LibGuides: Open Educational Resources Guide: How do I find and use OERs?

Getting Started with OERs

While many instructors may be looking for OER textbooks, the tools described below will allow you to find many different kinds of materials that can be used in your courses. Examples include articles, images, curriculum plans, and videos, to name a few. The following resources are intended as a jumping off point to begin exploring the OER universe in the health sciences. For more help locating OERs contact the OHSU library, or schedule a meeting with one of our librarians.

OER Starter Kit
This eBook, by Abbey Elder, is written for those new to using OER in their teaching and is a recommended starting point for those wanting to understand how to find and use OERs in their courses. "The text is broken into five sections: Getting Started, Copyright, Finding OER, Teaching with OER, and Creating OER."
OpenOregon Educational Resources
Open Oregon catalogs examples of OERs that have been created or used by colleagues in Community Colleges and Universities in Oregon. It provides a snapshot of the implementation of OERs across the state and can be searched by title and subject. It also has a tab that provides information about grant programs and recipients.

OER Repositories and Examples

The following is a brief list of recommended OER Repositories. These are places where you can begin to look for OER resources relevant to your instruction. The example images are from eBooks that are discoverable through the respective repositories. For some great starter examples of individual titles and tools, explore this well curated list from the Miami Dade College OER library guide, which allows you to filter by educational program.

LibreTexts Medicine
"This Living Library is a principal hub of the LibreTexts project, which is a multi-institutional collaborative venture to develop the next generation of open-access texts to improve postsecondary education at all levels of higher learning. The LibreTexts approach is highly collaborative where an Open Access textbook environment is under constant revision by students, faculty, and outside experts to supplant conventional paper-based books."
MERLOT: Health Sciences Collection
MERLOT is a Repository that provides access to OER eBooks and other materials. It can be filtered by material type, discipline (e.g. Nursing, or Nursing Education), audience, and licensing. It also has reviews of some of the content and information about it's creation. This is a great place to look for eBooks. The example image is from the eBook, Nursing Pharmacology, one of the many OER titles available for use in your course.
MOM: Mason OER Metafinder
This is an OER search engine from George Mason University. It provides a search over multiple repositories simultaneously. Since it searches many different repositories, it allows you to discover a large number of resources in addition to OER eBooks. The example image is from the eBook, Nursing With a Message.
OER Commons
This is a large repository of OER courses, materials, and textbooks. It's recommended to begin by using the Advanced Search Feature and limiting to "Applied Sciences" which includes medical and nursing resources. It has many useful filters for finding materials and eBooks for your course. The example image is from the introductory eBook, Nursing Skills, which is discoverable on this platform.
Open RN
"The Open RN™ project is funded by a $2.5 million dollar grant from the Department of Education to create five OER Nursing Textbooks with 25 associated Virtual Reality scenarios." The example textbook is one of the resources developed and available through this project.
SkillsCommons
This repository is best searched using their "Advanced Search" option. It allows you to filter by subject, keyword, and material type. The example image is from the eBook, Anatomy and Physiology, an OpenStax OER Title.