Iowa OER

Interested in learning more about other open work that scholars are doing around the world? Join our peers at the Iowa Regent universities next week for a keynote lecture about #OpenAccess publishing and more!

Register to attend the online presentation: uiowa.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Announcement graphic. Now available! Access handouts, guidance, images, and other resources from across the web to support your OER efforts.

We recently finished a project to update our #OER Toolkit, a collection of resources from across the web pulled together to support OER leaders. Reviewing & organizing the content took some time, but we hope it will support our community!

Access the toolkit on our site: iowaoer.com/iowa-oer-too...

Poster advertising Disciplinary OER Communities of Practice. Cohorts available for Psychology, teacher education, and environmental science/Agriculture. Apply to connect!

Final call for applicants! iowaoer.com/oer-communit...

If you or someone you know is interested in participating in this year's cohort for our free #OER Communities of Practice, be sure to get signed up by the end of the day tomorrow, September 19th!

Photo of a person reaching up to open window curtains, letting sunlight stream into the room. Headline reads, "Because the possibilities are wide open."

This fall, 🍁 reach for new possibilities with 2026 certificates from the OEN:

CERTIFICATE in OPEN PEDAGOGY
Create student-centered curriculum w/ open pedagogy.
z.umn.edu/OpenPedCert

CERTIFICATE in OPEN EDUCATION LIBRARIANSHIP
Build your action plan to grow open education.
z.umn.edu/OpenEdLibrar...

OER Creation Award Winners 2025 Melanie Bloom “I met Melanie several times during the course of the project to discuss open publishing and creative commons licensing for the BEESTINGZ curriculum. Each time, she asked t…

Did you miss our announcement last week about the #Iowa #OER Award winners? Check out the features for our award winners on our website, starting with Melanie Bloom, a high school teacher and recipient of our first OER Creation Award!
iowaoer.com/oer-creation...

New semester, new resources! 🙌 We’ve added 18 free online, expert-written, openly licensed textbooks to our library. They even come with free instructor resources like test banks & PowerPoint slides, too!

🙌 Give them a try this fall: openstax.org/blog/the-new...

#OER #HigherEd #K12 #OpenStax

OER Adoption Award Winners 2025 Heather Schaffner “When I started teaching in 2017, I took the traditional route most professors do: assign a textbook students need to buy or rent, along with primary sources to purchas…

OER Adoption Award: Heather Schaffner (University of Northern Iowa)

An OER leader at her institution, this history instructor has transitioned nearly all of her courses to using free materials, including a mix of OER and library-licensed content.
iowaoer.com/oer-adoption-award/

OER Adaptation Award: Nikki Harken, Deb Young, Sadé Barfield, & Scott Bredman (University of Northern Iowa)

This team of instructors has adapted material from several OER to create a custom book that meets the needs of their multi-course communication sequence.
iowaoer.com/oer-adaptation-award/

Supplementary Materials Award: Dr. Amber Anderson (Iowa State University)

This instructor has developed handbooks and support materials for high school soil judging contests, Iowa septic installers--and yes, also college students!
iowaoer.com/supplementar...

OER Creation Award: Melanie Bloom (Sioux Central High School)

This high school teacher led a grant project which has impacted hundreds of students across Iowa and beyond, making science engaging and relevant!
iowaoer.com/oer-creation...

Open Pedagogy Award: Melissa Kleinschmit, PhD & Chelsea Clegg, PhD (Northeast Iowa Community College)

These award winners collaborate with their students to develop websites on course topics, helping students develop media literacy skills.
iowaoer.com/open-pedagogy-award-winners/

Open Educator Award: Dr. Giovanni Zimotti, et al

This team of 13 instructors has collaborated to develop an innovative and flexible open Spanish curriculum that supports learners across Iowa and beyond!
iowaoer.com/open-educato...

Colorful graphic announcing that the 2025 Iowa OER Award winners list is now live. Quote: "Check out the list of award winners on our website."

2 announcements in one week? That's right! Not only is the CFP for our 2025 Communities of Practice live, we've also just posted the official announcement for the winners of the 2025 Iowa #OER Awards!
Learn more about the winners and their work with open education at iowaoer.com/iowa-oer-awa...

Many of our community members have been looking for more opportunities to dig deeper into how open education programs are supported and sustained. Check out this series for some interesting insights! www.iskme.org/event/design...

OER Communities of Practice The Iowa OER Communities of Practice (CoPs) program supports instructors across the state who want to connect with peers over a shared interest in open educational resources (OER). Participants in …

Have you heard? We've just opened the call for participants for our annual OER Communities of Practice! Apply now through Sept 12 to participate! Instructors in the fields of Psychology, Teacher Education, and Agriculture/Environmental Science are encouraged to apply.
iowaoer.com/oer-communit...

Reflecting on the 2024/2025 Communities of Practice During the 2024/2025 academic year, the Iowa Open Education Action Team ran our third Communities of Practice program, bringing together instructors across the state to share their interest in open…

Wondering what the Iowa #OER team has been up to this year? It's been a lot! Our annual report is not yet public, but in the meantime, you can read up on one of our projects from the past year on our blog, our third annual OER Communities of Practice Program!
iowaoer.com/2025/06/12/j...

New blog post! graphic over a fun science-themed background.

New blog post! Learn about the amazing work behind openscied.org, a free, high-quality #OER science curriculum with the support of educators across Iowa & beyond. OpenSciEd is an excellent example of what educators can do when they're given the tools & time to succeed.
iowaoer.com/2025/05/28/m...

While colleges and universities have implemented various programs to support students’ basic needs, many adult learners do not take advantage of them due to critical barriers.

“Basic needs insecurity is a tangible crisis affecting adult learners nationwide.”

We uncover the issue across #HigherEducation, and share federal, state, and institutional resources that have the potential to make a difference. Learn more: sr.ithaka.org/blog/from-ch...

There's only a few days left to nominate yourself or a peer for an Iowa #OER Award! If you know an educator in Iowa (K-16) who has supported learners through open education work, please consider nominating them for this opportunity!
iowaoer.com/2025-iowa-op...

2025 Iowa OER Awards nominations open! 5 nomination categories: adopt, adapt, create, create supplementary materials, and open pedagogy. $1K to $2K per award.

Have you or colleague used #OER for a class in Iowa? Consider nominating yourself or them for an Iowa OER Award!
This new award celebrates instructors across the state working with OER, from K-12 to higher ed. Nominations are open until June 1: iowaoer.com/2025-iowa-op...

A colorful poster with the text "new blog post!" in all caps.

Our latest blog contribution comes from Northeast Iowa Community College's Shannon Brenner, who shares her instructional design team's experience aligning #OER to courses through Course Blueprints!
#InstructionalDesign #CourseAlignment
iowaoer.com/2025/04/29/a...

Impact Stories Archive - SPARC Open Access, Open Data, and Open Education have already resulted in significant advancements in disease prevention, economic development, crisis management, improved education, researcher career devel...

Why open?
We have 30 stories that illustrate the impact #OpenAccess #OpenData #OpenEducation #OER #OpenScience #OpenResearch #OpenScholarship.
Download & share with your community!
sparcopen.org/impact-stori...

Oregon State faculty’s use of free textbooks generates millions in student savings To celebrate Open Education Week, read how OSU students have saved over $20 million thanks to faculty who use free textbooks and other OER.

"Open access materials help to democratize knowledge," said Prof Marit Bovbjerg from OSU, where free and low-cost textbooks, including @creativecommons.bsky.social licensed open educational resources, have saved students more than $20 million since 2019. Read more: bit.ly/4kvcw81 #OER

Reflecting on OE Week 2025: events, projects, and programming, oh my! March 12, noon to 1pm CT. An Iowa OER Webinar.

Join us for our next Iowa #OER webinar, "Reflecting on #OEWeek25: Events, Projects, and Programming—Oh my!" This month, we'll chat about our favorite events from Open Ed Week and discuss potential ideas for the future (both small and large)!
Register now: iowaoer.com/event/reflec...

Celebrating milestones during Open Education Week When it comes to making learning more affordable, accessible and customizable, Brock University has a lot to celebrate this Open Education Week. Now in its third year, Brock’s Open Educational Resourc...

This #OEweek I am delighted to celebrate a few milestones in Brock University's growing #OER grant program, including over $500,000 in student cost savings over 2 years, #OER adoptions across all of our Faculties, the launch of an OER adaptation stream, and the launch of an OER data dashboard.

YouTube video by Iowa OER Publishing OER on a shoestring: Manifold to the rescue!

You can access the recording for this webinar now at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRfs...

Publishing OER with Manifold webinar announcement. An Iowa OER webinar. Featuring Anne Marie Gruber, University of Northern Iowa. February 14th, 12 to 1pm CST.

Next week, we're hosting a webinar with Anne Marie Gruber from UNI, who will describe how an #OER initiative with no budget can support publishing with Manifold thanks to support from the @openednetwork.bsky.social. Examples and documentation will be shared. Learn more: iowaoer.com/event/publis...

The Iowa OER team has been hard at work this year on a few #OpenEd projects! If you work with #OER, check out these resources on our website, iowaoer.com
OER Promotional Kit for Institutions
OER Training Modules
Iowa OER Annual Survey Data Dashboard
Conferences & Events
Our wonderful blog
And more!

The new #IowaOER blog post is up, and this is a good read, folks! "Unlocking Knowledge: The Role of OER in Iowa’s Public Libraries" discusses the potential role of #OER in #PublicLibraries for supporting lifelong learners, local homeschool populations, and others: iowaoer.com/2024/12/02/u...

"New blog post" Iowa OER poster with a photo of a lecture hall

New blog post alert! This month, Anne Marie Gruber from UNI is sharing her experience learning about and supporting an #OpenPedagogy project!
iowaoer.com/2024/10/21/o...