2020 CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Topics

The conference program will focus on a set of eight topics derived from data on what community members most want to learn at the conference. The topics are intended to apply across various contexts, stakeholders, and practices, spanning higher education, K-12, and international collaboration.

• Open Education 101: The Basics and How to Get Started

• Applications of Open Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic

• Creative, Innovative, and Effective Open Education Practices

• What Isn’t Working: Barriers, Challenges, and How to Overcome Them

• Strategies, Policies, and Best Practices for Sustainable Open Education Efforts

• Applications of Open Education in Social Justice, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism

• Exploring Intersections and Collaborations Across Borders and Contexts

• The Evolution and Study of Open Education as a Field

Each session should select the topic that best applies. In the spirit of “reimagining,” there is also an option to propose sessions that do not fall clearly into one of these topics, so long as there is a connection to the broader conference theme. The conference program will also utilize tags to make it easier to search for sessions of interest to specific sectors, regions, stakeholders, or disciplines. 

Submission Process (Closed)

Proposals are enthusiastically welcomed from anyone with an interest in sharing about open education, including all countries, educational contexts, professional roles, and especially including students and diverse perspectives. 

Proposals can be submitted through the Cvent platform. Note that primary authors are required to create an account in order to submit. For convenience, we have published a reusable template with all of the instructions and form fields.

Submission Policies

• Submissions have strict character limits intended to encourage succinct and engaging descriptions. This includes a session abstract of no more than 2,500 characters (~300 words). 

• Each individual may be listed as a presenter/author on up to 3 proposals total, with a limit to being the lead author on up to 1 synchronous proposal and up to 1 asynchronous proposal. 

• It is a general expectation that all presentation materials (slides, papers, asynchronous content) will be openly licensed. In cases where presentation materials may not be openly licensed, submissions should offer a brief explanation.

• Accepted authors will be required to agree to a speaker release and the conference code of conduct. Accepted primary authors are expected to register for the conference, but may request a waiver at the time of acceptance.

• Accepted primary authors for synchronous sessions are required to attend a 1-hour training session to prepare for presenting at the conference.

• The conference will correspond with the person listed as the primary author. It is the primary author's responsibility to manage any requirements of the session and coordinate with any co-authors.

Attribution 

Numerous individuals participated in developing this Call for Proposals. The process began with input on what community members most wanted to learn and share at the conference gathered during the June 26, 2020 Conference Community Meeting (facilitated by Steering Committee members Emily Ragan and Tiffani Reardon, with data analysis performed by Kathy DesRoches). Members of the Program Team (listed below) engaged in numerous working sessions over four weeks to distill the data into topics, session types, policies for the CFP, and ultimately this document. The document was also shared with each of the other four Planning Teams for review of relevant sections.

The theme of “Reimagining Open Education” was developed by members of the conference Steering Committee based on feedback in support of a broad and aspirational theme.

Program Team Members

• Amanda Larson, Affordable Learning Instructional Consultant, The Ohio State University

• Amy E. Harris Tan (Steering Committee), Dean, English and Communications, Houston Community College

• Brenda Smith, Open Education Librarian, Thompson Rivers University

• Emily Ragan (Steering Committee), Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Metropolitan State University of Denver

• Jonathan Poritz, Associate Professor of Math and Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, Colorado State University Pueblo

• Karen Pikula, OER Faculty Development Coordinator for Minnesota State / Psychology Faculty , Minnesota State, Central Lakes College, Minnesota West

• Kelly Gillerlain, Professor of Business, Tidewater Community College

• Krista Higham, Access Services Librarian, Millersville University

• Matt Ruen, Scholarly Communications Outreach Coordinator, Grand Valley State University

• Mo Nyamweya (Conference Team), Open Education Coordinator, SPARC

• Moustapha Diack, Professor, Doctoral Program in Sciences/Math Education (SMED), College of Sciences & Engineering (CSE), Southern University in Baton Rouge (SUBR)

• Muhammad Rahman, Professor of Computer Science, Clayton State University

• R. Ann O'Connor, Associate Professor of Communication, Ivy Tech Community College - Indianapolis

• Robert Awkward, Assistant Commissioner for Academic Effectiveness, Mass. Department of Higher Education

• Sarah Hammershaimb, Teacher Librarian, Cherry Creek School District

• Stacy Katz, Open Resources Librarian, Lehman College, CUNY

• Tiffani Reardon (Steering Committee), Program Manager, Affordable Learning Georgia, University System of Georgia

The conference team would like to acknowledge the organizers of OER20, from which we drew inspiration and best practices.