Your Course, Your Textbook: Building Open Educational Resources with AI ***Walk-ins Welcome*** In-Person / Online
Traditional textbooks often fail to perfectly match the scope, sequence, and unique needs of a course and their high costs can also limit student access. Creating a customized course textbook not only ensures your content aligns with your learning objectives, but also opens the door to developing Open Educational Resources (OERs) that are freely available, adaptable, and accessible to all students.
In this hands-on workshop, you’ll learn how to use generative AI tools to create course-specific textbooks that reflect your teaching style, integrate seamlessly with your syllabus, and support equitable access to learning materials. We’ll explore strategies for planning a textbook structure, drafting and adapting content, and creating supplemental resources such as chapter summaries, glossaries, review questions, and self-assessment quizzes. You’ll also learn how to enhance your textbook with AI-generated visuals and ensure all content is accurate, inclusive, and accessible. We’ll address best practices for copyright, attribution, and academic integrity so you can confidently share your work as an OER, benefiting not only your students but also the wider academic community. By the end of the session, you’ll leave with practical prompt templates and examples to help you transform your syllabus into a high-quality, student-centered, and openly available textbook.
Upon completion of this learning experience, participants will be able to:
- identify key components and structure of an effective course-specific textbook
- describe how generative AI can support the creation of customized course textbooks in higher education
- use AI to develop a textbook structure and table of contents that reflects course modules, topics, and desired learning outcomes
- draft textbook content with AI assistance, including explanations, examples, and real-world applications tailored to the target student level
- create supplemental textbook elements with AI, such as chapter summaries, review questions, glossaries, and self-assessment quizzes
- revise and adapt AI-generated content for clarity, accuracy, tone, accessibility, and cultural inclusivity
- integrate AI-generated visuals, diagrams, or other media into textbook content to support student comprehension
- apply best practices for copyright, attribution, and academic integrity when using AI-generated materials.
- Date:
- Thursday, April 16, 2026
- Time:
- 2:00pm - 3:30pm
- Time Zone:
- Eastern Time - US & Canada (change)
- Location:
- CTLI Rm W207 (Main Library, 2 West)
- Audience:
- Educator Network In-Class Educators Online Educators Quality Matters
- Categories:
- Curriculum Development Designing Courses EdTech Educator Networking Educator Onboarding Evaluation & Assessment Experiential Learning Generative AI Hybrid Session Improving Courses In-person Session Interdisciplinary Learning Online Session Special Topics
Participants will be expected to use ChatGPT and/or Copilot during this session. It is recommended that you bring a laptop with you and have some basic familiarity with prompting.
The in-person location for this session is the Center for Teaching and Learning Innovation. Please join us in the Main Library, Room W207. For directions to W207, please visit the Room Locations page.