Open education is often framed in terms of access, sharing, and innovation. But what happens when openness creates risks for learners? This session explores open educational practices through a different lens, asking not only what we open, but what we protect. Drawing on experiences in carceral classrooms and work with marginalized communities, this presentation examines how openness is neither neutral nor inherently liberatory. Participants will consider how knowledge can be shared, appropriated, or weaponized, and how educators make intentional decisions about when to open knowledge and when to protect it. This session reframes open education as a relational and ethical practice rooted in care, responsibility, and lived experience. Attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of how to approach openness with intentionality in their own contexts.
Attendees of this session will be able to:- Describe how open educational practices can function as relational and ethical practices, not just access-based approaches.
- Identify risks associated with openness, particularly for marginalized communities.
- Analyze how decisions to share or protect knowledge shape learning environments.
- Apply intentional decision-making when implementing open practices in their own contexts.
- Reflect on how care, authorship, and responsibility influence their approach to openness.
