As we receive questions about the summit, we will add them to this Frequently Asked Questions page.

Who can attend this event?

Anyone who is interested in free education from pedagogy to resources to policy. School systems administrators and information technology departments, K12 and higher learning teachers, teacher's aides, after-school program educators/directors/assistants/teachers, local, state and national policymakers, curriculum developers, community organizers, activists, people from the maker movement, free software movement, open hardware movement and beyond!

Should I participate if I don't make or use freely licensed resources in my classroom, out-of-school program, school district, etc?

Absolutely! If you are interested in what this summit is all about and want to check it out, we encourage you to do so. Many educators and administrators excel at creating exceptional learning environments regardless of the tools they are using. We hope that you will attend the event and share your experiences so the community can think of tools that can help you.

What are some examples of topics from the previous event?

The following are titles of previous workshops, panels and presentations from our previous event Open Ed Jam:

towards an open assessment ecosystem: getting to the vision

Low-Cost Technologies for Distributing Open Educational Resources (Even in areas with restricted Internet and limited electricity)

Reciprocal mentoring, taking open collaboration beyond the classroom

Making Knowledge More Accessible: The Example of Palo Alto College

Maker Party with Mozilla to Build Teaching Kits

Using Kano on the Raspberry Pi to teach intro to Linux and Python

Using the Design Thinking Process with Scratch and MaKey Makey to develop game controllers for students with hand impairments

Editing, Creating, and Sharing Educational Resources Through CK12

What are some examples of the proposals that were accepted at last event? 

1. Maker Party with Mozilla to Build Teaching Kits

   1. From July 15th to September 15th, 2014 Mozilla is holding and supporting Maker Parties around the world for communities to get involved in creating the open web. There are a gazillion open educational resources, and educators are natural remixers, natural hackers and find the value in play and exploration. In this interactive workshop, geared towards the software track at OpenEdJam, we are throwing a Maker Party to provide the opportunity for conference attendees to explore Mozilla's Webmaker site and to use it to create free and open teaching kits. Webmaker is a Mozilla site and community for teaching the web, where open educational resources (OERs) can be created, shared and remixed.

2. Low-Cost Technologies for Distributing Open Educational Resources (Even in areas with restricted Internet and limited electricity)

   1. Common challenges to digital learning in developing countries include high technology costs, limited availability of technical resources or expertise, and an unpredictable infrastructure. A new set of low-cost technologies has the potential to lower barriers to the distribution of OER and other educational materials. Two such options, LibraryBox and Raspberry Pi, provide access to local wireless networks even in areas lacking power or Internet access. In this session, I will discuss how we created and deployed low-cost devices loaded with OER to Medical Schools in sub-Saharan Africa. I’ll also discuss how the devices are setup, including necessary hardware and software, and will have a Raspberry Pi on-hand that audience members can connect to and interactive with via their wireless capable devices. Check out the Open.Michigan Wiki for more information: https://open.umich.edu/wiki/WANForOfflineOER

3. The Peeragogy Accelerator Workshop

   1. We will share a set of five principles for effective peer learning that have been explored in practice (developed in our early papers, available on paragogy.net), as well as a catalog of design patterns for peer produced peer learning (developed with the many co-authors of the Peeragogy Handbook, available on peeragogy.org). Participants will use these design techniques to help build a real, functioning, globally distributed Peeragogy Accelerator. In the accelerator, projects with a focus on peer learning and collaborative working will join forces to help each other achieve their goals. Participants will be able to repeat this activity and build local accelerators in their own communities.

      Editors of the Peeragogy Handbook will lead this workshop, giving participants an opportunity to uncover what they want to learn or achieve within the world of OER. We aim to help participants improve the efficacy of their learning processes by leveraging the work of peers. We bring years of experience with projects like the Peeragogy Handbook, PlanetMath, Collaborative Lesson Planning, and The Uncertainty Principle and other case studies featuring “peeragogy in action”. We will briefly present a range of examples, but the focus of the workshop will be on garnering insights of participants, to help specify the problems they are working on in their individual OER projects — both thematic problems like “generating revenue” and “student participation”, as well as more context-specific issues.

What level of detail do you need in my proposal?

Generally, the best proposals are between 250-500 words, include a brief description about their organization or project with a brief description of the type of workshop/presentation/panel they are proposing, and the objectives of the workshop/presentation/panel in relation to this yea'rs theme "Play to Policy". Relevant links to websites, previous presentations, and supporting documentation are appreciated! If you have any more questions or would like a quick review of your proposal from our team, email mariah@openedjam.org

Is the summit accessible?

Yes. Here is the MIT accesibility map for the campus. Please let us know if you require any specific accommodations.

Can I give a talk and/or submit a proposal in another language?

We will make every effort to make sure that people are able to participate regardless of language. Please reach out to an event organizer if you would like to do this and we will make all possible accommodations that our language skills and event budget allows.

Will there be travel scholarship opportunities?

We hope to offer travel scholarships to people who may not be able to participate otherwise. As funding becomes available, we will update the website with this information. In the meantime, please email mariah@openedjam.org for more information.

When is the deadline for proposals?

July 15th Deadline has been extended until July 22nd. (closed)

How do I know if my proposal has been submitted?

There is no "Submit" button. As long as you save your proposal, we will be able to see it as a proposed session. You can go back and revise it as much as you'd like until the deadline.

When will registration open?

Registration is open now, click on the Registration tab