SPARC considers Open Educational Resources (OER) to be "teaching, learning, and research resources released under an open license that permits their free use and re-purposing by others... [this can include] full courses, course materials, lesson plans, open textbooks, learning objects, videos, games, tests, software, or any other tool, material, or technique that supports access to knowledge." The University of Northern Iowa is a member of the Open Education Network which sponsors the Open Textbook Library. These books have been reviewed by faculty from a variety of colleges and universities to assess their quality. They can be downloaded for no cost, or printed at low cost. UNI's Open Educational Resources (OER) collection is featured in the Digital Commons Teaching Commons.
- Geographic Alliance of Iowa Lesson Plans Sub-Collection
- Open Access Books Sub-Collection
- Prairie Roots: Lesson Plans Sub-Collection
- Keepers of the Earth: Lesson Plans Sub-Collection
- Nature Activities Sub-Collection
- Regents' Center for Early Developmental Education Sub-Collection
- STORM Project Activities Sub-Collection
- Veterans Legacy Program Lesson Plans Sub-Collection
Submissions from 2012
Mapping World News, Beth Miller
Float Along with Huck and Jim, Sue Milligan
mPower the World, Your County, and You, Amy Morgan
Indigenous Amazon Tribes, Joe Nekvinda
Avoiding the Michael Scott Syndrome, Erin Nennig
The Virgins of Chile, Erin Nennig
Why Immigrate?, Erin Nennig
Our Lady of the Rosary: Andacollo, Erin Nennig and Ileana Gonzalez
Good Apples, Phyllis Nuehring
Higher or Lower Temperatures, Evelyn Oliver
Clothing Comparisons Across Countries, Kathleen Olson
Ancient Civilizations Review, Whitney Ott-‐Zuzich
The Movement of Iowa's State Capitol, Eric Pettit
Where in the world could I count how many stars are in the sky?, Dawn Pohlman
Art Around the World, Carrie Pope
Cache a GPS and Map it in your Notebook, Susan Reed
Was China's One Child Policy A Good Idea?, Brittany Roberts
Cartoons for Teaching Elementary Students about Bullying, Audrey C. Rule, S. R. Logan, and Frank W. Kohler
Small Mammal Jointed Models to Make, Description Cards, and a Menu of Follow-on Activities in Different Intelligence Areas, Audrey C. Rule and Sarah M. Vander Zanden
Learn about Physical Environments, Jodi Russell, Marlene Weber, and Jan Jauhiainen
Southeast: A Region of Cultural Diversity, Deloris Ryan
Where in the World are You?, Carri Sawyer
Visiting Mesopotamia, K. Schmidt and A. Garman
The Location Theme of Geography Using the World Cup, Gloria Schmitz
Biomes, Heather Schoenwetter
Best Crop, Bill Schwarz
The Silk Road: The Trans-Eurasian Movement of Goods, Ideas, Art, Science, and Innovation, Lisa Senne
Glass Factory Lab, Scott Severson
Common Threads and Surprises? Messages in the National Anthems of the World, Kenny Shannon
Geography Saves America! The Battle of Gettysburg, Kenny Shannon
Common Cents, Dawn Shattuck
La Historia de Nuestras Vidas: A Cultural Awareness Lesson Through Immigration Stories, Dawn Shattuck
We're Going to Chile - Now What?, Dawn Shattuck
Reading a Map in Any Language, Dawn Shattuck and Kathy Sundstedt
Scrubbing the Skunk, Tim Sheeley
Nigerian Transportation Through Mathematics, Aaron Shields
An Introduction to Child Soldiers: Causes and Effects, Jen Slagel
Should I Wear This or That?, Jennifer Slagel
Iowa and its Farming during World War II, Dennis Smeltzer, Pat Brown, and Carmen Nimmo
Mapping MS/HS H-LP Grounds, Travis Sprague
Mystery Class for Math, David Sundstedt
An Illustrated Monsoon, Kathy Sundstedt
Comparing the Wisdom of Places: Nigerian Yoruba Proverbs and Colonial American Proverbs of Benjamin Franklin, Kathy Sundstedt
Gunga Din: Using Literature to Understand India's Colonial Past, Kathy Sundstedt
Monsoons: A Three Season Play, Kathy Sundstedt
Understanding the Wisdom of a People, Kathy Sundstedt
Reading a Map in Any Language, Kathy Sundstedt and Dawn Brown
World Food Programme/Country Comparison, Julia Swallow
Urban/Suburban/Rural Communities, Maegan Swick
Highland OSAE: Observation, Speculation, Analysis, Evaluation, Carrie Taylor
Are Your Electronic Products Fueling the Deadliest War in the World?, Kimberly Thielen-Metcalf
How ‘Bout Them Hawks!, Julie Tremmel
Iowa History: Cemeteries, Deb Tulley
Introduction through Latitude and Longitude, Tamara Tyrrell
Mapping History, Linda Vanden Bosch
Who Are We? Local Geography: Hull, Iowa, Rob Van’t Land
Geocaching to Review for Assessment, Benjamin (BJ) VanVleet
Found Treasure Mural, Jessi Vickers
Creating Detail in the Settling of a Short Story Using Geography, Deborah Vroom
Trees, Rodney Wallace
Traffic Flow in Nigeria, Dan Walsh
Nasir, a Bangladesh Driver, Jane Watson
Plastic Bags Contest - Bangladesh vs. USA, Jane Watson
Here Today... Here Tomorrow???: Biodegradable Experiment, Kristi Watson
Conflict and Cooperation in Nigeria: A Dilemma, Dr. Kay Weller
Desertification, Fulani Herders, and Ecosystems in Nigeria, Dr. Kay Weller
Fiction, Geography, and Migration, Dr. Kay Weller
Generating Comic Books Teach about Quilts as Maps, Dr. Kay Weller
Nigeria and Africa: Using Mental Maps to Organize Information, Dr. Kay Weller
Population vs. Natural Resources in Nigeria, Dr. Kay Weller
Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt: The Real Story, Dr. Kay Weller
Developing a Sense of Place Through India's Diversity: Using a Structured Discussion and Role-Play, Kay Weller
Getting Familiar with Mapping, Susan Wernimont, Jayne Meyer, Carl Meyers, and Beth Jarding
Continent Comparisons with Research Tools, Todd Wernimont
Where Do Zebras Live?, Dawn Wiley
Mapping the Crusades, Janet K. Wills
Geographic Impact on Population Density, Mona Yanacheak
Submissions from 2011
Creative Product Problem-solving Game, Audrey C. Rule, K. Zhbanova, A. Hileman Webb, Jordan P. Evans, J. S. Schneider, Harun Parpucu, S. Logan, B. Van Meeteren, Z. Alkouri, and Blake S. Ruane
Submissions from 2009
Algebra Rules Object Boxes as an Authentic Assessment Task of Preservice Elementary Teacher Learning in a Mathematics Methods Course, Audrey C. Rule and J. E. Hallagan
Making Cereal Box Dioramas of Native American Historic Homes and Culture, Audrey C. Rule and Lois A. Lindell
Creating, Evaluating, and Improving Humorous Cartoons Related to Design Principles for Gifted Education Programs, Audrey C. Rule and J. S. Schneider
Submissions from 2008
A Menu of Activities in Different Intelligence Areas to Differentiate Instruction for Upper Elementary Students Related to the Book Because of Winn-Dixie, Caroline F. Elser and Audrey C. Rule
Teaching High School Age Students with Special Needs the Four Situations for Subtraction, K. A. D. Miller, Audrey C. Rule, and V. M. MacEntee
Three Authentic Curriculum-integration Approaches to Bird Adaptations that Incorporate Technology and Thinking Skills, Audrey C. Rule and M. T. Barrera III
Preservice Elementary Teachers' Images of Inventors, Audrey C. Rule, E. L. Bisbo, and V. Waloven
Hands-on Materials for Teaching about Global Climate Change through Graph Interpretation, Audrey C. Rule, J. E. Hallagan, and B. Shaffer
Humorous Cartoons Made by Preservice Teachers for Teaching Science Concepts to Elementary Students, Audrey C. Rule, D. A. Sallis, and J. A. Donaldson
Submissions from 2007
Rule Making K-2, Regents' Center for Early Developmental Education
Rule Making Pre-K, Regents' Center for Early Developmental Education
Preservice Elementary Teachers Increase Descriptive Science Vocabulary by Making Descriptive Adjective Object Boxes, Audrey C. Rule, S. Crisafulli, H. DeCare, T. DeLeo, K. Eastman, E. Farrell, J. Geblein, C. Gioia, A. Joyce, Kaylea M. Killian, K. Knoop, A. LaRocca, K. Meyer, J. Miller, V. Roth, J. Throo, J. Van Arsdale, and M. Walker
Air Masses, STORM Project
Air Pressure and Weather, STORM Project
Be Particular About our Matter!, STORM Project
Carbon Dioxide in the Atmosphere, STORM Project
Clouds Over Your Head, STORM Project
Concentration is Essential for this Task!: An Activity in Comparing of Concentrations, STORM Project
Decoding METAR Data, STORM Project
Do the Dewpoint!, STORM Project
Drawing Isobars, STORM Project
Drawing Isotherms, STORM Project
