Open Educational Resources (OER)
Acknowledgment
Material in this guide is reused and adapted with permission from the OER guide by the Office of Information Literacy at University Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Tips for Searching OER
- Use the advanced searching feature if there is one. This will save you some time and limit your search.
- Start with broad terms (ex. disease instead of cancer) and then narrow.
- As you narrow, think about disciplinary language. Is there something else this topic might be referred to as?
- If you still aren't getting good results, try to start with the browsing feature (even if it's very broad). Sometimes the term you're searching isn't used but you still know it would be under a broad subject like "humanities" or "writing."
General Resources
Instructors can find OER in a variety of resources. Most OER organizations or collaborations have a database or central list of resources that faculty have added. Some databases also feature annotations or faculty feedback. Additionally, many disciplines have their own OER websites. This list is not comprehensive but can instead be used as a starting point for faculty doing interdisciplinary work or work in any discipline. Remember that not all of the learning materials in these repositories and sources are OER for modifying but most of the content is freely available under Fair Use and/or with attribution.
General Education Search
Recorded Lectures and Video Tutorials Search
Open Textbook Search
Modular Course Components
Complete courses
OER & OCW Search Engines
Discipline-Specific Resources
Math
- My Open MathProvides free problem sets for practice. Almost ten textbooks already designed for courses.
- American Institute of Mathematics: Approved Open Textbooks ListOver 15 open textbooks covering different levels of calculus, algebra, and statistics.
- Scottsdale (AZ) Community College Math BlogFree links and pre-developed courses used at Scottsdale.
Humanities
- Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB)A basic search for OA books, including OA textbooks.
- Open Education Resources for the Digital HumanitiesCompiled through UCL, these resources focus specifically on the digital/ technical application of humanities concepts or texts.
- Open Humanities PressOpen books and journals, mostly on theoretical topics/ frameworks.
- Art Images for College TeachingUniversity of Michigan compilation of images for teaching or assignment purposes.
Language Learning
- Center for Open Educational Resources and Language LearningForeign language resources and activities - more heavily covers the romance languages
Sciences
- National Science Digital LibraryProvides a robust search to limit by activity type, media format, and age level.
- PLOS OneMore advanced, specific science resources that are open and could be used in a classroom setting.
- AMSER: Applied Math and Science Educational RepositoryFunded by the NSF and organized by large LC headings.
- The Chem CollectiveOnline resources for teaching and learning chemistry, including virtual labs, scenario-based learning activities, tutorials and concept tests.
- Scitable by Nature EducationA free science library and personal learning tool. Currently concentrates on genetics and cell biology.
Education
- EDUCAUSEA collection of all EDUCAUSE resources related to open educational resources (OER) in higher education.
Social Sciences
- Open Acess Publishing in European NetworksContains freely accessible academic books, mainly in the humanities and social sciences.
Nursing and Allied Health
- HEAL (Health Education Assets Library)Images, video clips, animations, presentations, and audio files that support healthcare education