UTRGV Connections
Find OER
Open Educational Resources (OER) are diverse teaching and learning materials available in various formats and stored in multiple locations. As a result, locating these resources can be challenging. The UTRGV Library is dedicated to supporting faculty with methods and tools to help them find the learning materials that best suit course and student needs.
The Textbook Affordability Project website provides a Finding OER Toolkit to support faculty in locating OER resources.
Step 1: Set aside time. Searching for OER requires dedication and persistence, much like conducting research.
Step 2: Identify keywords. Utilize keywords from your subject area and learning objectives to perform effective searches.
Step 3: Locate an OER text. Explore OER repositories to determine if a complete open textbook is available for your course.
Step 4: Supplement. Continue your search to find additional related content, such as course shells and syllabi. Remember, Open Educational Resources can be combined and adapted to meet the specific needs of your course.
Step 5: Review the resources. As the subject matter expert, apply any necessary rubric when evaluating new teaching and learning materials for your course.
Step 6: Ask for help! Reach out for a consultation with Gabby Hernandez, the Open Education Librarian, or email her for support at any stage of the process.
OER Searching Tools
- OER Searching Guide – This guide helps you search open repositories for OER, and can be downloaded and saved. The guide evaluates the usability of each repository, but you’re free to search them in any sequence you prefer.
- Openly Licensed Image Searching Guide – Feel free to download and save this linked guide, which is designed to assist you in searching open image repositories for openly licensed and diverse images.
- Searching OER Repository Tutorials – Each platform offers distinct search benefits and strategies. To assist you in navigating your searches, we’ve curated short videos demonstrating how to utilize the most popular OER search platforms.
If you need assistance, you can fill out the OER Request Form, and a librarian will organize resources based on the information you provide.