Tomorrow I head up into Open Country. Well, Yorkshire. Leeds to be precise. It's ALT-C – the time of year that learning technology types meet up and share ideas and experiences.
People that know me on twitter as @ambrouk will know that I am very interested in "open": open educational resources, open access, open scholarship, open source … all the opens. What I'm finding the most interesting is the tensions that take place between the idea of change and the mainstream adoption/adaption to it. It involves struggles between purism and pragmatism, a balance between innovation and implementation.
So I am really looking forward to speaking at a symposium on Wednesday with Helen Beetham, David Kernohan, and Dave White, where we will be asking "Are we in Open Country?"
Trailer, courtesy of David Kernohan
As part of my preparation I'm also planning to join the Paradox of Openness: the High Costs of Giving Online symposium on Tuesday, as I suspect there will be strong links between what they are exploring and what we want to look at.
If you're wondering what what my excuse is for The Hat (thank you Smiffys!) … lets just say I'm going to step in the spurred leather boots of a sheriff to explore how to move beyond the occasional expedition into Open Country into how to make life in the wild west stable and sustainable.
fragments of amber 