Open Educational Resources: Searching and Finding OER
On this page
Central portals
DuEPublico
OER created at the UDE can be found on DuEPublico. Filter by subject area, keywords, language, or other criteria.
Moodle
Moodle course rooms can be deposited as OER course units for subsequent use in the “Open UDE” section. Further information can be found in the Moodle Knowledgebase.
ORCA.nrw
In the state portal ORCA.nrw you will find open educational materials for teaching and can share materials with others. Students can use open educational materials and review, deepen or expand their knowledge.
Comprehensive OER search engines
Large search engines covering different OER types and subject areas.
OERSI (as of 02/2025)
- Description: subject-specific, cross-material type search index with international sources (includes DuEPublico, ORCA.nrw, twillo)
- Special features: Filter by subject, material, license, author, institution, language, source
- License: CC licenses, others (PDM, FDL, MIT, GPL)
- Link: https://www.oersi.org/resources/
Openverse (as of 02/2025)
- Description: Cross-disciplinary search index with international sources
- Special features: Stock photos, images and audio files
- License: CC licenses
- Link: https://www.openverse.org/de
OER for the school sector
Especially for teachers at schools with worksheets, teaching materials and more.
ZUM (as of 02/2025)
- Description: Materials for all subjects, exists since 1997
- Special features: there is also a blog and seminars
- License: CC license (CC BY-SA)
- Link: https://www.zum.de/portal
Wir Lernen Online (as of 02/2025)
- Description: Materials for all subjects, exists since 2020
- Special features: Filtering by grade level, resource type, license, etc.; additional information on OER
- Registration: no registration
- License: CC licenses (esp. CC BY & CC BY-SA)
- Link: https://www.wirlernenonline.de/
Mundo Schule (as of 02/2025)
- Description: Materials for all subjects, exists since 2020
- Special features: Filtering by grade level, resource type, license, etc.
- Registration: Optional
- License: CC licenses (esp. CC BY-SA), “Copyright, free access” (individual review of terms of use required)
- Link: https://mundo.schule/
digiLL (as of 02/2025)
- Description: Freely accessible learning modules for various school subjects and application scenarios
- Special features: Offers for participation in OER workshops
- Registration: no registration
- License: CC licenses (in particular CC BY-SA)
- Link: https://digill.de/
Images and graphics under free license
Free images for presentations, teaching materials, and scripts.
Openverse (as of 03/2025)
- Description: more than 800 million stock photos, images, and audio files
- Special features: contains many different sources, including government institutions such as Europeana, the Metropolitan Museum of Art or NASA, but also parts from Wikimedia Commons
- Registration: no registration
- License: CC licenses
- Link: https://openverse.org/de
Wikimedia Commons (as of 03/2025)
- Description: more than 115 million images, videos, audio files and 3D models
- Special features: Part of the Wikimedia family, so you can participate, e.g. with the various challenges
- Registration: no registration (except for participation)
- License: CC licenses (CC Public Domain Mark, CC0, CC BY, CC BY-SA)
- Link: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
Pexels (as of 03/2025)
- Description: photos, images and videos
- Special features: filtering by license is not possible
- Registration: no registration
- License: CC license (CC0) and own content licenses; ratio unknown; CC licenses are marked; pay attention to the license information when using; these may change!
- Link: https://www.pexels.com/de-de/
OpenMoji (as of 03/2025)
- Description: more than 4,000 emojis
- Special features: an OpenSource project of the HfG Schwäbisch Gmünd; PNG and SVG files can be downloaded
- Registration: no registration
- License: CC BY-SA 4.0
- Link: https://openmoji.org/
Openclipart (as of 03/2025)
- Description: more than 180,000 cliparts
- Special features: all clipart can be downloaded as SVG files
- Registration: no registration required
- License: CC license (CC0)
- Link: https://openclipart.org
pxhere (as of 03/2025)
- Description: Images and stock photos
- Special features: You must observe the personal rights
- Registration: no registration
- License: CC license (CC0)
- Link: https://pxhere.com/
Cocomaterial (as of 03/2025)
- Description: over 3,000 hand-drawn illustrations
- Special features: there are also fonts
- Registration: no registration
- License: CC license (CC0)
- Link: https://cocomaterial.com/
Public Domain Vectors (as of 03/2025)
- Description: approx. 70,000 vector images
- Special features: there is an SVG generator and an SVG editor
- Registration: no registration
- License: CC license (CC0)
- Link: https://publicdomainvectors.org/
Videos and interactive media
Educational videos, animations, and simulations for integration into lessons.
Wikimedia Commons (as of 03/2025)
- Description: more than 115 million images, videos, audio files and 3D models
- Special features: Part of the Wikimedia family, so you can participate, e.g. with the various challenges
- Registration: no registration (except for participation)
- License: CC licenses (CC Public Domain Mark, CC0, CC BY, CC BY-SA)
- Link: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
Open Learn Ware (as of 03/2025)
- Description: a platform with open lectures and presentations from TU Darmstadt; currently almost 4,500 materials
- Special features: Content from the engineering sciences, natural sciences, humanities and interdisciplinary content; content can be viewed online
- Registration: no registration required
- License: CC licenses
- Link: https://openlearnware.tu-darmstadt.de/
Youtube (as of 03/2025)
- Description: Online video platform with several billion videos; from amateur videos to professional productions
- Special features: largest and most used video portal in the world
- Registration: no registration required to watch
- License: by default according to the terms of use, partly CC licenses
- Link: https://www.youtube.com/
TIB AV-Portal (as of 03/2025)
- Description: Portal with scientific videos
- Special features: spoken text, text overlays and image information are also queried in search queries; annotations and transcripts available
- Registration: no registration required, advanced options available with registration
- License: CC licenses, other licenses
- Link: https://av.tib.eu/
3D objects and digital models
Sketchfab (as of 04/2025)
- Description: Platform for managing and distributing 3D models and AR content
- Special features: Possibility to present your own 3D models
- Registration: Partly necessary
- License: CC licenses, other licenses
- Link: https://sketchfab.com/
Smithsonian Open Access (as of 04/2025)
- Description: Portal with downloadable 3D objects
- Special features: one of the largest museum and research centers in the world with 3D content for free use in educational and research contexts
- Registration: no registration required
- License: CC licenses, other licenses
- Link: https://www.si.edu/
NASA 3D Resources (as of 04/2025)
- Description: Portal with 3D models, textures, and images from space exploration
- Special features: Provision in various file formats, integration of models in VR, AR, and computer games possible
- Registration: no registration
- License: Own guidelines, usually attribution, restrictions on use of the logo and commercial use
- Link: https://nasa3d.arc.nasa.gov/
Augmented Reality App der UDE (as of 04/2025)
- Description: Innovative app for integrating interactive 3D models, texts or videos into the real world
- Special features: intuitive to use; no prior knowledge required; interdisciplinary development by the Center for Information and Media Services (ZIM) with teachers and researchers at UDE; embedding in teaching concepts to illustrate complex processes, e.g. natural science processes, technical processes or historical processes. processes, technical processes or historical contexts
- Registration: Download, pending (currently prototype)
- License: pending
- Link: https://www.uni-due.de/zim/augmented_learning/
Moodle courses and learning platforms
ORCA.nrw (as of 04/2025)
- Description: Portal for open educational materials in university teaching
- Special features: Theme worlds available as collections of OER materials on a specific subject area
- Registration: no registration
- License: CC licenses
- Link: https://www.orca.nrw/
MoodleNet (as of 04/2025)
- Description: Social media platform for educators to share and curate OER
- Special features: open exchange of the Moodle community with access to resources
- Registration: can be viewed without registration, registration required for active participation
- License: CC licenses
- Link: https://moodle.net/
H5P-Kursbibliotheken (as of 04/2025)
- Description: Platform for the introduction to H5P and provision of interactive H5P content
- Special features: Examples available for download; detailed instructions on content types; possibility to create your own interactive H5P content
- Registration: can be viewed and used without registration, registration required to create and manage your own content
- License: CC BY 4.0, MIT/GPL (Software)
- Link: https://h5p.org/
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Training & Support
If you are interested in a more in-depth consultation or training for yourself and/or others, you can find information on our “Training & Support” subpage.