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Agricultural Sciences: Open Educational Resources

This Library Guide is an instructional pathfinder for students and faculty of Austin Community College's Agricultural Sciences program.

What are Open Educational Resources (OER)?

"Open Educational Resources" by Ron Mader is licensed under CC BY 2.0

OER are teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and re-purposing by others. ~ William & Flora Hewlett Foundation

For a more comprehensive overview on OER, see:

  • Open Educational Resources - a guide designed to assist faculty in the exploration, identification, selection and adoption of Open Educational Resources.

 

Sample OER Resources in Agricultural Sciences

close up of wheat

"Agriculture" by PublicDomainPictures.Net is in the Public Domain

This is a sample of several OER agricultural science textbooks or course materials available. Additional OER in your subject may be found by searching the resources listed on the ACC Libraries primary Open Educational Resources Guide.

  • Open Textbook Library - this list was created by doing a keyword search for agriculture. 
  • OER Commons - filtered by subject Forestry & Agriculture and community college resources.
  • Skills Commons - consists of lots of course materials for agriculture. Try specific searching (ex. blueberry) to find information on a subject.
  • MERLOT - many, MANY, resources using the keyword agriculture. Pay close attention to the dates - some of these were originally from the early 1900s.

Open Access materials, while open under copyright, can not be modified. Here are a list of Agricultural Sciences materials:

  • AgEcon Search - this non-profit collects journal articles, working papers, and conference proceedings from academic institutions, government and non-government agencies, and professional associations. Proceed with caution: most of this material appears to be old.
  • OASIS - organized by type of material, this extensive list includes videos, books, and even an audiobook!
  • Mason OER Metafinder - searches up to 21 different OER resources to find material. Suggested keyword: agriculture.
  • Beyond Fresh: a food processing guide for Texas farmers is a free publication featuring collaboration between Texas farmers, quite a few of them from the Elgin area!
  • Bumble Bees of Unama'ki by Hannak Kosick - this "all things bees" guide walks you through creating a natural space for your favorite pollinators. Take the quiz at the end to test your knowledge.
  • Drones in Agriculture - from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, this free e-book will provides an overview on using your drone in the field. You must register to download.
  • Gender, Food, and COVID-19 - Open Access book detailing the impact COVID-19 had on gender, agriculture, and food systems across the globe. 
  • Save and Grow in Practice: Maize Rice Wheat - guide provides practical application in sustainable crop production for these crops.
  • Vitis-Vea: English language database housed by German Federal Agency all about viticulture. Also houses German language journals on viticulture.
  • Which Winegrape Varieties are Grown Where? by Kym Anderson. This open access article from JSTOR is sure to help you start that winery.

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