Identifying and obtaining materials for a course begins with clarifying our course learning goals and objectives. Doing this helps us align materials to our goals and objectives. The process often involves searching for and selecting textbooks, primary sources, guides, and other supplementary materials. McKeachie's Teaching Tips offers the following tips making the process easier and tied to student learning (McKeachie, 1999, p. 13):

1. Select three to five primary materials/texts to review. Select on the basis of what colleagues choose or by reading reviews
2. Select 2 or 3 of your learning objectives. See how the material/text addresses these objectives and assess whether it will facilitate student learning
3. Read a chapter covering content that you do know well and another chapter covering content you are unfamiliar with. Assess how well the material/text communicates key concepts and ideas

Identifying and Obtaining Materials from DePaul

Information on ordering texts from the DePaul University bookstore.

Course Reserves Assistant at the DePaul library.

Digital collections at the DePaul library, including:

• Images
• Postcards
• Architectural photographs
• Geographic images
• Lincoln Park neighborhood collection

Chicago collection at the DePaul library. An extensive book-based reference collection about the city of Chicago. It includes history, politics, art and architecture, sociology, and a wide range of other topics relating to the local metropolitan area.

Linking to library images in Blackboard . A PDF guide courtesy of ITD.

Multimedia for online delivery can be developed with the support from Instructional Design and Development.

Teaching and learning copyright guidelines. University policy from the Office of Academic Affairs.

Teaching Resources: The DePaul University Art Museum

Identifying and Obtaining Materials from Outside Sources

Syllabus Finder from George Mason University. Searchable catalogue of over 1.9 million syllabi. Use this tool to find materials that colleagues in your field are using in their courses.

Faculty Center. A source for comprehensive information about the college textbook universe.

Textbooks in perspective . A guide from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, covering questions you should ask when choosing a textbook.

Open Educational Resources (OER). Open Educational Resources are teaching and learning materials that you may freely use and reuse, without charge

Connexions. A place to view and share educational material made of small knowledge chunks called modules that can be organized as courses, books, reports, etc.

Numerous course lectures, videos, audio, and supplementary material are available on Apple's iTunes U (Requires iTunes software)

Public domain text, video, and audio materials are also available on sites such as Project Gutenberg or the Internet Archive.

Tips on Identifying Materials

How to Choose Course Materials from Western Kentucky University. Checklist of items that will help identify appropriate materials for a course.

Review/Desk Copies

Review copies, also known as desk copies or examination copies, are offered by many textbook publishers. Many are free of charge as long as the textbook is being considered as a textbook for a course.

A number of major publishers such as McGraw-Hill, SAGE Publications, Pearson, O'Reilly, and Wiley have information on obtaining review copies on their respective websites.

Additional Readings and Resources

McKeachie, W. (1999). McKeachie's Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and University Teachers (10th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.