Open Educational Resources (OERs)

Open Educational Resources (OER) are free, customizable teaching and learning materials that support student success, academic freedom, and equitable access to education. At Purdue, we support instructors in adopting, adapting, and creating OER to reduce costs for students and enhance classroom engagement.

On this page, you’ll find the benefits of using OER, practical ways to get started, tools for finding and modifying resources, and support available through Purdue Libraries.

The Benefits of OERs

  • Retention/Student Success: OERs can help to make education more accessible. OERs are available online and can be accessed from anywhere.
  • Support Teaching and Learning: Instructors can use OERs to create their own lesson plans or to supplement existing materials. Students can use OERs to learn new material, review for exams, or complete assignments.
  • Promote Equity in Education, Teaching, and Learning: OERs can help to make education more affordable. The cost of textbooks has been rising steadily in recent years, and this has put a strain on students’ budgets. OERs can provide students with free or low-cost access to high-quality learning materials, which can help to reduce the financial burden of college.
  • Adaptability: OERs promote discovery by providing students with access to a wide range of learning materials, including scholarly articles, videos, and simulations. This can help students to explore new ideas and to learn about different perspectives.
  • Active Learning: OERs can help to engage students by providing them with opportunities to participate in active learning activities. This can help students to learn more effectively and to develop critical thinking skills.

How to Use OERs

Reuse

Use the resource as it currently exists.

Remix

Combine two or more OERs to create a content mashup.

Redistribute

Share the original, revised, or remixed OERs.

Revise

Adapt, modify, and improve the resources to fit your needs.

Retain

Make, own, and control copies of the content.

Search for OERs

Open Textbooks and OERs are freely available resources that can be accessed, downloaded, reused, or revised.

  • OpenStax: OpenStax is the world’s largest publisher of open education resources (OER) and a provider of interactive learning technologies and education research for high school and college. They are a nonprofit initiative of Rice University.
  • LibreTexts: LibreTexts is the adaptable, user-friendly open education resource platform that educators trust for creating, customizing, and sharing accessible, interactive textbooks, adaptive homework, and ancillary materials.
  • Open Textbook Library: Open textbooks are licensed by authors and publishers to be freely used and adapted. Download, edit and distribute them at no cost. The Open Textbook Library is supported by the Open Education Network.
  • BC Campus Open Ed: The B.C. Open Collection is a curated selection of open educational resources (OER) that can be accessed by educators in B.C. and beyond to use in the classroom, in an institutional learning management system, or on other teaching and learning platforms.

Use OERs

Find a resource and link to Brightspace, add to a Reading List (Leganto), and/or ask us to add it to the library catalog. Email reserves at reserves@purdue.edu for help.

Modify or Create OERs

  • OpenStax: OpenStax is the world’s largest publisher of open education resources (OER) and a provider of interactive learning technologies and education research for high school and college. They are a nonprofit initiative of Rice University.
  • LibreTexts: LibreTexts is the adaptable, user-friendly open education resource platform that educators trust for creating, customizing, and sharing accessible, interactive textbooks, adaptive homework, and ancillary materials.
  • Open Textbook Library: Open textbooks are licensed by authors and publishers to be freely used and adapted. Download, edit and distribute them at no cost. The Open Textbook Library is supported by the Open Education Network.
  • BC Campus Open Ed: The B.C. Open Collection is a curated selection of open educational resources (OER) that can be accessed by educators in B.C. and beyond to use in the classroom, in an institutional learning management system, or on other teaching and learning platforms.

Interested in creating or modifying an OER? Reach out to Emily Little at eheitman@purdue.edu to get started.

Additional Resources

Share your story

If you are already using OERs in your course, we would love to talk to you about your experience. Please contact us at eheitman@purdue.edu to share your story.