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Northern Lakes College Library
Your NLC Library : Support and Discovery
Open Educational Resources (OERs)
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Open Access explained
Interested in what open access is and how it was developed? Open Resources are available at little or no cost. They are not copyright-free, but are generally available for use under Creative Commons or similar licenses.
Open Resources must be attributed when used.This 8.5-minute video explains the development of open access academic resources. Open access applies also to education resources, media, and software tools.
Resource Links
Copyright free resources are available from many sources. Here is a starting point. Remember, when you use copyright free material, you must still attribute your source.
Copyright Free Resources 2018-01.docx
Find open access articles
"Open access " journals and databases provide unrestricted, free access via the Internet to peer-reviewed scholarly journal articles. Use the CRAAP Test to evaluate the source.
Consider the following multi-disciplinary content sources when researching a topic:<
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CORE: COnnecting REpositoriesAllows users to search several Open Access institutional repositories from the UK.
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OpenDOAR: Directory of Open Access journalsOnline directory that indexes and provides access to open access, peer-reviewed journals
- Provided by BC Campus OpenEd, this is a collection of open, online textbooks and resources
OER Commons is a public digital library of open educational resources. Explore, create, and collaborate with educators around the world to improve curriculum.
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Wiley Open AccessSearch online journals with food, biological, chemical and health sciences content.
Copyright Friendly Works
Copyright-friendly works typically fall under one of the following categories, which determine the extent to whish they may be used, reused or modified.
Creative Commons: Are flexible copyright licenses that allow copyright holders to decide for themselves who can share, reuse and build upon their creative works. Learn more about Creative Commons.
Public domain: Includes works that are no longer under copyright, so no permission is required.
Find Images
These websites provide copyright-friendly images you can use freely as long as you abide by any terms of use provided by the owner of the content.
- Compfight
This search engine searches creative commons content in Flickr quickly and efficiently.
- Creative Commons Content Directories
Lists websites providing images, music, video, and text that use Creative Commons licensing.
- Flickr
Source of images and videos. Make sure to select the Creative Commons option before searching.
- Google Advanced Image Search
Use the "Usage Rights" option to search for copyright-free materials.
- morgueFile
"Free images for your inspiration, reference and use in your creative work, be it commercial or not!"
- Pics 4 Learning
Copyright-free images for educational use by students and teachers.
Find Videos
These websites provide copyright-friendly videos you can use freely as long as you abide by any terms of use provided by the owner of the content.
- Creative Commons Content Directories
Lists websites providing images, music, video, and text that use Creative Commons licensing.
- Internet Archive
Access to downloadable video, audio, text & multimedia in the public domain.
Find Music
These websites provide copyright-friendly music you can use freely as long as you abide by any terms of use provided by the owner of the content.
- ccMixter
A community music site featuring remixes licensed under Creative Commons.
- Creative Commons Content Directories
Lists websites providing images, music, video, and text that use Creative Commons licensing.
- Free Hip Hop Beats
Downloadable hip hop beats covered under a Creative Commons License that requires audio attribution.
- Free Music Archive
Offers free music downloads under Creative Commons agreements from a variety of genres.
- Internet Archive
Access to downloadable video, audio, text & multimedia in the public domain.
- Jamendo
All music on Jamendo is free to download and can be shared or modified depending on how each specific piece of music has been licensed.
- Petrucci Music Library
A wiki-based repository of musical scores available in the public domain.