Open Educational Resources (OER) are free teaching materials that are intended to be widely distributed and modified to fit the particular needs of instructors. Some examples of OER include textbooks, websites, presentations, syllabi, and lesson plans. While most OER starts in digital format, files can be converted so faculty and students can print their materials at home or through a printing service.
Northwestern University is a member of the Open Education Network, which manages the Open Textbook Library, an online catalog of college textbooks that are free to download, print, upload to canvas, or revise to work with your courses.
There are a variety of consortiums offering collections of open textbooks which can be used. See below for additional resources for OER discovery in your subject area.
If you cannot find existing OER that is suitable for your course, or the OER you've found isn't rigorous enough, we can work with you to develop custom course materials. Starting from scratch can be a daunting task, but there are a variety of options to get started, including utilizing course notes, lecture slides, and adapting or remixing existing open content.
The Libraries are available to assist you with finding quality OER and help you incorporate these materials into your teaching. They also provide consultations on developing your own OER. Email air@northwestern.edu with questions or a copy of your syllabus for a consultation.