To help convey a sense of the possibilities associated with using CC, this unit takes a deep dive into two particular use cases.
Learning Outcomes
- Visualize how using CC licensing can work within a business model
Big Question / Why It Matters
What does it really look like to use Creative Commons in what you do? CC licenses are used in nearly every domain all over the world, and in so many different ways and for different purposes. At times, the breadth of possibilities can make it difficult to truly imagine CC in practice.
The best way to start to get a sense for the opportunities is to learn more about a few discrete real-life examples of endeavors that use CC. While this unit will point you to resources will examples from a wide variety of domains, it takes a particular focus on CC in the education sector.
Personal Reflection / Why It Matters to You
What is your favorite source of CC-licensed or public domain work? Take a minute to think about one or two examples. How do you think CC fits into what they do from a strategic perspective? Does their use of CC make the world a better place? Does it signal their allegiance with the broader goals of openness and shared creativity? Do they themselves get any benefits because they share, either in terms of increased eyeballs, community goodwill, or something else?
Acquiring Essential Knowledge
CC legal tools are used all over the web in nearly every domain, by everyone from cultural heritage institutions to garage bands. Read through the beautiful State of the Commons report to get a sense for the types of works and creators in the commons worldwide.
Because Creative Commons legal tools are used in so many different domains and in so many different ways, the best way to really understand what it means to use CC is to look closely at the personal stories of people and companies who do.
“Cover image from The Power of Open PDF” by Creative Commons is licensed under CC BY
Published in 2011 by Creative Commons and available in nine languages (Chinese, English, French, German, Korean, Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese and Polish) The Power of Open provides case studies of how Creative Commons is used around the world by not only artists, but also news providers, scientists, publishers, museums, and more. Reading the whole book might take a while, but just looking at the examples may help you with identifying projects and people closer geographically and similar thematically to your personal context.
Made with Creative Commons is a book published by Creative Commons in 2016. It examines how CC licensing relates to the underlying business model within the organizations, companies, and individual creators who use the licenses. To get a deeper dive into what it can look like to use Creative Commons in the education sector, read through these two profiles from the book.
OpenStax case study — Founded in 2012, OpenStax is a U.S. nonprofit that provides free, openly-licensed textbooks for high-enrollment college courses and Advanced Placement courses. Read their story here.
Siyavula case study — Founded in 2012, Siyavula is a for-profit educational technology company in South Africa that creates textbooks and integrated learning experiences. Read their story here.
Final remarks
There are infinite ways to utilize Creative Commons — as a creator or distributor of content, as a user of CC-licensed works, or simply as one of the global community of people invested in CC’s shared values and goals. To help make the possibilities more concrete, this unit narrowed the lens on two particular examples of CC use in the education space. We hope these two use cases whet your appetite to learn more about how and why CC is used. Even more importantly, we hope it inspires you to join us.
