By Megan Zara, UTA Libraries
Recording:
I was thrilled when Peggy Semingson and the CRTLE team invited me to lead a webinar on Open Education. It’s an exciting moment for the field, and for UTA in particular. To say that UTA is ahead of the curve in Open Education feels like an understatement. We’re not just talking about affordability or access anymore. We’re building a culture of openness that is shaping how we teach, learn, and create knowledge together.
Even before the session began, the registration data told a story: UTA faculty already know about OER. Many have used open materials, and a growing number are ready to take their next steps; toward adaptation, creation, and open pedagogy. That readiness was reflected in the energy of the session. I’ve been feeling this shift across campus for some time now, in the kinds of questions faculty and students ask, in how they talk about flexibility and inclusion, and in the way they connect their teaching to broader equity goals. The research backs this up, too. Recent work by Madhav (2024), Noone et al. (2024), Rampelt et al. (2025), Tlili et al. (2025), and Kelly et al. (2025), point to the field’s evolution from a cost-savings model toward a focus on open practice, teaching and learning in ways that are participatory, creative, and learner-centered.
This webinar gave us a chance to explore that shift together. It wasn’t just a presentation, it felt like a community moment. I was able to invite several of UTA’s most engaged open educators to share their experiences. Honestly, I couldn’t invite everyone I wanted to; we have so many champions across disciplines that an hour barely scratched the surface.
Each speaker offered a glimpse into how Open Education takes shape in real classrooms.
Dr. Shelley Wigley, who led a PR Campaigns course that turned her students into collaborators and creators, reflected on how empowering it was to see her students’ research and media projects shared openly through MavMatrix. “They weren’t just making assignments; they were making something that could help others,” she said. That sense of purpose is at the heart of open pedagogy.
Dr. Dylan Parks spoke about his journey writing Microbiomes: Health and the Environment through a UTA CARES grant. He offered grounded, candid advice about the process, celebrating both the excitement and the reality of publishing openly. His reminder to “start simple, then build as you learn” resonated with many in the audience who are considering their first OER project.
Dr. Rebecca Mauldin, author of one of Mavs Open Press’s most adopted books, emphasized impact. She shared stories of students who felt seen and supported because their professor cared enough to remove cost barriers. “It’s not just about saving money,” she said. “It’s about belonging.”
And Dr. David Arditi, who recently finished his open textbook, Keepin’ Up with Popular Culture, highlighted the creative autonomy that comes with open licensing: “You don’t have to wait for permission to share what you know. You can build something that reflects your values and your students’ needs.” He also pointed to a bigger ripple: Open Education nudges scholarly publishing toward models that value access, reuse, and community impact. For him, publishing openly is not just a textbook choice. It is a stance on how knowledge should circulate, be remixed, and count in our professional lives.
Those reflections captured exactly what I hoped this session would show: Open Education is not a one-size-fits-all approach. It’s a mindset. It’s a way of working that values collaboration, flexibility, and human connection as much as it values access.
In my part of the session, I introduced some of the evolving supports we’ve built at UTA Libraries to help faculty and students along this path. Our OER subject guide now includes a growing list of tools, finders, and trackers. The OER Matchmaking Service pairs faculty with curated resources, saving hours of initial searching. Our new Open Education Research and Planning Mini-Grant helps participants explore the OER landscape in their field while earning the first four badges of the Trailblazers Badge Program. And through the Open Education Trailblazers initiative itself, we’re intentionally creating space for both educators and students to learn, design, and advocate together.
That last piece matters deeply to me. Faculty have led the way in so many incredible projects, but the next chapter of UTA’s open story has to include student voices. I want students to help co-create the narrative of what learning looks like when it’s truly open, when curiosity and creativity lead.
One of the most meaningful parts of the webinar was watching attendees connect the dots between their own teaching goals and the potential of Open Education. Many shared in the chat that they’ve been searching for ways to make their courses more inclusive, adaptable, and relevant. Others said they finally understood that OER isn’t only about free textbooks, it’s about freedom in teaching. That recognition feels like the beginning of something larger.
As I closed the session, I reflected on how far we’ve come. When I first started in this role, much of the conversation around OER centered on discovery and adoption. Those remain vital foundations, but now I see educators reimagining their courses, questioning traditional publishing models, and embracing the idea that knowledge should be shared, not gated. We are, in many ways, trailblazing what Open Education can look like at a comprehensive public university.
There’s more to do, of course. More stories to tell, more resources to build, more bridges between faculty and students. But this webinar reminded me why the work is so energizing, it’s not about convincing people anymore. It’s about supporting the momentum that’s already here.
As I look ahead, I’m eager to keep these conversations going, to help more educators and students see themselves as part of UTA’s open community, and to keep showing that openness is not just a value; it’s a practice we live together.
Kelly, A. E., Avila, B. N., & Schell, A. C. (2025). Students as co-authors: Achievement emotions, beliefs about writing, and OER publishing decisions. Open Praxis, 17(1), 21–33. https://doi.org/10.55982/openpraxis.17.1.745
Madhav, N. (2024). Optimising open educational Resources and practises to enable inclusive education. Teacher Education through Flexible Learning in Africa (TETFLE), 6, 165–184. https://doi.org/10.35293/tetfle.v6i1.5040
Noone, J., Champieux, R., Taha, A., Gran-Moravec, M., Hatfield, L., Cronin, S., & Shoemaker, R. (2024). Implementing open educational resources: Lessons learned. Journal of Professional Nursing, 55, 65–69. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2024.08.005
Rampelt, F., Ruppert, R., Schleiss, J., Mah, D.-K., Bata, K., & Egloffstein, M. (2025). How do AI educators use open educational Resources? A cross-sectoral case study on OER for AI education. Open Praxis. https://doi.org/10.55982/openpraxis.17.1.766
Tlili, A., Zhang, X., Lampropoulos, G., Salha, S., Garzón, J., Bozkurt, A., Huang, R., & Burgos, D. (2025). Uncovering the black box effect of epen educational Resources (OER) and practices (OEP): A meta-analysis and meta-synthesis from the perspective of activity theory. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12(1), 504. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-04644-y