The Challenge

OER can be tricky to find for a number of reasons: there are numerous OER repositories, not all OER are indexed in repositories, no single repository contains all available OER, and many OER are in development, too, and thus not findable easily. This section lists the best strategies for finding OER for faculty. Ancillary materials are outlined in a separate chapter in this section.

Subject Specialist Librarian: Supporting OER Growth at UTSA

Faculty are encouraged to reach out to UTSA subject specialist librarians. Finding OER and low cost textbooks can be a time-consuming process. It’s important that UTSA Subject Specialist librarians be well-versed in OER for the academic departments they work with, and can do the heavy-lifting and serve up potential OER and low cost textbooks in their respective areas. Our goal is to do deep dive for resources and to leverage connections in national and Texas OER communities to ensure that no stone is left un-turned in the search for OER for UTSA faculty.

The Learning Materials Decision

But whose decision is it which resources will be the best fit?  This responsibility of selecting the best materials that are the best fits for the course needs always rests with the faculty member. They are the curricular expert for the course. Always.