Open Educational Resources (OER)
Quality Education & Accessibility for All
As educators in the dynamic landscape of community colleges, we face the constant challenge of providing high-quality education while ensuring accessibility for all students. Open Educational Resources (OER) offer a transformative solution to this challenge. OER are freely accessible, openly licensed materials that can be used for teaching, learning, and research. They include textbooks, course materials, videos, and even full courses.
Incorporating OER into your curriculum not only reduces costs for students but also fosters a more inclusive and adaptable learning environment. With the ability to customize resources to better fit the needs of your diverse student population, you can enhance engagement and improve learning outcomes. Additionally, OER promotes collaboration among educators, encouraging the sharing of innovative teaching practices and materials.
When using OER, it’s essential to check the specific licensing terms for each resource and attribute the content appropriately if required by the license. Additionally, OER repositories often have search features that allow you to find resources tailored to specific subjects, grade levels, or educational goals. If you have any questions about licensing, please contact the OER Librarian or follow **Creative Commons Share Your Work** for more information.
OER Resource Pages
There are several excellent websites and platforms that host a wide range of Open Educational Resources (OER). Here are some of the best OER resource pages:
- **OpenStax:** Provides free, peer-reviewed, openly licensed textbooks that cover a variety of subjects, particularly in higher education.
- **OER Commons:** A dynamic digital library that offers a wide range of OER, including textbooks, lesson plans, and multimedia resources, across different grade levels and subjects.
- **MIT OpenCourseWare:** Offers a collection of course materials from a wide range of MIT’s courses, making high-quality educational content freely available.
- **Khan Academy:** Provides a vast array of free educational content, including instructional videos, practice exercises, and materials for students of all ages.
- **MERLOT:** A curated collection of free and open online teaching, learning, and faculty development services contributed and used by an international education community.
- **Connexions:** A repository of educational content in various forms, including modules, collections, and courses. It covers a broad range of subjects and is contributed by educators worldwide.
- **LibreTexts:** Offers customizable and affordable textbooks and supporting educational resources for higher education. It covers a variety of subjects in the sciences and humanities.
- **Saylor Academy:** Provides free and open online courses for a variety of subjects, allowing learners to earn certificates upon completion.
- **Wikibooks:** A Wikimedia project that offers a collection of open-content textbooks on various subjects. Users can contribute and edit content collaboratively.
- **Curriki:** An online platform that provides free, open educational resources for teachers, students, and parents. It covers a wide range of subjects and grade levels.
Contact
Jon Osmer
Jonathan.Osmer@centralaz.edu