This post was co-written by Elle Dimopoulos and Adronisha Frazier.

Open educator leaders are informing students, faculty, instructional designers, and stakeholders about the many opportunities regarding OERs in an effort to positively impact education spaces globally, nationally, and at state levels. We sent a few questions to two leaders in open education to share their experiences with OERs, the pathway to supporting OERs in their respective states, and what they foresee in the near future in digital technology. 

Meet Joanna Schimizzi, Professional Learning Specialist at the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME) and high school biology teacher. Joanna has worked extensively in the K-12 sector and educational networks.   

1. How did you first become interested in using OER in your field? Was there a lightbulb moment?

I first learned about OER when I was asked as a high school Biology teacher to support work on developing a multi-disciplinary unit around primary source documents. I was part of a team chosen for an IMLS grant to look at how primary sources could be used as anchor texts to teach across content areas. So we were tasked with designing a unit where a high school student might use the same anchor text in a math, science, literature, and history class to learn the content of the course. My group chose the Declaration of Human Rights – a primary source that I had never even known about. I developed a unit where my students looked at the basic human right of access to high quality food and designed an inquiry unit where students generated questions about what high quality food is leading them to learning about proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids and thus learning the Biology content. The grant had the requirements of creating openly licensed work and I was hooked! Not only had I learned about these primary source documents, but I had also learned so much about why to openly license my work so others could use it.

2. What do you consider the major challenges for OER adoption and creation in your field and at your institution?

My background is in high school Biology and the majority of K-12 teachers struggle to find high quality resources that are free of bias and are aligned to the depth and breadth of a standard. Of the many demands on educators, it is hard for them to also spend time searching for and creating resources, especially if they don’t have [an] instructional design background. It is easier if they are given a resource or even better, a curriculum that covers all of the content. As I work with Higher Education faculty, I continue to notice similar themes—it really is convenient to be provided with a full curriculum, and the easiest way has been for publishers to create that content.

3. Can you give an example of a particularly engaging OER activity or resource that provides students with a new perspective or lens on which to view a concept that would be difficult to replicate with traditional instructional material?

There are so many! Recently, I have been looking at a lot of examples of student co-created **OER. I found “Starting A Conversation About Mental Health: Foundational Training for Students” from BC Campus. This is an example of an OER that would never look the same if it were a traditionally created publisher or full copyright resource. The resource encourages users to customize the resource and pay attention to local conditions and cultures. It’s a resource with the opportunity for tremendous impact on students and the greater community.

4. As we navigate a world that is increasingly dominated by technology, how do you see the role of AI in the future of OER? What are your thoughts on  the sustainability of OER materials?

To be honest, I have really been struggling with AI. I am a creator at heart, and I feel that AI takes away the beauty, grade, science and art of the creation of materials. What I am trying to remember is that not everyone adores the creation of content like I do. Others benefit from having AI do the first drafts and then building from there. I want to spend more time looking at what AI can create for others and seeing how that can free up the brilliant brains of colleagues to engage with students, co-create with students and lift up students so they see the beauty of their own brains. 

Meet Emily Frank, Affordable Learning Program Administrator at LOUIS: The Louisiana Library Network, Louisiana Board of Regents and former librarian with Louisiana State University. Emily has been a champion for open education supporting many Affordable Learning LOUISiana initiatives, such as the Course Transformation Grant and the Connecting the Pipeline: Libraries, OER, and Dual Enrollment from Secondary to Postsecondary project. Additionally, the Louisiana Board of Regents created a dashboard for transparent data collection across more than 40 institutions. Louisiana institutions implementing OERs from 2012 to 2024 saved approximately $56.5 million and impacted 633,051 students. 

1. How did you first become interested in using OER in your field/occupation? Was there a lightbulb moment?

In my previous role as a research and instruction librarian, students would ask if we had their textbooks in the library’s collection. Some students shared more details about the challenges they were facing in covering costs and I witnessed how these costs were barriers with the potential to keep them from achieving what they hoped to achieve. Many of the costs of higher education, like tuition and fees and room and board, felt out [of] my sphere of influence. But the more I looked into textbooks, the more I understood there were multiple avenues to get involved and impact student access and affordability. 

2. What do you consider the major challenges for OER adoption and creation in your field and at your institution?

Major challenges we face include the time and bandwidth of our institutional partners who are engaged or who want to engage in this work. Academic librarians and teaching faculty in Louisiana are committed to supporting student success. But they have full plates and may lack the time or opportunity to take on these projects. Part of our work at LOUIS is to provide support and to make connections within our community to make involvement a lighter lift. We also provide various on ramps and ways to participate in OER activity so someone can take a first step of hopefully many steps.   

3. Can you give an example of a particularly engaging OER activity or resource that provides students with a new perspective or lens on which to view a concept that would be difficult to replicate with traditional instructional material?

Many of our recent OER projects have included a Louisiana lens, where the faculty authors have brought in Louisiana historic, cultural, or current event connections to localize and contextualize the material. Having this occur within the textbook wouldn’t typically be possible with a commercial textbook but can be a way to provide content that is more reson[ant] and better reflects students’ lived experiences. 

4. As we navigate a world that is increasingly dominated by technology, how do you see the role of AI for the future of OER? What are your thoughts on the sustainability of OER materials?

I think AI has a role in OER creation and my job is to help our project teams in Louisiana to have the skills, guidance, and best practices they need to leverage tools in effective and ethical ways, and to understand where their expertise and voice is important to preserve. I try to build and maintain my awareness so that I can find ways our OER authors can consider using AI regardless of where they are on the AI adoption spectrum. 

Sustainability is an essential consideration in the OER movement. Resources, including money and staffing, are part of this. Funds and personnel can be used for activities like preparing new editions of materials or completing routine maintenance. But securing resources can be challenging and much of our OER activity has been funded by grants or one time funding. We work to tell our story so funds continue to be directed towards this movement. This includes capturing data to show the return on investment and sharing out the impacts of this work. We also try to get as many people as we can involved so we have a robust and thriving OER community in Louisiana. That community is essential. We at LOUIS design projects and strategies to impact affordability but we rely on our member libraries and our project participants to support that work and carry it forward.

5. Do you have anything else to share, closing thoughts or projects that you are working on?

I hope readers can find their “community” within this movement, as that has been a source of energy and encouragement for me. My community includes Louisiana’s academic librarians and teaching faculty making higher ed more affordable, the Open Education Network, and colleagues I’ve met at conferences. They are generous with their ideas and support and have encouraged my growth within this space. 

This post was co-written by Elle Dimopoulos and Adronisha Frazier. To read more about the individual experiences with affordable learning initiatives in Louisiana, refer to previous posts from Elizabeth Batte—Taking on a New Role as OER Coordinator and Co-Writing a State-Funding OER Grant with Faculty—and Adronisha Frazier. To read about an ISKME partnership, refer to Insights from the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) OER Institute: A Faculty Perspective. Please note that brackets indicate changes to the authors’ words for grammatical flow in print.