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60 mins
Teacher/Student led
+90 XP
Pupils work through this independently

Open Source and Creative Commons

In this lesson you explore Creative Commons licence types and open source as parallel permission systems. You watch a live search-and-record demo, then find freely reusable images on approved libraries and document their licence or site terms for your Something Real investigation.

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    1 - Introduction ~5 mins

    Today you will

    • learn what CC-BY, CC-BY-SA and CC0 mean
    • find images you are allowed to reuse
    • save each image and write down its licence

    Write your investigation topic at the top of a blank page.

    Warm-up

    Think of one image you want in your investigation. Do you know who made it? Do you know what you are allowed to do with it?

    2 - Key Concepts ~5 mins

    CC-BY means you can use and change the work if you credit the creator.

    CC-BY-SA means you credit the creator, and anything you make from it keeps the same licence.

    CC0 means the creator gives the work away, so no credit is needed.

    Open source is software whose code anyone may use, change and share, like LibreOffice.

    Key point

    No licence on the page means you cannot reuse it.

    3 - Which Licence Fits? ~12 mins

    A card dropped in the wrong box bounces back, so talk it over and try another box.

    Which licence fits?

    4 - Worked Example: Find and Record One Image ~10 mins

    Find and record one image

    Watch your teacher find and record one image. You can follow along on your own device.

    1. Go to Wikimedia Commons.
    2. Search for a topic, like Ha'penny Bridge.
    3. Click an image to open its file page.
    4. Find the licence and the creator's name.
    5. Download the image, then upload it into {{code:09_specialism/sm4/}}.
    6. Fill in one row of your notes table.

    A download with no notes row is not finished yet.

    Image fileSource site and pageLicenceWhat I must do
    bridge_dublin.jpgWikimedia Commons file pageCC BY 4.0Credit the creator

    5 - Common Issues ~3 mins

    Common issues

    • If a page shows no licence, don't use that image.
    • If a site is blocked, try Openverse, Unsplash or Pexels instead.
    • If a site uses its own licence, copy its wording into your notes.
    • If you forgot where an image came from, find the page in your browser history and finish the row.
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    Copyright Notice
    This lesson is copyright of Coding Ireland 2017 - 2026. Unauthorised use, copying or distribution is not allowed.
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