Discover and Adopt Affordable Learning Materials
Choosing affordable learning materials doesn’t mean compromising on quality. Whether you want to adopt an open textbook, create your own resources, or leverage materials already available through the library, there are flexible options that support your teaching goals and keep costs low for students.
What Are Your Options?
Different courses benefit from different approaches:
- Open Educational Resources (OERs) — freely available and adaptable materials such as textbooks, modules, videos, and software.
- Library-licensed resources — articles, eBooks, streaming media, and databases already available to students at no cost.
- Print course reserves — short-term loan copies of required texts for students who prefer or need print access.
- Fair dealing & copyright-cleared scans — provide book chapters, articles, or excerpts directly in your course shell.
Open Educational Resources (OERs)
OERs are teaching and learning materials available under Creative Commons licenses that allow you to reuse, revise, remix, redistribute, and retain content. They offer the flexibility to tailor content to your course.
Not only can you create or adopt existing OERs, but you can also adapt them. For example, adding a chapter to include a Canadian perspective. Contact the ctl@uwindsor.ca for support in developing high-quality open materials.
Where to Find OERs
Explore open textbook and courseware collections:
- eCampusOntario Open Library – Ontario-developed OERs and adoption support
- BCcampus Open Textbook Collection – open textbooks and faculty guides
- Open Textbook Library – peer-reviewed open textbooks across disciplines
Library Resources
The library provides access to millions of electronic resources that students can use at no cost including ebooks, articles, streaming video, and multimedia content. Faculty can also request:
- Digitized copies of print materials (10% or 1 Chapter) consistent with fair-dealing guidelines
- Print books on short-term loan
- Copyright Clearance (when the amount required exceeds fair dealing we may be able to seek permission for additional amounts).
All of these can be organized and delivered through Leganto, our course resource system integrated with Brightspace.
How to Find and Select Library Resources
Use Leganto to search our collections and add items directly to your course reading list. You can also browse resources in:
- Omni – library catalogue
- Library Databases List – subject-specific research tools
Need help? Our team can assist at courseresources@uwindsor.ca
Quick Guide to Affordable Material Options
| Resource Type | What You Can Do | Where to Start |
|---|---|---|
| Discover OERs | Find open textbooks, modules, and teaching materials | https://leddy.uwindsor.ca/open-education/open-educational-resources |
| Create or Adopt OERs | Work with CTL to create, adapt, or adopt open materials | https://www.uwindsor.ca/ctl/685/open-educational-resources-oers |
| Library eResources and Reserves | Use Leagnto to build a reading list using library articles, eBooks, and videos, Fair Dealing & Scanned Excerpts, Print Course Reserves | https://leddy.uwindsor.ca/course-support/course-resources-reserves |
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