Open Education Events
Members of the Ontario Tech community are invited to attend events and programming hosted by the Open Education Lab throughout the year to learn about open education and how they can contribute to the movement!
Questions?
Connect with the OE Lab at oer@ontariotechu.ca.
OER Incubator:
February 27 to March 27
Join an interactive, online crash course in Open Educational Resource development!
OE Week 2026:
March 2 to 6
OER Incubator: February 27 - March 27
- The Open Educational Resource (OER) Incubator is a five-week workshop series that provides a collaborative space for interested participants to learn the basics of OER and open licensing, explore best practices for curating open materials, and begin creating an open resource.
- Registration for the 2026 OER Incubator is open! Browse the cards below to learn more.
Register for the OER Incubator
Weekly Topics
February 27: Create an OER Vision
This session will give participants an overview of the 5 week long incubator and introduce key concepts and benefits of Open Educational Resources (OER), explore challenges encountered, and guide attendees in creating a vision for incorporating OER into future educational contexts.
By the end of the session, participants will have a clear understanding of how OER can transform education and begin to create a vision with practical strategies for developing and using OER in their own teaching.
March 6: Finding and Evaluating OER
This session aims to equip participants with the skills needed to effectively search for, evaluate, and select high-quality OER.
By the end of the session, attendees will be proficient in using various OER repositories and evaluating resources based on quality, relevance, and alignment with their teaching goals.
March 13: Licensing and Attribution
This workshop aims to provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of how licensing works in the context of OER, the importance of attribution, and how to properly apply Creative Commons (CC) licenses to materials.
By the end of the session, attendees will be confident in navigating CC licensing, applying the correct attribution practices, and understanding the legal and ethical implications of using and sharing OER.
March 20: Inclusive Design
This workshop aims to equip participants with the knowledge and tools to design OER that are accessible, inclusive, and equitable for all learners.
Attendees will learn how to apply inclusive design principles to OER development and how to ensure that these resources meet the needs of diverse learners, including those with disabilities, different learning styles, and varying levels of technological access.
March 27: Student Co-Creation and Showcase
This session introduces participants to the Open Education Lab and explores student co-creation in OER, including how to involve students in the creation of open content.
Participants will learn about the benefits of co-creation, including fostering deeper learning, enhancing engagement, and developing critical skills in students. Additionally, the session will include a "show and tell" segment where attendees will get to share the OER vision they’ve been developing in the past few weeks, showcasing their ideas for collaborative, open content creation in their own contexts.
FAQs
Who should participate?
The Incubator is open to anyone in an instructional or facilitation role (e.g., TA, instructor, advisor) in the Ontario Tech community. Regardless of your teaching area, the Incubator will provide guidance on curating and creating OER.
Where and when will the Incubator take place?
The incubator will run every Friday for 5 weeks from February 27th to March 27th, from 1:00pm to 2:30pm. Each session will be delivered online through Google Meet. You will receive a calendar invite with the link once you have registered.
Open Education Week: March 2 - 6
- The month of March is recognized for Open Education: a global movement to create collaborative classroom experiences between learners and educators.
- Each year, Ontario Tech joins the celebration with OE Week! With interactive workshops, activities, and more, all members of the Ontario Tech community are welcome to join in the fun and find their place in the Open Education movement.
Online Workshops
During OE Week, we are offering special Instructional Support workshops focused on topics related to open education.
Register today to save your place!
Beyond Cost Savings: How Open Educational Resources Support Student Mental Health
Date: Monday, March 2, 11 a.m. to noon
Facilitator: Pranjal Saloni
Textbooks can be expensive, stressful, and sometimes out of reach, and that pressure often shows up in students’ well-being and learning.
In this session, we’ll talk about how Open Educational Resources (OER) can ease some of that stress by giving students free, day-one access to course materials and more flexible, inclusive ways to learn.
Together, faculty and students will explore research, real examples, and small design choices that can make learning feel more supportive, human, and equitable. You’ll leave with practical ideas you can use right away.
Learning Outcomes
- Describe how Open Educational Resources (OER) can reduce student stress and support mental well-being by giving examples from research and practice.
- Identify strategies for using OER to create more equitable, flexible, and inclusive learning experiences in their own courses or studies.
- Reflect on the impact of course materials on mental health and propose at least one actionable change they could make to support student well-being through OER.
Who should attend?
- Faculty, students, instructional designers, librarians, and educational developers who are interested in how open educational resources can reduce student stress, support well-being, and create more inclusive learning experiences.
Call to Action: Co-designing and Enhancing Pharmacology for Nurses
Date: Friday, March 6, Noon to 1 p.m.
Facilitator: Pranjal Saloni
This Open Education Week, we’re inviting Health Sciences faculty to join us in reviewing, modifying, or adapting our Pharmacology for Nurses Open Educational Resource (OER).
This resource was developed specifically for nursing graduate students preparing for the NCLEX, providing evidence-based content, clear explanations, and practical examples to support safe and effective medication management.
By participating, you’ll help ensure it remains current, inclusive, and student-centered.
Learning Outcomes
- Demonstrate how your expertise can enhance and support the Pharmacology for Nurses OER by suggesting updates or improvements.
- Apply evidence-based and inclusive teaching practices to ensure the OER meets diverse learner needs, documenting your recommendations.
- Create adapted or supplemental OER content that aligns with course objectives and promotes accessible, student-centered learning.
Who should attend?
- Health Sciences faculty members who teach nursing or pharmacology-related courses, particularly those supporting NCLEX preparation.
- Teaching assistants, instructional designers, and educational developers involved in nursing education.
Bring Your OER; Leave with Interactive Learning
Bring Your OER; Leave with Interactive Learning
When: Tuesday, March 3; 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Where: Business and IT Building (BIT), Room 2034
Open Education is about more than access! It’s about engagement, adaptability, and collaboration. During Open Education Week 2026, we invite faculty to roll up their sleeves and join us in the makerspace for a hands-on, collaborative workshop focused on transforming existing OERs and teaching materials into open, interactive learning experiences using H5P.
Bring a resource you already use (slides, readings, videos, or activities) and work alongside the OE Lab, educational technology analyst, and your peers to reimagine it as something more dynamic. Together, we’ll explore how simple interactive elements (quizzes, branching scenarios, annotations, and more) can enhance learner engagement while staying true to the values of openness, accessibility, and reuse.
This is not a demo or a lecture. It’s a make-and-take session designed to help you:
- Adapt your materials for open sharing
- Add meaningful interactivity without extra workload
- Experiment with H5P in a supportive, low-pressure environment
- Learn from colleagues across disciplines
Whether your resource is already openly licensed or you’re just starting to explore openness, this workshop meets you where you are and helps you leave with something tangible, reusable, and ready for your learners.
No registration required!
Want a reminder?
Complete the linked form to receive a calendar hold and reminder email in advance of the session!