Instructions for Participants of the e-Course Developing Digital Teaching Content

In this topic, participants are introduced to the legal and ethical aspects of creating and using digital teaching materials. It covers copyright, open educational resources (OER), and Creative Commons licences. The topic promotes responsible behaviour when using digital content, with an emphasis on proper source attribution, respect for copyright and legal frameworks, and ethical sharing of materials for educational purposes.

Unit 1: Copyright and Open Licences in Digital Education

Theoretical Component
In this unit, participants become acquainted with the fundamental legal and ethical principles related to using and sharing digital teaching materials. Emphasis is placed on understanding copyright as part of intellectual property, which protects original works and grants the author the right to determine how their content is used. Participants learn about legally permitted uses (e.g., citation for educational purposes) and the limitations arising from the rights of other authors.

Special attention is devoted to Creative Commons (CC) licences—standardised permissions that enable simple and transparent content sharing. The meanings of the licence elements (BY, NC, SA, and ND) and the six main licence types are explained. The unit also includes instructions for using the CC License Chooser tool, which helps teachers correctly license their own work. Additionally, the importance of source attribution, verifying the reliability of materials, and avoiding content without clear usage conditions is addressed. Through this unit, participants develop awareness of responsible, lawful, and ethical conduct in digital educational environments.

Practical Component
The practical part of this unit focuses on developing skills for analysing, creating, and ethically sharing digital teaching materials. In the first activity, participants analyse a selected teaching resource (video, image, presentation, infographic, article, etc.) from the perspective of copyright and open licensing, identifying the type of licence, permitted uses, and source attribution requirements. Next, participants create their own digital teaching content, ensuring its usefulness, applicability, and shareability in accordance with open education principles. During the peer assessment phase, participants exchange feedback and comment on their colleagues’ open educational resources using predefined criteria. The unit concludes with an online quiz testing understanding of key legal and ethical concepts, licences, and rules for using digital content in education.

Unit 2: Ethical and Responsible Use of Digital Teaching Content

Theoretical Component
This unit focuses on developing awareness of teachers’ ethical responsibility when using and sharing digital teaching content. Participants explore core values such as honesty, transparency, respect for authorship, and academic integrity—values that extend beyond legal obligations and form the basis of professional conduct. The importance of proper source attribution, understanding usage conditions and open licences, and the educator’s role as a model of ethical behaviour is emphasised.

Types of plagiarism are addressed—including direct plagiarism, paraphrased plagiarism, and content generated through automated tools (e.g., AI)—with an emphasis on clearly identifying sources and tools used. Special attention is given to the responsible use of materials from digital sources, including the protection of students’ personal data and the avoidance of unethical practices.

Practical Component
The practical part of this unit engages participants in addressing contemporary ethical challenges related to using and sharing digital teaching content. An introductory discussion on artificial intelligence and copyright encourages participants to consider dilemmas arising from the use of AI tools for generating teaching materials—including issues of authorship, credibility, and accountability.

Participants then explore and test plagiarism detection tools, analysing their effectiveness, limitations, and role in promoting academic integrity. The core activity involves creating a practical tool—a guide, handbook, or checklist for the ethical use and sharing of digital teaching content. Developed in pairs or groups, these outputs are based on previously acquired knowledge of copyright, open licences, and ethical practice, and aim to offer concrete guidelines for responsible educational practice. Finally, in peer evaluation, participants analyse their colleagues’ work according to predefined criteria, provide feedback, and exchange suggestions for improving both the tools and the practice they support.