2026 Open Education Conference: Full Schedule

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9:30am EDT

Two Households, Both Alike in Dignity: An Exploration of Open Textbooks and the Humanities

Thursday October 29, 2026 9:30am - 9:55am EDT

The use of open textbooks is often associated with STEM fields, likely due to their large intro courses and costly textbooks. This is a misconception, however, as humanities courses can and do benefit from OER. A review of the literature yields numerous examples of OER adoption in fields like art history, English, and world languages. Taking this perceived gap between STEM and the humanities as a starting point, this presentation will consider the space between what we know and would like to know about the use of open textbooks in humanities disciplines. The presenter will share the findings of an original study of characteristics of humanities textbooks in the Open Textbook Library. These findings will be contextualized in the scholarly literature on the use of OER in the humanities, including potential benefits and barriers to adoption, and the presenters’ experiences as a humanities librarian participating in a program that incentivizes the use of open and affordable resources.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

Summarize the findings of a study on the characteristics of open textbooks in the humanities included in the Open Textbook Library.
Identify one or more potential benefits of OER or barriers to OER adoption in the humanities.
Generate potential strategies to best support humanities faculty interested in OER adoption and/or creation.

Speakers

Zara Wilkinson

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Presentation (25 min)

Concurrent sessions take place virtually on Zoom. At the time of the event, a button will appear in the session description you can click to join. All sessions are recorded and posted by the next day.

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Thursday October 29, 2026 9:30am - 9:55am EDT
V5

Concurrent Session (25 min)

Program Topic Blank Space: Open space for any other open education related topics.
Region United States
Level Beginner
Education Level Higher Education

10:00am EDT

From Trust to Textbooks: Project Management Strategies to Strengthen OER Teams

Thursday October 29, 2026 10:00am - 10:40am EDT

Strong teams are the bedrock of successful OER projects. Across three federal grant initiatives LOUIS: The Louisiana Library Network has sustained long-term team participation using a cohort model to produce sixty OER textbooks and accompanying LMS courses. This panel will discuss how LOUIS uses project management techniques to build resilient teams to ensure project success through - building a culture and atmosphere of trust, empowerment, and engagement. Cohort Leaders from the most recent “Building a Competitive Workforce” project will address common challenges, such as change, conflict, and distributed teams, and solutions to maintain team morale and momentum. Tailored to new or aspiring leaders of amazing humans and project leaders, this discussion emphasizes lessons learned and actionable insights participants can apply immediately to strengthen team dynamics.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

Explain project management strategies to build strong OER teams through a culture of trust, empowerment, engagement and resilience in OER project teams.
Recognize common challenges and identify effective solutions for building resilient OER project teams.

Speakers

Jared Eusea

Assistant Professor of Nathematics, River Parishes Community College

Amelia Brister

LOUIS: The Louisiana Library Network

Michael Waller

Government Documents & Applied and Natural Sciences Librarian, Louisiana Tech University

Johannah White

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Presentation (40 min)

Thursday October 29, 2026 10:00am - 10:40am EDT
V3

Concurrent Session (40 min)

Program Topic Between Here and There: Examining how strategic open education work can get us from where we are to where we aspire to be.
Region United States
Level Beginner
Education Level Higher Education, Community & Technical Colleges

1:15pm EDT

From Inception to Practice: Developing Open and Inclusive Education Resources

Thursday October 29, 2026 1:15pm - 1:55pm EDT

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.

Speakers

Brian Weishar

Lisa Liskovoi

Caren Watkins

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Presentation (40 min)

Thursday October 29, 2026 1:15pm - 1:55pm EDT
V5

Concurrent Session (40 min)

Program Topic Between Us: Exploring how open values and practices can improve the educational experience for all learners.
Region Canada
Level Beginner
Education Level Primary & Secondary (K-12) Education

2:00pm EDT

Launching Skills: Open Education’s Role in the Future of Work

Thursday October 29, 2026 2:00pm - 2:55pm EDT

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.

Speakers

Kevin Corcoran

Assistant Vice Provost, University of Central Florida

Kevin Corcoran is the Assistant Vice Provost of the Center for Distributed Learning. Kevin has over 25 years of experience in the development and support of strategies for the effective use of digital learning tools and content that focuses on quality standards and practices, student... Read More →

Amanda Coolidge

VP, Strategic Engagement and Growth, Pressbooks

Amanda Coolidge is VP of Strategic Engagement and Growth at Pressbooks, where she leads marketing, sales, and customer success and serves as product manager for the company's microcredential platform. She is the founder of Coolidge Collaborative and former Executive Director of BCcampus... Read More →

Lisa Young

Tannis Morgan

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Panel (55 min)

Thursday October 29, 2026 2:00pm - 2:55pm EDT
V1

Concurrent Session (55 min)

Program Topic Between Here and There: Examining how strategic open education work can get us from where we are to where we aspire to be.
Region United States, Canada
Level Beginner
Education Level Community & Technical Colleges, Higher Education, Trades and Vocational Training, Informal Learning/Other

4:00pm EDT

Between Us: Open Educational Practices as a Bridge Between Classrooms and Families

Thursday October 29, 2026 4:00pm - 4:10pm EDT

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Open education is often discussed in terms of cost and access, but its greatest impact may be relational. This session explores how open educational practices can bridge the space between classrooms and families by fostering transparency, accessibility, and shared ownership of learning. Across K–12 settings, educators can use openly licensed resources, adaptable learning tools, and transparent communication practices to strengthen family partnerships and reduce barriers to engagement. Participants will explore practical, scalable strategies for making learning more inclusive and collaborative beyond the school day. Whether you are new to open education or looking to deepen your practice, this session will offer concrete ideas for connecting school and home through openness.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

Articulate how open educational practices extend beyond affordability to support relational equity between classrooms and families.
Identify common barriers that limit family engagement and explain how open practices can reduce those barriers across K–12 contexts.
Apply a three-pillar framework (transparency, accessibility, partnership) to evaluate or redesign their own instructional practices.
Design at least one adaptable, openly shared strategy to strengthen family-school connections in their educational setting.
Critically reflect on the opportunities and challenges of implementing open practices in diverse educational environments.

Speakers

Lauren Moore

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Lightning Talks (View Anytime)

Lightning talks are short, pre-recorded videos that can be viewed anytime during the conference. Most lightning talks are released a week early and will remain available after the conference. Don't miss this incredible collection of quick takes!

Thursday October 29, 2026 4:00pm - 4:10pm EDT
View Anytime

Lightning Talk

Program Topic Between Us: Exploring how open values and practices can improve the educational experience for all learners.
Region United States
Level Beginner
Education Level Primary & Secondary (K-12) Education

4:00pm EDT

Bridging Access and Practice: Designing a Fully OER Course for Real-World Impact

Thursday October 29, 2026 4:00pm - 4:10pm EDT

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What does it take to move from the idea of open education to meaningful, accessible practice? This lightning talk shares the design and implementation of a fully OER undergraduate course built to meet the needs of a diverse student population requiring free, virtual, and accessible materials. Drawing from a curated collection of open resources and high-quality instructional materials (HQIM), the course not only removed cost barriers but also introduced students to a range of tools they can access in their future classrooms.

This session explores the intentional decisions behind selecting, organizing, and integrating OER and HQIM to bridge the space between access and application. Attendees will gain insight into how exposure to multiple high-quality, openly available resources can empower future educators to make informed, equitable instructional choices.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

Describe key considerations when designing a fully OER course for accessibility and equity.
Identify strategies for integrating multiple HQIM within an OER framework.
Explain how exposure to diverse open resources supports pre-service teacher development.
Apply practical approaches to bridging the gap between open access and instructional practice.

Speakers

Sarah Straub

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Lightning Talks (View Anytime)

Thursday October 29, 2026 4:00pm - 4:10pm EDT
View Anytime

Lightning Talk

Program Topic Between Here and There: Examining how strategic open education work can get us from where we are to where we aspire to be.
Region United States
Level Beginner
Education Level Primary & Secondary (K-12) Education, Higher Education

4:00pm EDT

Bridging the Gap Between Learning and Contributing: Women in Open Knowledge

Thursday October 29, 2026 4:00pm - 4:10pm EDT

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This session shares a grassroots initiative in Indonesia that empowers women to move from learning to contributing in open knowledge platforms. Through the SheSaid 2025 campaign, participants were introduced to Wikimedia projects such as Wikiquote and Wikimedia Commons, as well as basic Creative Commons licensing. Through hands-on activities, they created quote posters using openly licensed images and learned to share knowledge responsibly. This session highlights the “space between” learning and active contribution, demonstrating how open education can bridge gaps in participation and representation, particularly for women in digital knowledge spaces. The strategies used in this initiative—combining training, mentorship, and hands-on contribution opportunities—can also be adapted to other open education and community-based learning contexts beyond Wikimedia.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

Understand how open education initiatives can empower women in underrepresented communities.
Identify strategies to bridge the gap between learning and active contribution in Wikimedia projects.
Apply basic Creative Commons licensing in creating and sharing open content.
Recognize the impact of community-based programs such as SheSaid in increasing women’s participation in open knowledge.

Speakers

Tri Astari

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Lightning Talks (View Anytime)

Thursday October 29, 2026 4:00pm - 4:10pm EDT
View Anytime

Lightning Talk

Program Topic Between Us: Exploring how open values and practices can improve the educational experience for all learners.
Region Asia, Global Focus
Level Beginner
Education Level Informal Learning/Other

4:00pm EDT

Co-DREAM OER: An End of Project Update on Innovative STEM Open Resources

Thursday October 29, 2026 4:00pm - 4:10pm EDT

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In 2021, Co-DREAM OER, a multi-institutional project to develop 9 innovative open textbooks and interactive ancillary materials on robotics, mechatronics and advanced manufacturing for the associates, bachelor's and graduate levels, received a $2 million US Department of Education’s Open Textbook grant. In 2026 the project is near completion. This presentation introduces all the works of the project and discusses the critical gaps in STEM OER that they fill. It also discusses the many features that they contain to support the learning needs of all learners, which includes availability in print and online format, ability to be used online and offline, the inclusion of multimedia resources, such as videos, interactive simulations and animations, programming packages, and well as compliance to WCAG 2.1 AA standards. The presentation concludes with a discussion of the first implementation of the books, as well as attempts to build a community who can improve and sustain them over time.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

Learn the purpose of the Co-DREAM project and the important gaps in OER that its textbooks fill.
Identify the benefits of new textbooks produced by the project, the types of institutions, courses, and programs they are designed for and the innovative features they contain.
Discover how the accessibility and other features of the books meet the needs of a variety of learners.
Hear about the project's efforts to build a community of users by having a small group of faculty conduct a trial implementation of each textbook.
Describe the educational research being conducted to assess the impact of the textbooks.

Speakers

Yang Wu

Open Resources Librarian, Clemson University Libraries

Yang Wu, Open Resources Librarian at Clemson University, South Carolina is a OER specialist with experience in many types of Open Education activities. He served on several major OER organizations, including the Open Education Network Steering Committee and OpenEd Conference Advisory... Read More →

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Lightning Talks (View Anytime)

Thursday October 29, 2026 4:00pm - 4:10pm EDT
View Anytime

Lightning Talk

Program Topic Between Us: Exploring how open values and practices can improve the educational experience for all learners.
Region United States
Level Beginner
Education Level Community & Technical Colleges, Higher Education

4:00pm EDT

Curating the Space Between: Student-Created Virtual Galleries Using OER

Thursday October 29, 2026 4:00pm - 4:10pm EDT

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In this presentation, I will explore how student-created virtual galleries can occupy the “space between” access and creation in Art and Art History education. Using Open Educational Resources (OER), students move beyond passive viewing to become curators, interpreters, and creators of visual culture, a more active space where we want students to be. Students will also learn how to see and understand broader visual culture as well.

During this session, participants will learn how to facilitate an environment where they move beyond their typical role as a passive observer to actively design virtual exhibitions that explore narratives, construct themes, or challenge traditional art and cultural narratives. Students will use OER materials for this project, including open source images and virtual presentation platforms. The resulting virtual galleries exist in the “space between” the museum and the classroom and the student and the curator.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

Create adaptable project ideas that promote student agency, equitable access to art, and multifaceted engagement with Art, Art History, and Visual Culture.
Construct and share OER materials based on designing virtual gallery exhibitions where students can become curators.
Develop multiple ways in which students can move from passive observers to active participants in the art world.
Apply strategies for guiding students in selecting, interpreting, and contextualizing artworks within a thematic exhibition.
Integrate digital tools (e.g., website builders or virtual exhibit platforms) to facilitate accessible and engaging student exhibitions.

Speakers

Gianna LoScerbo-Starkus

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Lightning Talks (View Anytime)

Thursday October 29, 2026 4:00pm - 4:10pm EDT
View Anytime

Lightning Talk

Program Topic Between Here and There: Examining how strategic open education work can get us from where we are to where we aspire to be.
Region United States
Level Beginner
Education Level Primary & Secondary (K-12) Education

4:00pm EDT

Expanding Education: Narrative Role-Playing Games and Open Education Resources

Thursday October 29, 2026 4:00pm - 4:10pm EDT

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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.

Speakers

Alexandria Poppendorf

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Lightning Talks (View Anytime)

Thursday October 29, 2026 4:00pm - 4:10pm EDT
View Anytime

Lightning Talk

Program Topic Between Us: Exploring how open values and practices can improve the educational experience for all learners.
Region Canada
Level Beginner
Education Level Informal Learning/Other, Primary & Secondary (K-12) Education, Community & Technical Colleges, Higher Education, Trades and Vocational Training

4:00pm EDT

From Classroom to Community: Discover the Importance of Open Education in Public Health Training

Thursday October 29, 2026 4:00pm - 4:10pm EDT

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This session is about analyzing how open education can help connect what medical students learn about health in their medical school to what actually happens in real communities by highlighting how open-access resources, peer learning, and digital platforms can enhance public health training and empower students to apply their knowledge beyond the classroom.

The presentation will discuss practical strategies for integrating open educational practices into public health education, including student-led community awareness initiatives, and how to use freely available learning materials. However, it will also address challenges such as limited access to structured resources, variability in community engagement, and the need for culturally appropriate content.

People who attend this session will learn how open education can make public health training practical, accessible, and focused on the community especially in places where resources are limited.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

1- Explain how open education will be able to facilitate the transfer of health knowledge from academic education to community-based public health programs.
2- List some open education materials and technologies being used in the field of public health that may serve them well.
3- Inform them about the responsibility of students in facilitating community-based health educational programs.
4- Identify obstacles that may hinder them while implementing open education in the field of public health.
5- Utilize methods by which they can incorporate open education in their public health education and practice.

Speakers

Zulal Ali

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Lightning Talks (View Anytime)

Thursday October 29, 2026 4:00pm - 4:10pm EDT
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Lightning Talk

Program Topic Between Here and There: Examining how strategic open education work can get us from where we are to where we aspire to be.
Region Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA), Global Focus
Level Beginner
Education Level Higher Education, Informal Learning/Other

4:00pm EDT

Generating Reach by Embedding OER in Volunteer Formats for Sustainable Marketing Programs

Thursday October 29, 2026 4:00pm - 4:10pm EDT

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Open Educational Resources (OER) are promoted in different ways around the world. In the US, this work is often called “OER advocacy,” while in South Africa the Open Education Influencers MOOC (https://oe4bw.org/project/open-education-influencer/) is a notable example.

This lightning talk shares how the University of Innsbruck is reaching a wider audience:

* OER practitioners talked about the creation and the publication of their projects in The JOERney@UIBK: Experience Talks (https://oerworldmap.org/resource/urn:uuid:75e1c2a7-8540-4ff2-b2c6-04b2f23b3cda?language=en).

* The Aqua MOOC, a 2021 citizen science MOOC on water communities, was presented at a local district club. Volunteers from Computerias and libraries were invited.

The findings from this talk may inspire attendees of the lightning talk to leverage local venues, themselves; using a single, high-interest MOOC or resource, other OER and the OER repositories can be cross-promoted to potential re-users and interested people.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

…find connections between marketing OER at their institutions and involving local volunteers in the dissemination of information about OER.
…think outside "the box", aka their institutional limits, and reach for a wider audience.
…generate new leads for their OER practitioners to create OER for and broadening their understanding or who their ideal audience might include.
…gain an understanding for the value of “old” OER and the sustainability efforts included in the production and the active advertising of a MOOC with so-called "ever-green contents" that is intended for a "long run".

Speakers

Evelyn Feistmantl-Schweigl

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Lightning Talks (View Anytime)

Thursday October 29, 2026 4:00pm - 4:10pm EDT
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Lightning Talk

Program Topic Connecting the Dots: Expanding the reach of open education to wider audiences.
Region Europe
Level Beginner
Education Level Higher Education, Community & Technical Colleges, Trades and Vocational Training, Informal Learning/Other

4:00pm EDT

Harnessing OER to Support Production and Provision of Juvenile Titles in Underserved Languages

Thursday October 29, 2026 4:00pm - 4:10pm EDT

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Imagine a world where you grow up never having enough to read. This is the reality for many children who speak minority or indigenous languages (hereafter “underserved languages”). The scarcity of juvenile titles (fiction, non-fiction, videos, games, audio books, etc.) in their own languages is a persistent barrier to learning. We invite collaborators to a research group with the goal of building and expanding processes for creators—writers, editors, illustrators, and translators—who can benefit from networking and professional development and learning to use Creative Commons licensing and other OA policies and practices. We wish to amplify collaborative efforts by creators to increase available titles in underserved languages. Our central goals are to establish a design for a replicable, democratic, and participatory multilingual collaborative and to analyze the design process. We will share a pilot that we have conducted in 2026 with speakers of Yoruba and Burmese in Indiana, USA.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

Participants will gain specific knowledge about the gaps in access to literacy and learning materials for learners who speak underserved languages around the world.
Participants will learn about storytelling and story creation efforts in Indiana that we have begun with Yoruba and Burmese speakers.
Participants will be invited to join scholarly and practical efforts to share practices and ideas for developing and providing juvenile titles in underserved languages in areas that are of concern to them.

Speakers

Beth Samuelson

Comfort Durojaiye

Myat Kaung

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Lightning Talks (View Anytime)

Thursday October 29, 2026 4:00pm - 4:10pm EDT
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Lightning Talk

Program Topic Beyond Borders: Exploring open education projects and perspectives from outside the US and Canada.
Region Africa, Asia
Level Beginner
Education Level Primary & Secondary (K-12) Education, Higher Education, Informal Learning/Other

4:00pm EDT

Reducing Students’ Psychological Distance From Climate Change: Design of an Open Mapping Assignment

Thursday October 29, 2026 4:00pm - 4:10pm EDT

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This session introduces an open (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) climate distance mapping assignment designed to help students connect climate change to places, systems, and near-future conditions relevant to their lives. Drawing on the concept of psychological distance, we examine why students may understand climate change but struggle to situate it in their own contexts.

Participants will learn how assignment design can reduce abstraction without pressuring students toward personal or potentially traumatic disclosure. The session demonstrates how structured choice allows students to engage at varying levels of personal proximity while still making meaningful, place-based and life-path connections.

Educators, instructors, and those teaching late high school and introductory college courses may find this session most useful.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

Explain how psychological distance influences students’ perceptions of climate change.
Identify why students may struggle to connect climate change to their own lives.
Model assignment design that reduces abstraction without requiring personal disclosure for students.

Speakers

Leah Wiitablake

D. Matthew Boyer

Natalie Bursztyn

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Lightning Talks (View Anytime)

Thursday October 29, 2026 4:00pm - 4:10pm EDT
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Lightning Talk

Program Topic Between Us: Exploring how open values and practices can improve the educational experience for all learners.
Region United States
Level Beginner
Education Level Higher Education, Community & Technical Colleges, Primary & Secondary (K-12) Education

4:00pm EDT

Teachers as Changemakers: Adopting OER for Environmental and Sustainability Education

Thursday October 29, 2026 4:00pm - 4:10pm EDT

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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.

Speakers

Emily Grady

Master's student, Athabasca University

Emily Grady is in her final year of Athabasca University's Master of Education in Open, Digital and Distance Education, specializing in instructional design. As an avid outdoorsperson, a parent, and an environmental advocate, her personal, academic and professional interests center... Read More →

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Lightning Talks (View Anytime)

Thursday October 29, 2026 4:00pm - 4:10pm EDT
View Anytime

Lightning Talk

Program Topic Between Here and There: Examining how strategic open education work can get us from where we are to where we aspire to be.
Region Canada
Level Beginner
Education Level Primary & Secondary (K-12) Education

4:00pm EDT

Visible Impact: Creating Effective Alt Text With Students

Thursday October 29, 2026 4:00pm - 4:10pm EDT

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Alternative text (alt text) is important, though often a secondary thought, when creating digital resources. When creating open educational resources, the written content is often the focus, with visuals added to support it. Accessibility requirements mandate that written descriptions be added to visual content in educational resources. With recent advances in AI, many are using AI to generate alt text for images in OERs. This can be done relatively quickly, but still requires significant time for reviewing, editing, and correctly inserting alt text so screen readers can access it and provide detailed descriptions. This talk advocates working with students to develop alt text to focus on the educational component of OERs. Students are eager to work with faculty on meaningful projects and can successfully develop alt text and assess its effectiveness. This talk will discuss how to do this, the benefits, and the challenges.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

Develop and refine alternative text.
Incorporate students in the process of developing and refining alternative text.
Encourage student involvement in OER development and creation.

Speakers

Program Topic Between Us: Exploring how open values and practices can improve the educational experience for all learners.
Region United States
Level Beginner
Education Level Community & Technical Colleges, Higher Education, Trades and Vocational Training, Primary & Secondary (K-12) Education

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