Not strictly related to any conference theme, but an activity that makes it perhaps easy to practice being part of conversations here-- sharing photos of your pets? We are bringing this back from 2022 and 2021
What furry (or scaly) animals might be nearby as you log into the conference as an online participant or are left behind while you travel to Cambridge? Tell us also what open thoughts are going through their heads.
Nearby me when I am online are both Felix, a 12 year old Australian Shepherd / Catahoula Leopard Dog mix and our new resident, Pimm a 1 year old Labrador Retriever mix (somewhere milling about is a black car named Maggie). Here the dogs are questioning their compensation for their open petagogy work.
Charlie (2) would have liked to have been invited to come to Cambridge for OEGlobal 2026. He’s present, in the background, of all of my meetings, soaking it all up.
Awe what a sweet face on Charlie, he’s a sharp looking open petadog, hopefully a great zoom companion. My dogs have a knack for wanting to play chase during my meetings or jump up with a toy in their mouth.
We are getting ready for our OEGlobal 2026 session on participation, collaborative knowledge construction, and the question: Who gets to shape the questions?
Apparently, we have been thinking about this much too narrowly.
Today our two colleagues reminded us that participation means everyone should have a chance to contribute — including those whose main expertise is treats, walks, strategic interruptions, and looking extremely convincing during meetings.
So we may need to update our spectrum of openness:
Access → Sharing → Participation → Pet-icipation
And perhaps add a fourth recurring pattern from 14 years of OERcamp practice:
Make roles fluid.
Learner ↔ Contributor ↔ Facilitator ↔ Dog.
Our official presentation still focuses on how participants can shape questions, roles, and knowledge-making processes. But after today’s consultation, we are no longer entirely sure who is actually presenting tomorrow.
Who else has a four-legged co-worker joining OEGlobal 2026?
Bring on the canine experts (well and cats too), we have 16 legs of pets here. Thanks for playing full into the metaphor, and heck yes, let the dogs present (and share their names!)
Program in Sched
OEGlobal 2026 Conference Web Site
Main Space in OEGConnect
Front Entrance public conversations “outside” the venue
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