2026 Colorado OER Conference

This presentation introduces a collection of open education resources developed by faculty at the University of Northern Colorado through the COOLER (Community Collaboration and Learning for Climate Resilience) program, aimed at building a learning ecosystem around climate change resilience in Northern Colorado. This initiative addresses the urgent need for instructor preparation and equitable student access to climate change education, including climate change impacts, mitigation strategies, and solutions. Through a funded (2024-2025) Colorado Department of Higher Education (CDHE) Colorado Open Educational Resources (OER) Grant, COOLER faculty created and published climate-change related curricular pieces across disciplines, ranging from the arts to climate science. These resources are housed in UNCOpen and OER Commons under Creative Commons licenses. To ensure high quality and accessibility, faculty collaborated with our Instructional Design and Development (IDD) team, applying Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and OER best practices.

Our collection showcases the intersection of climate resilience with diverse fields, including:
-Psychology
-Environmental Earth Science
-Biochemistry
-Fire and Drought in Watershed Management
-Exercise Science
-Media Literacy Through Science
-The Music Industry
-Craftivism
-Ski Industry (A Business Perspective)
-Data Science and Statistics
-Qualitative Anthropology and Cultural Change
-Urban Heat
-Climate Resilience and Your Career

We will highlight specific materials from the collection, demonstrating how interdisciplinary OER can support education for climate resilience.