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Unit 4: Copyright

Reusing content

Open Educational Resources (OERs) are digital materials that are made available online to be used or re-purposed for teaching, learning and research. They can include images, audio, video, animations, content modules and other digital resources.

Why use OERs rather than create your own content? There are several good reasons:

  • You can take existing resources and develop them in ways that suit your needs.
  • You can develop high quality resources on your own or with a small team of staff.
  • You can save time and duplication of effort.
  • You can build on best practice by experts in your subject area.
  • You can use resources which you may not have the software, equipment or facilities to create yourself.

Copyright concerns

To guarantee you stay legal when reusing content follow these three simple steps:

  • Reuse only licensed content (the most common licensing scheme is Creative Commons)
  • Adhere to the terms of the licence
  • Cite the content you use

The law includes a number of exceptions that allow for the use of all types of copyright work for certain educational purposes. For more information visit our copyright exceptions for education page.

Creative Commons Licence
SMILE - Copyright by Marion Kelt, GCU is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.