Open Education Talks 2026 Schedule

* Times listed are in Mountain Standard Time

March 4, 2026: Strategies for Supporting Students in Open Education

• OE Talks History and Context – Brianna Calomino and Sarah Adams (University of Calgary, OE Talks Co-chairs)
• Student OER for Inclusive Poster Design – Jamie Drozda & Melanie Latham (Thompson Rivers University – British Columbia, Canada)
• Crafting Magic, Conjuring Open Practices – Neil Mulholland (University of Edinburgh – Scotland)
• From Static to Dynamic: Collaborative Student/Faculty Approach to Interactive OER – Veronique Van Lierde & Yasser Lemghari (Al Akhaw ayn University in Ifrane – Morocco)
• BC Institutional Capacity to Support Open Educational Practices – Josie Gray (BCcampus – British Columbia, Canada)

March 11, 2026: Utilizing GenAI and Technology in Supporting OE and OER

• Beyond Openness: Transdisciplinary Collaboration as the Heart of Open Education in the Age of AI – Sandra Abegglen, Mohammadmahdi Zanjanian, and Alexandra Poppendorf with Barbara Brown, Patrick Hanlon, Leeanne Morrow, Fabian Neuhaus, and Soroush Sabbaghan (University of Calgary – Alberta, Canada)
• Building Trust Through AI Transparency in OERs – Amanda Grey and Karen Meijer (Kwantlen Polytechnic University – British Columbia, Canada)
• Opterna: BCcampus Open GenAI Project – Elizabeth A. Childs (Royal Roads University – British Columbia, Canada), Robynne Devine, and Harper Friedman (BCcampus – British Columbia, Canada)
• Thinking Outside the Box! Creating and Implementing a Secondary Database as a Teaching Tool for Dental Students – Nazlee Sharmin and Ava Chow (University of Alberta – Alberta, Canada)

March 18, 2026: Enhancing OER Publishing and Connections with Open Scholarship

• From Research to Reach: Open Education and OER for Knowledge Mobilization – Mélanie Brunet (University of Ottawa – Ontario, Canada)
• OER and the Future of Open Science – Melissa Chim (Excelsior University – New York, USA)
• Trusting OERs: Peer Review for Open Textbooks – Irena Knezevic (Carleton University – Ontario, Canada)
• Empowering Open Education through Wikimedia: The EduWiki Hub Experience – Barakat Adegboye and Bukola James (EduWiki Hub – Nigeria)
• The Forge: A Next-Generation Platform for Open Pedagogy and Resource Co-Creation – Delmar Larsen (LibreTexts, University of California, Davis – California, USA)

March 25, 2026: User-Centric Approaches to OE and Affordability

• Calm Tech Choices for Open Education: A Usability and Equity Framework for Faculty Support – Fanny Tsai (University of California, Irvine – California, USA)
• Leaning into the Message of the Medium – Rosalyn Ediger (Southern Alberta Institute of Technology – Alberta, Canada)
• Student Voices and Student Leadership in the McMaster Textbook Affordability Survey – Katie Harding, Rebecca Bekele, and Joanne Kehoe (McMaster University – Ontario, Canada)
• Making Openness Visible: Cost Indicators as an Open Education Practice – Rebecca Shortt and Arianna Cheveldave (BCcampus – British Columbia)
• Small and Ugly OER: Reframing the Conversation to Ease Faculty into Open Education – Nancy A. Henke (University of Northern Colorado – Colorado, USA)

Digital Poster Wall

• Awakening Identity: Using Exploratory, Student-Led Tasks to Build Motivation and Engagement in Postsecondary EAL Learning – Yujian Guo (University of Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan, Canada)
• Crafting Magic, Conjuring Open Practices – Neil Mulholland (University of Edinburgh – Scotland)
• Empowering Open Education through Wikimedia: The EduWiki Hub Experience – Barakat Adegboye and Bukola James (EduWiki Hub – Nigeria)
• Beyond Openness: Transdisciplinary Collaboration as the Heart of Open Education in the Age of AI – Mohammadmahdi Zanjanian, Sandra Abegglen, and Alexandra Poppendorf with Barbara Brown, Patrick Hanlon, Leeanne Morrow, Fabian Neuhaus, and Soroush Sabbaghan (University of Calgary – Alberta, Canada)
• Student Voices and Student Leadership in the McMaster Textbook Affordability Survey – Rebecca Bekele, Katie Harding, and Joanne Kehoe (McMaster University – Ontario, Canada)

Proposal Streams

Presenters are invited to indicate which of the four stream(s) their talk or poster best aligns with in their proposal submission.

1. 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
2. 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
3. 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
4. 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

Proposal Deadline

Proposals are no longer being accepted for 2026.

Proposal Review Criteria

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.

Important Dates:

• Proposals Open: November 3, 2025
• Proposal Deadline: December 14, 2025 Extended to January 9, 2026
• Speakers Notified: January 16, 2026
• Registration Open: January 19, 2026
• Event Starts: March 4, 2026