2026 Open Education Conference

As education shifts toward skills-based learning and credentials, a critical question emerges: what lies in the space between open education and workforce-aligned recognition? This panel explores that space where values of openness intersect with the growing demand for verifiable, skills-based credentials. Panelists from community colleges, universities, and international open education leadership will share perspectives on how open practices can support more transparent, equitable pathways to employment.

Through a high-level demonstration of a microcredential authoring platform and a real-world use case, the Open Financial Services Essentials project, attendees will see how open, skills-based content can be designed, validated, and recognized. Grounded in practice and policy, this session invites participants to consider how we can bridge the gaps between learning and work, and reimagine what is possible when openness meets skills.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Articulate the relationship between open education and skills-based credentials within evolving workforce ecosystems.
• Describe how open practices can support more equitable and transparent pathways from learning to employment.
• Connect policy, practice, and technology to advance open, skills-based credentialing initiatives.

There has been discussion about using generative artificial intelligence (genAI) in open educational practices, but do students actually find it useful? In this presentation, I will share findings from an open pedagogy project in my child development course primarily enrolling first-year college students. Students were tasked with finding research articles to update the citations and improve the representation of work from underrepresented scholars in the open textbook for the course. Students were given the option of using two genAI tools to assist with this process. One was scite.ai which assists with findings scholarly research articles without cost to the student through an institutional subscription. The other was Scispace which provides layperson explanations of research article content and available on a free trial basis. Students reported mixed experiences with the genAI tools with some indicating they were helpful and others finding them unnecessary.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Critique the use of generative AI in open pedagogy.
• Understand an approach to student co-development of open educational resources.
• Evaluate the role of generative AI in student learning.

What does it take to launch and sustain an OER program? This session examines how five community colleges built OER programs from the ground up, with an honest look at the startup and ongoing costs involved. Drawing on a cross-institutional study, presenters will share cost estimates, common patterns, and key differences in how colleges allocated resources. We’ll explore startup ingredients, such as staffing models, faculty incentives, infrastructure investments, and institutional support. Whether you're in early planning stages or looking to expand an existing initiative, you'll leave with real-world examples and a clearer picture of what it actually takes to connect vision to launch.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Identify key cost factors involved in launching and sustaining an OER program.
• Compare case studies of how five community colleges structured and launched their OER programs to recognize common patterns and key differences that can contribute to wider OER adoption and program sustainability.
• Use evidence on OER's academic impact to inform implementation decisions at their institutions.

Generative AI is transforming how students access, produce, and evaluate information, requiring higher education to move toward critical, ethical, and discipline-specific AI literacy. This session introduces Beyond the Podium: AI, Speech, and Civic Voice, a fully accessible OER that embeds AI literacy into introductory public speaking courses to support equitable, future-ready learning.

This project examines what it means to integrate AI literacy not as an add-on, but as a core component of communication pedagogy. Presenters will share how the OER helps students develop as both effective speakers and critical users of generative AI. Designed through cross-unit collaboration among faculty, librarians, and student partners, the OER includes adaptable assignments and activities for broad adoption.

Attendees will gain practical strategies for embedding AI literacy into disciplinary contexts and leveraging OER to expand access, reduce inequities, and support innovative teaching.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Identify strategies for embedding AI literacy into discipline-specific courses, particularly within public speaking courses.
• Describe how OER can be used to promote equitable access to AI knowledge, tools, and skill development for diverse student populations.
• Apply a collaborative, cross-unit model to develop scalable, adaptable teaching materials that support AI literacy and open pedagogy.

The motivations and practices that instructors bring to open education can vary widely, particularly for those interested in publishing open textbooks. Institutional and disciplinary norms can influence how authors approach their textbook’s content, design, and format choice. In this panel, four OER authors across the disciplines of Agronomy, Biology, Food Science, and Applied Linguistics will share their experiences developing OER with support from Iowa State University's Digital Press.

In addition to coming from different disciplines, the authors have also taken different approaches to OER development, including adapting existing material, updating and republishing older works, and developing new content from scratch. During the panel, the authors will introduce the audience to their publications, explain their project design priorities, and share lessons learned. The session will conclude with a Q&A to delve deeper into the authors’ experiences.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Identify the steps required to develop an open textbook.
• Describe four different approaches to OER development.
• Reflect on how local support systems and priorities may affect their capacity to develop an OER.
• Apply lessons learned to design or improve their own approach(es) to OER development.

In many courses, “do your own research” assignments are intended to build scientific identity—but they can unintentionally amplify barriers for learners who experience executive function challenges, anxiety, or uncertainty in open-ended tasks. This session shares an open, adaptable assignment sequence that pairs open science platforms (e.g., Zooniverse, Figshare, Zenodo, public datasets) with genAI as a learning partner for planning and task initiation—without positioning AI as a writing shortcut. Participants will see the midterm-to-final scaffold (planning roadmap → multimodal presentation), examples of student pathways (citizen science, dataset modeling, usability evaluation), and strategies for keeping AI use optional, transparent, and ethically grounded. Attendees will leave with reusable prompts, learning outcomes, and an implementation checklist to support accessible, authentic inquiry in their own disciplinary context.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Identify and evaluate an open science resource or dataset for use in a course-based inquiry assignment.
• Design a scaffolded student research “on-ramp” that supports planning, task initiation, and iterative exploration.
• Integrate AI tools responsibly as optional learning partners for brainstorming and organization rather than automated writing.
• Create multimodal deliverables (e.g., flexible presentation formats) that emphasize process, reflection, and transparent sourcing.
• Apply inclusive, UDL-aligned choices that improve access for diverse learners while preserving authentic inquiry.

Open educational resources (OERs) are frequently promoted as mechanisms for improving access and equity in higher education, yet comparatively less attention has been paid to how students perceive and engage with OERs when adopted in place of commercial textbooks. This session presents a student‑led research study investigating student perceptions of textbooks and OERs within a large, multi‑degree science unit.

Situated in the space between research and curriculum practice, the study adopts a staged approach to OER adoption in which selected unit themes integrate curated OERs while others retain a traditional prescribed textbook, enabling investigation into student perceptions across different resource contexts.

The session will report findings from survey data and student focus groups, demonstrating how student perceptions of access, engagement, and resource preference can meaningfully inform evidence‑informed OER adoption strategies across disciplines.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Describe how student-led research can meaningfully inform decisions about OER adoption in undergraduate courses.
• Identify key factors shaping student perceptions of textbooks and OERs, including access, engagement, and resource preferences.
• Explain the value of a staged approach to OER adoption for gathering evidence while maintaining curriculum continuity.
• Apply insights from this research design to centre student voice in evidence-informed OER initiatives across disciplines.

This session examines how intentional, multi-sector stakeholder partnerships drive the design, implementation, and scaling of open educational resources. Drawing on a multi-institutional engineering initiative, participants will explore strategies for engaging faculty, industry partners, and students throughout the project lifecycle.

The session will highlight structured approaches to stakeholder involvement, including advisory boards, workshops, peer review processes, and continuous feedback loops that inform content development. Emphasis is placed on how stakeholder input enhances relevance, accessibility, and adoption of OER materials.

Attendees will gain tools for integrating stakeholder engagement into project planning, sustaining collaboration across institutions, and leveraging partnerships to support dissemination and long-term impact. Common challenges such as coordination, incentives, and maintaining engagement will be addressed with actionable, experience-based solutions.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Identify key stakeholder groups essential to the development and adoption of open educational resources across academic and industry contexts.
• Analyze effective strategies for engaging stakeholders throughout the OER project lifecycle, including planning, development, evaluation, and dissemination.
• Evaluate different models of stakeholder collaboration (e.g., advisory boards, workshops, peer review) for their impact on OER quality and adoption.
• Apply practical frameworks to integrate stakeholder feedback into OER design and continuous improvement processes.
• Develop an actionable plan for building and sustaining strategic stakeholder partnerships to support scalable and equitable OER implementation.