Finding quality OER for your course is the first step! Many OER have been shared with metadata so you can search in Google and other search engines for a keyword and “open educational resources.” Alternatively, you can go directly to an OER repository to search.

Jumpstart Your Search (Our Favorite Repositories)

• BC Campus OpenEd
• Open SUNY Textbooks
• OpenStax
• Open Textbook Library
• eCampusOntario Open Textbook Library

The IU OER LibGuide also includes a built-in search engine for the Mason OER Metafinder (MOM), a database for searching for OER across repositories.

Search Tips

Many OER search engines will allow you to filter your results by unique facets. Be sure to take advantage of the following:

• Audience/Education Level: This is essential for finding OER appropriate for the grade level of your course, and often depending on the primary, secondary, or postsecondary education.
• Type of Material: This can help you filter out textbooks from more complex OER, such as course modules of interactive multimedia.
• Discipline: Like other academic search engines, you can also specify the desired discipline for your OER. Most of these search engines have broad disciplines (such as Sciences, Humanities, Social Sciences, etc.)

Want to ensure that the OER you search for is high quality? Check out our Evaluate page for detailed standards on finding high quality OER. This guide will help you locate trusted user reviews on several of these search engines, as well as providing you with a checklist to assess the quality of OER on your own terms.

Still can’t find what you’re looking for? E-mail iusw@indiana.edu for a one-on-one consultation to find Open Educational Resources (OER) for your course.