OER13 CONFERENCE THEMES

Creating a virtuous circle

Are we ready to build on the last ten years of investment in open educational resources and move to the creation of a virtuous circle of open educational practice? This shift requires creativity by educators, developers, managers and policy makers with critical examination of past practice to set out practical and achievable plans for the future. How can we avoid open education becoming a vicious circle?

OER13 calls for papers which will open eyes and minds within the three key themes of:

• 1 - Evidence
• 2 - Experience
• 3 - Expectation

The conference planning committee invites session proposals to bring to each of these themes: lessons learned to inform the feedback loop, stories of current activity to share good practice, and creative solutions to achieving greater emphasis on openness in education.

Evidence:

The theme of Evidence explores what information we have already about open resources and open practices. What have we learned, and how do we use this feedback to adapt our learning? How do we best share and research openly together in the future? How do we demonstrate impact from the evidence gathered? What else do we need to do to adopt a critical approach?

Experience:

Sharing stories from Experience invites participants to look at what works in open practice and how to foster openness within established systems. What can we learn from the on-going activity of individuals, departments, discipline communities and institutions? How can we best understand and facilitate the spread of open practice, bringing to all learners and educators the experience of exciting new pedagogies?

Expectation:

We are driven by Expectation about the opportunities of openness whilst recognising the need to promote and establish new business models and policies that will realise rather than restrict this potential. This theme focuses on future gazing, and how we plan to deliver this future, given the emergent trends in OER and openness more widely. This theme needs thought-provoking submissions to help us envisage how aligned open practices (such as journals and data) will influence the future. How can we realise the transformative potential of open education, and broaden open practice through a policy and advocacy agenda? How will policy and funding changes affect open practice?

 

 

Support Centre for Open Resources in Education (SCORE)
The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA

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