2026 Open Education Conference

This study bridges academia, industry, and public sectors through OER development for municipal drinking water workforces. We created learning modules for continuing education, co-developed with industry professionals. These modules are built by and with users, closely considering their end use throughout the creation process. We show that while OERs advance accessibility for learners, digital commoning through boundary organizations also ensures that users can contribute to or create content that reflects their community’s concerns, historical knowledge, and specific skills.

The presentation reports on use of Gala, an open educational tool, to collaboratively design learning modules on water flushing and disinfectant by-products for water utility professionals. These modules were conceived in university partnerships with civic utilities, developed and beta-tested in partnership with boundary organization The Water Tower via a networkshop and in-person piloting in Spring 2026.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Understand the importance of bridging academic and technical pedagogical pathways, particularly for the public sector.
• Ideate a method of collaborating with intersectoral partners to develop learning tools intended for workforce development and on-the-job training.
• Understand the co-creation process for building OERs, from research and early development, to alpha and beta testing, to piloting and launching.
• Participate in educational digital commons through Gala as a platform for hosting collaborative and living case studies.

This presentation introduces a multi-campus OER Advocacy Student Fellowship Program across five California State University campuses. Initially funded by a Michelson 20MM Spark Grant, the initiative centers student voices by preparing undergraduate fellows to lead advocacy for OER. Student Fellows receive training, mentorship, and institutional support to design and implement campus-based projects while collaborating on a statewide advocacy effort, such as a policy proposal to the California State Student Association. The program also strengthens the CSU’s Affordable Learning Solutions (AL$) framework by meaningfully integrating student leadership, expanding opportunities for student engagement and impact.

Attendees will hear from both the faculty coordinators and the student Fellows themselves about the program’s design, implementation, and early outcomes, as well as strategies for scaling a sustainable, student-led OER advocacy model across higher education systems.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Understand the fellowship model: Participants can describe the structure, goals, and key components of a multi-campus fellowship program, including alignment with equity and affordability initiatives.
• Identify effective recruitment, training, and support strategies: Participants learn approaches for recruiting, training, and mentoring student fellows to lead OER advocacy efforts.
• Analyze student-led advocacy in practice: Participants examine how student fellows design and implement campus-based projects and contribute to broader initiatives such as statewide policy proposals.
• Evaluate strategies for scalability and sustainability: Participants can assess how this multi-campus model can be adapted, scaled, and sustained within their own institutional or system-wide contexts.
• Apply student-centered approaches to OER initiatives: Participants gain actionable insights to integrate student leadership into existing affordability frameworks to enhance impact and inclusivity.