Textbook Collections
The following sites contain open textbooks in a variety of subject areas, but the links below will take you directly to the textbooks about biology. This is by no means an exhaustive list!
- Biology (Bookboon)Bookboon.com contains free eBooks and textbooks that can be downloaded as a pdf; no registration needed. These books cannot be altered, but can be freely printed, shared, or embedded in non-commercial ways. They are intended only for individuals, colleges, and schools.
- Natural & Physical Sciences (Open Textbook Library)These books have been reviewed by faculty from a variety of colleges and universities to assess their quality. These books can be downloaded for no cost, or printed at low cost. All textbooks are either used at multiple higher education institutions; or affiliated with an institution, scholarly society, or professional organization.
- Life Sciences (InTech)InTech publishes more than 2,300 open textbooks and 6 journals in a variety of subjects that fall under the heading of science, technology, and medicine.
- Science (OpenStax)Open source textbooks that are written by professional content developers who are experts in their fields and undergo a rigorous peer review process. All textbooks meet standard scope and sequence requirements.
Other Types of Open Resources
- Biology (MIT Open Courseware)MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW) is a web-based publication of virtually all MIT course content. OCW is open and available to the world and is a permanent MIT activity.
- Biology (Saylor Academy)Saylor Academy contains full courses, including syllabi, readings, quizzes, and more.
- Open Course LibraryThe Open Course Library (OCL) is a collection of shareable course materials, including syllabi, course activities, readings, and assessments designed by teams of college faculty, instructional designers, librarians, and other experts. Some of their materials are paired with low cost textbooks ($30 or less). Many of the courses can be taught at no cost to students.
- Biology (Open Learn)Open Learn is an initiative of The Open University, UK. It provides supplemental materials for educators, including articles, podcasts, videos, games, and much more. In addition, it offers more than 700 free online classes.
- Biology (MERLOT)MERLOT is a curated collection of free and open online teaching, learning, and faculty development services contributed and used by an international education community. The MERLOT Collection is made up of over 40,000 materials in 19 different material type categories.
- OER CommonsOER Commons helps educators, students, and lifelong learners avoid time-consuming searches and find exactly the right materials. With a single point of access from which they can search, browse, and evaluate resources in OER Commons’ growing collection of over 50,000 high-quality OER everyone can more efficiently find what they need.
- Biology (HippoCampus)Hippocampus offers educators a wide variety of multimedia content online, including videos, animations, and simulations. An additional feature offers educators the ability to create "playlists" for their students, which correlate specifically to their particular instruction material.
Featured Textbooks
Biology
Senior Contributing Authors
Connie Rye, East Mississippi Community College
Robert Wise, University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh
Vladimir Jurukovski, Suffolk County Community College
Jean DeSaix, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Jung Choi, Georgia Institute of Technology
Yael Avissar, Rhode Island College
Concepts of Biology
Senior Contributing Authors:
Samantha Fowler, Clayton State University
Rebecca Roush, Sandhills Community College
James Wise, Hampton University
Anatomy and Physiology
Senior Contributing Authors
Kelly A. Young, California State University, Long Beach
J. Gordon Betts, Tyler Junior College
Peter DeSaix, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Eddie Johnson, Central Oregon Community College
Jody E. Johnson, Arapahoe Community College
Oksana Korol, Aims Community College
Dean H. Kruse, Portland Community College
Brandon Poe, Springfield Technical Community College
James A. Wise, Hampton University
Mark Womble, Youngstown State University
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