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 helpful to keep track of the resources you find. Sometimes you can find so many useful resources it's easy to miss recording the link for each resource. Use the Searching Record template to document the resources you locate, the licensing details and where in your unit you think they would be useful.
Search platforms
Some OER search platforms are textbook specific, but others include OER in a wide range of formats. OER can be slides, quizzes, courses, syllabuses, case studies, simulations - almost anything you would use in teaching. Have a look at the following platforms by searching for your topic. Remember to use the limiters to reduce the number of results and to make sure the suggested resources are 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 also likely to have unique items. Mason searches all of the others so this can be a one stop shop for searching. Please note that access to some of these resources may require you to register to access or download.
Searching for textbooks
While you can search for textbooks in OER 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 more time consuming to find. In addition to Pressbooks and the Open Textbook Library, 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, Repositories and Publishers
Some universities 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 OER search filter on their library search.
OER University Repositories
OER University Repositories cont.
Open Access Repositories
As with all OER, make sure to check the licence of the resource to ensure you use the resource within the licence conditions.