Since Affordable course materials can be just about anything, they can be found just about anywhere. What makes them "affordable" in this context is that they are not specifically licensed to be Open. In other words, copyright prevails and you may be able to use the material only through the grace of fair use within the closed borders of your class.
Practically speaking, most teachers seek material to suit a need to meet an outcome. If students are struggling with X, a good teacher will try to find resources that will assist students in understanding X. Whether the resource is CC licensed as Open is usually a secondary consideration. This may result in an array of course materials, some Open and some Affordable. For the purposes of this award program, that is okay! Our main objectives are saving students money and selecting the course materials that best meet the learning outcomes. However, upon completing these modules you will be more aware of the distinction and when it may be more appropriate to use Open or Affordable materials.
Libraries are a great resource for finding textbooks and other affordable materials. We recommend you search for course materials through Sherrod Library's website in addition to OER databases and repositories. While you can conduct general searches through OneSearch, you may want to search through databases and other resources more pertinent to your area using the Subject Guides.
There are funds available to purchase e-textbooks that are licensed for unlimited use. If you need an e-textbook that is not already available through Sherrod Library, submit a request through our Suggest a Purchase feature. Sherrod Library will let you know if we can subscribe to the e-textbook for your course.
Check out courses that already use e-textbooks available through Sherrod Library.
As an OA Awardee, you likely have already considered and selected resources you plan to use for your course. If so, please tell us how you discovered these Open or Affordable resources. Can you find any of these resources in OER Commons, Merlot or another OER repository? See if there are any related materials you may not have seen.
If you have not selected or finalized materials for the award yet, we recommend you continue your search through some of these tools. Share with the group some highlights of your searching.