{"id":3891,"date":"2023-04-02T10:05:31","date_gmt":"2023-04-02T10:05:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marendeepwell.com\/?p=3891"},"modified":"2023-04-02T10:10:51","modified_gmt":"2023-04-02T10:10:51","slug":"oer23-conference-a-whole-lotta-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marendeepwell.com\/?p=3891","title":{"rendered":"OER23 Conference: a whole lotta love"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Next week, the OER Conference<\/a> comes to Inverness, and I am very much looking forward to it! There’s a packed programme<\/a>, lots of ways to engage<\/a> and the anticipation has been building for months, as these guest posts<\/a> show. OER23 has a super Conference Committee of nearly 100 volunteers who have worked together for months to peer review papers, organise social activities, help plan conference delivery both in person and online and spread the word about the conference far and wide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why this post?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve had a professional involvement with the event since 2015, and I\u2019ve been one of the lead organisers since 2016, helping to steer the event through years of growing in impact and engagement followed by the crisis of spring 2020 and the (post) pandemic years since then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve had the pleasure and the privilege to be involved in many wonderful events over the past 15 years, and it\u2019s not possible to pick a favourite amongst so many special moments, moving keynotes and memorable evenings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, when it comes to my own practice, the OER Conference is probably the event from which I have learnt the most, at which I had those conversations that changed the path of my career and encounters that have led to a decade of collaboration. Openness in all its forms is fundamental to my work and my worldview and the OER Conference was my gateway to that world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, as this is my last year as one of the lead organisers, I want to say thank you to the OER Conference and this blog post is full of love for what has been quite a ride\u2026 .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking back at my journey with the conference<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You won\u2019t be surprised to see that I have written a lot about the OER Conference since 2015. Going through these posts there is so much that jumped out at me, so here are some personal highlights that give you a flavour of the journey we\u2019ve been on to get to Inverness next week:<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"OER22<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

2022 was the year when things started to come together again (cautiously)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\u2018Wow. It\u2019s really happening. This time, we are hitting not only the virtual but also the physical road again in order to journey to the OER Conference. OER22 here we come!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last time the OER Conference took place as planned as in Galway in 2019, and since that time, three years ago, no edition of this very special event has gone to plan. In 2020, OER20 pivoted online with less than two weeks to go, and became very much a pandemic conference. In the crisis mood of those early days of the pandemic, OER20 became a free event with refunds winging their ways across the globe to participants who suddenly had a lot more to worry about than a cancelled conference. \u2026’<\/p>\nOER22: On the road again https:\/\/marendeepwell.com\/?p=3347<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

What I recall most clearly about last year, is that 2022 was the year of careful hugging.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"OERxDomains21<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

2021: OERxDomains21<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The 2021 edition of the conference brimmed with creativity and joy against a backdrop of bleak pandemic reality. We had hugely high expectations and months of work from everyone all aimed at Reclaiming the Joy of EdTech<\/a>. OERxDomains21 was also a conference of firsts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. \u2026 the first time we had FIVE Co-Chairs \u2013 who brought all their expertise, passion and ideas to bear.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. \u2026 the first time participants remixed 159 conference badges.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. \u2026 the first time we recorded 220 of 236 participants synchronously networking online on Discord, flooding the Hallway Chat, Introduction Channel and resource pool with contributions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. \u2026 the first time that these two organisations (ALT & Reclaim Hosting), and two conferences (OER and Domains), mashed up together to create this new, joint event bringing two communities together.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. \u2026 the first time that we delivered a synchronous and asynchronous programme for participants from 18 countries and plenty of time zones for a total of 75 hours of programming.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. \u2026 the first time that we found streaming platforms that made high quality recordings immediately available to participants and then to the public, enabling late arrivals to catch up and supporting delegates from across the globe.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. \u2026 the first time we delivered an event with a staff team of 11 (up from the usual 5-6), many of whom had never met before.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. \u2026 the first time that we delivered an online event without Martin Hawksey, who headed up ALT\u2019s event delivery for the past seven years (waving to you, Mr Hawksey, I hope we did you proud :).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. \u2026 the first time anyone had the most special TV programme design that went from emails to programme pages and beyond thanks to the work led by Reclaim Hosting, enabling our participants to quite literally step into their own Community TV Channel.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  10. \u2026 the first time we managed staff handover between time zones seamlessly between sessions as one staff team ended their day and the other arrived.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nOERxDomains21 \u2013 celebrating a first of firsts https:\/\/marendeepwell.com\/?p=2973<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    My most vivid memory from that year is Jim Groom singing \u2018we did it again\u2019 over and over. <\/p>\n\n\n

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    \"The<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    2020<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    The year before, 2020, things looked very different. A lot of what I have written about the cancelled conference that lost us a huge amount of money and still happened with 1100 people online with only two weeks notice to move from in person to online\u2026 is hard to read now. At the time we had no idea of how long the impact of those early weeks of crisis would stay with us. But even in those dark days, there was joy at OER:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    For me personally, there were two moments that really captured both the joy and the sadness of the times in very unique ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    One was a live online session led by Frances Bell celebrating the FemEdTech Quilt of Care and Social Justice. You can catch both the recording of the session and the accompanying video via the conference page. I have contributed to the quilt project both personally and professionally and yet the power of the live session really took me by surprise. I don\u2019t think any webinar moved me to tears along with half the audience before this. It was a moment of connecting with fellow collaborators across the globe that was so special and made the distances and isolation between us, the crisis we are all weathering, palpable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The other session was the evening\u2019s\u00a0#OER20 #KaraOERoke Night. I don\u2019t think I had laughed more than that in weeks. It was very special, but also fun and incredibly moving to see conference participants and their families join in with the Frozen song, reviving classics and demonstrating their singing ability with everything from Mot\u00f6rhead to Kate Bush. Those moments, whether online or in person, are unforgettable.<\/p>\nOER20: definitely not \u2018business as usual\u2019 https:\/\/marendeepwell.com\/?p=2627<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    It still rings true to me, reading this three years later. Those moments are unforgettable. Yes, so much of what we do has started to take place in person again, but not because online wasn\u2019t enough or good. We do so much online. Being able to connect in person, alongside all we do virtually, is a joy (and a privilege), that I wouldn\u2019t want to give up.<\/p>\n\n\n

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    \"Photo<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    2019<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    No year did connecting in person feel more important to me than in 2019, when OER came to Galway:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Openness is many things to many people and the vision that the conference co-chairs have brought to the event has really inspired me and helped me reach a new understanding of the challenges we face by including more diverse voices and perspectives and also by ensuring that openness has been stitched into the fabric of OER19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In turn, that has inspired the work that ALT does to support this conference in the run up to the event such as tweaking our systems to encourage more sharing, the Board of Trustees funding more scholarship places for students than ever before, contributing to global events during Open Education Week led by the Open Education Special Interest Group, and post-OER19 to the Creative Commons Global Summit. \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Thanks to everyone involved, everyone who puts time and effort and resources into making OER19 happen, I feel like actually getting to go to the event in Galway is just the finishing flourish. OER19 has been a living, breathing, inspiring part of my professional practice for over a year already. But when I watched the sun rise over Galway Bay nearly a year ago, I didn\u2019t realise how rich, how thought provoking and nourishing a journey working on this event would be. I\u2019m grateful that I have been able to contribute, and I look forward to playing my part in making it happen and to build on what will be shared at OER19 to continue to promote openness and support those involved in the coming year, weaving a stronger thread of openness into the fabric of things.<\/p>\nOER19 preview post: openness in the fabric of things https:\/\/marendeepwell.com\/?p=2058<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    I took so much inspiration from this event:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Being a keynote speaker can be a powerful thing particularly if you choose to use the platform it gives you for a cause that chimes with your audience. And it seems that in the case of OER19 that definitely happened. So much emotional investment and enthusiasm is rare at conferences I attend and as we are now nearly two weeks after the event and the posts and discussions keep on flowing this is further reflected in the continued engagement and activity. So there are fresh role models for me to be inspired by, keynotes to relive that really struck a chord and transcend what you can normally expect from an hour in a lecture theatre. And indeed there are many involved in making OER19 happen whom I have been inspired by in the past, like the Co-Chairs Catherine Cronin and Laura Czerniewicz, alongside Jim Groom, Lorna Campbell and Sheila MacNeill, or Bon Stewart, Martin Weller and Maha Bali and Jane Secker. All of whom have kept their audiences spellbound at previous OER or ALT\u2019s Annual Conferences and I remember sitting back, listening, enjoying what each contributed to those events and to my own thinking. Some of these talks opened up my perspective to completely new concepts or problems, others inspired me with their example and encouraged my own practice. But each have made the hour I spent listening and participating very special, a moment stuck in my mind.<\/p>\nCrafting keynotes\u2026 an inspiration from #OER19 https:\/\/marendeepwell.com\/?p=2090<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    2018<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Galway was a beautiful conference destination, and OER Conference fortunately is not too big to take advantage of going off the beaten track. In 2018, OER took over the Waterside cinema in Bristol\u2026 and (obviously) it all kicked off with a VHS tape and – shoes!<\/p>\n\n\n

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    \"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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    It all started with a shoe tweet \u2026 and like the insightful and thought-provoking narrative that Lorna presented in her opening keynote, the red ribbons on her shoes started to wind themselves through our conversations over the following two days. The anchors and the nautical theme that reflected both Lorna\u2019s research interest and the conference location reflect a thoughtfulness that was part of every aspect of Lorna\u2019s talk and I was grateful to be able to sit back and listen as her vision took shape. \u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    There is a strong component of gift giving and exchange at OER Conferences as people who have never or only rarely meet in person exchange tokens that express and develop their digitally conducted relationships. It\u2019s an opportunity to show what you stand for, what you believe in, to share and show your colours.\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Far beyond the swag was a boat tour, sunshine (the weather gods are definitely on the side of openness), music, walking tours and apprenticeship \u2013 OER18 brought people together to learn from each other, see the world from a new perspective and to listen to the other voices in our community.\u2019<\/p>\nMore than swag: #oer18 material & visual culture https:\/\/marendeepwell.com\/?p=1453<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

    I blogged a lot about OER18, and I still look back at the sunny days at the harbour side in Bristol with real joy. In those years, the event created such momentum, and a wonderful tradition of nearly every participant being a speaker, too!<\/p>\n\n\n\n