The opening plenary session for the OERxDomains21 conference entitled “Joy and Care in Open Education in Times of Pandemic” began with a welcoming and described everything the conference did to promote virtual community. This is my first OERxDomains conference, and I loved how easy it was to log in, present, watch, and interact! The conference organizers used oerxdomains21.org as their hub and created it as a “TV guide of sessions and recordings” … it truly was and all videos were streamed to YouTube yet displayed within a TV! Chats were also embedded. I had to use help to register, and the organizers and support were incredible! Thank you for making such a welcoming conference!
The panel included Catherine Stihler, Nicolas Garcia, Tutaleni Asino, and Orna Farrel. The discussion began with the question: What has the past year been like for you in your role? The panelists described the impact of the pandemic on their programs and teaching. Asino talked about the hardships and emotional toll of this year. Farrell described re-evaluating assessments and making modifications. Garcia talked about being the student president at an institutions with thousands of students during a pandemic! Stihler explained how they took on Creative Commons while working remotely with family. The next question was “what, in open education, has helped give you some joy or shown care?” and thinking about this question alone brought me joy! Asino talked about how the open community has shared solutions and compassion to the challenges we were all facing. Farrell mentioned the importance of “community and collaboration” and being inspired by Maha Bali and others promoting openness. Garcia talked about the joy of having space to communicate and share with other students. Stihler talked about feeling empowered by working with the team at Creative Commons to share and learn. A question about the challenges we face was asked to the panelists. Asino talked how we should work to be more inclusive and “learning without borders” and open pedagogy. Farrell talked about removing barriers, including discrimination of part-time students and the digital access. Informing stakeholders about access and barriers and broadening the conversation.
What is the point of having open knowledge if you can’t get into college or can’t afford to go?
Orna Farrell, OER x Domains21
Garcia talked about how they have learned about productivity, work-life balance, and communication by working at home. I agree: Garcia mentioned “technology can enhance productivity… and be used in so many ways!” and I am excited about how open education will change now that more of us are aware of and likely used tools. Garcia also emphasized how we should gather feedback to learn about inequality.
We don’t want to go to normal… we want to go to a better normal.
Nicolas Garcia, OER x Domains21
Stihler talked about digital access, and that open education addresses all the things we care about tackling inequality. Dr. Matt Smith asked about how do we ensure that the positives (from the pandemic) are kept, and the panelists spoke about the (new) awareness that communication can be virtual and assessments can be revisited. Garcia talked about the flexibility afforded by new ways of interacting that can be leveraged to help more learners. Farrell eloquently described the importance of asynchronous sessions for access and flexibility… and synchronous sessions for community building. Importantly, Asino talked about how many did not have a choice and had to become caregivers. Asino said that the choice of synchronous and asynchronous has a certain privilege because some may not have that choice. This statement really resonates with me. Some need this flexibility. Asino says “the pandemic forced us to explore the duality [synchronous and asynchronous] and what has been useful for online learning.” One last statement that Asino closed with highlights being open and compassionate: “We need to remember that we are human beings, not human doers… We have to recognize that we need to be present”.
