OER - Open Educational Resources: Adopt

Step one: Set aside time.
Searching for these materials takes time and persistence, just like research!

Step two: take a look to see if someone else has created a similar, complete OER course or textbook.
See the "Complete Courses" and "Complete Textbooks" sections of the "Find" tab.
Example: Go to the Open Textbook Library and browse their open business texts.

Step three: Get cozy with your learning objectives.
Instead of focusing on the textbook that you would like to replace, focus on what you would like students to know or be able to do. You will likely need to search for several materials to address different topics or components of your complete class.
Example: instead of searching for “biology” materials, search for “cell structure” or “DNA” or “evolution” materials.

Step four: Search within some of the specific OER repositories/OER search engines:
See the "Find" tab for a list.

*OER Pro Tip* Use the browsing tools that the repository or search engine presents to you! Don’t rely solely on keyword searching.

Step five: Look for library materials like ebooks, articles and streaming videos to fill in gaps.
Visit the library's homepage to search our collection.

Step six: Not finding what you’re looking for? Ask your librarian.
We are happy to help or refer you! Send an e-mail to our library staff!

Step seven: Consider creating and sharing your own OER.
See the "Create" tab.
Open Learn has a helpful open, modular online course "Creating Open Educational Resources"

More advice on searching for OER?
Check out this 60 minute webinar “Finding and Selecting High Quality OER”: