Open Education Talks 2026
Submit your Open Education Talks proposal!
Open Education Talks
Open Education Talks is a series of 15-minute lightning talks and digital posters about facets of open education. These talks aim to create an accessible, virtual space for conversations about open education. We welcome proposals from educators, students, administrators, librarians, instructional designers, and all other roles related to the design, delivery, and evaluation of open education in post-secondary institutions. We encourage student-led or partnered talks that showcase the critical role of student leadership and student-educator collaborations in open education.
Our Understanding of Open Education
For these talks, we share our understanding of open education: “…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).
Mobilizing Open Education
Some of the ways that you may be engaged in facets of open education could include:
- Intentionally designing programs and courses that are accessible
- Working with students as partners to co-design digital learning materials and open educational resources and considerations for open licensing (e.g., Creative Commons)
- Sharing resources and materials with colleagues through teaching and learning networks
- Selecting open course materials (OER) that could be utilized by students regardless of their location
- Adopting, adapting, creating, and sharing new learning materials (OER) within and beyond institutions
These are just a few examples of facets of open education that are being mobilized at post-secondary institutions. We are excited to invite everyone to share their practices and experiences with Open Education in these talks.
Call for Proposals
We are excited to invite the community to share their practices and experiences with open education at Open Education Talks through a lightning talk or poster. This virtual free event aims to foster conversations and share best practices in open education.
Important Dates:
- Proposals Open: November 3, 2025
- Proposal Deadline: December 14, 2025
- Speakers Notified: January 16, 2026
- Registration Open: January 19, 2026
- Event Starts: March 4, 2026
Talk Presentation Schedule and Format:
Five presentations will be featured every Wednesday in March 2026, totaling 20 presentations over four weeks. Each week will focus on a different theme, and each session will include consecutive 15 minute lightning talks, followed by a collective Q&A session. All sessions will be hosted online via Zoom.
A digital poster wall will be available on the our OE Talks website throughout and following the talks.
Talks Schedule: Every Wednesday in March 2026 from 12:00 PM MT to 1:30 PM MT
Proposal Streams
Presenters are invited to indicate which of the four stream(s) their talk or poster best aligns with in their proposal submission.
- Building Blocks of Open Education: This stream focuses on the basics of open education, what it is, and why it has been impactful in higher education, including examples. Some related topics include:
- Getting started with open education in post-secondary institutions
- Strategies for engaging faculty in OE and OER initiatives
- Overcoming common challenges in adopting or creating OERs
- Best practices for adopting and utilizing OE practices in courses
- Emerging Technologies and Usability in Open Education: This stream focuses on emerging and responsive connections between innovation, technology access, and accessibility within OE. Some related topics include:
- How AI is transforming the landscape of open education
- Ensuring equity and accessibility in technology-enhanced OER
- Differentiating access from accessibility
- Students as Partners and Leaders in Open Education: This stream amplifies student-led OE projects and initiatives. Some related topics include:
- Student perspectives on the benefits and challenges of OE, including OER
- 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: This stream focuses on how the OE community has adapted or evolved their practices when facing tensions, challenges, or new opportunities. Some related topics include:
- How is open learning reimagined across learning ecosystems
- Investigating sustainable models for funding and distributing OER without paywalls
- Exploring the role of OE and OER within open science/open scholarship initiatives
- Ethical and privacy tensions of AI in educational content creation and distribution
Submitting a Proposal
Submitters can select to submit a proposal for a lightning talk, a poster, or both when completing the Call for Proposals form. For poster proposals, please check out previous digital poster presentations, submission guidelines, and poster template.
Proposal Deadline
The deadline for proposals is December 14, 2025.
Submit your Proposal: Call for Proposals Submission Form
Proposal Review Criteria
Reviewers will make decisions about proposals based on the following criteria: Proposal Review Criteria
Proposal Review and Scheduling
The Steering Committee will review proposals and notify speakers by January 16, 2026. For accepted proposals, the Steering Committee will coordinate next steps for lightning talks and poster presenters.
Schedule
* Times listed are in Mountain Standard Time
Coming January 2026
Open Education Talks Steering Committee
This initiative has been developed in partnership with Mount Royal University, Thompson Rivers University, the University of Alberta, the University of British Columbia, and the University of Calgary. Meet the committee members below:
- Sarah Adams, Open Education Librarian, University of Calgary
- Michelle Brailey, Open Publishing and Open Education Librarian, University of Alberta
- Brianna Calomino, Digital Projects Librarian – Digital Scholarship, University of Calgary
- Patrick Hanlon, Teaching and Learning Facilitator, Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary
- Dr. Christina Hendricks, Academic Director, Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Technology and Professor of Teaching, Philosophy, University of British Columbia
- Carolyn Ives, Coordinator, Learning and Faculty Development, Co-Chair, Learning Design and Innovations Department, and Open Learning Faculty Member, Thompson Rivers University
- Dr. Verena Roberts, Instructional Designer, Thompson Rivers University and Adjunct Assistant Professor, Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary
- Brenda Smith, Open Education Librarian, Thompson Rivers University
- Dr. Alysia Wright, Assistant Professor, Mount Royal University
Submit Your Media from Past Open Education Talks
If you would like to submit any files or media (recordings, files, slides, etc.) related to your presentation for Open Education Talks in 2025, 2024, 2023 or 2022, please submit using the form below!