The Open Education Association and SPARC are hosting open office hours for anyone interested in the Open Textbook Pilot Program. The Department of Labor, on behalf of the Department of Education, has opened the fiscal year 2026 competition with $7 million available for new awards. The program funds the creation and expansion of open textbooks that reduce costs for students in high-enrollment courses and in-demand fields.

Join us on Friday, May 29 at 1:00 PM Eastern to ask questions, discuss the opportunity with others, or connect with potential collaborators. Drop in any time. Applications are due June 23, 2026.

This webinar has concluded but you can watch the recording and view the slides.

Join us for a free peer reviewer training session designed to prepare you to participate in JOERHE's open peer review process, in which authors and reviewers know each other’s identities and can engage with each other throughout the editorial process. Peer reviewers receive scholarly credit through the publication of their peer review alongside the published article. 

During this session, you will learn the following: 

• What is open peer review? 

• What is the peer review process we use at JOERHE?

• What are we looking for in a peer review? 

• How do you provide kind and collegial feedback to authors?

Whether you're a first-time reviewer or simply looking for a refresher, this training will give you the tools and confidence to engage in a process built on kindness, collegiality, and genuine support for authors and the broader OER community.

Join the Open Education Association and Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC) for an informal social hour connecting open education practitioners across the midwestern region. Come ready to meet others, share what you're working on, and build professional relationships with the people doing this work near you. 

Not from this region? Find the regional social hour that best represents you on our events page.

Audience: All are welcome

Join the Open Education Association and the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) for an informal social hour connecting open education practitioners across the Northeast region. Come ready to meet others, share what you're working on, and build professional relationships with the people doing this work near you. 

Not from this region? Find the regional social hour that best represents you on our events page.

Audience: All are welcome

Join the Open Education Association and the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) for an informal social hour connecting open education practitioners across the southern region. Come ready to meet others, share what you're working on, and build professional relationships with the people doing this work near you. 

Not from this region? Find the regional social hour that best represents you on our events page.

Audience: All are welcome

Join the Open Education Association and Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) for an informal social hour connecting open education practitioners across the western region. Come ready to meet others, share what you're working on, and build professional relationships with the people doing this work near you. 

Not from this region? Find the regional social hour that best represents you on our events page.

Audience: All are welcome

The Open Education Association is exploring the possibility of introducing a mentorship program and would like your input! We welcome association members to provide their feedback and ideas based on the current needs of the field.

This session will give a brief overview of the proposed initiative, then shift to an interactive feedback gathering session on specific aspects of a proposed program. If you prefer to contribute asynchronously, register to receive access to session materials.

Date & Time:
Thursday, April 2nd, 2026
3:00pm ET / 2:00pm CT / 1:00pm MT / 12:00pm PT

Audience: Members Only

This event has concluded, but you can view the slides and watch the recording.

Open education has made meaningful progress, yet the case hasn't reached many of the spaces where it could have an even greater impact. This webinar is for practitioners ready to take open education outside familiar circles. It will cover practical strategies for framing open education for new audiences and making the case in unfamiliar rooms, highlighting presenting at conferences as one concrete avenue for this work. 

The session will begin with a framing presentation, followed by a panel discussion. The speakers bring firsthand experience doing this across a range of contexts, from government and policy to fields well beyond the open education community. The webinar will be recorded and made available after the event.

Presenter:

• Lindsey Gwozdz, Assistant Dean of Library, Community College of Rhode Island

Panelists:

• Amanda Coolidge, VP Strategic Engagement and Growth, Pressbooks

• Ethan Senack, Assistant Director of Ops and Development, Partnership for Large Election Jurisdictions

• Liliana Diaz Solodukhin, Senior Program Officer, Ascendium Education Group

Audience: All are welcome

You are invited to the Open Education Conference’s inaugural “Shut Up and Write!” working session. “Shut Up and Write!” is an established methodology to support dedicated time for writing.

With multiple upcoming deadlines for open education conferences — including the OpenEd26 deadline on April 3rd — this is a great opportunity to develop a proposal idea, start writing, or refine a draft. The session is beginner friendly and open to anyone, including those unsure about submitting or what to write.

The session will begin with a brief opening with tips on effective conference proposal writing, followed by quiet time for writing. The group will reconvene at the end to share progress. The focus will be OpenEd26 proposals but participants are welcome to work on any conference.

Learn More

• OpenEd26 Call for Proposals

• Other upcoming proposal deadlines

• About the “Shut Up and Write!” method

Audience: All are welcome

You are invited to the Open Education Conference’s inaugural “Shut Up and Write!” working session. “Shut Up and Write!” is an established methodology to support dedicated time for writing.

With multiple upcoming deadlines for open education conferences — including the OpenEd26 deadline on April 3rd — this is a great opportunity to develop a proposal idea, start writing, or refine a draft. The session is beginner friendly and open to anyone, including those unsure about submitting or what to write.

The session will begin with a brief opening with tips on effective conference proposal writing, followed by quiet time for writing. The group will reconvene at the end to share progress. The focus will be OpenEd26 proposals but participants are welcome to work on any conference.

Learn More

• OpenEd26 Call for Proposals

• Other upcoming proposal deadlines

• About the “Shut Up and Write!” method

• March 31st Follow Up Session

Audience: All are welcome

This Outreach Working Group will guide the Open Education Association’s efforts to expand outreach beyond the open education community and elevate the field with influential audiences, including administrators, disciplinary faculty, aligned organizations, and policymakers.

At this meeting, we will begin identifying priority organizations and conferences to engage and explore strategies to help members bring open education into new spaces.

Open signup has closed, but it's not too late to join this group! Just email contact@opened.org before the meeting.

Audience: Members Only

The Professional Development Working Group advises the Open Education Association on supporting professional growth and recognition in the open education field.

At this meeting, we will begin conducting a landscape analysis of existing professional development and recognition opportunities, including programs, credentials, awards, and communities of practice, to understand better where the association can add value.

Open signup has closed, but it's not too late to join this group! Just email contact@opened.org before the meeting.

Audience: Members Only

The Research Working Group guides the Open Education Association’s efforts to support open education research and strengthen connections with existing scholarly initiatives and networks.

At this meeting, we will begin a landscape analysis of open education scholarly initiatives, including scholarly agendas, conference proceedings, journals, and related efforts, to identify gaps, trends, and opportunities where the association can add distinct value.

Open signup has closed, but it's not too late to join this group! Just email contact@opened.org before the meeting.

Audience: Members Only

The Open Education Association invites you to a virtual rewatch of bestselling author adrienne maree brown’s keynote from the 2025 Open Education Conference. Drawing on decades of movement facilitation, science fiction scholarship, and community care, this keynote invites participants to reflect on transformation, imagination, and the practices that help communities grow and heal.

All are welcome to attend this virtual “rewatch party,” which will feature a livestream of the keynote and live chat in Zoom. After the recording, attendees are welcome to stay for an optional discussion.

This event will not be recorded, but a recording of the keynote is available to watch anytime from the Open Education Conference.

The Open Education Association invites you to a virtual rewatch of Louisiana Higher Education Commissioner Dr. Kim Hunter Reed’s keynote from the 2025 Open Education Conference. Entitled New Horizons: Opening Doors and Transforming Lives Through Higher Ed in Louisiana, this inspiring talk explores how to pave the way toward more affordable and accessible higher education through bold policy, open innovation, and strategic investments in resources, partnerships, and programs that prioritize student success.

All are welcome to attend this virtual “rewatch party,” which will feature a livestream of the keynote and live chat in Zoom. After the recording, attendees are welcome to stay for an optional discussion.

Audience: All are welcome

This event will not be recorded, but a recording of the keynote is available to watch anytime from the Open Education Conference.

This event has concluded; however, you can view the slides and shared resources.

As many institutions prepare for the DOJ Title II accessibility compliance deadline in April, this 90-minute webinar will clarify what the new requirements mean in practice, address common misconceptions, and explore how to advocate for OER for greater accessibility in teaching and learning. The session will include a high-level overview of OER and accessibility by Amanda Larson, an expert panel discussion on how to navigate questions on campus, and time for informal discussion among attendees. The webinar will be recorded and published with helpful resources after the event.

Presenter:

• Amanda Larson, Affordable Educational Resources Initiative Program Coordinator, Ohio State University

Panelists:

• Elli Constantin, Distance Education Director, Cypress College, Special AI Advisor for Accessibility, California Community Colleges

• Kaela Parks, Dean of Accessible and Inclusive Education, Portland Community College

• Ryan Randall, Instructional Designer, Idaho State University

Audience: All are welcome

Interested in learning more about the Open Education Association’s Outreach Working Group? Join us for an introductory session!

This session provides an opportunity to learn more about the Outreach Working Group’s purpose, objectives, and how it supports the broader mission of the Open Education Association. The group focuses on expanding the reach of open education by engaging new audiences and elevating open education in spaces beyond the existing community. We’ll walk through what the group plans to accomplish, what participation looks like, and how members can get involved before the work officially begins.

During the session, we’ll cover:

• The purpose of the Outreach Working Group

• Planned focus areas and example activities

• Expectations for participation

• Working group schedule

• Q&A

Audience: All are welcome at this session, but note that membership is required to join the working group

Want to learn more about the Open Education Association’s Professional Development Working Group? Join us for an introductory session!

This session will provide an overview of the Professional Development Working Group’s goals and planned areas of focus. The group will help shape the association’s approach to professional development, including how to highlight existing programs offered by the field, how to develop new programming that addresses key gaps or opportunities, and ways to support professional recognition for practitioners at different stages of their careers. We’ll discuss what the group aims to work on, what participation looks like, and what members can expect before the work officially begins.

During the session, we’ll cover:

• The purpose of the Professional Development Working Group

• Planned focus areas and example activities

• Expectations for participation

• Working group schedule

• Q&A

Audience: All are welcome at this session, but note that membership is required to join the working group

Curious about the Open Education Association’s Research Working Group? Join us for an introductory session!

This session will introduce the goals and scope of the Research Working Group, which will help shape the association’s efforts regarding open education research. This includes exploring collaboration with the field’s existing research-focused initiatives, identifying research gaps or opportunities, and developing recommendations about where the association can have the greatest impact. We’ll walk through what the group plans to accomplish, what participation looks like, and how members can get involved before the work officially begins.

During the session, we’ll cover:

• The purpose of the Research Working Group

• Planned focus areas and example activities

• Working group schedule

• Expectations for participation

• Q&A

Audience: All are welcome at this session, but note that membership is required to join the working group

Join us for an informal member social hour to kick off the new year with the Open Education Association. Bring your favorite drink—coffee, tea, cocoa, anything—and settle in for an informal hour of conversation about what’s ahead in the New Year. This is meant to be a light, social gathering where members can meet one another, share their plans for 2026, and help shape the energy for the association’s first full year of programming. It’s a simple way to reconnect after the holidays and start the year in good company.

Audience: Members Only