Open Education Resources (OERs)

We are excited to announce the fourth annual offering of The Open Education Talks, first offered in 2022 as The Open Pedagogy Talks, a series of lightning talks focusing on open education in postsecondary institutions. These 15-minute talks will be about facets of open education, including open pedagogy and learning, utilizing open educational resources, and integrating open strategies in higher education. 

The purpose of these talks is to create an accessible, virtual space to engage in conversations about open education. We encourage talks that are student-led or otherwise showcase the important role of student-educator collaborations in open education, and welcome proposals from educators, students, administrators, librarians, instructional designers, and all other roles related to the design, delivery, and evaluation of open education in postsecondary institutions.

For these talks, we share our understanding of open education, which is from the UNESCO Cape Town Declaration:

“…open education is not limited to just open educational resources. It also draws upon open technologies that facilitate collaborative, flexible learning and the open sharing of teaching practices that empower educators to benefit from the best ideas of their colleagues” (UNESCO Cape Town Declaration, 2018).

Interested speakers are invited to submit a proposal for a 15-minute talk that falls under the umbrella of the following streams: 

• Building Blocks of OE: These talks focus on the basics of open education, what it is, and why it has been impactful in higher education, including examples. Some related topics. Some related topics include:
  • Getting started with open education in post-secondary education
  • Strategies for engaging faculty in OE initiatives
  • Overcoming common challenges in adopting OERs and OE
  • Best practices for adopting and utilizing OE practices in courses
• Artificial Intelligence, Technology, and OE: These talks focus on emerging and responsive connections between artificial intelligence, technology, and OE. Some related topics include:
  • How AI is transforming the landscape of open education
  • Ensuring equity and accessibility in technology-enhanced OER
  • Building resilient and flexible open education ecosystems
  • Ethical implications of AI in educational content creation and distribution
• Student Leadership and Partnership in Open Education: These talks amplify student-led OE projects and initiatives. Some related topics include:
  • Student perspectives on the benefits and challenges of using OE
  • Student advocacy in OE conversations and decision-making
  • The role of student leadership in promoting open education initiatives
  • Models of successful student-faculty collaboration in OE initiatives
• Tensions and Possibilities for the Future of Open Education: These talks focus on how educators integrate open research into their courses and scholarship of teaching and learning practices. Some related topics include:
  • Strategies to maintain the integrity of OER amidst commercial interests
  • Best practices for protecting student privacy in AI-driven educational environments
  • Examining the trend of locking open resources behind subscription-based programs
  • Exploring sustainable models for funding and distributing OER without paywalls 

Important Dates: 

• Proposal Deadline: 10 January 2025
• Speakers Notified: 17 January 2025
• Registration Open: 3 February 2025

Talks Schedule: Every Wednesday in March 2025 at 12:30 PM MST

Submission: Please submit your proposal here by 10 January 2025.

Please feel free to share and forward this invitation with your network. Thank you and we look forward to learning alongside you in this endeavor

Open Education Talks Working Group: This initiative has been developed in partnership with Mount Royal University, Thompson Rivers University, the University of Alberta, and the University of Calgary.

For more information about the Open Education Talks, please connect with Carolyn Ives, Coordinator, Learning and Faculty Development (cives@tru.ca),Brenda Smith, Open Education Librarian (brsmith@tru.ca), or Verena Roberts, Instructional Designer (vroberts@tru.ca).