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Open Educational Resources: BIOLOGY/LIFE SCIENCES

How to find, adopt, adapt, and create open educational resources.

OERs

Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching, learning, and research materials in any medium that reside in the public domain or have been released under an open license that permits their free use and re-purposing by others.

This guide includes collections of OERs and other freely available online educational resources. Quality, accessibility, and copyright of the materials may vary.

Try the California State University: Course Materials Finder Tool  - Enter a book's ISBN to search for freely available related materials related to the book.

Featured Resources: Biology OER

Finding OERs by Discipline

Open Textbooks

Biological Sciences Grant Collection

  • from Galileo/University system of Georgia (USG)

Biological Sciences Open Textbooks

  • from Galileo/University System of Georgia (USG)

Biology 2e from openstax

  • designed to cover the scope and sequence requirements of a typical two-semester biology course for science majors through an evolutionary lens.

E. O. Wilson's Life on Earth 

  • introductory biology textbook

LibreTexts Biology

  • from UC Davis and DSU Affordable learning Solutions

Life Science Open Access Textbooks

  • from InTech Open

Life Sciences Textbooks and Full Courses

  • curated collection in OER Commons

Microbiology - from openstax

  • Microbiology covers the scope and sequence requirements for a single-semester microbiology course for non-majors

Milne Open Textbooks -Biology 

  • a catalog of open textbooks authored and peer-reviewed by SUNY faculty and staff

Open Courseware

Open Courseware

Bi101

  • from Blue Mountain Community College

BIO101: Introduction to Molecular and Cellular Biology

  • from saylor.org Academy

Biology Materials in MERLOT

  • discipline-specific learning materials, learning exercises, and more

Human Biology (ASCCC OERI)

  • from Butte College OER Human Biology
  • includes textbook chapters and sections as separate pages within Canvas Modules and modules with supplemental materials

Lumen Courseware - Biology - Text content and images are open/accessible

  • Text content and images are open/accessible  

MIT Open Courseware Biology- courses, materials & teaching resources

  • courses, materials & teaching resources

QUBES - A BioQUEST Project 

  • The QUBES platform hosts hundreds of teaching materials, reference materials, and cloud-based software free to use and adapts using open Creative Commons licenses

General Biology-related OER

General Biology-related OER

Biology OER from OER@City Tech

  • open educational resources for Biology I and Molecular & Cell Biology

Biology Resources from OER Commons

  • "OER Commons is a public digital library of open educational resources."

Encyclopedia of Life

  • from the Natural Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian)

Life Science Resources from OER Commons

  • "OER Commons is a public digital library of open educational resources."

Life Sciences OER in the Teaching Commons

  • "open educational resources from leading colleges and universities"

MERLOT Biology Community Portal

  • discipline-specific learning materials, learning exercises, and more

Saylor Academy

  • BIO101: Introduction to Molecular and Cellular Biology

Lab manuals, Interactive materials & simulations

Lab manuals, Interactive materials & simulations
             *many of the simulations and videos are view/use only (i.e. not adaptable)

Biology Labs On-Line

  • 12 open access interactive, inquiry-based biology simulations and exercises 

Biology Simulations

  • Simulations on biology and data analysis skills

Bioman Biology

  • Learning games, review games, virtual labs and quizzes on cells, ecology, genetics, physiology

Case It!

  • Molecular biology simulations for case-based learning in biology

Classroom Explorations

  • Activities on traits of life, microscopy, math in science, research tools, genetics, and developmental biology

DNA from the Beginning

  • Animated experiments in modern genetics

Evo Ed

  • Case studies in evolution 

Gelbox

  • Open source interactive simulation tool for gel electrophorisis

General Microbiology Labs

  • Labs and lectures on microbiology from the University of Wyoming

Geniventure

  • Interactive games in genetics

HHMI BioInteractive

  • Biointeractive videos from HHMI

Innerbody Explorer 

  •  "a free interactive tool that allows reader to visualize and learn about the human body. It covers 12 different body systems, utilizes over 900 3D images."

Laboratory Experiments

  • from LibreTexts Biology

Learn.Genetics

  • Online lessons and labs in genetics, cell biology, evolution, human health, plant biology, neuroscience, and ecology

NAVS and Bioleap Online Dissection Resources

  • Virtual dissection labs and simulations from the National Anti-Vivisection Society

NCEP Resources for Conservation Educators and Practitioners

  • Open access, electronic resources on topics in conservation science

Optical Microscopy Primer

  • Virtual microscope lessons

PhET Interactive Simulations (Biology)

  • interactive simulations for science and math

QUBES

  • Virtual labs and simulations for teaching quantitative biology

Science Bank Online Dissection Resources

  • Virtual dissection resources

StarGenetics

  • Mendelian genetics cross simulator

The LifeDiscoveryEd Digital Library

  • Online resource portal for biology education in ecology, plant biology and evolution

Virtual Biology Lab

  • Online educational resource providing simulations of natural environments 

Virtual Fetal Pig Dissection

  • Supplement to laboratory dissections

Visualizations and Simulations from LibreText Biology

  • "this Living Library is a principal hub of the LibreTexts project, which is a multi-institutional collaborative venture to develop the next generation of open-access texts to improve postsecondary education at all levels of higher learning."

Web Adventures From Rice University

  • Interactive games on the Scientific Method, Cholera, or the Pox Virus 

Whole Frog Projec

  • 3D surface and volume rendering software

XVIVO Scientific Animation

  • medical animation/videos