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OER: Open Educational Resources

OER Resources (all links open in a new window)

Resource databases, search engines, repositories, tool kits, and more:

  • OERTX is new! Recently, the THECB announced its newly launched OER material repository, which will enhance the quality of online course offerings and reduce the costs of educational materials for students at Texas public and independent institutions of higher education.

  • George Mason OER MetaFinder is a one-stop search box for open and affordable content, and it searches many of the sites below.
  • MIT OpenCourseWare is a web-based publication of virtually all MIT course content. OCW is open and available to the world and is a permanent MIT activity.
  • OER Commons is a public digital library of open educational resources. Explore, create, and collaborate with educators around the world to improve curricula.
  • Open Textbook Library provides access to free, openly-licensed textbooks.
  • OpenStax is a nonprofit educational initiative out of Rice University with the mission of giving every student the tools they need to be successful in the classroom.
  • WikiEducator is a community project working collaboratively with the Free Culture Movement towards the incremental development of open educational resources.

  • OASIS (Openly Available Sources Integrated Search) is a search tool that makes the discovery of open content easier. 

  • SkillsCommon is a free and open online library created by the US Department of Labor's Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training program.

  • Merlot is a search tool that makes the discovery of open content easier. 

  • Teaching Commons brings together high-quality open educational resources from universities, such as open access textbooks, course materials, lesson plans, and more. 

  • Writing Commons is a free, peer-reviewed open text source for college-level courses that require writing. 

  • Online Writing Lab Excelsior College offers interactive games, quizzes, and videos to help writers understand important concepts about writing. 

  • Academic Earth is a free, online collection of courses and video lectures from universities, including MIT, Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and Princeton. 

  • The Orange Grove is the open educational resource repository of Florida, but freely available for use anywhere. 

  • COERIL (Center for Open Educational Resources & Language Learning) is a resource to improve the teaching and learning of foreign languages. 

 

Discussing OER:

  • The National Center on Accessible Educational Materials includes information on how to design OERs for all learners, among other things.
  • SPARC is a global coalition committed to making Open the default for research and education.
  • Open Washington is designed to help faculty understand and find OER.
  • UNESCO created the term "Open Educational Resources" at the 2002 Forum on the Impact of Open Courseware for Higher Education in Developing Countries. Their site provides more on the past, present, and future of OERs.
    • they even made an OER Logo! (pictured on the "What is an OER?" page and downloadable from their link.)