OER Digest – August 29, 2025
THE OER DIGEST
Your monthly newsletter for open education updates, opportunities, and reminders
OPEN CONNECTIONS
Conferences, jobs, and other OER-related opportunities
CONFERENCE: The deadline for early bird registration discounts for the 2025 Open Education Conference is Friday August 29th! Register now to join in Denver, CO or online on October 28-30. If you plan to attend the conference, consider signing up for the new OpenEd Conference Buddy Program. Applications are open until September 12th, with options for both in-person and virtual participation.
OER JOBS: A new website has launched to help prospective OER librarians and staff find available job openings: OERJobs.com. The site was launched by Ben Rawlings, Associate Dean for Outreach, Engagement and Collections at the University of Kentucky Libraries.
CERTIFICATE PROGRAM: The University of Minnesota’s Open Education Network is accepting applications for two certificate programs in 2026. The first is a Certificate in Open Pedagogy which starts in January and will involve revising curriculum through the power of open pedagogy, and the second is a Certificate in Open Education Librarianship, which starts in February and involves developing and implementing an action plan to grow open education on your campus..
WEBINAR: SPARC’s next webinar in their Open Education 101 is on September 10 at 2pm ET and is titled “Open Education in the Current Moment”. This session will explore how open education intersects with major trends shaping higher education today, including automatic textbooks billing,, the rise of artificial intelligence, and growing areas such as microcredentials and workforce readiness.
WEBINAR SERIES: The Kennesaw State University Libraries’ Scholarly Publishing and Research team invites you to attend their webinar series "Experts on Repositories." Participants will hear from KSU experts on institutional, named, and subject-specific repositories in higher education. If you're interested but unable to attend, register to receive a recording. While our experts will discuss these topics through a KSU lens, the knowledge they share is applicable to you regardless of your institution! The series runs at 11am ET on September 10, October 8, and November 5.
CALL FOR PEER REVIEWERS: The Rollins Digital Press invites applications for peer reviewers to evaluate an upcoming intermediate-level French OER textbook currently in development. The review deadline is December 15, 2025 and the compensation includes a $150 honorarium and acknowledgment in the final published work. To express interest, please send a short statement of interest and your CV or resume to Rachel Walton at rwalton@rollins.edu.
STORIES FROM THE FIELD
Quick snapshots of those making change on the ground level, and those impacted
FROM NORTH CAROLINA: A Guilford College Physics professor named Raymond Binford has transformed an orphaned manuscript by a late colleague into an interactive digital textbook that’s changing how his students experience Albert Einstein’s theory of special relativity. The free, dynamic, web-based learning tool, titled Introduction to Modern Physics, builds upon a 50-page draft written in 2004 by the late Rex Adelberger. Rex, who taught Physics at Guilford for 35 years, retired in 2007 and died in 2018. "Being able to manipulate time and space yourself makes the concepts clearer than any textbook picture can." Read More >>
FROM MONTANA: Christina Trunnel, the assistant dean of the Montana State University library, has reported that MSU students have saved millions of dollars in textbooks costs over the past six years due to their OER program. Since the program’s launch in 2019, more than 65 faculty members at MSU have switched to OER.. Using student enrollment data and the reported cost of a textbook at the time professors switch, the library calculated that around 34,500 students have saved a collective $4.5 million as of spring 2025. “We don’t want a student to come to MSU and feel like the cost of a textbook is a reason why they can’t take the class…so, we’re going to do everything we can to get that price down as low as possible.” Read More >>
FROM INDIANA: Over the past few years, Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana has worked to ensure students have low-cost course materials for their courses by starting a textbook affordability program. The program, entitled “Textbook Affordability at Ball State” (TABS), aims to make education more accessible, equitable, and sustainable by tagging course listings so students know which courses offer low cost or free openly licensed materials. “It’s my belief that removing barriers to education helps both students and educators thrive.” Read More >>
HOT OFF THE PRESS
Each edition, we highlight an interesting, new, openly-licensed resource
The Universities of Wisconsin recently released, Student Success Through Collaboration: MTSS, RtI, and Special Education in Schools, a new OER that offers an effective guide for pre-service teachers and practicing educators seeking to build an inclusive system of academic, social-emotional, and behavioral support for their diverse student populations.
Milne Open Textbooks from SUNY Geneseo recently released Social Justice & Advocacy in Human Services, a new OER that delves into the complex realm of social justice, offering a deep dive into historical roots and theories to practical applications in the field. This text covers fundamental concepts, including power, privilege, and oppression, and explores critical issues like racism, gender, sexuality, poverty, religion, and disability in the context of the United States.
WEIGH IN
Great reads to repost or share and interesting discussions to consider
Open Educational Resources (OER) Market Hits New High | Newstrail
Dr. Rachel Scott publishes article on textbook affordability | Illinois State University
Have suggestions for the next edition? Let us know at oerdigest@gmail.com.
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