Open Science Online Course

Finding OERs

When searching for OERs, please note that in addition to the material being available freely online, it must be shared with a licence permitting the reuse in the way you intend to use it (i.e. just using the content as it is or adapting it). In addition, consider the quality of the source and the accessibility of the content to your intended audience. 

A good place to look for OERs is the Library of Open Educational Resources AOE (see video below).

• WordPress Openverse Creative Commons Search (check the ‘Use commercially’ box for content that can be used on open learning platforms)
• Europeana (cultural heritage image collections and stories)
• Wikimedia Commons (always check the licence information at the bottom of the page)
• Google advanced search (under the ‘Usage rights’ section, select either ‘free to use or share’ or ‘free to use share or modify’ depending on how you would like to use the resource)
• Flickr (select the ‘Commercial use & mods allowed’ from the drop down ‘Licence’ menu when searching)
• Pixabay (images, illustrations, vector graphics, videos, music, and sound effects)
• Pexels (images and videos)
• Pixnio (images)
• Unsplash (images)
• Public Domain Review (essays, books, collections)
• Slideshare (presentation slides, diagrams, infographics)
• Github (software and other open materials)

Give attribution for OERs

All content must be appropriately attributed no matter the licence. When Creative Commons licensed resources are used, the attribution should include:

• the name of the resource (including a hyperlink to the original resource),
• the name of the author or rights holder,
• the year the resource was developed (if known)
• the original licence

Attribution can be included in the description of the resource or at the beginning of slides or a report.