LibGuides: Open Educational Resources (OER): Tools for Affordable Learning: Finding Still More OER

Finding OER

Many open educational resources have already been developed and made available online. This page will give you ideas for finding images, media, and other types of OER. Note that, even if a particular website focuses on OER, it may contain other kinds of digital content so you should always check items individually for licensing information. Places to start your search include:

Creative Commons Search Tool

This search tool allows you to find Creative Commons licensed material in Google and repositories including YouTube, Flickr, Wikimedia Commons, and others. Narrow your search by license type or by repository.

OASIS Search Tool

OASIS is a tool that searches some 155,000 records for open material. It is being developed at SUNY Geneseo's Milne Library.

Google Search Tips

To find OER, look for advanced search options in the tools that you use. In Google, you can find advanced search under "settings." Look for "usage rights" once you've reached advanced search.

Similarly, in Google Images, look under "tools" for "usage rights." These tools allow you to narrow your search to find materials that you can modify or reuse.

Finding OER Media Materials

Try a few of these sources when looking for videos, images, and media either licensed Creative Commons or in the public domain.

ccMixter
This is a community music remixing site featuring remixes and samples licensed under Creative Commons licenses.
Digital Public Library of America
DPLA allows you to access digital collections created by libraries, universities, and archives. Some are in the public domain but not all--check items individually.
Flickr
Flickr features many images licensed with Creative Commons
The Internet Archive
The Internet Archive has a dedicated space for OER.
Jamendo
Jamendo users can share their music using Creative Common licenses.
Library of Congress Digital Collections
The Library of Congress has made digitized versions of collection materials available online since 1994. Many (not all) materials are in the public domain.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
Includes a filter for unrestricted images.
NASA Images
NASA content - images, audio, video, and computer files used in the rendition of 3-dimensional models, such as texture maps and polygon data in any format - generally are not copyrighted.
National Science Digital Library
This library contains materials with an emphasis on STEM disciplines. Use the search engine to filter by "terms of use" to find OER.
New York Public Library - Public Domain Collections
More than 180,000 of the items in NYPL's Digital Collections are in the public domain
Open Content Program - The Getty
"The Getty makes available, without charge, all available digital images to which the Getty holds the rights or that are in the public domain to be used for any purpose. No permission is required. "
Open Osmosis
Open Osmosis is an initiative committed to developing & disseminating health education resources with the ultimate aim of making healthcare more accessible.
The Periodic Table of Videos (University of Nottingham)
The team behind this project created videos to accompany each of the elements on the periodic table.
PHET Interactive Simulations
Free interactive math and science simulations provided via the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Public Domain Review
All the historical works found on this site are in the public domain, at least somewhere in the world.
Wikimedia Commons - Images
"Wikimedia Commons only accepts free content... that [is] not subject to copyright restrictions which would prevent them being used by anyone, anytime, for any purpose."
YouTube
This is not a specific OER repository but some of the content is available for you to use freely under a Creative Commons license. Use the advanced search to select Creative Commons licensed content.

Finding Open Access Journals and Other Publications

The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
A curated list of open access journals, all of which adhere to particular guidelines around ethics, rigor, and transparency.
Open Knowledge Repository [The World Bank]
The World Bank’s official open access repository for its research outputs and knowledge products.
UNESDOC Digital Library
A resource curated by UNESCO.

Libraries

Open Educational Resources (OER): Tools for Affordable Learning