Image Attribution

Alignment

Quality Matters

Specific Review Standard 4.5 C: The course models the academic integrity expected of learners by providing both source references and permissions for use of instructional materials. 

Attribution Requirements 

All images must have an attribution. In order to comply with this standard, all image attributions must include the following:

1. Author: Who created the source material?
2. Date of publication
3. Title: What is the name of the work? 
   1. If the title is not provided, you can just call it “photo” or “image.”
4. Source/website host: Where can others find this work?
5. License: How can you use the work? (if applicable) 
   1. You must specify the work’s Creative Commons license or where the image came from (Adobe Stock, Pexels, etc.)

Image attributions must be in APA format.

Attribution Placement

CourseArc

Image attributions should be placed below the image using the image attribution section in the image block in CourseArc unless the image has multiple elements (see “Using Multiple Elements in Canva for One Image” below). There are two Boilerplates in CourseArc that will help with image citations (“Image Citations” and “Image Citation Creative Commons”).

H5P

When adding an image to H5P, most of the content types have an “edit copyright” or the “metadata” tag next to “image.” This is where you should place the attribution information. 

Brightspace

The placement and formatting details for image attributions in Brightspace can be found in HTML Elements. 

1. Person or group who uploaded the photo.
2. (Date of publication).
3. Title of photograph [Photograph].
4. Website host.
5. URL (the link should be selectable)

Example:

Petra. (2022). Llama head curious [Photograph]. Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/photos/lama-head-curious-nose-mouth-7024125/

For images that have a Creative Commons License, follow the format outlined below.

In one line, include the following, in the order outlined below.

1. Person or group who uploaded the photo.
2. (Date of publication).
3. Title of photograph [Photograph].
4. Website host.
5. URL (the link should be selectable)
6. licensed under (choose the correct license type)
   1. CC0
   2. CC BY
   3. CC BY-SA
   4. CC BY-ND

Example:

Shimbun, M. (1935). Soba noodles deliveryman Tokyo [Photograph]. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Soba-Noodles-Deliveryman-Tokyo-1935.png licensed under CC0

We can use the following types of licenses without permission in Michigan Virtual courses:

• CC0
• CC-BY
• CC BY-SA
• CC BY-ND

Modified images

If you modify an image, your attribution will be the same, but it will say “modified from the original” after the license type.

Example:

Shimbun, M. (1935). Soba noodles deliveryman Tokyo [Photograph]. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Soba-Noodles-Deliveryman-Tokyo-1935.png licensed under CC0 modified from the original.

Using Adobe Stock or Other Paid-Images

For consistency purposes, even paid-for images should be cited as above.

Canva Considerations

If you are uploading content to Canva to use / edit / include in a design, please do not upload anything that Michigan Virtual does not have a license to use. Ideally, the images should be ours or come from Canva.

If you are using a pro content image as a standalone (un-edited) image, it must be less than a maximum of 480,000 total pixels (for example, 600px x 800px) per Content file.  

An attribution to the creator/contributor must be given in the following format: Image Title by Image Creator via Canva. Again, best practice would be to include a link to both the image and the creator’s page, but it is not required. 

Example:

Detective checking footprint icon by Leremy Gan via Canva

Using Multiple Elements in Canva for One Image

We must attribute all elements used in an image. These can be outlined in the attribution document. 

Please follow the same format for multiple elements, the only difference will be that there will be multiple attributions separated by a semi-colon. 

Title by Author via Image Provider; Title by Author via Image Provider; Title by Author via Image Provider modified from the original

If all of the images are from the same image provider, you do not have to say via Image Provider after every image you can do it after the last image in the citation.

Title by Author; Title by Author; Title by Author;  via Image Provider modified from the original

Please see the example below. 

Example: Style Guide Example: Diagnostic Services Attributions

Using AI in Canva

Directly from Canva “Legal notice”: When using AI Output in your Canva designs, we ask that you let viewers of your designs know that the content is AI-generated.

Attribution Example: Created using Canva with AI Assistance

• CourseArc: Image Citation Creative Commons
• CourseArc: Image Citation
• CourseArc: Example for interactives 
• Style Guide: Attribution Document
• Style Guide: Copyright

FAQ

How do I know what the license is and if I can use it?

Please become familiar with reading license types by reviewing “About the Licenses” on Creative Commons. 

What if there is no license type listed, or I am unsure if I can use it?

Do not use images that do not have a Creative Commons license or are not in the Public Domain. If you want to use it but have questions about whether you can use it, please email the creator explaining the intended use. If you receive permission, be sure to save the documentation in the project folder and ask how they would like the attribution to read.

[TEMPLATE] Permission to Use Copyrighted Material

Are all government and state sites public domain?

No, not necessarily. Be sure to check if there are any restrictions listed on the website’s “Terms of Use” page to see any restrictions with using content from a government or state site. 

Why can we not use images with a CC-NC license since we are a non-profit organization?

Short version: Even though we are a non-profit, we would be using the majority of the images in courses that do require learners/schools to pay for, which would violate the spirit of the NC license type.

Long version: Take a look at the Creative Commons FAQ page to learn more about NC license usage.