OpenStax CNX

Connexions contained educational materials at all levels—from children to college students to professionals—organized in small modules (pages) that can be connected into larger collections (books). Material was authored by people from all walks of life. Much content is created by university professors, but the collection also contained very popular music content created by a part-time music teacher. Connexions material was translated into many languages, aided by the open-content licensing. ==Copyright==

To ensure the legal reusability of content, Connexions required authors to license materials they publish under the Creative Commons Attribution License (presently, version 4.0). Under this license, the author retains the right to be credited (attributed) wherever the content is reused. The author grants others the right to copy, distribute, and display the work, and to derive works based on it, as long as the author is credited. ==Features==

• Connexions had content from all over the world in a growing variety of languages, not just materials from one specific school or university. It also collects materials to support education in K-12, community college, university, continuing education, and industrial training settings. • Connexions was globally accessible to anyone to not only read and use the materials, but also take them, customize them, and contribute them back to the repository or not. • Connexions was grassroots organized from the bottom up rather than from the top down like many other open education projects. Everyone is free to join and take on a leadership role. ==Technical details==

Three key factors enable the collaborative environment in Connexions: • Copyright licenses that preserve attribution but permit sharing: Creative Commons "attribution" licenses • Workspaces that facilitate collaboration by providing shared space, the ability to version materials and derive content from existing modules. ==Funding==

The Connexions project was started in 1999 and initially supported by individuals and Rice University. That support has been substantially supplemented by grants from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. ==See also==