete the attribution, we need to credit the author by citing the author's name (or user identification) and the work title.Now put all the collected information (Source, Author, and the License) in a proper attribution. Please see the example below. Notice that I linked the name to the person’s profile page and linked the title directly to the original work. “Elephant@Amboseli” by Xiaojun Deng is licensed under CC BY
• #51: *Derivative Works: A derivative work is a work based on or derived from one or more already existing works. Common derivative works include translations, musical arrangements, motion picture versions of literary material or plays, art reproductions, abridgments, and condensations of preexisting works. Another common type of derivative work is a "new edition" of a preexisting work in which the editorial revisions, annotations, elaborations, or other modifications represent, as a whole, an original work. To learn more about Derivative works, please read Copyright in Derivative Works and Compilations by US Copyright office.  
• #52: you wanted to add a resource that is offered under different CC licenses from the default CC license Let’s say you are planning to release your report with CC-BY license. What if you wanted to add a resource that is offered under different CC licenses, such as CC Attribution-Non Commercial (CC BY-NC) to your report?  In this case, this is how you want to mark your report under the default CC BY license:  Except otherwise noted, this report by Hermione Granger is under a Creative Commons Attribution license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/.This means your report is CC BY licensed but it contains some resources that are marked with different licenses, and those resources should be treated as specified by the original author intended. So, even if your whole report is CC BY licensed, the resource with CC BY NC license cannot be used commercially. Please see the example below. Open Course Library (OCL) is a collection of many online course packages. While all OCL courses are licensed under default CC BY license, many resources that are offered under different CC licenses (such as CC BY-NC or CC BY-SA) were added to the course materials. Adding "unless otherwise specified" to the the statement indicates that there might be other resources marked with difference licenses and they need to be treated as specified by the original author.  Unless otherwise specified, the Open Course Library is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License  To learn more about how to make a good attribution for materials from multiple sources, please visit CC Wiki page.
• #53: you wanted to add a resource that is offered under different CC licenses from the default CC license Let’s say you are planning to release your report with CC-BY license. What if you wanted to add a resource that is offered under different CC licenses, such as CC Attribution-Non Commercial (CC BY-NC) to your report?  In this case, this is how you want to mark your report under the default CC BY license:  Except otherwise noted, this report by Hermione Granger is under a Creative Commons Attribution license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/.This means your report is CC BY licensed but it contains some resources that are marked with different licenses, and those resources should be treated as specified by the original author intended. So, even if your whole report is CC BY licensed, the resource with CC BY NC license cannot be used commercially. Please see the example below. Open Course Library (OCL) is a collection of many online course packages. While all OCL courses are licensed under default CC BY license, many resources that are offered under different CC licenses (such as CC BY-NC or CC BY-SA) were added to the course materials. Adding "unless otherwise specified" to the the statement indicates that there might be other resources marked with difference licenses and they need to be treated as specified by the original author.  Unless otherwise specified, the Open Course Library is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License  To learn more about how to make a good attribution for materials from multiple sources, please visit CC Wiki page.
• #55: Public Domain and YouA public domain work is a creative work that is not protected by copyright which means it’s free for you to use without permission. Works in the public domain are those whose intellectual property rights have expired, have been forfeited, or are inapplicable. Examples include the works of Shakespeare and Beethoven, The King James Bible, most of the early silent films, the formulae of Newtonian physics, and the patents on powered flight (Text in this paragraph is from Wikipedia, Public domain, CC-BY-SA). 
• #56: Public Domain is NOT OPEN LicenseOpen license does recognize a clear ownership of an intellectual property, whereas the intent of public domain is for the copyright holder to waive copyright ownership in the work. Therefore, users are required to attribute the work to the original authors when using openly licensed materials. In a way, public domain is the purest form of open/free, since no one owns or controls the material in any way (this sentence is from Public Domain, CC-BY).
• #58: Case 1: The term of copyright for the work has expired.As a general rule, most works enter the public domain because of old age. This includes any work published in the United States before 1923 or works published before 1964 for which copyrights were not renewed (Renewal was a requirement for works published before 1978). (Text in this paragraph is from The Public Domain by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University, CC-BY-NC).Case 2: It never had copyright protection.It never had copyright protection or its protection was lost. A smaller group of works fell into the public domain because they were published without a copyright notice, which was necessary for works published in the United States before March 1, 1989. Thus, if a work published before March 1, 1989 and did not carry a copyright notice, it it is in the public domain.
• #59: Case 3: The work was explicitly donated to the public domain.Some works are in the public domain because the owner has indicated a desire to give them to the public without copyright protection.Case 4: The work is a work of the U.S. Government.Works of the United States Government and various other governments are excluded from copyright law and may therefore be considered to be in the public domain in their respective countries (US Copyright office). In the United States when copyrighted material (created by the federal government) is enacted into the law it enters the public domain. Thus, the building codes, when enacted, are in the public domain. Works produced by third party  contractors with the government may be protected under copyright law based on the contract terms (Text in this paragraph is from Wikipedia, Public domain, CC-BY-SA).
• #60: Locate the work's publication date and see if it is published before 1923. If it is, the work is automatically placed in public domain. Some examples in this category include: The Household Cyclopedia - a how-to manual from 1881The Boy Mechanic: 700 Things for Boys to Do by Popular Mechanics - illustrations and all in PDF.Things to Make by Archibald Williams - projects in carpentry, machinery, kites, and more.Archive.org search for "how-to - check before copying to wikiHow because not all of the information is in the public domain.The Jewish Encyclopedia (1901-1906)* (Examples from Wikihow, How to Find Public Domain Materials, CC-BY)
• #61: Research books that were published between 1923 and Jan 1, 1964. 90% of books during this period are not copyrighted, since their copyright holders failed to extend their copyright. Review the copyright renewal database for details.
• #62: Determine whether the work is eligible for public domain status. If it is a work of the US government and other government agencies, the work may be considered to be in public domain. Some good examples: Space Educators' HandbookUS Forest Service Fire Effects Database - contains photos and facts on many species.NIST Dictionary of Algorithms, Data Structures, and ProblemsCenters for Disease Control and PreventionUSDA Nutrient Data LaboratoryU.S. Navy - contains good information on knots.U.S. Department of Defense - some military training books contain good how-tos on a variety of subjects.Federal Emergency Management Agency - contains good information on preparing for natural disasters.National Transportation Safety BoardNational Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationU.S. Geological Survey* (Examples from Wikihow, How to Find Public Domain Materials, CC-BY).
• #64: Saves costs for students OER can offer drastic savings in the cost of education. Some of your students who otherwise cannot afford to buy expensive textbooks or other course materials will enjoy this affordable option when taking your course. A faculty member  from a community college said during an interview: “Many of my students are struggling. They are working adults trying to make ends meet. I used to use $150 textbook from publisher and I switched to an open textbook. My students love it because it costs nothing. They are now asking if my next course will use the free textbook too.” “I made my own course materials package for my students .It is free to download and a printed version is only 40 dollars. I could not find a ready-made open textbook for my course. So I combined the open resources out there and developed my own. It was a lot of work, but my students are happy to save good money.” Grants access to more quality choices  There are 750 free online courses from leading universities that are open to the public. Students in low-resource environments can enjoy the recorded lectures and video tutorials developed by other institutions such as, Open Yale courses (from Yale University),JHSPH OpenCourseWare (from the Johns Hopkins University)Webcast.Berkeley (from the University of California at Berkeley),Stanford Engineering Everywhere (from Stanford University),MIT OpenCourseWare (from MIT)Open Learning Initiative (from Carnegie Mellon University)Harvard Open Courses at Harvard Extension School (from Harvard University) This is just to name a few. Many other universities, colleges, and other educational institutions in higher education are preparing to offer open online courses to the public. Educators are happily sharing their life work with more students and enjoying the greater influence their materials have on larger audiences.  Helps preparation for course and retention of knowledge after courseIf an instructor opens his/her own course materials, and shares them with the public it greatly enhances opportunities for learning for both students who already took the course and the prospective students.    Students often would like to check out the course materials before the term begins. If students have that opportunity to take a look at the course materials it will help them make an informed decision in choosing the right course, and preparing themselves for the class. Students also would like to revisit their course materials after the quarter/semester is over to refresh their memories or to further study the topics. Open course materials will help them reinforce what they have learned and further develop their level of understanding in the area.  More clarity and/or certainty regarding reuse of materialsIf you’re re-using someone else’s materials, the most notable reason for using OER is peace of mind. The resources are licensed to allow the sharing of content and so you will not need to contact the author about making use of his or her work provided that what you want to do falls within the ‘open’ license. OERs are free at the point of use, so you will not need to provide monetary compensation for using them. Then there is the opportunity of discovering alternative ideas for presenting and teaching your subject matter or being able to point your students to the alternative explanations for further study (text in this paragraph is from Why OER by Kabils, CC-BY). Other benefits •       Showcases research to widest possible audience•       Enhances a university’s reputation as well as that of the teacher or researcher•       Social responsibility – provides education for all•       Shares best practice internationally•       Allows for peer review•       Maximizes the use and increases availability of educational materials•       Raises standard of educational resources by gathering more contributors
• #65: Helps preparation for course and retention of knowledge after courseIf an instructor opens his/her own course materials, and shares them with the public it greatly enhances opportunities for learning for both students who already took the course and the prospective students.    Students often would like to check out the course materials before the term begins. If students have that opportunity to take a look at the course materials it will help them make an informed decision in choosing the right course, and preparing themselves for the class. Students also would like to revisit their course materials after the quarter/semester is over to refresh their memories or to further study the topics. Open course materials will help them reinforce what they have learned and further develop their level of understanding in the area.  More clarity and/or certainty regarding reuse of materialsIf you’re re-using someone else’s materials, the most notable reason for using OER is peace of mind. The resources are licensed to allow the sharing of content and so you will not need to contact the author about making use of his or her work provided that what you want to do falls within the ‘open’ license. OERs are free at the point of use, so you will not need to provide monetary compensation for using them. Then there is the opportunity of discovering alternative ideas for presenting and teaching your subject matter or being able to point your students to the alternative explanations for further study (text in this paragraph is from Why OER by Kabils, CC-BY). Other benefits •       Showcases research to widest possible audience•       Enhances a university’s reputation as well as that of the teacher or researcher•       Social responsibility – provides education for all•       Shares best practice internationally•       Allows for peer review•       Maximizes the use and increases availability of educational materials•       Raises standard of educational resources by gathering more contributors