Did you know that finding a photograph you can see for free is not the same as finding one you may copy into a presentation? A student preparing a Science poster, a Primary 6 oral presentation or a secondary G1, G2 or G3 group project can make a careful-looking slide and still miss the one word that matters: permission.
Vocabulary helps students recognise the difference between access and reuse. “Free to view” describes what you may look at. A licence describes permitted uses, conditions and restrictions. An image’s appearance in search results, a public website or a screenshot is not itself permission to republish it. The useful habit is to ask, “May I use this particular image in this particular way, and how must I credit it?”
The three labels students must not collapse into one
Free to view
You may be able to open a page without paying. That tells you the access price, not the copying rights. Some websites permit reading but reserve image rights. Others allow reuse under stated terms. The word free does not answer the second question.
Openly licensed
An open licence can grant permission in advance, subject to conditions. Creative Commons licences, for instance, use labels such as BY (attribution), NC (noncommercial), SA (share adaptations under the same terms) and ND (no sharing of adapted versions). The exact licence and version matter. A Creative Commons badge should be linked to its terms; a vague claim that an image is “copyright free” is not enough.
Public domain
A work in the public domain is not restricted by copyright in the same way as an in-copyright work. But a student should still check whether the label genuinely applies to that particular file, whether another right is relevant, and whether the image’s source and creator can be identified. “Public” as in public website is not the same word as public domain.
A worked example: the class exhibition poster
Imagine a Secondary 2 group preparing a poster about urban wildlife. They discover three photographs of a hornbill. These are invented classroom examples, not a report about real students.
- Photo A: available to view on a news page, with no visible reuse permission. The group should not assume it can reproduce the photo. It could link to the original page, choose an appropriately licensed alternative or seek permission.
- Photo B: marked “CC BY 4.0” with a named creator and source. The group checks the licence, credits the creator, links the source and licence, and marks any changes such as cropping.
- Photo C: marked “CC BY-ND 4.0”. The group needs to think carefully before creating and distributing an adapted version. A straightforward unmodified reuse under the terms differs from remixing it into a new montage.
Notice what the students learned. They were not simply memorising licence abbreviations. They connected a word to an action: view, copy, adapt, share and attribute are separate verbs.
The word family that makes the decision clearer
Licence is the permission arrangement; licensee means the person receiving permission; licensor means the party giving it. Attribution means identifying the creator as required; adaptation means changing or building upon a work in ways that may be covered by licence conditions. Students may also meet the collocations licensed image, reuse rights, permission to publish and credit the photographer.
The register changes with the audience. A child may ask, “Can I put this picture in my poster?” A librarian or teacher may ask, “Does the licence cover redistribution and adaptation?” Both are asking about permission, but the second makes the intended action precise.
A five-minute source-and-permission routine
- Start with the original image page, not only a search-engine thumbnail or a copied slide.
- Identify the creator and exact licence, if one is stated. Record the source URL and date you checked it.
- Name the intended action: view, download, crop, translate labels, upload, print, or share publicly.
- Check whether the licence permits that action and whether credit, a licence link or a modification notice is required.
- If the rights are unclear, use an image you made yourself, an appropriately licensed alternative, or ask the rights holder.
For example, a sensible credit for a hypothetical correctly licensed image might read: “Hornbill on a branch — Photograph by A. Tan, source link, CC BY 4.0; cropped for this poster.” Substitute real details only after checking them. Giving credit is good practice, but attribution alone does not turn an unlicensed copy into an authorised reuse.
Try a quick vocabulary diagnosis
Give a student these three statements: “The website is free.” “The image has an attribution licence.” “The creator gave permission to share an edited version.” Ask which statement describes a price, which describes conditions and which describes a specific permitted action. If the student treats all three as the same, teach the distinction with one real licence page, then ask them to explain it without looking.
A second check: show an image caption reading “Source: Internet.” Is that a precise source? No. It identifies neither the creator nor the page or the permission. Ask the learner to improve the caption with the actual creator, title, link and applicable licence. This practice transfers directly to school presentations, newsletters, club posters, project websites and adulthood.
For parents, teachers and older students
Parents can model the decision when making a family invitation or sports-day poster: “We found a nice picture. Are we allowed to reuse it?” Teachers can supply a small collection of clearly licensed images at first, then gradually ask learners to check unfamiliar sources. Older students can keep a simple asset log with filename, creator, URL, licence and modifications. The aim is not to frighten learners away from making things; it is to make creativity more confident and respectful.
This is also a useful English comprehension lesson. The words may, must, unless and provided that change the conditions of permission. Learners who read those small connecting words accurately are better prepared to interpret the full meaning of an instruction, in Science, Mathematics, English and later work.
Questions readers often ask
Can I use an image because I cite the website?
Not automatically. A citation identifies a source; permission determines whether your intended reuse is allowed. Both may be needed.
Does noncommercial mean any school use is always allowed?
No single label settles every case. Check the particular licence, the context of use and any other relevant rights or policies. When uncertain, use an alternative with clearer permissions.
What if I created the illustration myself?
That is often the simplest route, provided you are not copying someone else’s protected design or using material with other restrictions. Record any third-party elements you included.
Where should I start learning the terminology?
Explore the eduKateSG Vocabulary Hub for the broader language-learning pathway and the Vocabulary Learning Hub for practice across school stages. For the source-of-truth explanations, read Creative Commons’ licence overview and its frequently asked questions.
The bigger takeaway
Twenty-first-century vocabulary is not only about knowing more impressive words. It is about noticing when ordinary-looking words control a decision. View and reuse sound close until a student is choosing a photograph for a public exhibition. That is where one well-understood distinction becomes a practical skill.