10:00AM-11:00AM EST
Creating an Open Access Sustainability Learning Commons
Presenter: Joshua Korenblat, SUNY New Paltz
Earthrise Commons offers a prototype of how sustainability knowledge can be shared. Supported by two SUNY Academic Innovation (IITG /OER Impact) Grants, this platform works in concert with an open access peer-reviewed book, so they can become a living, open-access community hub. The forthcoming book, Sustainability Learning for Action and Community Engagement (Springer Nature 2026), brings together fifty authors who believe that sustainability education is best addressed by sharing practical and philosophical ideas. Earthrise Commons is more than an archive; it’s a platform where educators can download open access book chapters, adapt, remix, and share complementary lesson plans and learning materials using a ‘forking’ model similar to GitHub, and contribute their own projects through a simple process guided by a primary organizing framework, the UN Global Goals. A student ‘gardener’ helps curate submissions, maintain quality, and support the platform’s taxonomies and Creative Commons ethos. In this session, we’ll show how human-centered design and an open educational resource can make knowledge a shared public good.
12:00PM-1:00PM EST
Faculty-Driven Innovation for Gateway Course Success using OER-based Courseware
Presenter: Tori Matthews, Lumen Learning
Faculty across the SUNY system are united in their commitment to student success, and many recognize that how a student begins their academic journey can shape whether they finish it. Nowhere is this more evident than in high-stakes gateway courses — introductory classes in Psychology, Statistics, English Composition, and Math — which serve as critical entry points to degree pathways but also carry disproportionately high rates of withdrawal, failure, and grade forgiveness.
This session explores how faculty are leveraging and helping shape tools embedded in modern courseware to make gateway course instruction more consistent, scalable, and effective. A particular focus is placed on addressing the growing reliance on adjunct faculty to meet teaching demand and leveraging technology to aid in ensuring that course quality and the personalized, high-touch instruction that demonstrably improves student outcomes are not lost in the process.
The discussion centers on OER-based (Open Educational Resource) courseware designed to support evidence-based practices — including timely feedback, scaffolding, transparency, and active learning — while reducing faculty workload and promoting uniform course delivery across sections and instructors.
Through the SUNY-Lumen Learning Partnership, this courseware is available at no cost to students or faculty, removing a significant barrier to adoption and making early, open access to course materials a genuine reality for all SUNY students — not just an aspiration.
