OpenCon Ohio 2025

Our 8th Annual OpenCon Ohio 2025 Conference is slated for May 19-22, 2025

The theme of our event this year is Empowerment, Care, and Community. See below for registration information.

During the week, asynchronous conversations will be held online in Discord to discuss prerecorded lightning talks. On Thursday, May 22, 2025 we will have virtual presentations, interactive conversations, and a keynote presentation delivered by Apurva Ashok, the Rebus Foundation’s Executive Director!

The link to the schedule of the Live Synchronous Sessions on Thursday, May 22, 2025 and the link to the list of Lightning Talks are available below.

Registration is closed

Sponsors

Thank you to our generous sponsors, OhioLINK and Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC), for their financial support for this conference.

Keynote Speaker Thursday, May 22 via Zoom

Apurva Ashok, Executive Director, The Rebus Foundation

Apurva Ashok is the Executive Director for The Rebus Foundation, a global non-profit and Canadian registered charity that envisions a liberatory future where lifelong learning is valued as a public good and communities leverage education as a catalyst for positive change. Apurva has been working in the Open Education field for nearly 9 years and brings a determination for systemic change. She brings her wide-ranging experience across publishing, program development, community building, impact-driven strategic planning, and media to help educational institutions build more equitable and responsive teaching & learning spaces. Apurva has created several professional development offerings for educators, published OER guides including the OER Starter Kit for Program Managers, and supported the creation and adaptation of over 80 OER. Apurva is the recipient of an Open Education Award for Excellence from Open Education Global in recognition of her contributions to the field. At the core, Apurva champions collaboration, human-centric approaches, and open practices in service of better futures for us all.

More about the Conference

OpenCon Ohio is an annual event that celebrates the benefits of open education to student learning. Faculty, students, librarians, instructional designers, administrators, and others are all welcome to attend our virtual conference. This event is FREE. The OpenCon committee has prepared a conference that provides flexibility and engagement opportunities!

Here’s what you can look forward to this year:

• The theme of our event this year is Empowerment, Care, and Community in Open Education.
• The event begins on Monday, May 19th when attendees can view lightning talks at their leisure via Discord. Conference attendees are also encouraged to participate in asynchronous discussions via Discord.
• On Thursday, May 22nd the conference will shift to synchronous discussion in our live presentations. Our keynote presentation will be given by Apurva Ashok, Executive Director of the Rebus Foundation. There will be other engaging synchronous sessions throughout the day. Presentations will be held via Zoom and participants can ask questions of the speakers.

We hope you can join us!

Please feel free to direct any questions to OpenCon Ohio Planning Committee Co-Chairs, Mandi Goodsett at Mandi Goodsett and/or Heather Caprette at Heather Caprette.

OpenCon Ohio 2025 Planning Committee

Cleveland State University:

• Heather Caprette (Committee Co-Chair), Sr. Media Developer/Instructional Designer, CSU Online (Center for eLearning)
• Melanie Gagich, Director of First-Year Writing, Senior College Lecturer, First-Year Writing Program
• Mandi Goodsett (Committee Co-Chair), Performing Arts & Humanities Librarian, Michael Schwartz Library
• Barbara Loomis, Digital Scholarly Publications and Programs Administrator, Michael Schwartz Library
• Marsha Miles, Assistant Director, Collections & Resource Management, Michael Schwartz Library
• Laura Ray, Outreach & Instructional Services Librarian, College of Law
• Ben Richards, Business and Communication Librarian, Michael Schwartz Library

OhioLINK:

• Anna Bendo, Director, Affordable Learning Initiative

The Ohio State University:

• Amanda Larson, Affordable Learning Instructional Consultant, University Libraries

Five Colleges of Ohio:

• Megan Mitchell, CODEX Program Director

schedule

The link to the schedule of the Live Synchronous Sessions on Thursday, May 22, 2025 is available below as well as the link to the list of Asynchronous, pre-recorded, Lightning Talks.

If you use social media, please feel free to tag the event using the hashtag #openconohio2025.

OhioLINK OER Course Redesign Grant Program

This grant program is offered each semester with a new program in Fall 2025. Be on the lookout for a call for applications in September 2025. See the OhioLINK Faculty Panel Discussion from OpenCon Ohio 2024.