The event is free and virtual, and the theme is Engage and Empower: Leveraging OER to Enhance Student Learning, focusing on these five topics:
Presenter: Rebel Cummings-Sauls, Florida Virtual Campus
Presenters: Josh Hill, Amy Albaugh, Ilene Frank, Kristin Heathcock--Hillsborough Community College
As artificial intelligence becomes an integral part of educational environments, it offers significant opportunities to enhance Open Educational Resources (OER) and Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) initiatives. This session will explore how Hillsborough Community College's AI OER Creation Program Pilot harnesses AI tools to accelerate OER development. The pilot program empowers faculty to create open textbooks and ZTC courses in just six months, leveraging AI tools like ChatGPT Pro and Pressbooks. Participants receive personalized support for content creation, accessibility compliance, and publishing. Preliminary results indicate that with AI assistance, tasks such as chapter drafting, and creation can be completed in hours rather than days. This session will discuss the benefits and challenges of integrating AI into OER development. Attendees will gain insights into overcoming issues such as bias, copyright concerns, and the importance of human oversight. Join us to explore the future of OER with AI and how this program supports faculty innovation, affordability, accessibility, and excellence in teaching.
Presenter: Elizabeth Scarpelli, University of Cincinnati
This session will discuss the role of library publishers, library deans, university presses, faculty, department chairs, the foundation, and administration in the acquisition, development and distribution of OER content for an R1 university. What are the expectations of students, faculty, and publishers who are developing and using OER, responsibilities, and lessons learned from the development of large, gateway courses and upper level, specialized courses at a public research institution.
Presenter: Stacy Tanner with guests Ross Martin, Rachel Novella and Elizabeth Savory--Seminole State College
This presentation explores the faculty-driven Open Educational Resources (OER) initiative at Seminole State College called, Beyond the Textbook. The OER team will share our journey of creating an OER project that empowers educators to lead, create, and implement open resources across multiple disciplines.
Our session will outline the key strategies we employed to:
1. Cultivate faculty advocates and build a community of practice
2. Implement a collaborative OER development process
3. Integrate OER creation into the faculty badge system
4. Develop a mentorship program pairing experienced OER creators with newcomers
Attendees will gain practical insights into fostering a culture of possibility regarding OER adoption. They will learn about the origins of the design, implementation, and future of our project. We also plan to share information about the impact of our initiative, including cost savings for students. This session will be valuable for administrators, faculty, librarians, and instructional designers interested in advancing OER adoption through faculty empowerment and collaborative leadership.
Presenters: Rebecca McNulty and Lily Dubach--University of Central Florida
This hands-on workshop invites participants to actively explore how Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools can support and enhance the development of Open Educational Resources (OER). Attendees will shape the session’s direction through a "Choose-Your-Own-Adventure" format, making key decisions about OER creation using the ADDIE framework (Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, Evaluate). Together, we will explore real-world challenges, discuss strategies for designing effective prompts, examine methods for refining AI-assisted content with human oversight, and consider approaches for implementing and evaluating AI-enhanced OER. Along the way, participants will consider ethical implications, copyright considerations, and quality assurance techniques to ensure that AI is used responsibly and effectively. By the end of the session, attendees will walk away with concrete examples, best practices, and immediately applicable strategies for incorporating AI into their OER workflows.
Moderator: Steel Wagstaff, Pressbooks
Panelists: Ariel Gunn, University of Florida; Barry Mauer and John Venecek, University of Central Florida; Lisa Taylor, Florida State College at Jacksonville; Rob Rose, University of North Florida
When you’re developing or adapting an open educational resource (OER), when and how should you think about student engagement? What tools are available to guide the learning journey and draw students (willingly) into the learning process? This panel discussion brings together authors and learning designers from four remarkably engaging, Florida-based OER projects to discuss their unique approaches to developing educational materials that support effective learning.
This panel represents multiple disciplines and a spectrum of project types: OER textbooks, a study guide for self-directed learning, and professional learning resources for educators. Through a combination of show-and-tell project showcases and moderated discussion, attendees will gain valuable insights into:
+ How to identify and address learner needs through thoughtful design
+ How to select and develop appropriate interactive elements, such as formative assessments, to achieve pedagogical goals
+ The role storytelling can play in drawing students into the learning journey
+ How to navigate technical, creative, and practical challenges during development
+ Helpful collaborations to bring your vision to life
+ Lessons learned and pitfalls to avoid when trying to create highly-engaging OER
Whether you're considering your first OER project or looking to enhance existing materials with greater interactivity, this session offers practical wisdom from experienced creators. Panelists will share candid reflections on the development process, including obstacles encountered, solutions discovered, and the impact on students and their success.
Join this idea-rich session to see and hear about projects that will inspire your creativity. Leave with actionable strategies for creating engaging digital learning materials that support your learners’ needs.
Presenters: Julia Seaman, Jeff Seaman--Bay View Analytics
One-third of higher education students in the U.S. are “extremely” or “moderately” concerned about affording their course materials for the term. This presentation introduces a new online resource that examines the state-wide landscape of course material affordability research from local to national levels. These projects build upon the foundation established by the Florida Student Textbook and Course Materials Survey and have since expanded to additional states. Each initiative engages with students to understand the barriers they encounter and their effects on academic success. The presentation highlights the significant commonalities among the results while noting any differences.
The new online resource (OpenTextbookProject.org) provides an overview of the scope of course material affordability research across multiple states and organizations. It includes an index of the various research and publications, descriptions and links to each source, and a comprehensive, searchable list of all relevant reports, presentations, and resource materials. The resource also provides a step-by-step guide with sample resources for those interested in conducting similar research in their communities. The hope is this resource will support the shared community for those researching and addressing issues associated with student course material affordability.
Presenters: María Ángeles Fernández Cifuentes, Bianca Thomas, Ceydee Schellenberg--University of North Florida
This presentation highlights the development of Open Educational Resources (OER) as a means to improve learning outcomes, empower students, and reduce the financial burden of textbook costs. It showcases an ongoing project to create an accelerated online Spanish textbook, where undergraduate students actively contribute to designing a multimedia OER.
The project incorporates cutting-edge technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR), and other digital tools, all grounded in the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). This framework is designed to address student variability, ensuring that the OER caters to diverse learning styles and needs. AI tools provide automated feedback, personalized learning experiences, and content creation, while VR immerses students in virtual cultural environments, offering hands-on learning beyond traditional classroom settings.
As part of the project, students gather valuable feedback from different university units to refine the OER. Their active involvement fosters student agency and empowers them to shape innovative educational resources that align with diverse learning needs and uphold high educational standards.
In this session, participants will explore actionable strategies for integrating AI and VR in course design, practical approaches to applying UDL principles, and insights from student-faculty collaboration. Attendees will gain adaptable frameworks and strategies to incorporate AI and VR in their own teaching practices, promoting accessibility and personalized learning experiences.
Presenter: Jesse Rogers, Palm Beach State College
Join the presenter in a hands on, live demonstration of how to use AI and other tools to create and publish customized, highly engaging learning resources. The presentation will demonstrate the process from start to finish; audience members do not need to know any programming languages.
Video Example: https://youtu.be/QEFUSSu0Yj4
Educational Game Example: https://rogersmath.itch.io/mathnightmare
Presenter: Pranjal Saloni, Ontario Tech University
Open Educational Resources (OER) have revolutionized access to learning materials, but the role of students in their creation and adaptation remains underexplored. This session will highlight the transformative power of student co-creation in OER, focusing on how students can actively contribute to the creation, modification, and sharing of educational resources. By engaging students in the co-creation process, we shift from a traditional, teacher-centered classroom to a more collaborative, student-driven learning environment.
The session will cover the concept of OEP, and student co-creation in OER, emphasizing the importance of involving students not just as learners but as active creators of learning content. It will explore the benefits for students, including enhanced digital literacy, creativity, problem-solving skills, and greater ownership of their learning. Real-world examples of student-driven OER projects, such as collaboratively created textbooks, instructional videos, and peer-reviewed research will be shared to demonstrate the practical applications of student co-creation. Furthermore, the session will introduce key tools and platforms that facilitate student participation in OER, such as eCampus Pressbooks, H5P, and OER Commons. It will also address the challenges of implementing student co-creation, including ensuring content quality, managing time constrAInts, and overcoming digital access barriers. Lastly, it will shine a spotlight on the Open Education (OE) Lab at Ontario Tech U, a dynamic, student-run and staff-managed initiative that supports the creation, curation, and publication of OERs and its fundamentals of student co-creation.
Ultimately, this session will illustrate how student involvement in OER can reshape the classroom dynamic, creating a more inclusive, accessible, and engaging learning environment. Participants will gain practical insights into how students can be empowered as co-creators of knowledge in shaping tomorrow’s education.
Presenters: Angie Neely-Sardon, Alexis Carlson, Brett Williams--Indian River State College
Indian River State College (IRSC) is the only public higher education institution serving Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin, and Okeechobee counties. Most of IRSC's first-time in college students are also first-generation college students. The majority of new students are unfamiliar with the textbook purchasing process. Many new students believe their required course materials will be issued to them for free, as they were in high school. Despite choosing the most affordable degree program in their area, students are expected to pay for expensive, required textbooks and homework platform codes. Advisors are a tremendous source of information and guidance, especially for new college students. IRSC Librarians and the IRSC OER Work Group have sought to include advisors and counselors in our OER initiative by creating informational sessions that are particularly for them and inviting them to presentations and workshops on campus and online.
Presenters: Rebel Cummings-Sauls, Elisabeth Ball--Florida Virtual Campus
Learn more about how FLVC's OPEN FL can engage and empower you in the work you do to support open education and zero textbook costs in Florida and across the world.
Presenter: Joshua Halpern, LibreTexts
Discussion of Open Educational Resources (OER) is often limited to textbook cost but it is flexibility and customizability that makes OER a best choice. This talk will outline a vision of tomorrow’s textbook and a path to realization. OER projects need to provide textbooks for all levels, and tools needed to make creation, adoption and use simple (or as simple as possible). OER platforms must be educational ecologies with services such as annotation, homework systems, collaboration tools and be easy to integrate into L earning Management Systems. Accessibility should support those who have difficulties but also those who lack access. OER system design requires components that work well with each other. A major virtue of OER textbooks is that they can be improved formatively as instructors work with their classes. Institutions should recognize the branding benefits of widely available OER resources and faculty should see their contributions as opportunities for professional recognition and career advancement.
Presenter: John Burke, Miam University Middletown
Introducing university faculty to the options available for increasing textbook affordability for their students can be a slow and unsatisfying process for everyone involved. Presentations at faculty development sessions may not allow enough time to provide a detailed understanding, and individual meetings can be difficult to schedule and too large of a volume for a trainer to handle. How then can faculty members learn what they need to know about ways to make textbooks more affordable for their students? This question drove the creation of a self-enrolled, self-paced course in the Canvas learning management system for faculty members to learn about open educational resources, open education, and approaches to use when moving away from student-purchased textbooks. Participants could join at any time and consult with a librarian as needed for feedback and assistance in converting from a publisher textbook. The process of instructional design used to construct the course, the outcomes to date, and access to the course materials will be shared.
Presenters: Heather Blicher, Liz Yata--Community College Consortium for OER, Open Education Global
The Community College Consortium for Open Educational Resources (CCCOER) has been at the forefront of advancing Open Education across North America since 2007. Community colleges serve diverse and often underrepresented student populations, including first-generation students, adult learners, and marginalized communities. True to the spirit of openness, our work benefits not only members but also the wider community, fostering a broad network that strengthens access to education. The session will share CCCOER’s evolution, key achievements, current priorities, and future goals. We’ll explore the consortium’s role within Open Education Global and our ongoing efforts to build a connected and engaged community of practice. A key theme is connection; how OE brings people together and counteracts isolation. Participants are invited to reflect on our work and ask, “Where do we go from here?” as we explore how community-driven efforts can drive accessible and affordable education forward.
Presenters: Lindsay Josephs, Anthony Palmiotto, Open Stax, Rice University
Across disciplines and universities, instructors face similar challenges surrounding student engagement and academic integrity. These challenges are compounded by the emergence of artificial intelligence and shifting workforce needs. Artificial Intelligence enables students to produce work that is not their own in seconds. Meanwhile, our workforce requires students to develop an ever-increasing set of skills and knowledge in order to obtain entry-level jobs. Traditional print textbooks and resources cannot keep up. Rather, these rapidly evolving technologies and workforce needs require students to learn from the most engaging, up-to-date, and relevant resources possible.
As the world’s largest publisher of Open Educational Resources (OER), OpenStax produces free, peer-reviewed, openly licensed textbooks that empower students to build the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in today’s ever-changing workforce. Our online textbooks can easily be updated by our expert authors to reflect new technologies, current events, and rapidly changing pedagogical needs.
During this session, we will discuss how three of our titles — the Nursing series, Workplace Software and Skills, and Introduction to Python Programming — help students acquire and build applicable workplace knowledge and skills through guided, hands-on activities; relevant, real-world examples; and chapters and case studies written by industry experts.
Attendees will learn how high-quality OER can help students acquire and build applicable workplace knowledge and skills. Attendees will also leave this session understanding the in-demand, ever-changing skills workplaces are hiring for and how OER is uniquely positioned to teach students these timely skills.
Presenter: Sarah Moukhliss, University of North Florida
As an academic librarian and newly appointed Professional Learning Specialist with the Northwest Council for Computer Education (NCCE), the presenter was tasked with planning the 2025 School Librarian Summit in Seattle, Washington, aimed at equipping K-12 school librarians with the tools and strategies to integrate educational technology, Open Educational Resources (OER), and low-cost to no-cost materials into their libraries and classrooms. With a background in academic libraries and extensive experience working with OER, Moukhliss recognized the need to bridge the gap between higher education and K-12 settings in a way that would resonate with school librarians and foster their buy-in. This session will focus on how she tailored her message to meet the unique needs of K-12 librarians, demonstrating the power of free resources, utilizing social media platforms to find deals, and collaborating with state libraries to access additional resources.
Presenter: Christine Rickabaugh, University of Arkansas Libraries
The rising cost of textbooks has become a substantial barrier to student success. Many institutions respond to this challenge by exploring Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) initiatives. Two departments have taken the lead in this transformative effort at our institution.
The Program in Rhetoric and Composition is taking a top-down approach, with the program director leading the efforts to replace commercial texts with institution-written, openly licensed textbooks carefully created for students' needs. This has led to a concerted effort to maintain a similar style and approach to each text as students work through the composition curriculum. Given the general education requirements of all degree-seeking students, the impact on the students at this large, land-grant institution will be tremendous.
At the same time, faculty in the Apparel Merchandising and Product Design department were independently applying for the library’s Open Educational Resources Course Material Conversion Program at a rate that made librarians notice and develop a strategy to assist faculty in transitioning their program to a ZTC. These programs meet in the middle, with support from the Open Educational Resources Team. The library provides ongoing support through publishing platforms and technical administration, consultations, resource recommendations, and copyright guidance. This program hopes to collaborate beyond its campus to create equitable resources suitable for students pursuing the apparel industry at various institutions.
The innovative, collaborative efforts, supported by the library, demonstrate two distinct yet feasible paths to ZTC initiatives. They serve as models for other departments seeking to reduce textbook costs and improve educational equity.
Presenter: Veronique Van Lierde
We will illustrate how instructors can use existing Open Educational Resources (OER) to accommodate their students' learning needs. The example we will describe stems from a math course, but it can be applied in other fields as well. We included visualizations and self-checks to an existing OER to create a more interactive textbook. The goal is to engage students and to help them gAIn a better understanding of the course concepts by moving them past the formulaic plug-and-chug approach to math.
We will illustrate how instructors can use existing Open Educational Resources (OER) to accommodate their students' learning needs. The example we will describe stems from a math course, but it can be applied in other fields as well. We included visualizations and self-checks to an existing OER to create a more interactive textbook. The goal is to engage students and to help them gAIn a better understanding of the course concepts by moving them past the formulaic plug-and-chug approach to math.