Discover ten educational resources that are open for everyone to access.

Significant transformations have occurred since MIT initially disclosed its intention to provide course materials online for free. In 2001, the concept of making university-level content accessible to users globally without any cost was groundbreaking, and the MIT OpenCourseWare initiative played a crucial role in advancing the Open Educational Resources (OER) movement.

Presently, Open Educational Resources have become widespread, enabling educators and learners to freely utilize, modify, and share educational content. Alongside MIT OCW, individuals can now avail themselves of materials from various esteemed educational institutions such as Harvard University, Carnegie Mellon University, and Yale University.

Employer Preferences

Employers' perspectives on unconventional education have shifted, with research suggesting that a significant majority now embrace online degrees and certificates.

A potential explanation for this change is the growing prevalence of virtual business operations. Consequently, there is less focus on the specific credential and more on how a candidate's skills and experience align with the job requirements. Given that online education often requires individuals to juggle studies alongside full-time employment and family responsibilities, successfully completing an online course can also demonstrate a candidate's flexibility and adept time management skills.

Employers emphasize the importance of candidates being able to articulate why an online credential suits their needs, so it's essential to consider this when emphasizing online certifications on your resume. Additionally, employers express concerns that online students might have had fewer chances for collaborative group work, potentially impacting their team-working skills. Therefore, the capacity to collaborate effectively with others should always be supported by concrete examples on a resume.

Beginning Point

Given that open educational resources encompass a broad spectrum, ranging from online textbooks to recorded video lectures, the extensive array of freely accessible content online can pose a challenge for both learners and teachers in determining where to allocate their time.

If you seek high-quality educational resources to aid in achieving your learning objectives or supporting your students, we've curated a list of some of the most valuable open educational resources currently accessible.

Learning at No Cost

1. MIT OpenCourseWare

Pioneering the Open Educational Resource movement, MIT's OpenCourseWare remains a highly valuable resource for both educators and learners.

For students, the course finder tool is available to explore courses based on topics. Upon discovering a course of interest, you can review its objectives, key topics, and sequence to assess its suitability for your needs. Additionally, you have the flexibility to select specific concepts you wish to study from various courses rather than adhering to a single course from start to finish.

For educators, the OCW Educator Portal provides the means to filter through courses using terms like "Active Learning" or "Instructional Design." Furthermore, valuable teaching materials, including images, lecture slides, and videos from MIT's prominent researchers, can be accessed in the OCW resource library.

2. Learning with Lumen

While not completely free, Lumen Learning stands out as an excellent source for cost-effective learning materials and courses. Educators can leverage it to obtain digital content, supplementary materials, and customizable courses spanning over 50 subjects. For students, it serves as a valuable resource to reduce textbook expenses, offering access to affordable learning materials like e-books, videos, and interactive content all in one platform.

It also has the potential to enhance learning outcomes by offering students opportunities for immediate feedback.

3. Academy by Khan

Khan Academy stands as another open educational resource designed for both learners and educators. Students can explore educational content across various subjects, including science, engineering, and computer programming, utilizing a personalized learning dashboard that facilitates self-paced study. For teachers, the platform offers practice exercises and instructional videos to enhance lesson planning. The teacher dashboard streamlines the process of quickly assessing class performance and identifying students who may need additional support.

4. MERLOT, which stands for Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching.

Merlot comprises California State University's repository of online learning resources, support materials, and content creation tools. With over 40,000 items, these resources undergo ratings and peer reviews by researchers, educators, and learners.

The educational materials are classified into 22 distinct types, such as animation, case study, drill and practice, and simulation. Merlot members have the ability to bookmark collections, provide comments and feedback, contribute their materials, and even create their courses.

5. Open Educational Resources Commons

Established by the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME), OER Commons serves as a digital repository for open educational resources. Boasting a collection of over 70,000 educational materials from renowned providers like the British Library and Harvard University, it serves as a valuable platform for discovering and structuring educational content. Especially beneficial for educators, OER Commons enables the creation of personalized resources, lesson plans, and courses. Additionally, educators can collaborate with peers in their network through the use of groups on the platform.

6. OpenStax, an organization that produces openly licensed educational materials.

Situated at Rice University, OpenStax is an educational endeavor offering students complimentary online access to peer-reviewed textbooks of exceptional quality. Covering subjects such as math and science, humanities, and business, students can utilize these textbooks. Additionally, OpenStax provides the OpenStax Tutor, incorporating cognitive science principles and machine learning. This tool grants access to online courseware and learning resources, aiding students in successfully completing their courses.

7. Academic Earth, a platform that provides access to online courses and educational content from various universities.

Academic Earth consolidates educational content and course materials from renowned universities worldwide, such as Stanford, Princeton, U.C. Berkeley, MIT, and Yale. Students have the opportunity to explore a library containing over 1,500 lecture videos, categorized by school, subject, and scholar. They can download preferred videos or discover curated playlists tailored to their interests.

8. Learningpod

In partnership with OpenStax, Learningpod has developed question sets for OpenStax textbooks, establishing itself as the largest repository of free online practice questions globally. Through Learningpod, teachers can assign practice sets, monitor student advancement, while students can utilize high-quality practice questions to prepare for tests. The platform also offers reports and graphs, providing insights into performance and identifying areas that may require improvement.

9. Open Culture

In the Education Resource People’s Choice Awards organized by Study.com, Open Culture earned recognition as the top Open Educational Resource. It serves as an excellent platform for discovering free cultural and educational media spanning movies, language, literature, and more. Both students and teachers can benefit from accessing a wide array of resources, including MOOCs, certificate courses, audio books, e-books, textbooks, as well as noteworthy movies and lectures.

10. Open Learning Initiative

Carnegie Mellon University's representatives designed the Open Learning Initiative (OLI), offering both academic and independent online courses that are available through paid options as well as open and free access. OLI's content, instructional design, tools, and delivery platform are grounded in evidence-based practices, with course effectiveness validated through internal and independent studies. Teachers can incorporate these courses as supplementary materials or substitutes for textbooks, while independent learners have the flexibility to informally engage with self-guided courses to delve deeper into subjects of interest.

Continued Learning

Considering transforming your online coursework into a structured academic journey? Open Colleges' University Pathways program enables students to seamlessly transition into a degree course with an accredited university.

Achieve a Bachelor of Social Work or Social Science (Social Welfare) from Charles Sturt University by undertaking coursework in Counselling, Community Service, or Youth Work at Open Colleges. Additionally, benefit from the unique advantages offered by the Community Service program, which includes the opportunity to fulfill your work placement in Fiji through the Case Management Society of Australia and New Zealand.

Explore the opportunity to attain an Associate or Bachelor Degree in Applied Health Science through the Australasian College of Health and Wellness following the completion of your Diploma of Beauty Therapy.

Upon the successful completion of a Diploma of Social Media Marketing, you can earn up to 5 units through the Australasian Institute of Higher Education.

Attain your Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care, Leadership and Management, Social Media Marketing, Business, Nursing, Human Resource Management, Beauty Therapy, or Counselling through Open Colleges. This opens the opportunity for future pathways at Southern Cross University's schools, including Education, Business, Marketing, Nursing, Tourism and Hospitality Management, and Social Welfare.