2026 Open Education Conference

This study presents a Global South perspective on open education by examining how Open Educational Resources (OER) are perceived, accessed, and used by undergraduates in Nigerian federal universities, an underrepresented context in dominant discourse. The population comprised 3,574 200-, 300-, and 400-level Library and Information Science (LIS) students across accredited federal universities, using a descriptive correlational survey design. A stratified proportionate random sampling technique (60%) yielded 2,145 participants from 12 universities. Data were collected באמצעות a structured questionnaire (sections A–E) with strong reliability (α = 0.86). Descriptive statistics were used for analysis; Pearson correlation tested hypotheses 1–6, while multiple regression tested hypothesis 7. Findings challenge Global North–centric assumptions and highlight contextual factors such as ICT self-efficacy, infrastructure constraints, and awareness gaps shaping OER use.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• By the end of this session, participants will be able to:.
• Explain the role of OER in promoting equitable access, cost reduction, and improved academic outcomes in higher education contexts beyond North America.
• Analyze the relationships among ICT self-efficacy, student perceptions of OER, patterns of OER use, and academic performance using evidence from Nigerian federal universities.
• Identify the most commonly used types of OER among Library and Information Science undergraduates and the academic purposes they serve.
• Evaluate how contextual factors such as infrastructure limitations, awareness levels, and internet access shape OER adoption and effectiveness in low-resource environments.
• Discuss the implications of student-centered evidence from Nigeria for advancing global, inclusive, and context-responsive open education strategies.
• Understand policy development for sustaining OER initiatives beyond the Global North.

This session will tell the story of how a series of accessible open education resources were developed and how the project helped inform ways educators practice inclusion and accessibility. In 2024-2025, the English Language Arts Network of Ontario (ELAN) developed a series of over 30 resources to support teachers in implementing the Grades 1 to 9 English Language Arts curriculum in Ontario, Canada. This story will be told by classroom teachers, curriculum leaders, resource developers, designers, and accessibility specialists. The session will trace the project from its inception to the use of the resources in the classroom. Presenters will share critical points in the process as well as the “spaces” in between that helped reshape and reposition previously held ideas about learning resources.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Describe the accessibility features built into a set of resources (Accessible authoring practices).
• Understand how to make OERs more inclusive and accessible for both educators and learners.
• Access to a website containing a library of downloadable ELAN Ontario OERs that support the provincial curriculum. OERs include lesson plans and monographs authored to be accessible for a diversity of educators and learners.
• Gain insights into how decisions at each stage may impact accessibility and inclusion downstream.
• Understand how teachers are using the resources to support student learning and professional learning.

Many authors spend months or years laboring over their open textbooks and find themselves faced with a similar challenge: how to get their book in front of the audience it was written for.

In this session, we’ll help first-time and experienced authors and publishers understand simple but effective things that they can do to ensure their publications find the audiences they were designed for. We'll cover how to add and improve your book's metadata, and how to add publications to institutional repositories, search engines, indexes, and popular open directories. We’ll discuss how to generate metadata exports that can be ingested in library catalogues and other discovery platforms. Finally, we'll share practical advice about promoting your published books, including tips for reaching a wider audience through email, online communities, social media and more. No matter what publishing platform you use, you'll leave with actionable next steps for increasing your books' visibility and impact.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• (1) evaluate and improve the quality of their book's metadata to improve its discoverability.
• (2) identify key indexes and directories for OER submission.
• (3) apply a practical promotion strategy to help their publications reach wider audiences and more potential adopters.

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.

People working in open education develop their knowledge and skills in open education in a range of ways. While some may take formal courses or training, often it is built through hands-on projects, the day-to-day work, and peer relationships. As such, BCcampus is working to develop a Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR) framework for open education, a process to evaluate and provide formal recognition for the skills, knowledge, and experience gained through work, volunteer, and life experiences. This session discusses why BCcampus is pursuing a PLAR approach to recognition and badging, and shares the openly licensed competency and assessment frameworks being developed.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Explain the purpose of PLAR and its value for open education practitioners;.
• Describe competencies that enable open education work in a post-secondary context;.
• Identify flexible methods and options for demonstrating competencies; and.
• Understand the assessment framework for evaluating mastery of competencies.

As AI tools become increasingly common in OER creation, the question is no longer whether authors use them — it's how to disclose that use honestly and transparently.

The KPU AI Declaration Framework for OER Creation takes a human-centred approach, asking not "what did AI do?" but "what was the relationship between the author and AI?" The framework adapts Kari D. Weaver's AID Framework for OER contexts, identifying ten categories of activity relevant to publishing projects. It incorporates the Me & My Machine labels — adapted for a North American context — to capture the spectrum from fully independent human creation to AI-generated content, making human effort and creative direction visible even where AI plays a significant role.

A self-assessment rubric, interactive rubric tool, and Pressbooks front matter template support authors in building their own declaration statement. While developed for OER, the framework applies to any resource creation project.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Describe the KPU AI Declaration Framework for OER Creation — including its categories, label system, and self-assessment rubric —and identify how it differs from existing approaches to AI disclosure.
• Determine whether and how a human-centred approach to AI disclosure might be implemented in their own institutional or publishing context.

Despite growing interest in game‑based learning and the rising cultural popularity of role‑playing games (RPGs), most narrative RPG materials remain commercially produced and sold, making them difficult to license and adapt for educational use. As a result, educators and education researchers interested in narrative roleplay often rely on purchased systems, create their own materials from scratch, or attempt to adapt the limited number of existing RPG‑focused OERs, many of which may not suit their specific teaching contexts or learner needs. This lightning talk briefly highlights the unique capacity of narrative roleplay to foster intrinsic motivation, agency, and engagement across age groups. The session then explores existing RPG OERs and research‑informed entry points that educators can use to navigate this emerging area of open, narrative‑driven pedagogy, and, if inspired, contribute to the development of new, openly shared narrative RPG tools.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Define key components of game-based learning, including distinctions between gamification, game-based learning, and gameful learning, and describe how these approaches differ in goals and implementation.
• Articulate the pedagogical promise of narrative role-playing games, particularly their capacity to support learner motivation, agency, collective meaning-making, and engagement with complex ideas through storytelling and play.
• Identify existing open educational resources related to narrative RPGs, as well as gaps in current literature and resource availability, in order to imagine how their own teaching, research, or open education work might contribute to this emerging area.

How do students perceive Open Education before and after completing a course dedicated to open education? This session presents findings from a mixed-methods study involving undergraduate students enrolled in an open education-focused course at a Canadian university. Using pre- and post-course surveys, student reflection assignments, and follow-up interviews, the study examines changes in student attitudes, awareness, and willingness to engage with Open Educational Practices (OEP). The session highlights key patterns in student experiences and evolving perspectives on open education. Attendees will gain practical strategies to support student engagement and consider how open practices can enhance the student learning experience.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Describe how student perceptions of open education can shift through participation in a course dedicated to open education.
• Identify key factors that shape student engagement with Open Educational Practices (OEP).
• Recognize how surveys, reflection assignments, and interviews can be used to examine changes in student attitudes and experiences.
• Apply practical strategies to support student engagement in open educational practices and open sharing.
• Reflect on how student perspectives can inform open course design and teaching practice.

In this presentation, Robin DeRosa, Executive Director of the Open Education Network, will explore the theory of change that undergirds the OEN. In a community that focuses its activities on the grassroots work of educators (including faculty, librarians, instructional designers, technologists, and other support staff), the OEN’s membership structure centers around institutions and consortia. What is the relationship between individuals who engage with open practices and the systems that contain, support, and sometimes thwart them? How can organizations that leverage open education to make change respond to the needs of learners and teachers while building support from the surrounding educational systems that don’t always center those needs? Hear about the rationales, hopes, and tensions that animate the OEN’s model, and the current ways we are envisioning our role in advancing open education and building a more equitable future for higher education.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Reflect on the tensions and synergies between individual practice and systemic support in the open education movement.
• Articulate reasons why both grassroots practice and institutional commitment are key sustainable and impactful open education progress.
• Understand the approach of the Open Education Network, and how it leverages institutional commitment to make structural change in higher education.

This session explores the availability of Open Educational Resources (OER) for environmental and sustainability education in Grades 5 to 7. As global environmental challenges escalate, OER provide accessible, adaptable materials that align with curriculum standards and UNESCO's Sustainable Development Goals.

Highlights:

* Comprehensive analysis: the study identifies existing resources, gaps, and opportunities for integration.

* Scalable methodology: it introduces a systematic process for analyzing educational materials, including the use of AI, that can be applied to other subjects and curriculum standards.

* Immediate impact: attendees will receive a curated list of OER ready for immediate classroom use.

This research servers educators, policymakers, and environmental organizations by promoting OER adoption in K-12. By bridging the gap between available resources and curriculum needs, this study offers a sustainable educational solution for an ever-changing world.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Describe why OER is a solution to delivering environmental and sustainability education in K-12.
• Identify the pivotal age for introducing environmental literacy and social action.
• Identify where to find openly available environmental and climate education resources that meet specific educational standards.