Oregon OER News Digest

[Amy Hofer]

Hi all, this week I attended a great webinar on best practices for OER to encourage students’ sense of belonging. Watch the recording: How do course materials impact student belonging?: Insights from user experience research - Amy

Upcoming professional development hosted by Open Oregon Educational Resources

• Accessible Open Math. Join this panel for an in-depth and practical discussion of some of the big topics to think about when creating accessible open math. April 20, 1 Pacific.
• Register for a Virtual OER Review Workshop taking place on one of three dates: May 11 – 1-2 p.m.; May 13 – 5-6 p.m.; or May 14 – 12-1 p.m. After the workshop, you’ll receive a $200-$300 stipend for writing a review of an open educational resource.

Other ways to get involved

• A Disability-Justice Informed Approach to Open Education, hosted by Equity Unbound. April 22, 8:30AM Pacific.
• Working Together: OER and Bookstore Liaisons Panel Discussion, hosted by OPEN FL. April 22, 11 Pacific.
• Coffee Break with Robin, hosted by the Open Education Network. April 23, 11 Pacific.
• Registration is open for the OER Summit, hosted by ISKME, taking place virtually April 29, 10-1 Pacific. 
• Registration is open for Rebus’s Supplemental Materials Development Certificate. The course runs May 18-June 30. Early bird pricing ends March 31, and regular registration closes April 30. Open Oregon Educational Resources may be able to sponsor your training. 
• Coffee Break with Robin, hosted by the Open Education Network. May 5, 10 Pacific.
• Dawn Cannon-Rech, Sustainability & Open Access Librarian at Georgia Southern University, is running a 15-minute survey on faculty use of generative AI tools with OER. Responses are requested by May 8.
• The Open 4 Peer Review project is running a 10-minute survey on how OER review works. Responses are requested by May 12.
• Registration is open for OpenCon Ohio 2026, taking place online May 15.
• A Fierce Commitment to Teaching: Michigan Faculty Voices on OER, hosted by CCCOER. May 20, 12 Pacific.
• Registration is open for the Florida OER Summit, hosted by Florida Virtual Campus and taking place online May 20-21.
• Registration is open for Creative Commons Certificate training, which runs online June 1-Aug 9. Scholarships are available and Open Oregon Educational Resources may be able to sponsor your training. 
• Community Office Hours, hosted by Creative Commons. June 8, 2 Pacific.
• Registration is open for the Library Publishing Forum, taking place in Seattle June 17-18.
• There are usually more events posted at Open Education Conference List and Open Education Webinar Calendar.

Calls for proposals in the open education field

• Open RN seeks peer reviewers for 5 open nursing textbooks. This is a paid role. Sign up by April 30.
• The call for submissions is open for Journal of Open Educational Resources in Higher Education. Submissions are due May 1.
• The call for submissions is open for the second issue of the Journal of Open Initiatives in Academic Libraries. Submissions are due May 10.
• The Open Education Group seeks applications from early career researchers for Open Education Research Fellowships. Applications are due May 15. 
• The call for proposals is open for the CAL OER Conference, taking place virtually July 29-31. Submissions are due May 18.

OER-related job opportunities

• Texas Tech University is hiring a Research Impact Librarian with some open-related responsibilities. Apply by April 30.
• Florida Atlantic University is hiring an Instruction Coordinator and Information Literacy Librarian that includes some open-related functions. Apply by May 10.
• There are usually more jobs posted at Open Education Jobs.

--

Amy Hofer (she/her)

Statewide Open Education Program Director

Open Oregon Educational Resources

Schedule a meeting with me

[Amy Hofer]

Hi all, the federal accessibility deadline we’ve been working towards has been pushed out by one year. This is still a good time to download and save your own backup copy of OER that you use, as authors continue to make decisions about what to remediate, archive, and delete (and thank you Colleen for pointing this out!) - Amy

Upcoming professional development hosted by Open Oregon Educational Resources

• Register for a Virtual OER Review Workshop taking place on one of three dates: May 11 – 1-2 p.m.; May 13 – 5-6 p.m.; or May 14 – 12-1 p.m. After the workshop, you’ll receive a $200-$300 stipend for writing a review of an open educational resource.

• 90-minute Webinar: Gray Areas: A Scenario-Based Workshop on AI, Copyright, and OER. We'll workshop scenarios involving AI-generated content, open licensing, and OER development. Come ready to practice! May 15, 2-3:30.
• Open Books, Open Doors: Reimagining Nursing Education with Free, High-Quality Resources. Join our panel to learn about free, openly licensed textbooks and course materials for nursing. May 19, 12pm. 

Other ways to get involved

• Registration is open for the OER Summit, hosted by ISKME, taking place virtually April 29, 10-1 Pacific. 

• Registration is open for Rebus’s Supplemental Materials Development Certificate. The course runs May 18-June 30. Registration closes April 30. Open Oregon Educational Resources may be able to sponsor your training. 
• Tea Time! OER Writing Sprints, hosted by the Open Education Network. May 4, 11 Pacific. 

• Coffee Break with Robin, hosted by the Open Education Network. May 5, 10 Pacific.
• Dawn Cannon-Rech, Sustainability & Open Access Librarian at Georgia Southern University, is running a 15-minute survey on faculty use of generative AI tools with OER. Responses are requested by May 8.
• The Open 4 Peer Review project is running a 10-minute survey on how OER review works. Responses are requested by May 12.
• Registration is open for OpenCon Ohio 2026, taking place online May 15.
• A Fierce Commitment to Teaching: Michigan Faculty Voices on OER, hosted by CCCOER. May 20, 12 Pacific.
• Registration is open for the Florida OER Summit, hosted by Florida Virtual Campus and taking place online May 20-21.
• Registration is open for Creative Commons Certificate training, which runs online June 1-Aug 9. Scholarships are available and Open Oregon Educational Resources may be able to sponsor your training. 
• Community Office Hours, hosted by Creative Commons. June 8, 2 Pacific.

• Open Education and Microcredentials: Getting a Seat at the Table, hosted by the Open Education Association. June 16, 10 Pacific.

• Registration is open for the Library Publishing Forum, taking place in Seattle June 17-18.
• There are usually more events posted at Open Education Conference List and Open Education Webinar Calendar.

Calls for proposals in the open education field

• Open RN seeks peer reviewers for 5 open nursing textbooks. This is a paid role. Sign up by April 30.
• The call for submissions is open for Journal of Open Educational Resources in Higher Education. Submissions are due May 1.
• The call for submissions is open for the second issue of the Journal of Open Initiatives in Academic Libraries. Submissions are due May 10.
• The Open Education Group seeks applications from early career researchers for Open Education Research Fellowships. Applications are due May 15. 
• The call for proposals is open for the CAL OER Conference, taking place virtually July 29-31. Submissions are due May 18.

• The call for proposals is open for grants up to $5000 for regional events in celebration of Creative Commons’ 25th anniversary. Proposals are due May 31. 

OER-related job opportunities

• The Open ProfTech Project seeks temporary workers to support the migration of its textbooks to Pressbooks. Interest form due April 29.

• Texas Tech University is hiring a Research Impact Librarian with some open-related responsibilities. Apply by April 30.
• Florida Atlantic University is hiring an Instruction Coordinator and Information Literacy Librarian that includes some open-related functions. Apply by May 10.
• There are usually more jobs posted at Open Education Jobs.
  

[Amy Hofer]

Hi all, corrected review workshop link: https://openoregon.org/spring-2026-virtual-oer-review-workshops/

Thanks, 

Amy  

[Amy Hofer]

Hi all, if you’re interested in the other “opens” I recommend subscribing to the Open Research Funders Group newsletter, hosted by SPARC - Amy

Kudos

• Ivar Anderson, student and instructional aide in the Electromechanical Technology (EM-Tech) program at Columbia Gorge Community College, authored a blog post. Read about his AI package to generate useful descriptions of technical figures for STEM course materials: Making Open Education Resources Accessible: An AI-Assisted Workflow for Figure Descriptions. Thank you Ivar!
• Shanell Sanchez, Professor & Chair Criminology & Criminal Justice at Southern Oregon University, won an Outstanding Scholarship Award that recognized her work as an open textbook author. Explore her books at Introduction to the American Criminal Justice System and Race, Crime and Injustice. Congratulations Shanell!

Upcoming professional development hosted by Open Oregon Educational Resources

• Register for a Virtual OER Review Workshop taking place on one of three dates: May 11 – 1-2 p.m.; May 13 – 5-6 p.m.; or May 14 – 12-1 p.m. After the workshop, you’ll receive a $200-$300 stipend for writing a review of an open educational resource.
• 90-minute Webinar: Gray Areas: A Scenario-Based Workshop on AI, Copyright, and OER. We'll workshop scenarios involving AI-generated content, open licensing, and OER development. Come ready to practice! May 15, 2-3:30.
• Open Books, Open Doors: Reimagining Nursing Education with Free, High-Quality Resources. Join our panel to learn about free, openly licensed textbooks and course materials for nursing. May 19, 12pm. 

Other ways to get involved

• Tea Time! OER Writing Sprints, hosted by the Open Education Network. May 4, 11 Pacific. 
• Coffee Break with Robin, hosted by the Open Education Network. May 5, 10 Pacific.
• Dawn Cannon-Rech, Sustainability & Open Access Librarian at Georgia Southern University, is running a 15-minute survey on faculty use of generative AI tools with OER. Responses are requested by May 8.
• The Open 4 Peer Review project is running a 10-minute survey on how OER review works. Responses are requested by May 12.
• Registration is open for OpenCon Ohio 2026, taking place online May 15.

• DOERS Network Conversation on Accessibility. May 18, 11 Pacific. 

• A Fierce Commitment to Teaching: Michigan Faculty Voices on OER, hosted by CCCOER. May 20, 12 Pacific.
• Registration is open for the Florida OER Summit, hosted by Florida Virtual Campus and taking place online May 20-21.

• Registration is open for the Oregon Information Literacy Summit, taking place virtually on Thursday, May 28th and with a hybrid option on Friday, May 29th at the Portland Community College Cascade Campus. 

• Registration is open for Creative Commons Certificate training, which runs online June 1-Aug 9. Scholarships are available and Open Oregon Educational Resources may be able to sponsor your training. 
• Community Office Hours, hosted by Creative Commons. June 8, 2 Pacific.
• Open Education and Microcredentials: Getting a Seat at the Table, hosted by the Open Education Association. June 16, 10 Pacific.
• Registration is open for the Library Publishing Forum, taking place in Seattle June 17-18.
• There are usually more events posted at Open Education Conference List and Open Education Webinar Calendar.

Calls for proposals in the open education field

• The call for submissions is open for Journal of Open Educational Resources in Higher Education. Submissions are due May 1 (today!).

• The call for submissions is open for the second issue of the Journal of Open Initiatives in Academic Libraries. Submissions are due May 10.
• The Open Education Group seeks applications from early career researchers for Open Education Research Fellowships. Applications are due May 15. 
• The call for proposals is open for the CAL OER Conference, taking place virtually July 29-31. Submissions are due May 18.
• The call for proposals is open for grants up to $5000 for regional events in celebration of Creative Commons’ 25th anniversary. Proposals are due May 31. 

OER-related job opportunities

• Florida Atlantic University is hiring an Instruction Coordinator and Information Literacy Librarian that includes some open-related functions. Apply by May 10.
• There are usually more jobs posted at Open Education Jobs.