OER Professional Development
Advancing Open Education: Texas OER Professional Development Opportunities
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) Division of Digital Learning, in partnership with the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME), offers comprehensive virtual professional development focused on Open Educational Resources (OER). These structured learning experiences enhance educator capabilities while fostering meaningful collaboration with colleagues across Texas institutions. Participants develop essential skills through practice-oriented sessions designed to strengthen OER implementation and sustainability.
Our professional development pathways include an OERTX 101 Academy, OER Course Marking Community of Practice, and OER Peer Review Community of Practice – each designed to build institutional capacity for OER and deepen engagement with the Texas open education community.
See full program descriptions for more information on ways in which we can help strengthen your institution’s open education initiatives.
OERTX 101 Academy
The OERTX 101 Academy will equip participants with foundational skills to engage with the OERTX library and tools for discovery, curation, quality evaluation, and resource contribution. We are offering this academy this fall, in partnership with the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME). Faculty, librarians, and instructional designers at public and private higher education institutions that are new to OER or have intermediate experience are invited to participate.
The OERTX 101 Academy will consist of three synchronous, virtual sessions that will explore the following areas:
- Wednesday, November 12, 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. CT: Discovery and Navigation of OERTX. Exploration of OERTX as a robust tool for your OER search and discovery. Explore unique features of the what, why, and how of the tool OERTX, highlighting use cases involving successful adoption and implementation of resources available from OERTX at Texas institutions.
- Wednesday, November 19, 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. CT: Curation and Creation. Hands-ontraining aimed at supporting quality evaluation, open licensing, and curation strategies to collaboratively identify, evaluate, and organize OER relevant to desired use.
- Wednesday, December 3, 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. CT: Evaluating and Contributing. Deep dive into resource evaluation, developing workflows to utilize OERTX tools to submit, author, and remix resources. Leverage supports for peer review, reflection, and refinement of resources.
Participants are required to attend the three 90-minute webinars and complete approximately seven hours of practice activities. Participants will be eligible for a Certificate of Completion upon fulfillment of all requirements. There will be office hours offered for support and informal discussion with OER experts outside of the published times.
The Academy will be capped at 75 participants and limited to 10 participants per institution. Applicants will be selected on a first come, first served basis and reviewed for participation based on their commitment to attending all sessions and completing all learning activities. Participants are asked to complete Unit 4 of the Texas OER Core Elements Course | OERTX prior to session one.
Please complete the OERTX 101 Academy Registration Form to secure your spot.
Applications will close at the end of the day on November 4, 2025. Participants will be contacted via email by November 7, if selected to participate based on a review of the application.
OER Communities of Practices (CoP)
OER Course Marking CoP
The OER Course Marking CoP will address institutional challenges and opportunities related to course marking and the measurement of OER impact. By examining existing legislation, research, resources, and engaging in hands-on experience with course marking. This group will develop a set of recommendations for institutional implementation. These recommendations will help inform the design and development of a statewide OER impact dashboard.
OER Peer Review CoP
The OER Peer Review CoP will focus on engaging in shared learning, dialogue, and activities centered on effective practices for evaluating OER. Topics will include quality assurance frameworks, fair review practices, discipline-specific considerations, and strategies for maintaining peer-reviewed OER in teaching and learning. Educators with an interest in collaborative professional learning and a specific interest in peer review and quality assurance in open education practices are encouraged to apply. Prior experience with OER is welcome but not required—curiosity, engagement, and a willingness to learn together are key.
The Community of Practice groups will launch in February 2026 and conclude in June 2026. Faculty, Librarians, and Administrators are invited to submit the Interest Form by December 12, 2025. Interested applicants will be notified by January 7, 2026.