October 2026 | Edition 208

OpenEd Digest

Your monthly roundup of what’s new in open education

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Upcoming Events

Curated picks from our lists of upcoming webinars and conferences

Upcoming Webinars:

OE Global, SPARC Europe, ENOEL - OE Café #13 Linking Research Outputs to OER: Building Bridges Between Scholarship and Open Education - Oct. 23
Open Up Learning Kansas - The Open Up Learning Kansas Steering Committee Presents Back to Basics: OER Defined - Oct. 23
Colorado Department of Higher Education - Accessibility Q&A - Nov. 2
Open Oregon - Gray Areas: A Scenario-Based Workshop on AI, Copyright, and OER - Nov. 2
Open Education Network - Senior Leaders Open Education Briefing - Nov. 4
MHEC & NEBHE - Open in Prison Spaces: Exploring the Potential of Open Educational Resources in Higher Education in Prison - Nov. 4
University of Regina - Universal Design through Open Pedagogy - Nov. 5
Open Florida FLVC - AI and Copyright, a 2026 update - Nov. 5

Conference Call for Proposals:

Open for Student Success Symposium (virtual, March 3) - Deadline Nov. 1
ExplOER Nevada Symposium (virtual, March 5) - Deadline Nov. 2
Library Publishing Forum (in person, May 10-13) - Deadline Nov. 6

Last Chance Conference Registration:

Virtual - LibreTexts OctoberFest 2026 - Oct. 26
Virtual - Open Education Conference - Oct. 27-29
In Person - MI OER Conference - Nov. 13

More Events

Open Opportunities

Highlights from our open education opportunity board

Open Calls:

Call for Contributions: Contribute Open Science and Pedagogy Resources to OCTOPUS - Deadline Nov. 1
Survey: Open Education Dedicated Library Group Survey - Deadline Nov. 6
Student Opportunity: Student Course Materials Survey - Deadline Nov. 12
Call for Nominations: Iowa Open Education Awards - Deadline Nov. 13
Professional Learning: Certificate in Open Educational Pathways

Job Opportunities:

Grant Project Coordinator - Open Oregon Educational Resources - Deadline Nov. 2
Instructional Designer - Open Oregon Educational Resources - Deadline Nov. 2

More Opportunities

Stories from the Field

Snapshots of open education making a difference

From Oregon: Open Oregon Educational Resources has been awarded a $1.7 million federal grant to develop open textbooks for four high-enrollment Communications courses across the state’s public colleges and universities. Once complete, the materials will be available at all 17 Oregon community colleges and seven public universities, with projected savings of over $2 million per year. Read More>>

From New Mexico: Eastern New Mexico University is expanding its participation in the New Mexico Open Educational Resources Consortium, now backed by a $1.55 million federal grant for Phase II. The consortium’s first phase served more than 15,000 students statewide and generated over $1.86 million in textbook savings, with Phase II focused on scaling OER adoption in rural areas. Read More>>

Hot Off the Press

Newly published resources to explore and share

Open Textbook: Strength of Materials offers an introduction to vital foundational engineering concepts such as internal loading, stress, strain, material properties, and more. This book helps engineers understand structures to prevent critical breakage and deformation of the smallest to largest designs.

Open Resource: Guidance on CC Licensing in the Age of AI addresses how the current suite of CC legal tools apply—or not—in a world where AI systems both rely on and produce knowledge while increasingly acting as an intermediary to original sources.

Research: Open in Prison Spaces explores the potential for, and limitations of, open educational resources (OER) and open education practices in higher education in prison.

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