LibGuides: OER &amp; ZTC: Open Educational Resources &amp; Zero-Textbook Cost Classes: Finding OER

Locating OER

As previous noted, OER are basically anything you can utilize in a course that are open to freely use - from full courses to textbooks, from individual modules to media components. Unfortunately, there isn't a single tool that harvests everything for us, but there are three main sources for you can use to help identify OER materials:

OER Publishers and Producers
- Examples: OpenStax, Lumen, Saylor
OER Repositories
- Examples: OER Commons, MERLOT
Public Domain Materials
- Examples: Project Gutenberg, government documents

OER Repositories, Textbook Collections and Learning Materials

The ASCCC OERI has produced developing lists of OER by Discipline that is a wonderful starting place to see what content is being used for specific CCC courses. There is also a list of CCC-authored OER newly published or under development.

To explore samples of subject-specific OER resources please use the tabs on the menu (left).

Below are some of the more popular repositories and collections recommended for your search. YouTube, Google, Bing, SoundCloud, Flixstr, and other popular tools also have access to OER when you select that search parameter.

LibreTexts
The LibreTexts libraries are a multi-institutional collaborative venture to develop the next generation of open-access texts and learning materials for STEM, Social Sciences, and the Humanities.
Merlot
Search this repository for over 5,600 free and open access textbooks and over 80,000 open course materials.
OpenStax
Find popular texts being used in many introductory courses. OpenStax books and learning materials can be found in the Canvas Commons for embedding into Canvas courses.
Open Textbook Library
These books have been reviewed by faculty from a variety of colleges and universities to assess their quality, and they can be downloaded for no cost, or printed at low cost. All textbooks are either used at multiple higher education institutions; or affiliated with an institution, scholarly society, or professional organization.
OER Commons
A public digital library of open educational resources. Explore, create, and collaborate with educators around the world to improve curriculum.
Canvas Commons
Canvas Commons is a learning object repository that enables educators to find, import, and share resources. A digital library full of educational content, Commons allows Canvas users to share learning resources with other users as well as import learning resources into a Canvas course.
BC Campus OpenEd
Find open textbooks and faculty resources.
Open SUNY
Find openly licensed textbooks and courses written and curated by SUNY faculty.
MyOpenMath
MyOpenMath is designed for mathematics, providing delivery of homework, quizzes, and tests with rich mathematical content.
Directory of Open Access Textbooks
Open access books spanning the disciplines
Cool4Ed Course Showcase
Find over 52 courses with recommended free and open textbooks, and CA higher ed faculty reviews, from the UC, CSU, and CCC. via the California Open Online LIbrary for Education.
SkillsCommons
Open Library of Workforce Training Materials
Lumen Learning Open Courses
Open course content for a variety of subjects and disciplines.
Directory of Open Access Journals
Open access scientific and scholarly journals
CC Search
Locate resources published under Creative Commons licenses, including images, videos, and other media.
SkillsCommons
Career oriented (CTE) open educational resources
Pressbooks Directory
Provides an index of 2514 books published across 98 Pressbooks networks. Use the left-hand limiters to find openly licensed content.
Project Gutenberg
A collection of free ebooks in the public domain.
Smithsonian Learning Lab
The Smithsonian Center for Learning and Digital Access created the Smithsonian Learning Lab to inspire the discovery and creative use of its rich digital materials—more than a million images, recordings, and texts. It is easy to find something of interest because search results display pictures rather than lists. Whether you've found what you were looking for or just discovered something new, it's easy to personalize it. Add your own notes and tags, incorporate discussion questions, and save and share.
MIT OpenCourseware
A web-based publication of virtually all MIT course content, including textbooks. OCW is open and available to the world and is a permanent MIT activity.
DigCCMixter
Collection of music available to freely use under a creative commons license.
Affordable Learning Georgia
A repository of OER used throughout the state of Georgia, including open textbooks and ancillary materials.
InTech Open
Publisher of open-access books in the sciences.
Open Course Library
From Washington State University, a collection of shareable course materials, including syllabi, course activities, readings, and assessments designed by teams of college faculty, instructional designers, librarians, and other experts.
Open CourseWare Consortium
One of the biggest repositories of OER content. It is a collaboration of more than 200 higher education institutions and associated organizations from around the world.
Open Professionals Network
Links to a variety of OER resources.
Open Textbook Store
Catalog of quality open textbooks for college courses available under an open license.
The Orange Grove
Florida's open educational resource repository
PhET Simulations (Science/Math)
The PhET Interactive Simulations project at the University of Colorado Boulder creates free interactive math and science simulations. PhET sims are based on extensive education research and engage students through an intuitive, game-like environment where students learn through exploration and discovery.
Saylor Academy Open Textbooks
The open textbooks on this site include several titles published through Saylor Academy’s Open Textbook Challenge and a collection of titles re-published by Saylor Academy in 2012. Available to use, keep, revise, and share under open licenses.
Teaching Commons
Brings together high-quality open educational resources from leading colleges and universities. Curated by librarians and their institutions, the Teaching Commons includes open access textbooks, course materials, lesson plans, multimedia, and more.
Wikibooks
An open-content textbook collection.
Wikimedia Commons
A collection of freely usable media files.
World Digital Library
Makes available on the Internet, free of charge and in multilingual format, significant primary materials from countries and cultures around the world.
SPARC Connect OER
Platform to share and discover information about OER activities at campuses across North America.

OER & ZTC: Open Educational Resources & Zero-Textbook Cost Classes

Video: OER Resources

Locating OER

OER Repositories, Textbook Collections and Learning Materials