Online and OER/ZTC tips and opportunities – Oct 2026

Dear faculty colleagues,

I hope your October is more treat than trick so far! I have some timely online-related things to share with you, and below, see the latest from the ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI) – some good overview webinars this month on finding OER, using Creative Commons licensing, AI and OER, and UDL and OER. 

  • Any questions about MiraCosta’s new Distance Education Certification / Recertification? Don’t hesitate to contact me!
  • CCC Online Teaching Conference – this year will be in Anaheim June 28-30
  • Perusall just kicked off a “4-week virtual, author-facilitated reading experience with author Flower Darby” focused on her book, The Joyful Online Teacher. Learn more on the Perusall event site(there is a small cost to gain access to the eBook).
  • SDCCD invites area faculty to attend part of all of their free annual DE Summit – Amplifying Human Potential: Designing Learning Experiences That Reveal, Empower, and Challenge Students
    • Friday, November 13, 8 am – 2 pm at their North City Campus Rm #101 or Online via Zoom
    • The day features a keynote speaker (Jenae Cohn – she’s great), student panel on their experiences in Canvas, faculty showcases, and more. Breakfast and lunch are provided for in-person attendees. Register here.

 Please let me know if you have any questions about anything online or OER/ZTC related!

– Jim Julius
Faculty Coordinator, Online Education

• Back to Basics – Getting Started with Open Educational Resources (OER)•

Tuesday, October 13, 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Back to Basics: Finding Open Educational Resources (OER)
Curious about OER and you don’t know where to start? Join us to start your OER discovery journey. Where can you find existing OER for your discipline? Join us to learn how to find OER – and options to consider when you can’t find anything.
Register for Back to Basics: Finding OER

• Creative Commons (CC) Licensing •

What exactly is a Creative Commons license – and what does it do? Whether you are new to the OER space or struggling to select the right license, we have a webinar for you.

Wednesday, October 21, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Introduction to Creative Commons Licensing
Understanding Creative Commons licensing is critical when working with open educational resources. In this interactive webinar, we’ll explore the nuances of the various Creative Commons licenses for when a resource is used, adapted, or created.
Register for Introduction to Creative Commons Licensing

Wednesday, October 21, 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Curation and Advanced Licensing
How do you remix and attribute content with different open licenses? How are collections and remixes different and why does it matter? This interactive session is intended for those who are familiar with the Creative Commons licenses and would like to expand their understanding. Bring your questions and licensing challenges.
Register for Curation and Advanced Licensing

• Interactive Office Hours: Artificial Intelligence (AI) •

Join the OERI’s AI Lead, Liz Encarnacion, for a series of interactive office hours centered around using AI to create and adapt OER.

Thursday, October 22, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Office Hour: Accessibility for Open Educational Resources (OER)
Join this interactive office hour focused on accessibility questions and concerns when using generative AI to create, adapt, and share OER. Engage in discussion around reviewing AI-generated text, images, alt text, documents, and other course materials for accessibility prior to publishing or adopting. Bring your questions and draft materials as this office hour will provide practical guidance, peer support, and strategies for ways to use AI-enabled technology responsible to keep accessibility in the forefront of our OER work.
Register for AI Office Hour: Accessibility for OER

Thursday, November 5, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Office Hour: AI Resilient Assessments for Courses Using Open Educational Resources (OER) 
Join this interactive office hour that will focus on designing AI-resilient assessments for OER and OER-based courses. Bring your assessments and OER material that need the most support to workshop practical solutions that emphasize authentic learning, student process, reflection, application, and meaningful demonstration of course outcomes. We will discuss how the flexibility of OER can be used to create accessible, equitable, and AI-aware assessments that support learning, rather than just simply detecting AI use.
Register for AI Office Hour: AI Resilient Assessments for OER Courses

• Universal Design for Learning and Open Educational Resources •

Thursday, October 29, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
Beyond Compliance to Universal Design for Learning (UDL) for Open Educational Resources (OER)
How do we create OER that meet the needs of our diverse student body? UDL helps us build resources that maximize student access, engagement, and learning. Focusing on UDL also places accessibility guidelines in a context that aids us in achieving those goals.  From describing complex graphics to providing multiple modalities for content, UDL offers a framework that supports us in creating resources which best serve our students. Open Educational Pedagogy (OEP) can take us to the next level by empowering students to participate in content creation that solidifies their learning and critical thinking – and it also improves our OER for future students.
Register for Beyond Compliance to UDL of OER