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Finding OER

Note to assistive technology users: the list below starting with "Map to Success" is a clickable group of tabs. You can access the option you want in the same way you would activate a link.
  • Map to Success
  • OER Repositories
  • Videos
  • Images
  • Library Resources

Flowchart of deciding whether to use OER
Long description of flowchart

"Are you Ready to Free the Textbook?" by Michele Howard & Ryan Bernstein (CC BY 4.0 license), adapted for MCC by Nicole Bednar.

The following sites contain OER or other materials in the public domain:

  • B.C. Open Collection
    Find OER textbooks and full course material packages.
  • Directory of Open Access Books
    Indexes and provides access to scholarly, peer-reviewed open access books.
  • Internet Archive
    Millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more.
    NOTE: To determine if a work is in the public domain or available with a Creative Commons license, look at the line labeled Usage (right beneath the title). If you don’t see a line labeled Usage, the work is protected by copyright.
    To limit your search to OER only, follow these instructions (scroll down to “Can I search by Creative Commons license?”).
  • LibreTexts
    College level OER textbooks.
  • The Mason OER Metafinder
    Searches across more than 20 different sources of open educational materials.
  • MERLOT
    Search or browse tens of thousands of discipline-specific learning materials, learning exercises and content creation tools, many of which are peer-reviewed.
  • Milne Open Textbooks
    A catalog of open textbooks authored and peer-reviewed by SUNY faculty and staff.
  • OAPEN Library
    A quality-controlled collection of open access books.
  • OASIS
    Searches open content from 115 different sources.
  • OER by Discipline Directory
    Open educational resources organized by discipline.
  • OER Commons
    Search tens of thousands of open resources from lesson plans to full courses by discipline, material type, educational use, format and more.
  • Open Textbook Library
    OER textbooks available through the Open Education Network at the University of Minnesota.
  • OpenStax
    Peer-reviewed open textbooks published by OpenStax at Rice University.
  • OpenTextbookStore
    A selection of quality textbooks issued under open licenses that allow for printing.
  • Pressbooks Directory
    An index of over 5,000 books published across more than 100 Pressbook networks.
  • SkillsCommons
    A comprehensive collection of workforce-related OER produced by community colleges throughout the United States.

Use these sites to find OER videos:

  • Creative Commons video search
    Search for videos available with a Creative Commons license.
  • Khan Academy
    Provides top-quality educational videos that are organized by discipline and skill levels. If you wish to use a video, see Can I use Khan Academy’s videos/name/materials/links in my project? for guidelines.
  • TED Talks
    Influential videos from expert speakers on education, business, science, tech and creativity, with subtitles in 100+ languages.
    NOTE: TED Talks are licensed under a Creative Commons BY–NC–ND 4.0 International license, meaning “no derivative works are permitted so you cannot edit, remix, create, modify or alter the form of the TED Talks in any way. This includes using the TED Talks as the basis for another work, including dubbing, voice-overs, or other translations not authorized by TED.” See TED Talks Usage Policy.
  • Vimeo
    Hosts millions of Creative-Commons licensed videos. Browse a list or search for CC licensed videos (see these instructions).
  • YouTube
    Provides millions of Creative-Commons licensed videos. You will need to limit your search to CC-licensed videos only (see these instructions).

The following sites will help you find OER images:

Though most library materials do not have open licenses, they are free to students and can be incorporated into your class. Like all other copyrighted and restricted materials, you must be careful how you use library resources to make sure you do not violate the terms of use of the resource.

To find a resource, visit the Library website and click on the appropriate tab:

  • Databases - find magazine, newspaper and academic journal articles.
  • eBooks - search several eBook collections.
  • Streaming videos - access a large collection of online documentaries and feature films.
  • Journals A-Z - find a specific magazine, newspaper or journal.

Best Practices for Using Library Materials

  1. Consult a librarian. Ask them about the specific resources you might want to use in your class.
  2. Be aware that many online materials, such as journal articles, are not owned by the library. This means that resources may change as database vendors drop them from their subscriptions.
  3. Know that eBooks may not be accessible by more than one student at a time depending on the license of the individual eBook.
  4. For use of library materials in your course, such as an article from a database, properly link to the resource instead of making digital copies. If you do not know how to link to a library resource, consult a librarian on your campus.

Permalinks for Journal Articles

Be aware that downloading copies of articles from the Library's databases and then uploading them to Canvas for your students may violate copyright law. A better idea is to provide students with persistent links (also called permalinks) to the articles you want them to read. Students will be able to access the articles both on and off campus. In some cases, you can even embed articles directly within Canvas. This also applies to other library resources such as eBooks. See the Library Databases & Canvas page for instructions.

Embedding Videos

The Streaming Videos page includes instructions on embedding or linking to videos. In some cases, you can also create clips or playlists.

Adapted from Library & Web Resources, by Criss Library, University of Nebraska Omaha (CCY BY 4.0 license).