Research Guides: Open Educational Resources (OER) &amp; Textbook Equity: Natural Sciences

How do I even start if I'm thinking about textbook equity/affordability?

Request a Course Materials Affordability Review
Instructors can complete this form and attach a syllabus (a draft or even a topic list would be sufficient). Rod Library faculty will review course concepts and share some free and/or affordable resources that may have potential for the course. Allow about 2 weeks. Instructors have ultimate responsibility for reviewing course material quality as well as academic freedom to select the best course materials.
Place course materials on course reserve through Rod Library
Course reserves allow equal access to library (or instructor-owned) copies of course materials for all students. Rod Library can place physical materials on reserve at the Library Services Desk for in-house 3-hour checkout (or other time specified by instructor). In addition, up to 10% of a book may be scanned by library staff and placed on electronic course reserve for up to one semester.
Join the UNI Textbook Equity Google Group
This Google Group is for faculty, staff, and students interested in the campuswide Textbook Equity initiative. Occasional announcements, including funding opportunities, will be shared via this email-based group. Contact Anne Marie Gruber to be added.

What if I want to share course materials I've created or modify/customize something listed here?

Whether you have a homegrown course "packet" or aspire to create an entire textbook, Rod Library can support you in creating, licensing, and sharing materials that you intend to be free of charge. This includes modifying existing materials that are openly-licensed. Details: https://guides.lib.uni.edu/oer/authoring

Open Textbooks in the Natural Sciences

For all natural sciences open textbooks in Open Textbook Library, see https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/subjects/natural-sciences
Subcollections are available for Biology, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, and Physics. Be sure to evaluate each resource for quality and usage rights.

For more, use the Find Open Textbooks tab on the left side of this guide. Rod Library's OneSearch also includes some open textbooks as well as licensed ebooks; note that if you plan to use a library-licensed ebook for a course, you need to notify your liaison librarian well in advance (more on textbooks & library ebooks).

Labs, Simulations, & Lesson Plans

LabXchange
Virtual labs, videos, assessments, and interactive simulations. Resource summary from Iowa OER
Virtual Labs
From MERLOT, SkillsCommons, and Partners. Educators can add/share. Not all resources are OER (free and licensed for reuse) so check for each.
Quantitative Undergraduate Biology Education and Synthesis (QUBES)
"QUBES platform hosts hundreds of teaching materials, reference materials, and cloud-based software free to use and adapt." Strongest in Biology content but also useful for physics, chemistry, and other STEM areas.
CourseSource
"An open-access journal of peer-reviewed teaching resources for undergraduate biology and physics." Materials are openly licensed.
ChemCollective
"A collection of virtual labs, scenario-based learning activities, tutorials, and concept tests." Carnegie Mellon University
PhET Simulations
150+ simulations in science and math. University of Colorado--Boulder.
Find more virtual labs & simulations
CUNY
goREACT
Virtual chemistry lab. Museum of Science & Industry.
Molecular Workbench
Topics include physics, chemistry, biology, biotech, and nanotechnology. The Concord Consortium.
ChemReaX: Chemical Reaction Simulator
Companion to LibreTexts open textbooks but could also be used alone or with another open textbook.
Science by Simulation
Full-featured versions of ChemReaX, ClimateSim, and more.
Chemistry simulations
American Association of Chemistry Teachers
Active Learning in Analytical Chemistry
The Muskuloskeletal System and Planes of Movement
Dr. Amanda Anderson, Iowa State University
Virtual Microscope
OpenSciEd
The goal of OpenSciEd is to ensure any science teacher, anywhere, can access and download freely available, high quality, locally adaptable full-course materials that support equitable science learning.
NASA's Transform to Open Science (TOPS) initiative
Open science curriculum will introduce those beginning their open science journey to important definitions, tools, and resources; and provide participants at all levels recommendations on best practices.

Homework Systems

OpenOChem
Connects to Blackboard & allows for collaboration, interactive questions, use of a large shared question bank, adaptive quizzes, flexible taxonomies, 2D & #D structures, etc.
Remains even if UNI changes learning management systems.
WeBWork (Mathematical Association of America)
"An open-source online homework system for math and science courses. WeBWorK is supported by the MAA and the NSF and comes with a National Problem Library (NPL) of over 20,000 homework problems."
OrgChem101
"A set of organic chemistry learning modules that provide structured guidance as you (the student) explore organic chemistry concepts. The modules provide metacognitive support, interactive instructional videos, animations, and interactive activities that promote the mastery of concepts, provide feedback, and link to real-world contexts."

Open Educational Resources (OER) & Textbook Equity

Image Collections

How do I even start if I'm thinking about textbook equity/affordability?

What if I want to share course materials I've created or modify/customize something listed here?

Open Textbooks in the Natural Sciences

Labs, Simulations, & Lesson Plans

Homework Systems