Open education conversations often focus on college-level teaching; however, there is a ‘spirit of sharing’ that imbues this work and has applications well beyond academia. This session will illuminate four pillars of a ‘spirit of sharing’ and invite participants to envision how they might think ‘outside of the classroom’ to apply these philosophies in their own communities, helping to share knowledge, build capacity, and foster in-person opportunities for mentoring and the nurturance of community. Following facilitators’ sharing of their own experiences with skill-sharing in non-academic settings — in makerspaces, in collaboration with community activists and advocates, in community-based educational co-ops, and in arts-based initiatives – attendees will take part in a hands-on activity and full-group discussion, allowing them to begin to imagine invigorated pathways through which they might apply open education philosophies to benefit their neighborhoods and fellow community members.
Attendees of this session will be able to:- Identify the connections between open education philosophies and other non-academic sharing-centered models of learning and community building
- Brainstorm specific ways they might apply open educational practices and philosophies in non-academic contexts for the purposes of capacity building, mentoring, lifelong learning and fostering community
- Determine potential collaborators for this community-based work (identifying potential grants, space sharing models, and approaches to sharing material tools and physical resources.)
