Name: Innovating Beyond Textbooks: Democratizing Knowledge Through Library-Led Support for Open Homework Systems
Start: 2026-10-09T13:40:00-0400
End: 2026-10-09T14:10:00-0400

All sessions are available online except round tables, special activities, and workshops.

Innovating Beyond Textbooks: Democratizing Knowledge Through Library-Led Support for Open Homework Systems

Friday October 9, 2026 1:40pm - 2:10pm EDT

2 Room M

ID: 33194

Commercial publishers’ increasing tendency to bundle access to textbooks with proprietary homework systems and expensive access code content has further hindered widespread faculty buy-in for open educational resources (OER). However, the increasing availability of open homework systems that can be paired with OER textbooks provides an alternate path for faculty to prioritize concerns like affordability for students, instructor control of course content, and data privacy. From 2023-2025, three institutions from the Big Ten Academic Alliance conducted a grant-funded project to investigate the feasibility of library support for open homework systems as component of OER initiatives, culminating in a pilot of five open homework systems in courses conducted at Penn State University, the University of Minnesota, and Northwestern University during the 2024-2025 academic year. This study aimed to determine whether open homework systems could meet the needs of faculty and students comparably to commercial alternatives and to better understand the challenges associated with providing access to and support for those systems. This presentation will explore the outcomes of this open homework systems pilot, including results from an environmental scan of commercial homework system usage by faculty at the three pilot institutions, feedback gathered from pilot participants via faculty interviews and student surveys, lessons learned by the project team, and recommendations for establishing library-led support for open homework systems at other academic institutions and consortia. This cross-institutional collaboration offers unique perspective and insight into these topics from public and private institutions of different organizational structures, processes, and cultures. This presentation will provide attendees with practical guidance on how to begin supporting open homework systems as accompaniments to OER. Any attendees who support OER discovery or creation at their institutions, or who are interested in issues of course affordability will benefit from this session. This research addresses a significant gap in the open education field, as few studies have focused on open homework systems, particularly multi-institutional usage of them. While many academic libraries have begun to offer support for OER discovery and publishing, far fewer have focused their efforts on providing the infrastructure, training, maintenance, and support that are required of open homework systems. The results of this research suggest a path forward for libraries to work together across institutions to support open alternatives to commercial homework systems as a way of enhancing existing OER offerings, expanding OER adoption and use, protecting student and faculty data, and ensuring students have access to equitable and inclusive learning environments.

Speakers

Bryan McGeary

Sally W. Kalin Librarian for Learning Innovations & Learning Design and Open Education Engagement Librarian, The Pennsylvania State University

Dr. Bryan McGeary is the Learning Design and Open Education Engagement Librarian at Penn State University, where he advances the University’s initiatives that support open teaching practices and course content. He was also the principal investigator for an IMLS-funded project that... Read More →

Friday October 9, 2026 1:40pm - 2:10pm EDT
2 Room M MIT Samberg Conference Center, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge MA 02139 USA

Presentation

Speaker Modality In-person
Track Innovating Open Content to Democratize Knowledge

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OEGlobal 2026

Bryan McGeary

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OEGlobal 2026

Bryan McGeary

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