Creative Commons is an alternative to restrictive copyright laws that allows for a work to be used, reused and sometimes even changed. There are various levels of copyright protection that indicate what the end user may or may not do. For instance, there are Creative Commons licenses that let others mix, remix, build upon and change your work as long as they give credit for the original work. Contrast this with the most restrictive Creative Commons license which allows people to download and share the work but they cannot make any changes and must credit the original creator.

The difference between a copyrighted work and a Creative Commons licensed work is the level of protection offered. A work that is copyrighted cannot, generally, be used in any way without paying for said work, or purchasing a license to use it. Creative Commons provides varying level of “licensing” to provide for the sharing of a work. Basically Creative Commons licenses encourage sharing whereas Copyright laws prohibit sharing.

Generally for use in the classroom, if a work is Creative Commons licensed it’s much easier to use. The Creative Commons licenses generally allow for free use and dissemination of a work as long as credit is given. The copyright laws, even for classroom use are restrictive and if followed, make it harder to copy and share a work.

In teaching students about copyright, one should always, always err on the side of too much. It’s better to be safe than sorry, so I would instruct them at the very least to make sure that you credit any work used in a paper, a project or anything else that uses the work of someone else. My district uses a service call “Turn it in” for students to submit papers. It scans the paper for copyrighted material and lets the teacher know what has been used and how closely. This service is helping students get used to not using word for word excerpts as their own and making sure to site all sources.

Link to creative commons information here

Information on difference between Creative Commons and copyright here.