Creative Commons licenses have different terms that can be mixed and matched to create six different license combinations. They also come in three kinds of code: Human readable, lawyer readable, and machine readable. 

The following video from CC New Zealand is a great five minute introduction to all the parts of a CC license. 

CC Kiwi video

After watching the video, if you still want more detail about how the licenses work and what the spectrum of licenses looks like, CC has a nice concise page that explains it all in text. 

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/

Here is a quick exercise to test your understanding of CC licenses. Below are a few different kinds of icons that all mark works with different CC licenses. For each one, explain in a sentence or two what you can and cannot do with works that someone has shared under that license. Share your sentences, and any questions that come up, below.

1) 

2) 

3)