Engaging with Open Education

Track: Workshops and Panels
Authors: Panagiota Alevizou and Andrea Forte

Abstract
This panel will address key issues and provide empirically grounded insights on learning about, with, and through open educational resources (OER). Open educational resources are educational materials that are freely shared by those who seek to learn and those who seek to teach. OERs are viewed by many as a revolutionary idea that could create more accessible, equitable education on a global scale; yet, the benefits and challenges of OER adoption in practice are not yet understood. Many OER initiatives are pursuing a vision of education as a ‘public good’, and international policy agendas on education are shifting from the idea of simply providing access to content, towards the notion of creating ‘Open Participatory Learning Ecosystems’; these efforts have outpaced our understanding of how educational systems behave when they become more open. Open education requires further empirical investigation. Each of the individuals on this panel brings expertise that speaks not only to understanding
the potential value of OER, but also to understanding barriers and challenges of OER adoption. Speakers will cover issues on:

• Advocacy, policy & development of OER
• Social interfaces and the design of participation
• Mentoring and peer learning in Open Education environments
• Popular perceptions about OER, and attitudes towards sharing and creating OER content