OER tutorial: A self-paced guide for faculty

In the previous module you were introduced to Creative Commons licenses, including what they are and how to use them. In this module you will learn about how to search for open educational resources.

By the end of this module you should be able to:

• Apply effective search strategies when looking for OER
• Utilize available OER search tools
• Identify several online repositories for OER

Define your need

As with any search for information, you can help keep yourself from getting overwhelmed by defining your information need. You can often use existing materials for guidance:

• Course learning objectives
• Course outline or modules
• Current textbook's table of contents

From these you can:

• Extract keywords
• Analyze what in your current text you really love and what you don't like or don't use
• Imagine your ideal resource so that you can recognize it if you see it

List any format considerations. For example:

• Does the OER need to be easy to download and print? (Almost all are printable, but some might need file conversion.)
• Do you need a lab or workbook to go with the text?
• Do you prefer something with embedded videos and activities?

Search for OER

The best way to locate open textbooks or OER is to search sites dedicated to OER. These directories and repositories collect and index open licensed educational materials and often collect peer reviews of the texts as well. Although Google is worth a try (include "OER" as a keyword), texts in repositories often do not show up in a Google search.

• Kirkwood's OER LibGuide has a curated list of OER sites. It's a great place to begin your search.
• In addition to the general and most well-known OER sites at the top of the page, be sure to scroll down the discipline-specific sites, which can also have great resources.

This is also a great time to ask a librarian for help locating materials. Just fill out the OER Help Form to get started.

To jumpstart your OER search:

1. Copy or print the following document as a guide: OER Finding and Adopting Guide for Instructors
2. In the top box fill in "Define your need". This will help focus your search and let you know when you're on the right track or just aren't getting close.
3. Start your OER search with these two common, reliable OER sources:
   1. OpenStax: OpenStax is a place for instructors who simply want an open textbook that’s ready to go. These textbooks are free to use online or downloaded in PDF format. They also have print and bound versions available for purchase (as of now the price varies by title, between around $30 and $60). The quality of these texts is very good. They are authored by faculty and have been carefully edited and peer reviewed. They also have ancillary materials to accompany each text.
   2. Open Textbook Library: Hosted by the University of Minnesota, this repository and search focuses on complete textbooks, many with faculty reviews.
   3. If these two sources don't reveal what you need, try browsing through the more complete list of OER sources, on the Kirkwood Library's OER Guide.
4. Continue on to the next page of this tutorial for guidance on evaluating OER.

Fanshawe OER Design Studio: Module 5. https://sites.google.com/view/fanshawe-oerprep/m5-finding-oer?authuser=0

Unless otherwise noted, OER Tutorial by Kate Cameron is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 2023.