Authored by Joshua Lann, former UNG Press Intern (Fall 2024) and Student Assistant (Spring 2025)
Presenting at this year’s Open Education Conference (OpenEd25) with my colleague Nicole Clifton was an enormous honor and an opportunity I will forever cherish. Our presentation—Innovating for All: AI-Powered Audiobook Creation in Open Textbook Publishing—discussed our work as UNG Press interns and student assistants remediating Open Textbooks into audiobooks with AI assistance, detailing our best practices to help other Open Education Resource (OER) developers and advocates to replicate this process to increase those resources’ accessibility.
The three-day symposium in Denver, Colorado, gathered countless experts across disciplines to share their innovations and contributions to affordable, accessible education. The conference attendance was absolutely packed, including faculty, instructors, librarians, and representatives from organizations like Affordable Learning Georgia (ALG), Doers, and OpenStax. The number of creative, intelligent, ambitious, and delightful individuals I met this year only scratched the surface of the extent of the vibrant community supporting Open Education. Whether that be as a speaker or attendee, returning to OpenEd to connect with more brilliant minds is now an imperative of mine. On my first day, I was especially surprised to learn that the governor of Colorado was going to be a key speaker—a testament to just how hot of a ticket OpenEd truly was!
With several sessions often running concurrently, it was impossible to attend every conceivable one, but each session I experienced earnestly promoted the bright vision Open Education provides. These presentations exhilarated the call to expand the Open Education mission in fostering textbook affordability for students and instructors alike, additionally offering more accessible options for students with disabilities. The exciting waves of progress showcased at OpenEd frame a tomorrow to look forward to.
As for our own session, presenting in front of a room full of academics and professionals was simultaneously daunting and exhilarating—especially as a student from attending my first major conference. Although initially nerve-wracking, the warm reception, eager audience, and deep familiarity with the material (that we spent nearly a year of our lives working on!) helped ease the nerves quickly. Before long, speaking ended up being a very fun time! The audience was interactive, inquired noteworthy questions, and allowed me to connect with many great individuals.
I cannot emphasize enough the privilege it was to share our work and represent the UNG Press. An absolute highlight of the year.
View the Presentation
Want to learn more about Lann and Clifton’s work converting UNG Press Open Textbooks into accessible audiobooks with AI? View their full presentation script and slides on our blog at “Innovating for All: AI- Powered Audiobook Creation in Open Textbook Publishing” OpenEd25 Presentation.
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