OEGlobal 2026: Full Schedule

All sessions are available online except round tables, special activities, and workshops.

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11:50am EDT

Creatón STEM+: A Methodological Model for Teacher-Led, Territory-Based OER Co-Creation in Latin America

Wednesday October 7, 2026 11:50am - 12:20pm EDT

ID: 33734

Across open education initiatives, a persistent challenge remains: while access to Open Educational Resources (OER) has expanded, there is still a lack of contextualized, culturally relevant content, particularly in basic education contexts. At the same time, teachers are often positioned as users or adapters of resources rather than as authors of open knowledge.The Creatón STEM+ methodological model addresses this gap by providing a structured Open Educational Practice that enables teachers to collaboratively design, prototype and publish OER grounded in local realities. Developed and implemented across Colombia, Chile and Uruguay, the model responds to the need for cross-regional approaches to open education that are rooted in the Global South and in school-level educational contexts. Its implementation across these contexts enabled the model to be tested and analysed in diverse educational settings.The model integrates three key components: (1) a preparatory phase focused on principles of open education, inclusion, the STEM+ educational approach and the ethical use of technologies in OER creation; (2) an intensive co-creation Creatón based on a pedagogically adapted Design Thinking process; and (3) a post-Creatón phase that supports validation, refinement and publication of OER. Central to the model is the positioning of teachers as creators of situated pedagogical knowledge, working collaboratively on real socio-educational challenges from their territories.Findings from the analysis of the implementation process reveal key dimensions that shape the functioning of the model. The analysis highlights the centrality of collaborative work, pedagogical mediation and situated reflection in co-creation processes, as well as the need to structure learning beyond the intensive co-creation phase. At the same time, results show shifts in teachers’ understanding of STEM+, inclusion and open education, together with a significant increase in the perceived legitimacy of OER as a professional practice. Taken together, these findings suggest that the Creatón STEM+ methodological model not only has the potential to support the production of contextually relevant OER, but also contributes to repositioning open educational practices within teachers’ professional identity and everyday pedagogical work.This presentation will examine the methodological architecture of the Creatón STEM+ model, its core pedagogical principles and its implementation across diverse educational contexts in Latin America. It will also discuss how cross-regional collaboration can strengthen the development of contextualized open content and contribute to more equitable and sustainable open education ecosystems.The Creatón model offers a transferable framework for moving open education beyond access toward collective, teacher-led knowledge production in basic education, particularly in contexts where contextual relevance, inclusion and teacher agency are critical

Speakers

Nina Ibaceta Guerra

Researcher & Project Coordinator, CIDSTEM Institute at Pontifícia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso

Nina Ibaceta Guerra is a biologist and science educator with a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Chile. She is a researcher and project coordinator at the Center for Research in Science Education and STEM Education (CIDSTEM) at the Pontificia Universidad... Read More →

Anna Vater

Senior Project Manager, Siemens Stiftung

Anna Vater holds a B.A. in International Cultural and Business Studies from the University of Passau and an M.A. in Intercultural Cooperation and Communication from Munich University of Applied Sciences. She works as a Senior Project Manager at Siemens Stiftung, focusing on international... Read More →

Wednesday October 7, 2026 11:50am - 12:20pm EDT
6 DR4 MIT Samberg Conference Center, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge MA 02139 USA

Presentation

Speaker Modality In-person
Track Catalyzing Human Connection Creativity and Curiosity to Thrive

11:50am EDT

Empowering People with Disabilities About Open Educational Resources- Bridging the Educational Gaps with Inclusive, Accessible and Innovative Practices

Wednesday October 7, 2026 11:50am - 12:20pm EDT

2 Room M

ID: 30909

An estimated 1.3 billion people in the world experience some form of disability (WHO 2023). People with disabilities in many parts of the world face considerable institutional and attitudinal barriers to access education, health care, and employment, which means they are at a higher risk of poverty, inequalities, and discrimination (Asian Development Bank 2022; Department for International Development 2000; 2022; United Nations 2018; 2024; WHO, 2022; 2023). Education is a fundamental right for everyone, but individuals with disabilities face significant challenges in accessing education. The crushing reality of higher expenses of learning resources, lack of availability of inclusive and accessible resources, financial barriers, educational inequality and discrimination, and above all, limited networking opportunities deters individuals with disabilities from becoming active contributors of knowledge. The development of Open Educational Resources (OER) accelerates innovation, but not necessarily for individuals with disabilities. The available open platforms and resources are scarce and do not meet the academic needs of individuals with diverse disabilities. Furthermore, it is assumed that individuals with disabilities lack participation in developing academic and non-academic open resources due to a lack of OER awareness and limited collaborative opportunities with individuals without disabilities. Previous studies are unavailable that highlight the academic and technological challenges faced by individuals with and without disabilities and how OER can support and enhance their creativity. As a neurodivergent open education expert, I hold that unless we create opportunities for individuals with and without disabilities to collaborate, true inclusion, innovation, and equitable knowledge creation will remain unattainable.This case study on empowerment and collaboration among people with and without disabilities aims to highlight their educational and technological challenges, provide them with online training on OER, and, as an outcome, develop a collective book on OER. A total of 10 individuals with neurodivergent, sensory, and physical disabilities, mainly from Asia and Europe, were selected. These participants were either working or studying at the university level. Another group of participants included 10 professors and academics. All participants were selected via the Global Forum for Teacher Educators—a virtual forum of teachers, educators, and individuals from over 75 countries. Initially, a form was circulated and individuals who showed interest were contacted. The project started in February 2025 and ended in January 2026. In the first phase, online panel discussions were organized to identify the educational and technological challenges faced by individuals with and without disabilities. In the next phase, eight hours of accessible synchronous and asynchronous training on OER were offered, incorporating hands-on collaborative activities. As a final output, interested participants wrote chapters on diverse topics, which were then published as OER in accessible formats. Collaboration in the project was ensured through inclusive team formation, joint writing activities, peer feedback, shared online platforms, and continuous dialogue between participants with and without disabilities, enabling meaningful co-creation of knowledge. At the end of the project, a focus group discussion was organized, during which participants highlighted that OER had enhanced their creativity and enabled them to share their ideas and viewpoints with a global audience. It helped develop understanding, empathy, creativity, and awareness of each other's learning needs. It also encouraged them to continue their creative work beyond the book project by using and producing OER on topics of their interest with others. This project highlights the significance of empowering people with and without disabilities about OER and promoting inclusive knowledge creation through collaboration and shared learning. By catalyzing human connection and creativity, it demonstrates how accessible open education initiatives can bring diverse voices together to co-create knowledge and inspire innovative ideas that benefit global learning communities.

Speakers

Munir Moosa Sewani

Assistant Professor of Education and Open Education Trainer, Department of Education, Sindh Madressatul Islam University

Dr. Munir is a neurodivergent teacher, independent researcher, open education expert, disability advocate, and educational theorist. He holds a PhD in Education and currently works as an Assistant Professor of Education. He is also the volunteer Founder and Director of the Global... Read More →

Wednesday October 7, 2026 11:50am - 12:20pm EDT
2 Room M MIT Samberg Conference Center, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge MA 02139 USA

Presentation

Speaker Modality In-person
Track Catalyzing Human Connection Creativity and Curiosity to Thrive

12:25pm EDT

Un-Grading Open: What Happens When Students Own the Outcome

Wednesday October 7, 2026 12:25pm - 12:55pm EDT

5 DR3

ID: 33553

What happens when students are no longer working toward a grade, but toward creating something meaningful, public, and lasting? This session explores the transformative potential of “ungrading” within open education, where students are invited to create, adapt, and contribute to Open Educational Resources (OER) without the constraints of traditional grading systems.Drawing on my experience supervising student-led OER projects in an Open Education Lab, this session examines what shifts when students are given ownership over both the learning process and the final product. Ungrading challenges conventional assumptions about motivation, accountability, and quality. While grades often serve as external motivators, removing them can create space for intrinsic motivation, creativity, and deeper engagement. But, it also introduces uncertainty for both students and instructors.Through real examples, I will share what this approach looks like in practice: projects that thrived under ungrading, as well as those that struggled. These experiences surface how students navigate autonomy, how collaboration evolves without competitive grading structures, and how instructors can support quality and rigor without relying on numeric evaluation. The session will highlight both the possibilities and the complexities of this approach, offering an honest reflection on what worked, what didn’t, and why.Participants will be invited to reflect on their own experiences with assessment and consider how autonomy influences engagement and learning. A short interactive activity will encourage attendees to think about how ungrading principles could be applied in their own teaching or institutional contexts, whether through small-scale experimentation or broader redesign.This session will also provide practical strategies for implementing ungrading in open education contexts. Key takeaways include how to design structured flexibility through milestones and feedback loops, how to support students in navigating ambiguity, and how to balance freedom with accountability. Attendees will also explore how OER creation can shift the focus from disposable assignments to authentic, impactful work that extends beyond the classroom.By centering student ownership and redefining success beyond grades, ungrading invites educators to rethink the purpose of assessment in open education. This approach not only supports creativity and curiosity but also positions students as active contributors to knowledge, rather than passive recipients.Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of the pedagogical implications of ungrading, as well as actionable ideas for integrating student-driven, open practices into their own work.

Speakers

Pranjal Saloni

Open Education Lab Supervisor, Ontario Tech University

I manage the Open Education Lab at Ontario Tech University, where I oversee student-driven projects that advance open educational practices and the creation of open resources. With a Bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering and Management, I bring an interdisciplinary perspective... Read More →

Wednesday October 7, 2026 12:25pm - 12:55pm EDT
5 DR3 MIT Samberg Conference Center, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge MA 02139 USA

Presentation

Speaker Modality Online
Track Catalyzing Human Connection Creativity and Curiosity to Thrive

1:40pm EDT

The Leading Edge of Open Education: Meet the 2026 Awardees of the OE Awards for Excellence

Wednesday October 7, 2026 1:40pm - 2:45pm EDT

7 DR5

ID: 33277

By the start of this conference, Open Education Global will have announced the winners of the 2026 Open Education Awards for Excellence, the fifteenth year of this community driven program to recognize the people, projects, and practices that exemplify open education in action. We bring together representatives of this years awardees from both ones present at the conference and others who will join is online. Each will share conversational style an overview of the work for which they were recognized, but also to share what motivates them. This is an opportunity for those attending the conference to extend congratulations, for the awardees to express appreciation, and most importantly to build stronger interconnections within the open education community.Since 2011, the OEAwards have recognized over 300 individuals, projects, and practices. Over the past few years, we have been sifting the awards from a "competition" like focus on the "winners" to a celebration and making visible all-- the details of hundreds of nominees are shared. Furthermore, the program is extending itself into an ongoing encouragement all year long of "micro-recognition" as expressions of gratitude for the often invisible work that makes open education possible.Join us for a conversation with the people identified through the program who are modeling in action what Open Education does around the world.

Speakers

Marcela Morales

Executive Co-Director, Open Education Global

Marcela is an avid promotor of access to knowledge and a true believer in the power of education to transform lives and societies all around the world. She believes that education is an essential, shared, and collaborative social good for which we are all responsible.As Co-Executive... Read More →

Alan Levine

Director of Community Engagement, Open Education Global

Alan Levine explores the potential of new technologies for education. In 1993 he set up a web server on a Mac SE/30 at the Maricopa Community Colleges and has not left since. His current role is Director of Community Engagement at Open Education Global. Before that he provided consulting... Read More →

Wednesday October 7, 2026 1:40pm - 2:45pm EDT
7 DR5 MIT Samberg Conference Center, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge MA 02139 USA

Panel

Speaker Modality Hybrid
Track Catalyzing Human Connection Creativity and Curiosity to Thrive

2:15pm EDT

Who Owns Learning? Sovereignty, Solidarity, and Open Education Across Divided Worlds

Wednesday October 7, 2026 2:15pm - 2:45pm EDT

5 DR3

ID: 33604

In a time shaped by geopolitical conflict, displacement, and widening inequalities in access to education, some basic questions feel newly urgent: Who owns learning? Who gets to participate in it?Who gets to shape it?Who gets to carry it across borders? This session takes up these questions through open education, transnational didactics, and trauma-informed teaching, drawing on a 13-week open, blended course developed at the University of Stuttgart.The course brings together student teachers from Germany, Ukraine, Lebanon, and more than ten other countries into a shared online learning space that deliberately foregrounds human connection, creativity, and curiosity. Working in transnational teams, participants design project-based learning (PBL) experiences. 17 projects including toolkits, lesson plans, videos and websites were developed.The session involved chat prompts, polls and pointed reflection questions for participants to actively engage with during the 30 minutes. Conference attendees will learn how the course moves beyond delivering content to become a space where open, educational sovereignty can be practiced—where learners and educators co-create meaningful, context-sensitive learning across cultural and political boundaries.This course is situated within global conversations, including UNESCO’s vision of inclusive and equitable education and the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE) focus on access and innovation in digital learning. At the same time, it does not avoid the realities many participants are living through. War, instability, and uncertainty are present in the space. For that reason, the course draws on trauma-informed principles, intentionally creating conditions of psychological safety, flexibility, and trust—conditions that make open, genuine collaboration possible.A central idea guiding the course is anti-fragility. Rather than simply trying to withstand disruption, the design invites uncertainty and diversity to become sources of learning. Students take on the role of designers, negotiating perspectives, constraints, and opportunities as they work. In doing so, curiosity and creativity are not added extras—they emerge naturally through the process, removing barriers, alongside growing intercultural awareness and resilience.In this session, participants will see how open, transnational learning spaces can function as sites of both solidarity and agency. The session will share concrete design strategies for structuring international collaboration, integrating trauma-informed approaches, and connecting practice to global frameworks. Examples from student projects will show how shared challenges can lead to inventive, locally meaningful solutions.

Speakers

Richard Powers

Professor, University of Stuttgart, Department of Education

Richard J. Powers is a professor, instructional designer, and international educator at the University of Stuttgart and City Colleges of Chicago. His work focuses on open education, international collaboration, and project-based learning in global, online environments, alongside Universal... Read More →

Wednesday October 7, 2026 2:15pm - 2:45pm EDT
5 DR3 MIT Samberg Conference Center, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge MA 02139 USA

Presentation

Speaker Modality Online
Track Catalyzing Human Connection Creativity and Curiosity to Thrive

3:00pm EDT

Slowing Down to Lead: Design Lessons from the Rebus Luminary Fellowship

Wednesday October 7, 2026 3:00pm - 3:30pm EDT

6 DR4

ID: 33914

Postsecondary leaders are exhausted. They are navigating defunded institutions, a shifting political landscape, rapid AI expansion, and the quiet accumulation of uncompensated labor that education has always asked of its practitioners. The Rebus Luminary Fellowship for Education Leaders was our response to that reality.This presentation shares our experience co-designing and facilitating the Luminary Fellowship – a three-month program for fifteen postsecondary leaders across Canada and the United States, developed in partnership with the Leadership Learning Community (LLC), a nonprofit with deep roots in liberatory leadership practice. We'll speak honestly about what it meant to build a space where connection, creativity, and curiosity weren't just aspirations on a slide but conditions we had to actively create.There is a meaningful difference between valuing something and designing for it. We valued slowness, so we built long check-ins and resisted the urge to pack every session with content. We valued trust, so we thought carefully about what a participant should receive before ever showing up to a session, like a welcome care package in the mail. We valued an honest community, so we gave sessions enough breathing room for discomfort to surface and built in 1:1 check-ins between sessions to tend to what the group couldn't. The Liberatory Leadership Framework, developed by LLC, became our recurring lens: a shared vocabulary that participants could carry across sessions and bring back to their own institutions.This presentation will walk through the program's arc – three virtual sessions and a culminating in-person summit in Vancouver – with particular attention to the design choices behind each phase and how we adapted in real time. We'll reflect on the genuine collaboration between Rebus and LLC: what it looked like to co-design across organizations, how we distributed facilitation, and what we learned when things didn't go as planned. We'll also share what we heard from participants themselves – that the strategies mattered, but what stayed with them was simpler and harder to name: the feeling of not being alone in this work.Our hope is that this session sparks an honest conversation about what it actually takes to make space for human connection in open education programming – the choices behind the design, what we learned along the way, and what we'd do differently. For anyone building fellowships, communities of practice, or professional development experiences, we think the Luminary Fellowship offers a useful, honest case study in what intentional community building can look like.

Speakers

Apurva Ashok

Executive Director, The Rebus Foundation

Apurva Ashok is the Executive Director of The Rebus Foundation, a global non-profit and Canadian charity advancing liberatory futures through education. Apurva is an accomplished leader in Open Education, and is recognized for her ability to inspire systemic change and build institutional... Read More →

Wednesday October 7, 2026 3:00pm - 3:30pm EDT
6 DR4 MIT Samberg Conference Center, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge MA 02139 USA

Presentation

Speaker Modality Online
Track Catalyzing Human Connection Creativity and Curiosity to Thrive

3:00pm EDT

The Work at the Hinge: Mini Structures and Human-Centered Open Education

Wednesday October 7, 2026 3:00pm - 3:30pm EDT

2 Room M

ID: 31087

Open education often assumes a shared threshold, as if practitioners are all standing before the same door with the same key, the same confidence, and the same amount of time to turn the handle. They are not. For some, the door opens easily into spacious possibility. For others, it sticks, locked by uncertainty, time scarcity, inaccessible information, perfectionism, policy confusion, or the quiet fear of getting it wrong in public.This session argues that if Open Education is serious about access, it cannot reserve its gentleness for students alone. It must meet practitioners at the threshold too, attending to the tiny details where entry is either made possible or made impossible. Drawing from two semesters of program design and implementation at a Hispanic-Serving Institution, I share a practical model of “mini structures” as threshold design: an inquiry-based OER exploration mini-grant that pays faculty for rigorous search and decision-ready documentation (rather than requiring premature adoption), paired with a scaffolded sequence of mini-lessons that translate complex Open Educational Practices into bounded steps with clear outcomes, examples, and time expectations.The core claim is simple: a door is only open if someone can actually get through it. In many institutional contexts, the primary barriers are not ideological resistance. They are practical and quietly determinative: not knowing where to start, and starting alone. I highlight the hinge details that repeatedly change follow-through without lowering rigor: bounded time containers (30–45 minute work sessions with a concrete deliverable), “what counts” guidance that reduces ambiguity, risk reduction through private drafts and optional publicness, and documentation-as-scaffolding (trackers, evaluation lenses, landscape briefs) that makes decisions visible, retrievable, and shareable.Grounded in care ethics, I frame these choices as infrastructure rather than tone: care operationalized through systems that assume human variance as normal. Participants will leave with a replicable set of design patterns and a lightweight blueprint for building mini infrastructure in their own programs.

Speakers

Megan Brittany-Fruia Zara

Open Education Librarian, The University of Texas at Arlington

Megan Zara is an Open Education librarian and program designer at the University of Texas at Arlington Libraries. Her work sits at the intersection of Open Education, access, and care ethics, with a focus on building scaffolded systems (mini-grants, mini-lessons, and decision-ready... Read More →

Wednesday October 7, 2026 3:00pm - 3:30pm EDT
2 Room M MIT Samberg Conference Center, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge MA 02139 USA

Presentation

Speaker Modality In-person
Track Catalyzing Human Connection Creativity and Curiosity to Thrive

3:35pm EDT

GO-GN Canada Hub - Rediscovering the Land as Open Educators

Wednesday October 7, 2026 3:35pm - 4:05pm EDT

7 DR5

ID: 34731

In the summer of 2025, the GO-GN Canada Hub was formed as an extension of the global GO-GN network based in the Open University, United Kingdom. Because community building and in-person convenings are so important to the GO-GN network of PhD students and GO-GN alumni, the GO-GN Canada Hub spent a 2-day Indigenous land-based learning experience at the Cultural Use Area in Jasper National Park, guided by Darrion Letendre and Ni’tokisiks (Blackfoot elder) Lance Scout. This land-based learning extended and deepened conversations about the compatibility/incompatibility of open education and Indigenous knowledge that began through Darrion’s keynote address at the Open Education Global 2023 keynote in Edmonton (i.e., OEGlobal23 Keynote: Embracing 2-Eyed Seeing to Revitalize Sustainable Relations). During the grant period and beyond, regular online meetings support GO-GN student updates, progress on meeting the Hub’s deliverables, and other educational activities including a community of practice book study of Wahi Wah Indigenous Pedagogies: An Act of Reconciliation and Anti-racist Education (Chrona, 2022). The members of the Canada Hub co-authored a multi-modal collection of their land-based learning. In these reflections, the tensions and intersections of the history of colonization are revealed alongside open education, research perspectives, and Indigenous ways of knowing(Canadian Commission for UNESCO, 2021). The pressbook (released Spring 2026) will be part of the panel presentation. Several blog posts and growing the GO-GN awareness and membership were also key deliverables from the Hub. The community of practice online meetings continues with the taking up of open access articles, reports, and practitioner concerns. The GO-GN Canada Hub supports and expands GO-GN’s strategic direction to “inspire alternative ways of being and understanding the world” (Farrow et al., 2024, p. 42). As a collaborative community, the Canada Hub is part of the maturation of open education and the challenges that individuals and the community face as this hub continues to be an imperfect act of conciliation and reconciliation for its Canadian members. The online panel discussion will highlight the Hub’s activities and its ongoing efforts of walking alongside, learning from and with our Indigenous and more than human relatives.

Speakers

Connie Blomgren

Professor, Athabasca University

Dr. Constance Blomgren is a Professor in the Open, Digital and Distance Education Master of Education programs at Athabasca University and the Masters of Education Program Director. She teaches and researches about openness in education. She is an associate editor for the International... Read More →

Darrion Letendre

InSTEM and Land Based Learning Specialist, Norquest College

Darrion is a dedicated and passionate Nehiyaw-Métis educator with over 10 years of experience of land-based learning for Indigenous youth. He is an advocate for Indigenous education and revitalizing cultural knowledge through Western education systems. He has been a member of the... Read More →

Agnieszka (Aga) Palalas

Professor, Athabasca University

Dr. Palals is a Professor in Open, Digital, and Distance Education, and Program Director in the Doctor of Distance Education Program at Athabasca University. She is an experienced practitioner and researcher of technology-assisted learning and teaching with a focus on innovative pedagogy... Read More →

Wednesday October 7, 2026 3:35pm - 4:05pm EDT
7 DR5 MIT Samberg Conference Center, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge MA 02139 USA

Panel

Speaker Modality Online
Track Catalyzing Human Connection Creativity and Curiosity to Thrive

3:35pm EDT

Open Knowledge Content Curation: From Scientific Information Watch to Self and Active Learning

Wednesday October 7, 2026 3:35pm - 4:05pm EDT

5 DR3

ID: 33736

In the context of infobesity, managing knowledge and mastering scientific and societal information actuality is more and more a challenge for teachers, researchers and students. Content curation tools developped some years ago, help finding, selecting, commenting, elevating and sharing relevant open web information from diverse sources. One of those tools called Scoop.it appears well suited for so-called serious information and has been used by ourselves, other scientists and teachers individually or in groups of interest. Teachers can indeed build content hubs on their discipline, for instance geography, history or biology. Researchers in basic, medical and also social sciences can establish their personal databases, document their research topics and share specific contents according to their competencies. Learners and curious laypeople can benefit from knowledge selected and accumulated and from information follow-up by recognized specialists We are reporting on our experience of using Content Curation for Research, Teaching and Learning in basic, medical and health immunology for more than 10 years. We are agregating scientific information such as selected published papers but also grey literature, press releases and web posting on blogs and websites. Societally relevant information from social netwotks can also be collected and archived. Commenting and elevating information individually and/or through analysis of subtopics is adding value to such material. Sharing on social networks is an opportunity, while archiving and retrieving later is an asset. Two projects were posted on Open Education Resources Surfing the Wave of Immunology Knowledge and more (SWIK+). becoming later Self and Active Learning in Immunology and more (SALIM+), after applying and evaluating the tool in real learning context. Content Hubs aggregating curated OPEN medical immunology resources, from systemic and mucosal immunity to clinical and applied immunology (allergy, rheumatology, neurology, biotherapies) and societal health concerns (vaccine hesitancy) actualized regularly, are offering students, teachers and researchers selected relevant information, helping them stay abreast of information wave. We used it for distance learning during Covid pandemy with chinese students and developped innovative self and active learning with french and chinese medical students for initiation in clinical research in a master module. Learners can use the selected material offered by their teachers or other researchers. Themselves are asked to select, collect, read and comment medical and scientific information related to a chosen topic of interest. They discover not only scientific published literature, but also web material posted by press or media available to laypeople, as well as discussions on social networks. Such self and active learning different from top down courses they receive in medical training is much appreciated, making them curious and even coined by students as fun. Content curation, compared to artificial intelligence, adds human flair to search practices and stimulates users to develop interest and taste for information watch, mandatory for research activities during training and for life long learning in their profession. Other advantages of content curation tool are sharing which remains a challenge, allowing to retrieve information later, also offering networking opportunities but hindrance reported is time consuming like any information watch.

Speakers

Gilbert Faure

Professeur, Université Lorraine, CREM

Professor Emeritus in Immunology at Université Lorraine, Faculté de Médecine, I have been pursuing teaching activities in the context of the Sino-French Training programs between Nancy, Wuhan and Kunming for more than 20 years, after a career in Medical Immunology. I had responsibilities... Read More →

Wednesday October 7, 2026 3:35pm - 4:05pm EDT
5 DR3 MIT Samberg Conference Center, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge MA 02139 USA

Presentation

Speaker Modality Online
Track Catalyzing Human Connection Creativity and Curiosity to Thrive

4:20pm EDT

Can K-12 Teachers and Students Build Open Source AI Tools for Education?

Wednesday October 7, 2026 4:20pm - 4:50pm EDT

4 Room T

ID: 33728

There is growing consensus that creation of AI tools built specifically responsive to educational needs and pedagogically grounded are more pertinent, relevant and efficient than generative AI general-purpose tools, like ChatGPT. Even more, AI general-purpose tools also augment the possibility for AI risks to flourish in educational settings.For the creation of AI for Education tools, its also highly recommended to co-design and co-develop those tools with the end-users, teachers and students. This participatory approach looks to open the “black box” of AI and let end-users develop a critical oversight and public scrutiny on these tools, measuring expectations and recognizing the different trade-offs in place.In that context, Open Source AI is better suited for education-specific tailored tools because it enables alignment, control, and sustainability at the system level, not just performance at the model level. Open AI models can be “fine-tuned” on local curriculum and national standards, adapted to specific pedagogical frameworks or enforce desired teaching practices, integrated to existing school systems (grading, reports, LMS), it can be inspected, tested and audited due to its transparency.Opting for Open Source AI comes along with difficult challenges: to exploit its opportunities and unleash participatory “open practices” (fine tuning, distilling, RAG) to build AI for education tools requires demanding technical expertise, for example in K-12 teachers and students.This session looks to discuss about what should be the readiness standard for K-12 teachers and students to participate in the co-design, co-development and testing of Open Source AI tools for K-12 schools. So how can you offer a simplistic, easy to learn framework and a guided-through pipeline for K-12 teachers and students.Alongside end-users, how to protect student privacy with an Open Data schema, in full compliance with data protection laws and without dependency on external APIs, its to be discussed. Lastly, sustainability challenges are also to be discussed as key infrastructure is needed, because custom-built systems are harder to sustain, they can fail without permanent investment due to hidden costs (hardware like GPUs or servers, technical teams, ongoing maintenance).In sum, the session looks to identify the key aspects to consider and catch a glimpse of the context of end user readiness and technical-legal infrastructure to hold the promise that Open Source AI is the option for local educational relevance.

Speakers

Werner Westermann

Can K-12 teachers and students build Open Source AI tools for education?, International Research Center on Artificial Intelligence IRCAI

Werner Westermann Juárez works at the Civic Education Program, at the Library of National Congress of Chile since 2015. He is a History, Geography and Social Sciences Teacher and Bachelor Graduate in History (Pontificia Universidad Católica, Chile) and a Master’s on Open Education... Read More →

Wednesday October 7, 2026 4:20pm - 4:50pm EDT
4 Room T MIT Samberg Conference Center, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge MA 02139 USA

Round Table

Speaker Modality In-person
Track Catalyzing Human Connection Creativity and Curiosity to Thrive

4:20pm EDT

Practicing Rebellion: Strategies to Sustain Open Education Leadership

Wednesday October 7, 2026 4:20pm - 5:25pm EDT

3 Room I

ID: 33975

The Rebus Luminary Fellowship for Education Leaders brought together fifteen postsecondary leaders across Canada and the United States for a three-month program dedicated to collective learning and renewal. Together in the winter and spring of 2026, we witnessed transformation in one another and ourselves through three online synchronous sessions and a three-day in-person summit. Our inquiry focused on individual and collective liberation. We developed an honest assessment of disparity in higher education, drawing on real-time pressures in our workplaces to track and examine the distribution of power at the systems-level. Rebus Luminary Fellows serve in multiple leadership roles within education institutions and organizations, ranging from directors to program leads to design specialists. Our community offers valuable perspectives rooted in our own leadership needs and educational contexts. We also dedicated time for inner work, personal reflection, and discussion, fueling visions of possible futures.In this hybrid panel, Rebus Luminary Fellows speak candidly about the challenges of leading open education initiatives, including isolation, burnout, and overwork. We also detail the newly acquired liberatory strategies that continue to make a difference for us in our daily work. In particular, the panel invites participants to consider the miracle of shifting perspective, deep values alignment, and moving from extractive to generative practices. Panelists will examine how these new practices, which started out as suggestions and flashes of curiosity, contribute to restorative, playful, and inventive leadership. Panelists will also discuss realistic methods for sustaining a cross-regional community of practice following the formal completion of a program. Fellows remain committed to nurturing our relationships and continued shared growth, but navigate active schedules and lead multiple projects. To this end, we share innovative ways to nourish and protect meaningful connection across the distance. We invite participants to replicate and experiment with examples of our asynchronous and synchronous engagement for ongoing interaction in your own communities. This session offers both solidarity and strategy. Methods for inclusive hybrid interaction include: open-ended Menti questions and polls to gauge participant priorities and special interests in leadership and collective transformation; a shared online document for real-time note-taking to ensure participation is open and equitable for online participants; and voicing the Meeting Chat comments aloud at regular intervals to ensure multiple means of access to the contributions of online participants. Come away with concrete practices for sustaining yourself and your communities, as well as affirmation that we are not alone in this work.

Speakers

Christina Hendricks

Professor of Teaching and Academic Director of the Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Technology., University of British Columbia Vancouver

Christina Hendricks is a Professor of Teaching in philosophy at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, where she also serves as the Academic Director of the Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Technology. She has been an open education practitioner, advocate, and researchers... Read More →

Christine Rickabaugh

Open Education Librarian, University of Arkansas Libraries

Christine Rickabaugh is a former early childhood educator who traded crayons and glitter for Pressbooks and Creative Commons licenses — and hasn't looked back. Now the Open Education Librarian at the University of Arkansas Libraries, she leads the university's OER program, chairs... Read More →

Joan Giovannini

Manager of Faculty Development with Instructional Design, Engagement, and Support (IDEAS), University of Massachusetts Amherst

Joan Giovannini is Manager of Faculty Development with Instructional Design, Engagement, and Support (IDEAS) at University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she leads institution‑wide initiatives that support evidence‑based, and technology-enhanced teaching and learning. Joan designs... Read More →

Allison Buckley

Program Specialist, Southern Regional Education Board

Allison Buckley manages and supports the work of open educational resources and the Education Technology Cooperative, where she aids in increasing open educational resources awareness at the local and national levels. She joined SREB’s postsecondary education team in 2024 as a... Read More →

Ginelle Baskin

Assistant Professor and Open Education Librarian, Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU)

Ginelle Baskin is the Open Education Librarian at Middle Tennessee State University, where she leads campus initiatives to advance textbook affordability and the adoption of open educational resources (OER). She works closely with faculty, departments, and campus partners to support... Read More →

Veronica Vold

Education Consultant, Equinox Learning Design, LLC

Veronica Vold, PhD, created Equinox Learning Design, LLC to champion equity in higher education. With Open Oregon Educational Resources, she led an instructional design team and created statewide initiatives for accessibility and design justice. As an education consultant, she provides... Read More →

Brandon Carson

Sessional Instructor and Research Associate, Ontario Tech University

Brandon Carson is an open education scholar-practitioner whose work sits at the intersection of teaching and learning, educational technology, and higher education change. With more than 17 years of experience in the post-secondary sector, Brandon has supported initiatives related... Read More →

Wednesday October 7, 2026 4:20pm - 5:25pm EDT
3 Room I MIT Samberg Conference Center, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge MA 02139 USA

Panel

Speaker Modality Hybrid
Track Catalyzing Human Connection Creativity and Curiosity to Thrive

4:20pm EDT

Sparking Connection, Creativity, and Curiosity with the Open Education Network

Wednesday October 7, 2026 4:20pm - 6:00pm EDT

2 Room M

ID: 31480

Engage in creative conversation with other open practitioners as you experience unique open spaces and centers around the MIT campus and nearby Cambridge. A chance to unwind, interact, and pursue ideas while stepping outside of the confines of the traditional conference setting. Convened by the staff of the Open Education Network, who are also always happy to chat about their work and offering of support resources!

Speakers

Open Education Network

Staff, Open Education Network

The OEN is a global collective of more than 1,700 higher education institutions and consortia that partner together to make higher education more affordable and equitable through engagement with open education. We are not a vendor, a business, or even a non-profit; we are part of... Read More →

Wednesday October 7, 2026 4:20pm - 6:00pm EDT
2 Room M MIT Samberg Conference Center, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge MA 02139 USA

Special Activity

Speaker Modality In-person
Track Catalyzing Human Connection Creativity and Curiosity to Thrive

OEGlobal 2026

From $195.00

Tickets

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OEGlobal 2026

11:50am EDT

Nina Ibaceta Guerra

Anna Vater

11:50am EDT

Munir Moosa Sewani

12:25pm EDT

Pranjal Saloni

1:40pm EDT

Marcela Morales

Alan Levine

2:15pm EDT

Richard Powers

3:00pm EDT

Apurva Ashok

3:00pm EDT

Megan Brittany-Fruia Zara

3:35pm EDT

Connie Blomgren

Darrion Letendre

Agnieszka (Aga) Palalas

3:35pm EDT

Gilbert Faure

4:20pm EDT

Werner Westermann

4:20pm EDT

Christina Hendricks

Christine Rickabaugh

Joan Giovannini

Allison Buckley

Ginelle Baskin

Veronica Vold

Brandon Carson

4:20pm EDT

Open Education Network

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