Diana Daly Honored with OER Architect Award for Transformative Contributions to Open Education

College of Information Science Associate Professor of Practice Dr. Diana Daly has been recognized with the OER Architect Award by the OERizona Network, honoring her outstanding contributions to the creation, enhancement and implementation of open educational resources (OER) in Arizona. The award celebrates her leadership in course design, commitment to student engagement and dedication to advancing accessible, affordable learning opportunities.

“This award recognizes Dr. Daly’s dedication to the creation, enhancement and implementation of OER and the impact her efforts have had on advancing open education, student affordability and equitable learning opportunities,” says Megan Crossfield, manager of academic initiatives for Yavapai College and a member of the OERizona Network Board of Cultivators. “Her commitment to OER has made a significant difference.”

Daly’s work exemplifies the power of OER to transform education. Since 2020, she has built and sustained Humans R Social Media (HRSM), an open textbook that serves as the foundation for her general education course, Social Media and Ourselves. Unlike static textbooks, HRSM is a living, evolving resource, enriched by student contributions each year. Through iVoices, a media lab Daly created to empower students to document and share their experiences with technology, learners help shape the textbook itself—contributing essays, videos, images and glossary terms that future students engage with in their coursework.

“When we teach about social and instructional technologies, we leave out student perspectives on technologies they are immersed in,” says Daly. “iVoices channels knowledge shared through students’ stories into new media, curricula, and scholarship, by transforming the large General Education course Social Media and Ourselves into a student-centered think tank and digital media lab supported by a community of scholars.”

Her approach extends beyond course materials. Daly’s immersive, hands-on model of open pedagogy allows students to actively participate in knowledge creation, rather than being passive recipients of information. In her courses, students learn not only from the textbook but also through their own and their peers’ lived experiences, research and multimedia storytelling.

Expanding the Reach of Open Education

Daly’s influence extends well beyond her classroom. Her expertise in information science and digital media has helped establish OER as a central pillar of instruction at the University of Arizona and beyond. She has integrated Pressbooks, an open publishing platform, into courses such as Information Truth, Manipulation and Deception and Qualitative Internet Research, and is now finalizing Immersive Truth, a new OER textbook for Decoding Disinformation, a recently approved general education course.

Her commitment to open education is also reflected in her mentorship and advocacy. Daly has worked with faculty in diverse disciplines—including nursing and linguistics—to develop OER-based course materials, and she has led workshops through the Center for University Education Scholarship to encourage other instructors to adopt OER.

Dr. Daly’s leadership is particularly notable in Arizona, one of 18 states without formal OER policies. Without institutional financial incentives for OER creation, she has secured alternative funding, spearheaded faculty learning communities and helped shape institutional conversations about textbook affordability and access. Her work is a testament to the role of faculty-driven innovation in transforming educational practices, even in the absence of statewide mandates.

“As associate dean for undergraduate academic affairs and student success, I have created initiatives to help faculty and students unpack the processes around automatic textbook billing and consider alternatives to costly textbooks with OER,” she explains. “OER is not just about free textbooks—it’s about making education more accessible.”

Positively Impacting Students

The measurable impact Daly’s work is striking. As of early 2025, HRSM has reached over 48,000 visitors across multiple editions, with adoption not only at the University of Arizona but at institutions nationwide. Research conducted on her OER-enhanced courses found that 66% of students reported greater educational value compared to traditional learning activities, frequently describing the experience as “interactive,” “hands-on” and “engaging.”

Beyond numbers, the qualitative impact of her work is equally powerful. Through iVoices, students from diverse backgrounds have had the opportunity to share their perspectives on social media, technology and identity in ways that traditional textbooks do not capture.

“This course was unlike any I’ve taken before. Instead of just reading about social media, we got to actively contribute to the conversation by sharing our own experiences and research,” reflects one student on the iVoices experience. “Knowing that our work could be part of the textbook made the learning experience feel more meaningful and relevant.”

Daly’s innovative approach to OER—combining student-centered storytelling, digital media production, and open pedagogy—is redefining how knowledge is created and shared in higher education.

“Dr. Diana Daly is a force in open education,” says Interim Dean Catherine Brooks. “She has not only made learning more accessible and engaging for students at the University of Arizona, she has also created a model that other educators across the country can follow. Her commitment to OER is a shining example of how information science can be leveraged to build more inclusive, student-centered learning environments.”

With new projects on the horizon and a growing network of OER practitioners in Arizona, Daly’s work is shaping the future of higher education—one open textbook, student story and innovative course at a time.
 

Learn more about Diana Daly on her faculty page, or explore options for supporting the dynamic faculty and research of the College of Information Science.