OpenCon Ohio 2026
Our 9th Annual OpenCon Ohio 2026 Conference is slated for May 15, 2026
If you are interested in attending an open education conference that:
- Offers maximal flexibility for attendees to view content when it is convenient
- Has an amazing keynote speaker
- Prioritizes community building, both synchronous and asynchronous
- Is in its 9th year of supporting the open ed community
- Is completely free and online ...
Register for OpenCon Ohio 2026
This year’s OpenCon Ohio 2026 will be offered for free via Zoom on Friday, May 15, 2026 with an in-person preconference on May 14 at Cleveland State University. Our theme this year is Reimagining Learning: The Future of Open Education. We are thrilled to have Anna Mills, visionary leader in open education and AI, as our keynote speaker!
See the full schedule of virtual sessions
We are also pleased to offer an in-person component to our event for the first time since 2020. Our in-person preconference event will be held at Cleveland State University on Thursday, May 14th, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. - 3:40 p.m. The free preconference is meant to build community, allow for the exchange of ideas and resources, and offer training related to textbook affordability for our Ohio colleagues. The intended audience for this event is support staff at Ohio institutions. The preconference is generously sponsored by the Midwest Higher Education Compact (MHEC). Registration for the May 14th preconference is closed.
Registration for the May 15th virtual conference is open through May 8th.
Register for OpenCon Ohio 2026
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: ANNA MILLS
Our Keynote Speaker, Anna Mills, will present "Open Practices Can Help Us Adapt to AI, and AI Can Support Open Education If We’re Careful”.
Anna has taught writing in California community colleges for 20 years and is author of the widely used open educational resource textbook How Arguments Work: A Guide to Writing and Analyzing Texts in College and the newly released AI and College Writing: An Orientation. Her writing on AI appears in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, Computers and Composition, AIPedagogy.org, and TextGenEd: Continuing Experiments. She serves on the Modern Language Association Task Force on Writing and AI. As a volunteer advisor, she has helped shape the pedagogical approach of MyEssayFeedback.ai, and she currently serves as prompting and communications lead for the Peer & AI Review + Reflection (PAIRR) project funded by the California Education Learning Lab.
SPONSORS
Thank you to our generous sponsors, Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC) and OhioLINK for their financial support for the pre-conference and conference.
GET SOCIAL
Stay current with our event using the hashtag #openconohio2026.
We hope to see you there!
Visit this site to find schedules of sessions. All registrants will receive details about the conference. Feel free to direct any questions to OpenCon Ohio Planning Committee Co-Chairs, Mandi Goodsett at a.goodsett@csuohio.edu and/or Heather Caprette at h.caprette@csuohio.edu.
OpenCon Ohio 2026 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
- Amanda Larson, Affordable Learning Instructional Consultant, University Libraries
Bowling Green State University:
- Timothy Sandusky, Open Educational Resources Strategist, University Libraries
Columbus State Community College:
- Mira Scarnecchia, Open Educational Resources Librarian, Columbus State Library
