Happy New Year, Commons community! As you’re planning for the spring semester, we hope you’ll consider joining one (or many!) of our events below to better understand and utilize the Commons. Thanks so much to our Community Team member Laurie Hurson for putting this list together, and see you soon!

Community Meeting on February 6th 

Starting in Spring 2025, the CUNY Academic Commons team began hosting semesterly open community meetings to update members on development work on the Commons, get feedback from users, and showcase robust projects. 

Please register here to join our February 6 1-2pm Open Community Meeting via Zoom. We will hear from Ned Benton, who developed the New York Slavery Records Index, an online searchable compilation of records that identify individual enslaved persons and enslavers in the Northeast United States.

While you’re at it, please register here for our Friday, May 8th 1-2pm Open Community Meeting to close out the semester!

Spring Workshops

Teaching on the CUNY Academic Commons

March 4, 2026; 12:30-2:00 pm (EST)

Across CUNY, faculty are teaching a variety of graduate and undergraduate courses on the CUNY Academic Commons. Faculty use course sites to host OER course materials, foster student engagement with one another and wider publics, and develop assignments that move beyond a standard final paper or reading response. This workshop will provide an overview of teaching on the Commons and highlight several courses that can serve as models of open pedagogy in action. 

This workshop is open to the public as part of Open Education Week, hosted by OE Global.

Register for “Teaching on the CUNY Academic Commons” workshop here.

Developing a Digital Portfolio 

March 26, 2026; 3:00-4:00 pm

A digital portfolio allows you to publicize your academic work, report on research, and share creative endeavors, giving you agency over your digital presence. In this workshop attendees will explore models of academic portfolios on the CUNY Academic Commons and get started on building their own.

This workshop is for CUNY faculty, staff, and students. 

Register for “Developing a Digital Portfolio” workshop here.

Campus Workshops 

The CUNY Academic Commons Open Education Technologist is available to host an in-person or virtual workshop for a group of faculty on your CUNY campus. Workshops can be tailored to faculty needs and interests. Email Laurie Hurson ([email protected]) for more information.

Open Education Community Hours

This Spring, the Commons team is hosting open education community hours on the second Monday of the month from 12-1pm. These community hours are open to all Commons members. If you are teaching a course, developing an OER, creating a digital portfolio, building a site, managing a group, or just getting started with the Commons — all questions are welcome!

• February 9, 12-1pm
• March 9,  12-1pm
• April 13,  12-1pm 
• May 11,  12-1pm

Register here to receive the Zoom info.

If you have a question and/or would like to meet 1-on-1 with the Commons Open Education Technologist but are not available during these times, please email Laurie Hurson ([email protected])

Commons Events Calendar

All the events listed above, and others from around CUNY, can be viewed on the CUNY-wide Commons Events Calendar here.

You can use this events calendar too! Commons Members can add their own events to the calendar to share with colleagues and promote the event across the CUNY system. Just log in and click the “Create a New Event” button on the Events page!

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