Create/Participate in Unconference Sessions

Here is the place for anyone Not in Nantes to create an Unconference session, DIY style, meaning Design It Yourself.

With Apologies to Magritte…


Remix in the the style of René Magritte’s The Treachery of Images made by Alan Levine using Pixabay image by 200 Degrees

We are asking that you try to think around the usual idea of this as an online conference built around presenting online.

We are urging you to think beyond the idea of a “presentation” as for this Unconference there is no fixed nor guaranteed audience, so yes, you can certainly present your work, research, project, but it can be more effective if you offer something for a viewer to do, respond, or contribute in this asynchronous environment.

This might include, but is not limited to:

  • A request for feedback or provide examples, suggested resources for an open education effort.
  • An interactive activity or experience participants can do with an OER, a tool, an activity you share. Can they produce something to share as a response?
  • An open dialogue or debate about an issue or brainstorming a solution to a problem.
  • A call to work together on a task via collaborative platform e.g. an editable document, etherpad padlet, miro board, jam board, etc.
  • A revisit or call for response to a previous session you shared at OEGlobal 2021

The main requirement is that is that your Unconference sessions is connected to implementation of the UNESCO Recommendation on OER and specifically, one or more of its five action areas:

  1. Building capacity of stakeholders to create, access, re-use, adapt and redistribute OER
  2. Developing supportive policy
  3. Encouraging inclusive and equitable quality OER
  4. Nurturing the creation of sustainability models for OER
  5. Facilitating international cooperation

You should provide any relevant materials that you wish to share, and provide some prompts or questions for how participants should respond.

We also ask that once your session is published here to go add it as an annotation to the specific part of UNESCO OER Recommendation it is related to, and then update your entry to include a link to your annotation (learn more about annotating the OER Recommendation).

The Format is Wide Open

We strongly urge you to step out of the box of the familiar conference presentation mode and consider including open discussions, requests for feedback, calls for contributions/sharing of OER, self-paced activities that might result in sharable outcomes.

If you want to offer a synchronous online event, you will have to host it in a platform you can manage. Please make use of the OEG Connect tool to generate a date/time display that appears in a reader’s local time zone

Include an Ask

Beyond sharing content, projects, a key element is including questions for a potentially interested person to respond with. You might ask for examples, critique, resources, etc. Include specific prompts at the end of your post.

Promote/Share your Session

These sessions will be available in the Unconference area, but that does not necessarily generate action! It is also on you to recruit participants or promote it Use the share links) so people can find and participate. Use your local networks, social media, email, personal charm, use the @username convention here to mention an OEG Connect user.

Other suggestions are to participate in other discussions here as well as posting announcements, reminders, updates in the main conference area.

Post Your Unconference Session

When you are ready to post your session, navigate to Not In Nantes Unconference Sessions and click the + New Topic button (you must be logged in to OEG Connect to see that button).

When you open the window to describe your session you will find a suggested template to help organize your activity, but feel free to edit it any way you see fit.

:pencil2: See also the OEG Connect Writing Tips for help.

Thanks for creating an unconference activity…

If you have any questions, reply below or ask @cogdog for help.


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