Selecting teaching resources for your unit

Select accessible, current and inclusive resources to support student success.

Monash University Library can support you in choosing teaching resources that are easy for students to access and help reduce costs.

Choose alternatives to commercial textbooks

Commercial textbooks can be expensive, even if they are in digital format. Not all students can afford them. They may also be unavailable or have access limitations through the Monash University Library due to publisher licensing restrictions. This can disadvantage some students and hinder their academic progress.

You can help improve student access and equity by choosing these options:

• Open educational resources (OERs) – they have licences that allow them to be freely accessed, reused, adapted, and shared at no cost. Our librarians can help you find and evaluate suitable OERs for your teaching.
• Open-access resources – free for anyone to read
• Journal articles available through Monash University Library subscription
• Book chapters from print and ebooks – under the copyright licence, the Library can digitise one chapter or 10% of a print book and make it available in your Leganto reading list. This service is available for required or recommended items not held by the Library, or where the title is only available in print. Ebook chapters can be linked directly in your Leganto reading list.

Check if readings are current

Make sure readings are up to date, especially when reusing a reading list from a previous teaching period.

• Check for new editions of required or recommended textbooks. Earlier editions may still be appropriate where the content remains relevant.
• Library search includes a filter for items that are new to the Library.
• Librarians can also help you set up alerts in Library databases to notify you of new resources in your area of interest.

Choose accessible formats

Uploading self‑scanned PDFs to Moodle can breach copyright. It can also result in poor‑quality scans that are not accessible to screen‑reader users. Instead, add the chapter to your Leganto reading list. The Library can then organise a copyright-compliant copy that better meets accessibility standards.

For open access resources, link to the webpage rather than directly to the PDF where possible. Learn more about adding web pages and other online resources in Leganto using the Cite It! tool or the Manual entry option.

Incorporate diverse perspectives

Review your reading list to identify opportunities to include diverse knowledge and perspectives.

To enhance your inclusive teaching practices, include materials that reflect a range of races, genders, sexualities, abilities and cultures, where appropriate for your teaching intention. Choose materials that use respectful language and avoid stereotyping.

Incorporate Indigenous knowledges and perspectives

You may wish to consider including resources that reflect Indigenous knowledges, perspectives and pedagogies. These resources can help create a more inclusive learning environment and support students’ cultural knowledge and understanding.

A good place to start is the AIATSIS Guide to evaluating and selecting education resources (pdf). It offers a clear, well-structured framework for assessing Indigenous materials.

This also supports Monash’s commitment to Indigenous knowledges and culturally respectful teaching. These priorities are outlined in the Monash Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Framework (2019–2030).

Be mindful of content overload

Too many readings can lead to cognitive overload and engagement fatigue. They can also create cost barriers for some students. Set clear expectations about required and recommended readings to help students prioritise their workload and focus on essential materials.

The analytics feature in Leganto provides real-time data on how students use readings. Use this data to inform your decisions about reading selections.

Get help from the Library