Online Learning Resource Center (OLRC) for CTE

Online Learning Instructional Content for Business Post-Secondary Educators

Accounting

Accountingfly
FREE - Accounting employment website for finding internships, remote, hybrid, and traditional accounting positions.

Accounting Association
Both FREE and FEE content - AICPA, the largest member organization representing the accounting profession, offers students resources as they prepare to enter accounting. Also useful for CPAs with professional guidance, training, technical resources, and networking opportunities. 

Accounting Principles: A Business Perspective
FREE - Hermanson, Roger H., et al. Accounting Principles: A Business Perspective, BC Campus, 2011. CC BY 3.0 license. Accounting fundamentals course designed for both accounting and non-accounting majors. Section on accounting careers, and concepts are tied to real world examples to aid understanding.

Accounting Why
FREE - Offers student resources for assessing accounting career options, reviewing opportunities and salary potential, and understanding what becoming a CPA entails. Contains an educator site with lesson plans, and games and interactive activities to increase student engagement.

Introduction to Financial Accounting: U.S. GAAP Adaptation
FREE - Annand, David, et al. Introduction to Financial Accounting, Lyryx, 2019. CC BY-NC-SA license. Designed as a first course in financial accounting, focusing on fundamentals needed for intermediate accounting. Online homework included.

Financial Acacounting OER
FREE - Financial Accounting, University of Minnesota, 2016. CC BY-NC-ND license. Text uses the Socratic method and is appropriate for an undergraduate or MBA level financial accounting course.

Khan Academy: Accounting and Financial Statements
FREE - Khan Academy presents lessons in video format, covering cash and accrual accounting, financial statements, and depreciation and amortization. Basic exercises included.

Lumen Learning
FEE - Luman offers high-quality digital teaching and learning tools. OER based course content covers fundamentals of financial accounting.  

AICPA: Accounting Education Center
FREE and FEE based membership and services - American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) offers resources and classroom materials for accounting educators. Topics include financial and management accounting, auditing, business valuaton, ethics, fraud and forensics, personal finance and tax.

Accounting Coach
FREE and one-time FEE - Accounting Coach offers core competencies accounting education. Video training, flash cards, visual tutorials, tests and coaching, cheat sheets, business forms, progress tracking and certificates available with fee.

Managerial Accounting
FREE - Heisinger, Kurt and Joe Hoyle, Managerial Accounting, Saylor Academy, 2012. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license. Efficient managerial accounting text with review problems, and concepts tied to real organizations.

Principles of Accounting
FREE - Principles of Accounting textbook, with practice sets and problem solutions. Supplemental videos for each chapter, as well as MyExceLab, which uses Excel to learn financial and managerial accounting.

Principles of Financial Accounting
FREE - Jonick, Christine. Principles of Financial Accounting, University of North Georgia Press, 2017. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. Introductory text covering basic financial principles. Includes capstone experiences.

Accounting Today
FREE - Accounting Today offers tools, resources, podcasts and news for the accounting and tax professional. Topics cover accounting, audit, tax, technology, practice management, and financial planning.

Principles of Accounting Volume 2 Managerial Accounting
FREE - Graybeal, Patty, et al. Managerial Accounting, OpenStax, 2019. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. Managerial accounting portion of a two semester course designed to cover financial and managerial accounting for both accounting majors and non-accounting majors.

Principles of Accounting Volume 1 Financial Accounting
FREE - Franklin, Mitchell, et al. Financial Accounting, OpenStax, 2019. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. Financial accounting portion of a two semester course designed to cover financial and managerial accounting for both accounting majors and non-majors.

Business

Business Ethics Cases – Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
FREE - Ethics case studies on intellectual property, downsizing, bribery, sourcing, and other topics in business ethics, ethical leadership, and corporate governance.

HP Life
FREE - HP Life offers skills based training for entrepreneurs, business owners, and those who want to secure a better job. Topics include communications, business startup and innovation, finance, marketing, and operations, and classes are available in multiple languages.

Entrepreneur Magazine
Limited FREE articles and webinars, with Subscription Fee for unlimited access to all materials, including Entrepreneur magazine. Video content from tips for launching a business, to brand development and obtaining expert business inspiration - additional sections on opportunities, and book recommendations.

Fundamentals of Business Textbook
FREE - Skripak, Stephen J. Fundamentals of Business, Second Edition, VT Publishing, 2018. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. One semester introduction to business course, covering basic business topics from teamwork, motivation, ethics and entrepreneurship, to human resources and unions.

Introduction to Business Textbook
FREE - Gitman, Lawrence J., et al. Introduction to Business, OpenStax, 2018. CC BY 3.0 license. Introduction to business coverage spanning ethics, entrepreneurship, customer focus, global business and managing change. Real business examples in every chapter.

Management Communication
FREE - Thomas, Lisa, et al. Management Communication, The Marriott School at Brigham Young University, 2017. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license. How to communicate your best ideas to your most important audiences. Spans business writing, job interviewing, leading and networking.

Lumen Boundless Business
FREE - OER business courses curated by Boundless and maintained by Lumen. Quiz files and lecture slides available.

Organizational Behavior
FREE - Black, J. Stewart, et al. Organizational Behavior, OpenStax, 2019. CC BY 4.0 license. Textbook covers theories, concepts, and applications and the impact individuals and groups have on organizational performance and culture.

Principles of Management
FREE - Bright, David S., et al. Principles of Management, OpenStax, 2019. CC BY 4.0 license. Traditional approach to management using the leading, planning, organizing and controlling approach - includes human resources management, strategy and motivation.

Principles of Management
FREE - Principles of Management, University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing, 2010. CC BY-NC-ND license. Management fundamentals course focusing on strategy, entrepreneurship, and active leadership.

Strategic Management
FREE - Morris, John. Strategic Management, Oregon State University, 2019. CC BY-NC 4.0 license. Provides a framework for how organizations create a business strategy to meet goals and objectives - from planning, organizing, and leading to controlling.

Business and Marketing

Adobe Education
FREE - Adobe's learning platform with classes, workshops, and resources for educators. Resources are broken out by grade level and topic, and include projects, lesson plans, and tips on creating engaging and interactive presentations.

Business Ethics Textbook
FREE - Byars, Stephen M. Business Ethics, OpenStax, 2018. CC BY 4.0 license. Text is designed for a one semester business ethics course, and includes case studies, application scenarios and links to executive interview videos. Both student and instructor materials available.

Inc. Magazine
FREE content, and Subscription Fee for additional services - Inc. is a magazine dedicated to owners and managers of growing private companies. Content includes small business ideas, information and inspiration, as well as practical advice on marketing, sales, management and finance.

MindTools
FREE and FEE - MindTools offers a complete toolkit of resources for personal and professional development. Articles, podcasts, videos, tools, and resources span core skills around personal productivity, leadership and management.

MindTools Team Building Toolkit
FREE and FEE - MindTools Team Building Toolkit includes strategies for helping new teams perform effectively, quickly. Covers team formation, team building exercises, team roles, and building trust.

RubinEducation
Subscription FEE for on-line training for business communication skills - provides access to all materials and courses, including videos, writing templates, reading materials and worksheets, lesson plans, online quizzes and certifications. FREE trial for educators.

SBA
Business courses for entrepreneurship education.

Shopify
FREE trial with annual FEE - Ecommerce platform with many free tools to start a business, sell and market your product, and grow. Some example tools include logo maker, business name generator, and slogan maker.

Finance

NextGen
FREE - Personal finance courses, as well as professional development for educators. Includes arcade games, a video library and teacher tool kit and certification options.

Hospitality and Tourism 

United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)
FREE - With a focus on the promotion of responsible, sustainable, and universally accessible tourism, content is available in multiple languages and provides access to courses, webinars and resources. Contains tourism news and international data trends.

U.S. Travel Association
FREE - U.S. travel news and research from the U.S. Travel Association, and FEE based services. Free content includes current issues, emerging trends and insights, and recovery resources.

Global Sustainable Tourism Council
FREE and FEE based - GSTC manages global standards for sustainable travel and tourism, and acts as a accreditation body for sustainable tourism certification. Paid courses available, but certification guidelines and news are free.

National Restaurant Association
FREE and FEE based subscription content - Largest food service trade association in the world - provides news, research and trends for the food and beverage industry. Also includes content on restaurant management, from sales to operations.

Travel Daily News
FREE - International travel news, interviews, trends and destination highlights. News is also available by geographic region.

Travel Pulse
FREE - Daily news on tourism, with content spanning current events to policy impacting tourism. Includes articles, blogs and videos, and the Magazine section content is broken out by cruise lines, hotels, tourism, and travel agents and tour operators.

Hotel News Now
FREE - Daily news on the hotel industry in the US, UK, and Canada - covers current events, trends, listings, and outlook. FEE based options for additional services and some analytics.

STR
FREE and FEE based services - STR provides premium data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights for global hospitality sectors for a fee. Access to the News and Resources sections are free, and sign up is available for a newsletter and reader specific topics of interest.

World Travel and Tourism Council
FREE - Access to research on tourism in more than 185 countries, through articles, blogs, and past webinars - newsletter signup is free, and topics of interest can be specified. Key information includes insights, trends, economic impact research and policy making.

American Hotel & Lodging Association
FREE - US Hotel and Lodging Association provides Newsroom, and Research & Industry Resources sections on industry trends, growth and the overall industry landscape. PAID Data & Resources Center for Members Only.

Skift
FREE - Online daily news from the travel and tourism industry, and a daily newsletter covering global travel industry news and existing and emerging trends, is available on sign up. Subscription FEE for data reports and additional research.

Marketing

Advertising Principles
FREE - Advertising Principles is an evidence-based site summarizing empirical research on advertising. Goal is to enable learners to persuade through advertising and present in an accessible manner.

Canva
FREE - Canva is a graphic design platform. Contains design posters, infographics, logos, social media graphics and more.

Effie Worldwide Case Studies
FREE and FEE based services - Effie is a nonprofit education organization focused on effective marketing. Contains summaries, videos and and a database of case studies on effective marketing strategies, ideas, and results.

Idealist
FREE - Employment site for those interested in working for nonprofits. Idealist offers internships, jobs, and employment resources.

Marketing Teacher
FREE - Offers an abundance of marketing lessons, videos, resources and examples, with exercises and answers. Topics cover multiple areas of marketing - including international and small business, advertising, and consumer behavior.

Marketing Week
FREE and FEE subscription - UK based marketing news, trends, reports, jobs, and information. Topics span strategy, tactics, brands and careers.

How to Build Your Own Brand From Scratch in 7 Steps
FREE - Article captures the process of building a brand in seven steps. Includes helpful exercises and resources, including a reading list, to creatively build brand identity.

What is Branding? How To Build A Successful Brand In 6 Steps
FREE - Entertaining video describing a simple six step process for brand building. Includes a free How to Build a Brand Template, free course, and helpful resources.

How to Build a Brand Template
FREE - Downloadable template that accompanies the How To Build a Brand Template video. Step-by-step plan to building a brand for all customer touch points.

Claritas Prizm
FREE - Market data including a zip code lookup tool and market segment breakouts by consumer behavior, geographic, and demographic data - as well as blogs, podcasts, and additional resources. FEE based marketing services for organizations.

Google Skillshop
FREE - Training for those interested in using Google professional tools and solutions. Includes certifications.

Lumen Boundless Business
FREE - OER business courses curated by Boundless and maintained by Lumen. Quiz files and lecture slides available.

Mark Ritson
FREE - Marketing lessons and cases presented by marketing professional, Mark Ritson. Mark uses 50 years of Effie case studies to analyze and educate on effective marketing strategies.

Principles of Marketing
FREE - Principles of Marketing, University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing, 2015. CC BY-NC-ND license. Marketing text focus on service, sustainability, ethics and social responsibility, global coverage and metrics.

Social Media Marketing Podcast

Smithsonian Learning Lab
FREE - the Smithsonian Museum’s Learning Lab provides distance learning resources that allows educators to create or use shared digital resources. Materials are drawn from the Smithsonian’s museums, research centers, and the National Zoo.

Trendwatching
FREE - Trend Updates and Innovation of the Day. FEE - for Trend Watching Premium, a guide for trend driven strategy and innovation tools, and Trend Watching Academy, a self paced course on purpose driven innovation.

TED Talks
FREE - TED is a nonprofit with a mission to spread ideas. Short powerful talks covering science, business and current events are available in more than 100 languages.

The Power of Selling
FREE - Richmond, Kimberly. The Power of Selling, Saylor Academy, 2012. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 license. Learn about how to be successful in sales through lessons from highly successful sales professionals. Includes video ride-alongs with select professionals.

The Social Dilemma Discussion and Action Guide
FREE - Discussion and action prompts to delve deeper into the social issues surfaced in the Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma. Also contains an Event Planning Guide with tips and tools for holding an impactful event around these topics.

Marketing, Business, and Personal Finance

How I Built This with Guy Raz
FREE - NPR podcast. Guy Raz interviews entrepreneurs, innovators, and idealists about the businesses and brands they built.

Stukent
FREE - Access to instructors to test drive the courseware, and schedule a demo. Subscription FEE for marketing, business, and personal finance simulations, e-textbooks, and coursework.

 

To provide feedback on OLRC or suggest other resources to be added, please send an email to OLRCfeedback@minnstate.edu.