CALL FOR PROPOSALS
Deadline to submit: Friday, April 4th at 11:59pm Pacific (GMT -7:00)
NOTE: Proposals are submitted through the Oxford Abstracts platform, which requires the creation of a free account.
PROPOSAL SUBMISSION
Deadline: FRIDAY, April 4th at 11:59pm Pacific (GMT -7:00)
We enthusiastically invite proposals from anyone with an interest in sharing about open education. The conference warmly welcomes participation from attendees regardless of country, educational background, or professional role. Students are especially encouraged to submit proposals and participate.
The Open Education Conference is an annual in-person and virtual convening where over 1,600 educators and open education advocates gather to collaborate, support, and drive strategies for education that are accessible, affordable, and reflective of the learners they serve.
Proposals are submitted through the Oxford Abstracts platform, which requires the creation of a free account.
Theme
The 2025 Open Education Conference theme, “Eyes on the Horizon,” embodies a forward-looking perspective where resilience, innovation, and determination navigate the current turbulent times and chart the future for education worldwide. The theme prompts participants to focus on open education’s long-term impact and work toward a more inclusive, responsive, and sustainable education system for everyone. While we face challenges on the ground, keeping our eyes on the horizon enables a sense of purpose and possibility. Our collective gaze fixed on a shared vision has the potential to embolden the open education community—tenaciously committed, collaborative, and forward thinking—to achieve an educational future that is truly open.
TOPICS
The conference invites session proposals that relate to open education and build on the theme “Eyes on the Horizon”. Proposals may discuss any educational level (K-12, college, university, vocational, lifelong learning, etc.) and are welcome from all over the world. Special consideration will be given to proposals addressing the following suggested topics, with extra special consideration for proposals from the Global South and from students:
Open Education 101: Sessions geared toward newcomers and those seeking to expand their foundational understanding of open education.
Expanding the Horizons of Open Education: Thinking outside the box on connecting open education with related movements, global challenges, and new constituencies.
Designing for All: Putting accessibility at the forefront of open education and resource development.
Intentional Community Building: Fostering meaningful collaborations to enhance open education organizing around the world.
Students as Open Education Leaders: Exploring how students are shaping the open education movement through advocacy, collaboration, and innovation.
Open Education as Resistance: Exploring how open education can be used as a tool for resistance against systemic inequities.
AI & Emerging Technologies: Examining the intersections and implications of Artificial Intelligence and technology in open education.
Pedagogy & Practice: Exploring innovations and best practices in teaching and research.
Copyright, Attribution & Authorship: Navigating the creation, sharing, and adaptation of open educational resources.
Strategies for Sustainability: Policies and practices for sustaining and institutionalizing open education initiatives.
Session Types
A presentation is a structured talk designed to inform the audience about a topic. Short presentations may either be virtual for 25 minutes or in-person for 20 minutes and should leave at least a few minutes for questions.
SHORT PRESENTATION
25 min (Virtual) or 20 min (In-Person)
FULL Presentation
Virtual, In-Person, or Hybrid • 40 min
A presentation is a structured talk designed to inform the audience about a topic. Full presentations may be delivered in any format and should leave at least 5 minutes for questions. If selecting this type, please address why the additional time over a short presentation is needed to address your topic.
PANEL
Virtual, In-Person, or Hybrid • 55 min
POSTER
In-Person • displayed at poster session
POST-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP
In-Person, Virtual or Hybrid • 2 hours
A panel is a moderated discussion where multiple speakers share perspectives on a topic through conversation. Panels may include between 3-5 speakers (including a moderator, if applicable) and should reserve at least 10 minutes for questions from the audience. If selecting this type, please address how the perspectives on the panel will lead to an engaging discussion.
LIGHTNING TALK
Pre-Recorded • 10 min
Lightning talks are short pre-recorded videos that offer a quick take on a story, case study, idea, or technique. Lightning talks will be available for on-demand viewing throughout the conference.
Poster submissions present information in a written or graphic format (specifics to be provided at time of submission). There will be an in-person poster session during the conference where presenters may engage with in-person attendees regarding their posters.
Post-Conference workshops will take place on the afternoon of the final day of the conference. This is a new session type that we invite you to interpret creatively. Workshops may take place in any format, and should generally be designed to be interactive with a concrete learning outcome, such as a skill learned, plan developed, or resource created. If selecting this type, please specify how you plan to structure your time, including at least 10 minutes of break time.
LIVE Session FormatS
VIRTUAL
Virtual sessions will be held live via Zoom. All presenters and attendees will join the session virtually (which may include in-person attendees who choose to join virtually). These sessions are recorded.
IN-PERSON
In-person sessions will be held in a room in the conference venue, with all attendees and presenters physically present. Conference rooms will have a projector and screen. Only select “in-person” if you can commit to all presenters attending in-person. These sessions may be optionally recorded.
HYBRID
For hybrid sessions, in-person attendees will join from a room in the conference venue and virtual attendees will join by Zoom. At least one presenter must present in-person in Denver, CO, and additional presenters may join virtually or in-person. Conference rooms will have a projector, screen, and Zoom connection that allows virtual presenters to fully participate. Hybrid sessions must meaningfully engage both virtual and in-person attendees. These sessions are recorded.
REQUIREMENTS
Abstract Requirements: Proposal abstracts will be used as the public description of the session in the conference program. Abstracts should be 1000 characters or less and written in English. In-text citations and reference lists are not required.
In-Person or Hybrid Session Submissions: At least one presenter is required to be physically present at the conference in Denver, CO. If your in-person or hybrid proposal is accepted, you will be asked to confirm a presenter will be present at the conference in Denver, CO. Accepted proposals require one presenter to register for an in-person ticket by the early-bird registration deadline of August 29th.
Submission Limit: Each individual may be listed as a presenter or author on a maximum of 3 proposals.
Correspondence: The person who submits the proposal is the primary contact and is responsible for all communications and coordination on behalf of all co-presenters. If you need to change the primary contact after submission, please contact us.
Technology: Virtual and hybrid sessions will be accessible via Zoom for virtual attendees. In-person and hybrid presenters will have access to a projector and may be required to bring their own laptop and adapter (if applicable). Virtual and hybrid sessions will feature presenter screen sharing, live chat, and automatic captions. Pre-recorded session types will be accessible in the conference program for on-demand viewing with all videos captioned.
Scheduling: This year’s conference is based in U.S./Canada Mountain Daylight Time (GMT-6:00) and welcomes worldwide participation. Accepted presentations with significant time differences will be prioritized in the scheduling process.
Licensing: Unless an exception applies, session abstracts and video recordings (if applicable) will be licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License and released openly following the conference. Authors retain copyright, but will be required to sign a release granting nonexclusive publication rights to the conference.
Timeline
Friday, April 4 - Submission Deadline
Friday, May 16 - Acceptance Notifications
Monday, July 14 - Schedule Published
Friday, August 29 - Early-Bird Registration Deadline
Wednesday, October 1 - Pre-Recorded Video Deadline (Tentative)
October 28-30 - Conference
Selection Process
Proposal selection will be conducted through a community-driven process. The first round of reviews will be conducted by Board Members and Proposal Reviewers who signed up in an open call for volunteers. Members of the #OpenEd25 Proposal Selection Committee will then review the results and make final decisions based on the available time slots. Presenters will receive a decision on their proposal by Friday, May 16th.
Review Criteria
Relevance of Topic: Proposal relates to the use, practice, creation, evaluation, research, advocacy, or critique of open education and the selected conference topic. Stronger proposals will be more timely or make a unique contribution to the field, and show especially strong alignment with the selected conference topic and overall theme.
Value to Attendees: Proposal specifies learning outcomes that will meaningfully contribute to attendees’ understanding of open education. Learning outcomes are achievable through the session described and relevant to the target audience type. (Note: Proposals that discuss the use of a proprietary product or service must have learning outcomes that are applicable outside the context of that product or service.) For tips on writing strong learning outcomes, take a look at this blog post from #OpenEd21.
Quality of Proposal: Abstract clearly and succinctly communicates to prospective attendees what the session will cover. Description aligns with the proposed session type, and responses provide sufficient information to evaluate the proposal’s relevance and value to attendees.
Diversity & Inclusion: Please briefly explain how presenter(s) are well qualified and would bring a valuable perspective on the topic. This may include qualifications such as degrees and subject matter expertise, and it may also include diverse professional and lived experiences. The conference recognizes diversity in its broadest sense and seeks to include presenters from a wide range of perspectives, with emphasis on those who are marginalized or less represented at the conference. These comments WILL NOT be published in the conference program. Maximum 500 characters.
ACCEPTANCE REQUIREMENTS
Registration: If a session (of any format) is accepted, the primary contact will be required to register for the conference by the early-bird deadline of August 29th. Please note that every presenter (primary or non-primary) planning to present in-person at the conference will be required to register as an in-person attendee. Virtual presenters who are not the primary contact will not be required to register in order to present virtually or as part of a pre-recorded session. Cost waivers for virtual registration are available by application, especially to students, those located outside of North America, and others for whom cost would be a barrier. Cost waivers are available by application for virtual registration ONLY (students, those located outside of North America, and others for whom cost would be a barrier are especially encouraged to apply.
Recording Release: All accepted presenters will be asked to sign a presenter agreement as a condition of acceptance, including a release to publish any session recordings and pre-recorded videos under a Creative Commons Attribution License. Presenters may request alternative licensing or to opt-out of recording where justified.
Accessibility & Training: Accepted presenters will be required to review a series of short videos and logistical information in order to prepare for the conference. This will include information on how to design inclusive and accessible presentations. Support will also be available for pre-recorded session types, including information on recording and editing videos.
Code of Conduct: All participants in the conference, including presenters, are subject to the conference’s code of conduct.
Attribution
This work by Open Education Conference is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The development of this Call for Proposals was led by the #OpenEd25 Board of Directors and reflects many layers of input from the community. The theme “Eyes on the Horizon” and the conference topics were developed based on feedback submitted through community meetings and conference surveys. Updates to the session types, selection criteria, and submission guidelines are the result of valuable feedback from the past five conferences. Thank you to everyone who took the time to contribute.