Name: Innovating Practices Around Open Education Through BarCamps and Unconferences. Learnings from 14 Years of OERcamps
Start: 2026-10-08T11:05:00-0400
End: 2026-10-08T11:35:00-0400

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

Innovating Practices Around Open Education Through BarCamps and Unconferences. Learnings from 14 Years of OERcamps

Thursday October 8, 2026 11:05am - 11:35am EDT

8 DR6

ID: 33851

Open education is widely understood in terms of access and sharing: making resources available, reusable, and visible across contexts.These practices have been central to the development of the field and remain essential for broadening participation in education. At the same time, less explicit attention is often given to how knowledge is collaboratively constructed in participatory settings and to the intentional design of such processes.This presentation explores collaborative knowledge construction as a complementary dimension of openness, using OERcamps as long-standing, practice-based examples.For 14 years now, OERcamps have brought together educators, practitioners, and community members in formats that intentionally balance minimal (but strong) structure with high levels of participant agency.Instead of relying on predefined agendas, participants collectively identify topics, propose sessions, and iteratively shape discussions throughout each event.Across multiple iterations, recurring patterns can be observed: participants move fluidly between roles as learners, contributors, and facilitators; knowledge is not simply shared, but continuously refined through dialogue; and responsibility for outcomes is distributed across the community.These dynamics create environments in which knowledge is treated as evolving and situated, rather than fixed and final, and in which learning emerges through interaction rather than transmission.By examining these patterns, the presentation situates OERcamps within broader conversations about participation, collaboration, and community-building in open education.It argues that participatory formats can extend existing open practices by complementing access and sharing with processes that enable ongoing knowledge construction and collective sense-making.In this way, OERcamps can be understood as examples of how open education can move beyond resource-centered approaches without replacing them, and how communities can take an active role in shaping knowledge practices.Rather than positioning this approach as an alternative to established practices, the session offers a differentiated perspective: openness can be understood as a spectrum that includes access, sharing, and participatory knowledge practices.Recognizing this spectrum allows for more intentional design of open education initiatives that respond to diverse goals, contexts, and institutional settings.Participants will be introduced to concrete design principles derived from the OERcamp experience, including strategies for enabling participant-driven agendas, supporting fluid role transitions, and fostering shared ownership of learning processes.The session will also address practical considerations for adapting such approaches to different institutional and cultural environments, including constraints related to time, resources, facilitation, and organizational structures.By connecting long-term practice with broader conceptual reflection, this presentation contributes to a more nuanced understanding of how open education can evolve—both by expanding access to resources and by creating spaces where knowledge is collaboratively constructed and continuously developed.

Speakers

Jöran Muuß-Merholz

Founder of Agentur J&K, Team OERcamp at Agentur J&K

Jöran Muuß-Merholz, expert on open and progressive learning and working.In 2009 Jöran started his agency “J&K - Jöran und Konsorten” (“Jöran and fellows”) to strengthen the connections between the educational and the digital world. Jöran is consulting educational organizations... Read More →

Nicole Hagen

Co Editorial Director, Team OERcamp at Agentur J&K

Dr. Nicole Hagen is a member of the OERcamp team for the J&K agency in Hamburg, Germany. Her key responsibilities include researching content, preparing editorials and publishing on subjects related to openness and education. In addition to her primary interests, Nicole has a keen... Read More →

Frank Homp

Co Editorial Director, Team OERcamp at Agentur J&K

Frank is a second-generation NOERd — he joined the game when it was already in full swing. On the one hand, he regrets that a bit, since he’s only now getting to know so many great people and past projects. On the other hand, he feels that this sometimes allows him to look at... Read More →

Thursday October 8, 2026 11:05am - 11:35am EDT
8 DR6 MIT Samberg Conference Center, 50 Memorial Drive, Cambridge MA 02139 USA

Presentation

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

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OEGlobal 2026

Jöran Muuß-Merholz

Nicole Hagen

Frank Homp

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Success you have shared X tickets.

OEGlobal 2026

Jöran Muuß-Merholz

Nicole Hagen

Frank Homp

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