2026 Open Education Conference

Qualitative research allows us to dig deeper and examine experiences, motivations, and in-depth insights into human behavior and social contexts. In open education, qualitative research is often used to explore how students or faculty perceive the value of either the resources or practices aligned with open. Reflexivity is a practice in qualitative research that helps researchers situate their relational awareness in an effort to critically engage with how they may be influencing the research process and findings. Similarly, a researcher’s positionality is informed by their own identities and epistemological worldviews. Both of these entities innately shape and impact what’s written into the canon; therefore, committing to embedding reflexive practices into our research is essential to better understand researcher motivations and value systems in knowledge production. Come join us to learn more about these concepts and how you can start to include them into your own research.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Explain reflexivity and positionality.
• Articulate the importance of researcher reflexivity and positionality in open education research.
• Identify opportunities to apply these concepts to their own work.

The space between open education (OE) and knowledge mobilization (KMb) is rich with possibilities. It has been overlooked despite shared values and complementary practices. Both OE and KMb seek to extend the use of knowledge and cultivate meaningful engagement beyond traditional scholarly audiences, particularly through co-creation. As we continue to look for ways to integrate OE in institutional practices and policies, KMb offers a meaningful opportunity to think about “educational” as a broader function that includes the dissemination and application of research findings.

While OER advocates may already be aware of overlaps between OE and KMb, this presentation is an invitation to combine the vocabulary of both fields to frame OER creation in ways that resonate with researchers, administrators, and leaders, positioning open educational practices as directly connected to institutional priorities such as research impact, community engagement, and innovation.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Identify the shared values and practices of open education and knowledge mobilization.
• Explain how OER creation can be framed as a knowledge mobilization activity that aligns with institutional priorities.
• Reflect on strategies to position OER production as a recognized, valued scholarly activity within research-intensive universities.

When public institutions work together and pool resources to address common curriculum and educational technology needs, there are many benefits. These collaborative projects can leverage collective expertise, generate efficiencies, and distribute workload and costs. This session looks at the findings from a two-year initiative in British Columbia, Canada, that investigated models and mechanisms for enabling this kind of institutional collaboration. We will explore key things that foster and sustain collaborative ventures as well as the structural barriers, and make a case for investing in open approaches on a system level, including open communities, technologies, content, and infrastructure.

Attendees of this session will be able to:

• Describe the benefits of institutions working together on shared curriculum and technology projects.
• Define sustainment and describe considerations that play into sustaining collaborative projects, including open projects.
• Explain the benefits of open from a system point of view.
• Draw upon the lessons learned by existing collaborative initiatives.