There are different types of repositories that store open content and collections of OERs. We selected some of the repositories where you can find multiple resources that are free and can be used as they are adapted and remixed, thus, can be used and/or re-used for your own needs.
Repositories provided below are adapted from the chapter “Repositories and Search Tools” in “The OER Starter Kit” by Elder (2019)[1].
Search tools
| Title | Website | Short description |
| OASIS | https://oasis.geneseo.edu/ | a federated search tool designed to streamline the process of finding open content. At present, it scours through 115 diverse sources, aggregating a total of 440,380 records for your convenience. |
| MERLOT | https://www.merlot.org/merlot/advSearchMaterials.htm | A federated search tool, widely renowned as a prominent hub for discovering and exchanging educational resources, offers a vast array of teaching materials. It’s important to note that not all materials are openly accessible. To locate resources with Creative Commons licenses, utilize the advanced search feature. |
| The Mason OER Metafinder | https://oer.deepwebaccess.com/oer/desktop/en/search.html | A federated search tool provides an extensive collection of open content, encompassing open-access books and articles, documents in the public domain, and open educational resources (OER). |
| IOWA University library | https://instr.iastate.libguides.com/oer/findbysubject | List of OERs by subjects |
| STARTME | https://start.me/p/QRDO7R/find-oer | A startpage with an extended list of OERs |
[1] The OER Starter Kit Copyright © 2019 by Abbey K. Elder is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
Textbooks
| Title | Website | Short description |
| OpenStax | https://openstax.org/ | Textbook provider. Offering free, open-source, peer-reviewed, high-quality textbooks. Widely respected and one of the best resources for open textbooks. |
| Open Textbook Library | https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/ | Curated collection. Hundreds of complete, open college-level textbooks. |
| Galileo | https://oer.galileo.usg.edu/ | Textbook provider. Open textbooks created within the University System of Georgia. |
| WikiBooks | https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Main_Page | Repository/Provider. The Wikipedia of open textbook creation. |
| BC Campus Open Ed | https://open.bccampus.ca/browse-our-collection/find-open-textbooks/ | Curated collection. Over 100 high-quality college-level open textbooks |
| Open knowledge repository | https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/community-list | Repository/provider. Wide variety of materials (books, reports, journals, etc.) related to developing countries. |
| EdTech Books | https://edtechbooks.org/ | Free textbooks and journals by industry-leading professors and other experts |
| The Economics Network | https://www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk/resourceindex | contain links to resources suitable for studying economics, such as online textbooks, slides, simulations, videos, and exam papers. You have the option to navigate through these materials by category or within specific sub-disciplines. |
Books
| Title | Website | Short description |
| Directory of open-access books | https://www.doabooks.org/ | Academic, peer-reviewed books |
| Project Gutenberg | https://www.gutenberg.org/ | Classics |
| Planet books | https://www.planetebook.com/ | Classics |
| Athabasca University Press | https://www.aupress.ca/ | Academic, peer-reviewed books |
Multimedia and images
| Title | Website | Short description |
| Internet archives | https://archive.org/ | A non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more. |
| Unsplash | https://unsplash.com/ | Free images. |
| Pexels | https://www.pexels.com/ | Free stock images, photos and videos shared by creators |
| Pixabay | https://pixabay.com/ | High quality free images, videos and music shared by community members. |
| Smithsonian Open access Images | https://www.si.edu/openaccess | Open access images all under the public domain (CC0 license). |
| Open Culture | https://www.openculture.com/ freemoviesonline | Free movies |
| OPEN | https://open4us.org/find-oer/#Audio/MusicSearch | The Open Professionals Education Network (OPEN) provides links to excellent places to search for music and audio, images, and videos. |
| CC Search collection | https://search.creativecommons.org/ | Search portal to find content one can share, use and remix (video, music, images, 3D models). |
Courses
Please check the list of complete courses that are free of charge. You can choose to take the entire course, some specific topics, or check assignments or reading materials only. As well, don’t forget to check the license of the course, since it might allow you to use course content by redesigning or modifying it for your personal teaching and learning needs.
| Title | Website | Short description |
| MERLOT | https://www.merlot.org/merlot/index.htm | Courses, units, and more. This repository is one of the biggest and more famous places to find and share teaching resources. Not all materials are open – use the advanced search tool to find materials by CC license |
| Open education consortium | https://www.oeconsortium.org/courses/ | Courses. An independent search engine that indexes open education classes from places like MIT, Yale, UMass, Saylor, and more. Also searches MERLOT. |
| OpenLearn | https://www.open.edu/openlearn/free-courses/full-catalogue?source=freecoursespage | Developed by the Open University. Units or mini-courses with readings and activities. All learning resources are CC licensed. |
| Open Course Library | http://opencourselibrary.org/ | Courses. Includes 81 of WA state’s highest enrollment courses. Complete courses include syllabi, activities, readings, and assessments designed by teams of faculty, instructional designers, and librarians. |
| OER Commons | https://www.oercommons.org/ | Courses, units, lessons, etc. This directory can link you to a variety of OER for a variety of subjects. Includes materials at all levels |
| OpenLearn Create | https://www.open.edu/openlearncreate/ | Study+Create an innovative leading open educational platform where individuals and organisations can publish their open content, open courses, and resources. It is Moodle-based and has tools for collaboration, reuse, and remixing. |
| Analyse at least 3 search tools and repositories, using different keywords for finding openly licensed resources. Have you found any relevant resources that you hadn’t found before? |