Name: Heather Walker
Where do you work?
Digital Higher Education Consortium of Texas (DigiTex)
What do you do there?
I am the Program Coordinator for DigiTex, and I do a variety of tasks for our organization including maintaining our website, tracking the budget, coordinating our membership in the State Authorization Network (SAN), and managing the billing for the Texas Quality Matters Consortium (TxQMC).
Where did you go to school?
BA in Secondary Education & English, Concordia University Texas
MA in English, Baylor University
Where is your hometown?
Freeport, TX
What might someone be surprised to know about you?
I am a Star Trek junkie and have watched every single episode of the Original Series, the Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager. I've also seen every Star Trek movie. In my spare time, I like to make jewelry and arrange flowers.
How did you get involved with the Open Texas Conference?
I became involved with the Open Texas Conference right from the start in 2020 when I was asked to help select a virtual conference platform after the pandemic necessitated a change of plans. Following the selection of the platform, I continued in a role on the backend helping to manage communications and technical issues in the setup of the conference. Now I am excited to be returning this year to help out in a new role on the Promotion & Assessment Committee.
What has surprised you most about working with Open Texas?
I've been most surprised by how quickly the conference grew! At our first conference in 2021, we were expecting 500 attendees or fewer, and that number quickly grew to exceed 1,100 registrants. Clearly there is a lot of interest in open education!
The interest in open education seems to be growing. Why do you think that is?
The word has gotten out, and people are finally realizing the huge benefits of adopting OER! Not only do OER reduce the cost of attending college for many students, but they also provide a host of other benefits including the ability to tailor materials to individual courses and student needs, as well as making college more accessible for all.