You don't have to create all course material yourself from scratch. Many digital resources are available for you and your students to use, some of it free of charge.
Have a textbook for your class?
Consider ordering the book via the IU eTexts program. The IU eTexts program offers electronic textbooks from many publishers at significantly reduced prices. Many eTexts publishers offer digital courseware and learning tools through the IU eTexts program, too.
Some of the benefits of using an eTexts are:
- The Bursar bills students for their textbooks and courseware directly
- Students can access their eTexts directly from your Canvas site
- All your students will have their textbook on the first day of class
- You can direct students to important passages by creating annotations in the textbook that students can view as they read
- eTexts are the only truly contactless method to deliver textbooks
Looking for free and open material?
Open Educational Resources
Many teaching and learning materials—including textbooks for many disciplines—are available free as Open Educational Resources. There are open repositories for other teaching and learning material, too. You can find free and open activities, assignments, videos, and more. Check out the Open Educational Resources page for your campus for resources.
Reading Lists in Canvas
Reading Lists allows instructors to create and manage course reading lists by searching library resources within Canvas and adding readings to their course. As an external tool in Canvas, Reading Lists also lets instructors search library databases for high-quality content, both scholarly and popular, to add to their courses. Instructors can start from a new list or import and edit a previously created list. Learn more about Reading Lists in the IU Knowledge Base.
Make sure you consider accessibility when you evaluate outside material. For example, look for videos that have clear captioning available or provide a transcript. It's also important to verify that non-text content like images and diagrams have appropriate alternative text included.