2024 Open Education Conference

OER is used to transform the affordability of education, but OER can also be used as a tool for cultural change across an institution or state. In Colorado, the open education community has used OER as a tool to advance justice, equity, diversity and inclusion; disciplinary, institutional, and state-level cultural change; and to advocate for student interests. Presenters representing a two-year college, four-year universities, and state government will discuss how their individual institutions and the state OER Council have leveraged OER to cultivate change from implementing state government-level funding for the development of OER to OER being used to lay the groundwork for bringing restorative justice into classrooms. Attendees will learn about various approaches at the macro and micro levels and leave the session inspired to use OER to generate change in their institutional or regional context.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Learn how the Colorado OER Council, state government, and higher education institutions have used OER as a tool for cultural change.
• Articulate the Colorado OER community’s various strategies using OER in order to advance equity, diversity, and inclusion for students and faculty.
• Reflect and share how OER can be a tool for change regarding equity in your home state and institution.