UW Libraries to Host Open Education Symposium Oct. 3

University of Wyoming Libraries will host its second annual Open Education Symposium Thursday, Oct. 3.

The symposium brings together educators, librarians, instructional designers, administrators and students from across the region to talk about increased access to education and textbook affordability.

The event will begin at noon in Room 506 of Coe Library. Presentations are scheduled until 5 p.m. The symposium is free and open to faculty, staff and students at UW and Wyoming community colleges, as well as regional Colorado institutions. Lunch will be provided. To view the symposium schedule or to register, go to https://uwyo.libguides.com/wyoer.

Brittany Dudek, library coordinator at Colorado Community Colleges Online, is the keynote speaker. She is the Colorado Community College System’s open educational resources (OER) subject matter expert. She has served on the Colorado Department of Higher Education’s OER Council since 2017 and is currently serving as chair. Additionally, she is a member of the Community College Consortium for OER’s Executive Council, as well as a member of the Association of College and Research Libraries’ Community and Junior College Libraries Section OER Task Force.

Following the keynote address will be two rounds of breakout sessions that will feature discussions on copyright, using institutional repositories and student advocacy, as well as discussions with previous alt-textbook grant recipients.

The Open Education Symposium will conclude with practitioner meetings for administrators, faculty, staff and students.

“The Open Education Symposium is a celebration of all of the work at the University of Wyoming to make education more equitable, accessible and affordable for its students, an effort in line with the university’s mission statement,” says Hilary Baribeau, an assistant librarian in Digital Collections. “At UW Libraries, we’re doing our part by creating local and regional partnerships through the symposium and encouraging the creation of open educational resources through our Alt-Textbook Grant Program.”

The symposium will explore and educate about the value of OER and provide guidance on how to make educational materials more accessible. The program serves as an opportunity for regional connections and conversations to impact student affordability and student success through the development of OER.

For more information, call Baribeau at (307) 766-6860 or email hbaribea@uwyo.edu.