Open Educational Resources (OER) Toolkit
A selection of the support and resources available to the Macalester community through the library and through the OER community
Find OER
Open Educational Resources take many forms:
- textbooks
- learning objects
- courses
- multimedia resources
- data
- question banks
- ancillary materials
Target your search using the following OER hubs and search widgets. Sure, you could just "Google it," but targeting your search will be most efficient.
Ask a librarian if you don't find what you are looking for. Below, are just a few of our "go-to" targeted resources.
OER Collections, Open Access Books, and Search Tools –to get you started:
- Open Textbook Library"The Open Textbook Library provides a growing catalog of free, peer-reviewed, and openly-licensed textbooks."
- BCcampus OpenEd: Search by SubjectCanadian open education and OER powerhouse. Besides open textbooks, this site provides a great deal of information about adopting, adapting, and creating OER.
- OER by Discipline DirectoryThe BCcampus Open Education OER by Discipline Directory lists a wide range of open educational resources organized by discipline. Includes: a link to where it can be accessed, its license, and a short description. Updated frequently.
- Open NYSSUNY and CUNY initiative for OER in New York state. This catalog includes open textbooks and modules/courses.
- Open Washington: Find OER Course MaterialsA set of vetted resources for openly available course materials in a variety of disciplines. These sites provide the best quality open course materials, such as assessments, syllabi, readings, and lectures.
- Open Access Textbooks - Listed by SubjectThis is a sample of the textbooks and OER repositories for various subject areas. If you don't find what you are looking for, there may be additional options, contact us. List from Eastern Michigan University.
- Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB)Open Access Books that can be used as course reading materials. Search by keyword or browse by subject.–Also, use the main library WorldCat Discovery search box, and filter your results for Content Type > Open Access.
Defining and Finding OER
A great overview of Open Textbook collections from https://t4lt.blogspot.com/ (3.5 min)
OER Support
- OER - Open Educational Resources: Big List of ResourcesLibrary guide linking to many OER sites, created at the University of Pittsburgh. Updated regularly.
- Mac's Subject LibrariansWe would be happy to work with you to find OER for your needs. Harness the powers of a librarian.
- Steps to Adopting an Open TextbookSeven steps to adopting an Open Textbook
Evaluating OER Materials
OER materials, such as open textbooks, are generally written by faculty or instructors of higher education.
As with any scholarship or textbooks, the quality of the work needs to be assessed, and peer review comments may be available.
- Comprehensive OER Evaluation ToolA set of eight rubrics to help you in evaluating Open Educational Resources for your course.
