Across disciplines and institutions, instructors face growing challenges regarding student engagement and academic integrity. These challenges are compounded by the emergence of AI and shifting workforce needs. Our workforce requires students to develop an ever-increasing set of skills to obtain entry-level jobs. Traditional print textbooks can't keep pace with these shifts, but OER can!
Drawing on data from the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025, this session highlights the skills and competencies increasingly valued by employers worldwide. We’ll share practical strategies for customizing OER to support skill development, respond to emerging technologies, and meet local and industry-specific needs, all while maintaining academic rigor and relevance. Participants will leave with an AI prompt template to create five ready-to-implement, skills-based assignments that align with emerging workforce needs, meet course objectives, and incorporate OER content.
Attendees of this session will be able to:- Identify key challenges facing college educators, including maintaining student engagement, managing the impact of AI, and equipping students with ever-changing, in-demand career skills.
- Analyze emerging workforce skills from the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2025 and their relevance in specific academic disciplines.
- Explain how OER can be customized to support skill development while maintaining academic rigor.
- Apply a structured AI prompt template to generate 1) skills-based learning activities aligned with course objectives, open content, and industry needs, and 2) aligned instructional support materials (e.g., grading rubrics, scaffolding for struggling students).
- Refine AI-generated activities to ensure they support individual course contexts, follow accessibility best practices, and meet activity design preferences.
