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UNI Rod Library

Open Educational Resources (OER) & Textbook Equity

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?

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 or combining existing materials that are openly-licensed. Details: https://guides.lib.uni.edu/oer/authoring

Suggested Resources

Below are selected Open Educational Resources (OER) in education, with an emphasis on resources used by other Iowa colleges/universities as well as textbooks reviewed in the Open Textbook Library or by relevant associations. Some free resources may be included that aren't technically OER because they do not have open licenses. As with any course materials, 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).

See also: CIEP/ELL/Language Learning page and relevant subject pages (Natural Sciences, Art/Art History, Music/Music Education, History, etc.).

Resources for Teacher Education

Selected Free Textbooks (adaptable unless otherwise noted)

See also Art/Art History and Music/Music Education pages.

See also Child Development tab above and Summary of Open Educational Resources in Early Childhood Education, maintained by Jennifer Paris (College of the Canyons).

See also: CIEP/ELL/Language Learning page.

See also Natural Sciences page.

Articles of Note

Cummings-Clay, D. (2020). Impact of OER in teacher education. Open Praxis, 12(4), 541–554. http://doi.org/10.5944/openpraxis.12.4.1112

Richardson, J. C., Castellanos Reyes, D., Janakiraman, S., & Duha, M. S. U. (2023). The process of developing a digital repository for online teaching using design-based research. TechTrends, 67(2), 217-230. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-022-00795-w
Recipient of Best Research Paper Award,  American Educational Research Association (AERA) Design and Technology Special Interest Group (SIG).

Thompson, L., Lantz, J., & Sullivan, B. (2019). Pre-service teacher awareness of Open Educational Resources. The International Journal of Open Educational Resources, 1(2), 25059. https://www.ijoer.org/pre-service-teacher-awareness-of-open-educational-resources/

Van Allen, J., & Katz, S. (2019). Developing open practices in teacher education: An example of integrating OER and developing renewable assignments. Open Praxis, 11(3), 311-319. https://doi.org/10.5944/openpraxis.11.3.972