Searching for OER
There are many different places used to host OER, from institutional repositories to grant-funded websites. Searching for OER can take some time but there are platforms to help with this.
Searching Template
When you start searching for OER it can be good to keep track of the resources that you find. Sometimes you can find so many useful resources it's easy to miss recording the link for each resource. Use this handy template to record the resources you locate, the licencing applicable and where in your unit you think they would be useful.
Search platforms
Some OER search platforms are textbooks specific (see below) but other include OER in a wide range of formats. OER can be slides, quizzes, full courses, syllabuses, case studies, simulations - almost anything you would use in teaching. Have a look at the following platforms, searching for your topic. Remember to use the limiters to reduce the number of results and to make the suggested resources more relevant to your needs. Try searching in:
- OER CommonsOER Commons provides access to a range of open access education resources and is a great place to start your searching.
- MERLOTMERLOT provides access to a range of open access education resources across many disciplines.
- Mason OER MetafinderMason OER Metafinder is a search tool to support discovery of open educational resources. Mason searched simultaneously across many sources of Open educational materials
- OASISOASIS is a search tool to support discovery of open content.
The results of searching using these platforms may locate many of the same resources, but each is likely to have unique items available also. Mason searches all of the others so this can be a one stop shot for searching. Please note that access to some of these resources located on these platforms may require you to register to access or download the resources.
Searching for textbooks
While you can search for textbooks in OER search platforms, there are locations that have mostly textbooks. These include:
- Pressbooks Directory - Around 5000 open books on the platform - search for your discipline
- Open Textbook Library - Over 1100 books
- Open Stax - Peer reviewed textbooks
- LibreTexts - a wide variety of open books
There are also discipline specific sites that include open textbooks such as Noba (psychology) or EdTech Books (education). Locate these by searching in Google or contact your Librarian for assistance.
Australian OER
While the use and creation of OER in Australia is growing, these can be harder and time consuming to find. In addition to Pressbooks and the Open Textbook Library (some Australian texts can be found here), some places to try include:
CAUL OER Collective
The Council of Australian University Librarians OER collective has a catalogue of Australian texts developed as part of the collective. The Open Educational Resources Collective Publishing Workflow includes a great list of Australian university Pressbooks sites.
Australian University Libraries and repositories
Some universities such as LaTrobe University, Swinburne University and RMIT University have repositories for OER and Open access resources - use the limiters to find resources with a CC licence. Some university libraries have an Open access or Open Educational Resource search filter on their library search.
University Publishers
Some University publishers such as UTS ePress and ANU Press, Sydney Open Press publish ebooks with a limited CC licence.
As with all Open Educational Resources, make sure to check the licence of the resource to ensure you use the resource within the licence conditions.