Open Education in Action: Trends, Tools, and Techniques

This Spring 2025 learning community will support instructors, instructional designers, librarians, and others interested in exploring inclusive teaching through open educational practices. Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching and learning materials offered freely and under an open license, providing more equitable access to learning for all students through the elimination of textbook cost, reduction of barriers to learning, accessibility for all learners, and diversity in materials and approach.

In this learning community, we will explore how OER and Open Pedagogy, the practice of engaging students in the creation of content, have the potential to empower learners and improve educational equity in higher education by giving voice to those from underserved and historically marginalized groups. We’ll also discuss how GenAI is reshaping the OER landscape to customize materials at a rapid and responsive pace. By engaging in discussion and application of these ideas, participants will be ready to implement open educational practices into their teaching or instructional design contexts.

MEETING DETAILS AND SCHEDULE

There will be five in-person meetings during the Spring semester, from 12:00-1:15 PM in Shannon Library 323, with lunch provided. Prior to each meeting, we will explore readings in our University of Virginia OER Learning Community Guide. During our meetings, we will engage in discussion and hands-on work leading to concrete takeaways for our teaching. To support your continued work on OER, we will offer opportunities to engage in workshops and work sprints during the Spring semester. 

ELIGIBILITY

Participants will be any UVA colleagues interested in OER, including full-time and part-time faculty (tenured/tenure-track, AGFM), graduate students, postdocs, and staff. Participation will be limited to 12 participants. No prior experience with OER or Open Pedagogy is required.

EXPECTATIONS

Participants should expect to attend at least four of the five sessions and commit around 1 hour to completing readings before each session to be able to engage fully in discussion and hands-on work.

APPLICATION

The priority application deadline is Friday, December 20. Additional applications will be accepted as space allows.

SPONSORS

This learning community is organized with support from the UVA Library, the Center for Teaching Excellence, and A&S Learning Design & Technology. For more information about Open Education, see OER @ UVA and the Open Educational Resources and Open Pedagogy gallery on Teaching Hub.