A Creative Commons Tutorial for Students

Need a picture for a blog posting? Wonder where to get one that can be used legally?

If you are beset by such questions, this tutorial is for you! Proceed through Section 1-4 below and get to know Creative Commons as a way of using and sharing materials legally.

1. Before Creative Commons, there's Copyright…
2. Enter Creative Commons - Share, Remix and Reuse Legally
3. Newslink - Resources from Singapore Press Holdings
4. Recommended Websites on Copyright and Creative Commons

1. Before Creative Commons, there's Copyright…

“Copyright is a protection that covers published and unpublished literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, whatever the forms of the expression, provided such works are fixed in a tangible or material form. This means that as long as you can see it, hear it and/or touch it, it may be protected…It is illegal to violate any of the rights provided by the law to the owner of the copyright.” (School of Informatics & IT - Student Handbook 2011/12, p.21)
 

Digital materials are readily available on the Internet. However, do not assume copying what you can see and access is ok. It is best to consult your lecturers if you are in doubt.

Check out the link below to think about some common copyright issues that you are likely to encounter.

• Learn More About Copyright (a game quiz, with audio)

 
2. Enter Creative Commons - Share, Remix and Reuse Legally

If copyright is best summed up as “all rights reserved” then, correspondingly, it would be “some rights reserved” for Creative Commons. With Creative Common licenses, creators can specify, upfront, what rights they wish to retain while allowing for other types of uses by others. Therefore depending on the types of Creative Commons licenses, you can share, remix or reuse such works legally.

Check out the following links for a basic understanding of Creative Commons.

• The What, Why and How of Creative Commons (a video, audio required)
• The 6 Creative Commons Licenses (scroll down the webpage)
• A Self-Check on the Creative Common Licenses (a quiz)
• How to Search for Reusable Works (a demo, with audio)

3. Newslink - Resources from Singapore Press Holdings

Beyond Creative Commons, there are online resources that you can reuse legally upon payment or subscription. The use is subject to the terms and conditions stipulated and for the period the subscription is valid. TP subscribes to Newslink which is an electronic collection of articles, images and PDFs of publications by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH). Lecturers and current students of TP may use these digital materials for teaching-learning purposes only and within the environment of TP such as OLIVE.

Access Newslink at the resources section of TP Library website (http://library.tp.edu.sg). Login is required.

• How to Search for Newslink Resources (a demo, with audio)

4. Recommended Websites on Copyright and Creative Commons

• IPOS – The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore
  http://www.ipos.gov.sg/topNav/hom
  
• Creative Commons 
  http://creativecommons.org/

References:

• Temasek Polytechnic School of Informatics & IT. (2011). Student Handbook 2011/12.
  Retrieved from http://www-iit.tp.edu.sg/iit_student_handbook_2011__amended_.pdf
  
• Get Creative! (2002). Retrieved from Creative Commons website at:
  http://creativecommons.org/videos/get-creative
  
• About the licenses. Retrieved from Creative Commons website at:  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/