Open Educational Resources (OERs): Find Open Course Materials

 

OASIS (Openly Available Sources Integrated Search) is a search tool that aims to make the discovery of open content easier. OASIS currently searches open content from 98 different sources across 374 subject areas.

Open Educational Resources can be found in OER repositories or OER textbook collections. Some of these materials, due to their open license and popularity, may appear in multiple collections.

OpenStax College
An initiative of Rice University that provides free, faculty-authored and peer-reviewed online textbooks.  The website currently provides textbooks for introductory courses in mathematics, science, and social science disciplines.  The materials are readable on the web, are downloadable in PDF and EPUB formats, and can be printed for just the cost of printing.  Textbooks are customizable through a resource sharing platform, OpenStax CNX.

Open SUNY Textbooks - from State University of New York Libraries

Open Textbook Library - from the University of Minnesota

MERLOT II 
A repository hosted at California State University that contains over 40,000 materials, many of which have undergone some level of peer review.  It contains both unique resources and resources redistributed from other sites, with material types ranging from textbooks to case studies and quizzes.  Offers a tool to edit and “remix” existing open resources or to create and share your own.

OER Commons 
Created by the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education.  It contains nearly 60,000 diverse college-level materials. Includes a tool called Open Author for creating and sharing text or multimedia learning resources.

BCcampus Open Textbook Project
Initiative of British Columbia to make open textbooks avaiable for especially high-enrollment courses.

LibreTexts
A non-profit organization committed to freeing the textbook from the limitations and costs of traditional textbooks. Our open and freely accessible LibreTexts provide a more engaging learning experience for students without the financial burden.

EdX, OpenCourseWare, Khan Academy and other online course sites offer course notes, reading and assignment ideas, and multimedia components that may have an open license.

Zero Textbook Cost Courses are courses that do not require students to purchase a traditional textbook. Readings for these courses may include recommended books, library materials, or materials provided at no cost by the instructor. Students may be asked to print out materials, if the materials are provided free of charge.

Zero Textbook Cost resources at the Emmanuel College Library include Library Course Reserves, E-books, Journal Articles, or Streaming Videos that are used as zero textbook cost alternatives or supplemental materials to enhance delivery of a course.

Use permanent links when assigning or linking to these resources to ensure:

• You are following Fair Use practices
• You are providing every students with accessible versions of ZTC resources. A PDF is not always accessible and may hinder visually impaired students.
• The Library can track usage of its resources

Not sure how to find the permanent links?  Want us to find them for you?
Take advantage of the Library's EZ Link service. Contact Anne Hancock (hancoan@emmanuel.edu) for details.

If you are having difficulty locating resources in your subject area a Google search may be helpful.  Google's Advanced Search page allows users to filter results by "usage rights."

1. To located Google's Advanced Search page go to "Settings" (bottom right corner of the page) and select "Advanced search."
2. On the Advanced Search page enter your search terms.
3. Next go to the "usage rights" drop down menu and select “free to use, share, or modify."
4. You should always verify the license and determine exact terms of use

Find open image resources for your ECLearn courses or classroom presentations

Wikimedia Commons
Unsplash.com
Freestock
Flickr Creative Commons
Pixabay
Government websites
Creative Commons
Google Image Search