iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

New #OER publication alert! Topics in Aquatic Animal Health was developed by David Starling DVM to support veterinary medicine students interested in exploring aquatic animal medicine. Read the book free online: doi.org/10.31274/isu...

Book release poster with photo of a student holding the book alongside others. Text: An open access introductory textbook for students and practitioners of aquatic veterinary medicine.

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Racially-Just, Inclusive and Open STEM Education @rioscommunity.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

REMINDER: The OCTOPUS Project is accepting open science and open pedagogy teaching resources for its growing collection. Contributors will receive a $500 stipend. If you have teaching materials to share (or would like to create new resources) consider submitting. Learn more: lnkd.in/eAEuPvrE

lnkd.in

This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn

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Iowa OER @iowaoer.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

We are currently accepting applications to join our #OER Communities of Practice for 2026/2027! This FREE program supports educators who want to connect with others interested in OER. Two tracks are available based on experience with open education. Learn more: iowaoer.com/oer-communit...

Connect with peers and learn more about oer! Two tracks available, call closes september 23.

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Copim @copim.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Great practical principles 👏 There's no #Open without #OpenInfrastructure

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Iowa OER @iowaoer.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

New blog post! As we gear up for the fall semester, we're sharing some tips on how to locate openly licensed images for your classes and #OER projects. This month's blog comes from Kayla Reed at Grinnell College: iowaoer.com/2026/08/13/a...

iowaoer.com

August 2026 Resource Highlight: Open Image Collections

This month’s blog post was contributed by Kayla Reed, Discovery, Systems and Digital Strategy Librarian at Grinnell College. Creating and adapting open educational resources is no small task!…

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

As folks are preparing for the fall and all the exciting programming and initiatives that come with a new school year, I'd like to shout out my favorite #OpenAccessWeek project of all time, horror movie posters that Megan O'Donnell and I created in 2017: dr.lib.iastate.edu/handle/20.50...

Four horror movie posters edited with text about copyright, open access, and using institutional repositories.

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

I am having a blast chatting away in the Zoom calls, but for those who can't make it, I believe most of the events are being recorded to post later. #OENEngage26

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

If you know others who may be a fit for the University Librarian position, please send it their way! (Full disclosure: I am on the Search Committee.)

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Do you care about the diverse services that academic libraries provide & all the people that make it happen? Would you like to support a leading academic institution with major open science & scholarship initiatives? If so, check out this position, open now! www.academicsearch.org/open-searche...

academicsearch.org

Academic Search

Committed to identifying and developing leaders by providing the highest level of executive search to our higher education partners.

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Ah, the old-school open education! It would definitely make for a good discussion piece. Thanks, Paul!

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

#OER leaders: is there an article, chapter, case study, or webinar that you find particularly insightful or unique in the field? We are pulling together some readings for our next Community of Practice, & I'd love to include a variety of options that will speak to those participating this fall.

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Our latest Iowa #OER report is out! It's been an interesting year for local colleges supporting OER, with many ups and downs. I am glad we are able to capture and share the work happening across the state!

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

I am so looking forward to presenting at #LPForum this afternoon with Harrison Inefuku about our work developing Digital Press +, a repository for ancillary materials connected to open textbooks from the ISU Digital Press. Kudos to @janewayolh.bsky.social for making this project possible!

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

...And that's my rant for this month. Tune in next time for something completely different!

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

People deserve access to resources that are openly available, no strings attached, which can help them make informed decisions about their education, career paths, or health. Wherever they are. If you want to make a change, you should be able to pivot as seamlessly as my mom has.

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

That’s one reason why I feel like OA should be integrated into public library work, and why I think it’s valuable for everyone, not just researchers, to know what “open access” means. It’s not easy to search for this stuff when you don’t have the words.

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Still, there should have been easier ways. Getting help studying for a certification exam or learning how to apply for an apprenticeship shouldn’t be paywalled skills. But when you don’t have gas money to drive two towns over and access the resources at your local library, it can feel like that.

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

I want people like my mom to be able to learn and do more, without having to struggle the way she did. People like us, who only had access to a single county public library a 30+ minute drive from home, aren’t the type who get chances like we did. And yet somehow, my mom makes $50K/year now!

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

When I was 8, we moved 12 hours across 3 states and my parents changed career paths because a friend of theirs had a stroke. This is just the kind of people they are. Thinking about that influence, it makes sense that I fell so hard into open access and subsequently, open education.

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

My mom has been a janitor, a server, a land surveyor, a factory line worker, a secretary, an activities director for nursing homes, and several other things I cannot list. She’s seen ups and downs, but all this work was driven by her wanting to try new things, while doing more for other people.

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Summer is apparently self-reflection time for me. It’s way past Mother’s Day, but I've been thinking recently about all the jobs that my mother has had in her lifetime, and how that colored the way I think about lifelong learning, careers, and access to information.

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OEGlobal @oeglobal.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

"After a very tiring year, it was just lovely to connect with like-minded people who keep contributing to open anyway. I feel reinvigorated," shared an #OEGlobal 2024 attendee Find your people at #OEGlobal26. Early bird in-person rate until Aug 9 Register –> twp.ai/E5D1Fv #OpenEducation

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Iowa OER @iowaoer.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

New report! The College in High School Alliance, along with @iskme.org and @goopen.bsky.social have put out a report with policy recommendations to support for dual enrollment (concurrent enrollment in Iowa) with the use of #OER! See the report here: collegeinhighschool.org/resources/du...

collegeinhighschool.org

State Policy Guidance on Expanding Open Educational Resources in Dual Enrollment

New guidance for state policymakers on expanding the use of open educational resources (OER) in dual enrollment to close the affordability gap.

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

New videos are up! This year, our local #OER committee identified a major interest in videos that answer common questions faculty bring to us. Many are institution-specific, but some might find this one useful: www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4k6...

youtube.com

Choosing the Right Creative Commons License for You

YouTube video by Iowa State University Library

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

It's UDL for public speaking. More is more! A great example can be seen in @foldablehuman.bsky.social's video essays. He's willing to engage in topics more deeply & provides the context that viewers need to engage with him at that level. His NFT video as one example: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ_x...

youtube.com

Line Goes Up – The Problem With NFTs

YouTube video by Folding Ideas

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Yes! I feel like sometimes people discount "the everyman," implying that we need to dumb down our words for a general audience, when we can be precise so long as we ground our words in context. People can pick up on nuances in an argument, especially if we take the time to *add* examples.

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Library Futures @libraryfutures.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

Minot Public Library director comes out swinging on library ebook costs with the best metaphor we've seen yet. www.minotdailynews.com/opinion/loca...

Imagine what would happen at the Minot Public Library if a book publisher pulled up to the building in a big van and ran inside while grabbing every book they had published. It might attract the eye of the police station right across the street. The stunning truth is that in a way this does happen very often, only with ebooks instead of books made of paper and ink.

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Iowa OER @iowaoer.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Our April blog post, contributed by @openaccesselder.bsky.social is live now! "Update Schedules for OER" reviews why traditional edition updates may not be the best option for every class and outlines three examples of how #OER can be updated in unique ways: iowaoer.com/2026/04/27/u...

New blog post! Text over a photo of a person editing text on a laptop.

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Iowa OER @iowaoer.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Exciting news, #OER friends! At this year's @aacu.org #AACUCLASS2026 Conference, it was announced that Open Educational Resources will be the twelfth #HighImpactPractice! "A robust research report on OER and Student Success" will be coming out later this spring, as will the official announcement.

Poster with a young woman smiling at a laptop. Finally a reality! Open educational resources will be the twelfth high impact practice.

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

In other news, happy National #Library Workers Day! If you've ever gotten access to an article, news story, book, or other resource thanks to a library, thank a librarian today!

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

I particularly liked this line from @johannneem.bsky.social "A central point of college is to offer a foundation broad enough to open up several personal and professional paths that can develop over time. 'This is not meant to be finishing school. It’s meant to give you the tools to live with.'"

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

I posted recently about how the electives I took in high school and college helped shape me into a more well-rounded person. It's great to see the tensions in how people approach electives outlined in this new article: www.chronicle.com/article/are-...

chronicle.com

Electives Are Coming Under Scrutiny. They May Never Be More Valuable.

They’re derided as distractions or worse, but electives can also open unseen avenues in work and life.

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

I'm happy to share a new publication from the ISU Digital Press! Introduction to Woodworking Machines by Peter Scheidt is an #OER written to introduce basic woodworking machine safety and techniques to beginner woodworkers using an instructional woodshop. doi.org/10.31274/isu...

Introduction to woodworking machines cover image and description (copied in the linked post) with an arrow pointing to the link to the book.

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Thanks for attending our presentation, Jojo! You really captured Bryan here. He should replace his official headshot with your sketch, and I will tell him so

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

The recording should be out on the Kennesaw State repository following the conference for those who missed it! (I totally understand if you did, the world is making it hard to be present today) digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/ato/2026ato/

digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu

All Things Open 2026 | All Things Open

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Thanks to all who came out to our All Things Open 2026 presentation this afternoon, "Jumping Into the Deep End: Lessons Learned from Editing a Book about Open Movements!" I had a great time getting to share our experience editing an #OpenAccess book about open stuff.

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

TL;DR: support interactive assignments so educators can help students engage in deeper learning. Let students take electives and support them in branching out. And pay teachers a living wage! Thanks for sitting through my reflective mid-day social media posting. 😅

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

I don't hunt, but I understand why deer season works the way it does. I don't do landscaping, but I know to check the expected root spread of a tree and leave twice the crown space between it and your house. I'm not a computer scientist, but I love logic gate puzzles. That's thanks to good teachers.

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

And it's notable that these courses were Not in my major. They were extras, filling time or credit hours I needed to graduate. Today, some might say they were a waste of time. But without them, I would be a less well-rounded person and I'd likely have less empathy for the work of my peers.

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

All these examples stick with me not just because they used "best practices," but because they came from teachers who really cared about what they were teaching and wanted to instill in us the same care and understanding of their topic that they had.

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

I know that #education professionals, be they instructional designers, teachers, or administrators all (probably) understand that connection, application, and context helps students learn. But these things don't just come from nowhere.

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

In college, I had a lot of great teachers in my major, but the experiences that I fall back on are, again, ones that came from random electives. It's Mathematical Reasoning and Formal Logic, two courses where really engaged teachers worked with us to solve problems through the use of puzzles.

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Landscape Architecture was taught by the same teacher (small school) and it sticks with me years later because of a single assignment where we designed a themed garden. We picked the plants: ground cover, features, etc & mocked up a sketch of the space. I made a "goth garden" and it was Great.

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

In Wildlife Mgmt, we learned about hunting regulations & how they differ state to state. We discussed the different terms for male/female animals, and how wildlife interact with human environments. This was taught by a teacher who cared deeply about the topic, and he made it relevant for all of us.

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

My absolute favorite courses in high school were both random electives: Wildlife Management and Landscape Architecture. These weren't choices I made because I loved the topics, but alternatives to courses I *didn't* want to take. Still, the way they were taught continues to stick with me.

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Every once in a while I reflect on my best educational experiences, and it still surprises me (somehow, I don't know why, it makes sense after all) that the experiences I remember most fondly are the ones where the learning was gamified, personalized, or contextualized for me. A thread:

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

Surviving Research Publication: A Guide for New Scholars by Lily Compton, Megan O'Donnell, and Kristin Terrill (doi.org/10.31274/isu...) is an essential guide for graduate students and early career researchers, from the basics of a literature review through research ethics and the use of technology.

Surviving Research Publication book announcement. Includes the description in the post and the book's cover, which features abstract colorful bar charts and data points, and a hand reaching up to them.

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

Preparing to Publish, 2nd Edition by Elena Cotos, Sarah Huffman, and Kimberly Becker (doi.org/10.31274/isu...) provides grad student writers with helpful information, strategies, & tips on navigating writing in their fields to understand, dissect, and ultimately construct their own research article.

Preparing to Publish book announcement. Includes the description in the post, as well as the book's cover, which features a researcher in a lab and sitting down to write.

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Abbey K. Elder @openaccesselder.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

Are you looking for new resources to help teach about the research and publication process? Check out these new #OER publications from the Iowa State University Digital Press, lead by authors at the www.iastatedigitalpress.com

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Rivka Fidel, PhD @rivkafidel.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Less than 6 months after publishing, our 🪱 Introduction to Soil Science Second Edition 📙 textbook has hit... 3k downloads ⬇️ 7k readers 📚 15k views 👀 🎉 #Soil #SoilScience #OpenAccess #OER 🙏 Thank you Amber Anderson and @openaccesselder.bsky.social Check it out here 👇 doi.org/10.31274/isu...

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