ID: 33581
As the shift toward skills-based learning accelerates, educators and institutions are increasingly called to design learning experiences that are not only aligned to workforce needs but also open, adaptable, and transparent. While open educational resources (OER) have expanded access to content, there is a growing need to support the development of open, skills-based microcredential content that can be reused, adapted, and recognized across learning and employment contexts. This interactive panel and workshop session invites participants to “come invent with us” by engaging directly in the process of authoring open microcredential content.Grounded in emerging practices at the intersection of open education, microcredentials, and Learning and Employment Records (LERs), this session will move beyond conceptual discussion into hands-on application. Participants will be introduced to key considerations in designing open, skills-based content, including alignment to validated skills, structuring for modularity and stackability, and embedding metadata to support transparency, interoperability, and credential portability (Credential Engine, 2024). Building on principles of OER-enabled pedagogy (Wiley & Hilton, 2018), the session emphasizes not only access to content, but the ability for educators and institutions to actively create, adapt, and share skills-aligned learning resources.A central component of the session will be guided, experiential engagement with the Pressbooks Microcredential Authoring platform. Participants will work within a templated microcredential structure designed to support consistent, high-quality development of skills-based content. Through facilitated activities, attendees will explore how to translate skills into learning outcomes, develop aligned content and assessments, and incorporate content-level metadata that connects learning experiences to verifiable credentials. The workshop will also surface key design decisions, such as how to balance openness with institutional or industry requirements, and how to support multiple models of content sharing (open, closed, and hybrid).Panelists will provide brief framing perspectives from institutional, international, and ecosystem viewpoints, but the majority of the session will focus on participant engagement. Attendees will have the opportunity to workshop their own ideas, collaborate with peers, and receive feedback from facilitators with expertise in open education, microcredentials, and skills-based design.By the end of the session, participants will have a practical understanding of how to design and author open microcredential content, experience a platform-enabled approach to scalable content development, and gain actionable strategies for implementing open, skills-based learning initiatives within their own contexts. This session directly supports the conference track by advancing innovative approaches to open content that democratize knowledge and expand opportunities for learners across educational and workforce systems.
Speakers 
Chief Executive Officer, Pressbooks
Başak Büyükçelen is the CEO of Pressbooks, where she has spent the last seven years helping shape the company's direction and culture. With a background spanning consulting, manufacturing, banking, finance, film, and video games, she brings a cross-industry lens to the challenges...
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Assistant Vice Provost, University of Central Florida
Kevin Corcoran is the Assistant Vice Provost of the Center for Distributed Learning. Kevin has over 25 years of experience in the development and support of strategies for the effective use of digital learning tools and content that focuses on quality standards and practices, student...
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VP, Strategic Engagement and Growth, Pressbooks
Amanda Coolidge is VP of Strategic Engagement and Growth at Pressbooks, where she leads marketing, sales, and customer success and serves as product manager for the company's microcredential platform. She is the founder of Coolidge Collaborative and former Executive Director of BCcampus...
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Founder & Principal, EduEssentials Consulting
Dr. Lisa Young is a longtime advocate for open education and learner centered innovation in higher education. She recently retired after more than 30 years with the Maricopa County Community College District, where she served in several leadership roles, including Faculty Administrator...
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Wednesday October 7, 2026 1:40pm - 2:45pm
EDT
3 Room I
MIT Samberg Conference Center, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge MA 02139 USA
