 Good to go. Welcome everybody. This is the last community call for 2020. I think everybody's going to be glad to see 2020 go. We're going to try to keep this, this meeting fairly short. So we'll go ahead and get started. So here's the agenda. We're going to have a few mentee questions for you. We're going to look at, you know, how things were operating and what we did. You know, look at open ed 2020 and then what we're going to be doing for 2021. Some, some general feedback and then what we're going to do for next steps. So we do have a mentee that we're going to set up for you. And so that code if you want to go ahead and sign up for three seven two four one nine. And we'll drop that into the chat here as well. I'm going to go ahead and turn the questions as soon give people a minute to, to log that on and we're going to turn this over to Tiffany to walk us through the mentee questions. So, I don't know how many people are here but I know we saw some, some thumbs ups earlier but to start us off. Some people are already answering. Where are you joining us from putting your US state your Canadian province for your country. Russia, Switzerland, Egypt, we have some, some countries in here I actually was not expecting which is kind of cool. Yeah, thanks for staying up late. Yeah, that's awesome. Thanks for joining us. Okay, and to settle the debate of open ed 20 how do you like your cheetos crunchy or puffy. I mean I don't I think we need about 20 more answers, answer options for this so we can all just pick which version of cheetos there's so many different kinds but yes the real important questions. So far crunchy is winning. I think crunchy, I think crunchy is going to be the winner. Personally I like hot lime crunchy cheetos. Yeah, coffee is actually the correct answer. Well, I disagree. Okay, and finally what is your this isn't the end of the presentation of course but what is your favorite memory or take away from open ed 20. There's so much going on real collaboration. Yes. The early show. The show was fun. Social justice track. The real open education was the friends you made along the way. Oh, I love that. Opportunities to build community learning connecting the spiral journal activity at the end I don't, I don't even remember that. But it sounds cool so maybe I'll have to go back and look at it. The tea time. Okay. The cheeto debate was a really wonderful way to build community. We agree. Yoga. Lots of connection community. We are resilient disco ed was cool among us. The care equity grid from my husband as plenary. Where is that. They're moving too fast. Progressive stacking to build inclusivity and virtual settings. Advocacy push afterwards. The wine tasting. Keynotes, virtual spaces. I just realized when I read disco ed earlier it was supposed to be discord sorry. It was supposed to be discord. I don't know if I'm going to read it to realize that. Maybe we should think about it disco ed for next year. Yeah. Okay. I, I'm sorry. I don't remember. I'm supposed to pass this to me. Okay. I pass it to Nicole. All right. Okay. Oh, yes, Stacey, the discord joke has. Is perfect and very true. We can stick. Oh, yeah. And anything. So we do want to provide some operational updates just on general conference operations. So I'm going to go through some of the things that we've been doing with the operations that have been supporting the conference and the operations team. Just to quickly wrap up a couple of things for the 2020 conference. We obviously the conference has now come and gone. It happened on November 9th to 13th. All of the recordings from sessions have been posted on YouTube is available to all of you. So I'm going to go through some of the things that we've been doing. For your logged in account. That's associated with your registration. Once we finish resolving a few issues around captioning and. Speakers. We will be releasing all of those videos publicly at some point in the new year. So stay tuned for that. Part of the whole idea of an open conference is making it. Available to the, to the whole world. So we're going to be releasing all of those videos. So more to come on that very soon. Of course, there was an enormous amount of incredibly valuable content generated through the conference. And there have been a number of conversations among the internal teams around how to keep that, keep that content being. The conversation around that content to continue into the future. So I'm going to go through some of the things that I'm going to talk about. Members of the, the program planning team have stepped up to pilot. Something that's going to be called open ed conversations, which is taking a couple of pieces of content from the conference and watching it together and then having a conversation around the common theme. And the first one of those is going to be actually next week on how to register for that. So that is sort of the wrap for 2020. In terms of operations, we'll talk a little bit more about the, the, the outcomes and just a bit, but I'm going to turn it over to MJ to talk a little bit about 2021. Thanks, Nicole. So hi, everybody. I'm MJ Bishop. I direct the Kerwin center for academic innovation in the university system in Maryland, but we've been leading the Maryland open source textbook initiative out of the Kerwin center. For the last, gosh, now it's almost seven years. And more recently in collaboration with Maryland online, the Maryland decision making program. I'm going to turn it over to MJ to talk a little bit about 2021. So we're currently in collaboration with Maryland online, the Maryland association of community colleges and the Maryland independent colleges and universities. So most is a statewide initiative and we're very excited to, for Nicole to have invited us to consider hosting. However, that looks the 2021 open ed conference. We have decided that next year's conference will continue to be successful. And I think that that decision has made, been made upfront. So it will be a little easier to plan. But I do want to say that, you know, we will remain flexible and, you know, hopefully knock some wood here in my office. If in fact the vaccine proves to be successful and there's some call for doing a few things at least face to face. I'm able to, to work with all 12 of our campuses and frankly also the 16 community colleges in the state to make sure that we're able to do that. So I'm excited to talk about, you know, some venues for some, for some, some face to face activity. If that's in fact, what, what you all decide to do is part of the planning. So we'll call it a, we'll call it a hybrid flexible open to whatever comes our way. But at least for the time being beginning with. Looking at planning this as a virtual event. So I'm excited to be part of the park for this last year. So I have no qualms about, about this being a virtual event in the fall. As the slide says, says dates are to be determined, but you know, obviously we'd still be looking at that October to November timeframe. And the same four partner organizations will be supporting. I don't think Colorado is really going away. I think he's just going to step into the background like I was last year and this year will be Maryland will be much more in the foreground, but of course we'll still have Spark doing the amazing things that they've done to coordinate this and open stacks facilitating and also really importantly, being willing to be the fiscal sponsor of this because you know, I think, I think they're all feeling a lot more confident about next year, but this year of course, the fact that open stacks was willing to take the chance that they did on all of this. And I think it's just, it's just, it's just, it just says an awful lot about that organization and, and you know, huge thanks to them for that work. So, you know, I'm a little disappointed that we're not going to be able to treat you all to crab cakes, you all, and make sure that there's all Bay on everything that you eat during your time in Maryland, but we'll figure out some way to do that virtually and compensate you all for that in the end. Nicole, was there anything else you wanted me to cover? Yeah. So what I wanted to add is that, that we've received a number of questions about just sort of what the committee process is going to look like for next year and opportunities to get involved. And we're going to regroup early next year and get a lot more information out to the community about that. And just in the meantime, you know, you're all, if you're here, you're connected with us in some way. So just, you know, watch the email list and then there's a lot more information out there. So make sure that you're getting any relevant updates here. And Tiffany, we'll be sure to send recipes on those crab cakes. Make sure that you're doing them right. Doing them the Maryland way. I think I wanted to be sure to note just, you know, we feel like we have huge shoes to fill after following Colorado's lead. But I'll say, I think we're also up to the task. So we're looking forward to the role that we can play in supporting this work in the fall. Thanks so much, MJ. And, you know, the, the idea behind our four organizations coming together to support this conference in early 2020 was really coming out of the fact that at the time there, there sort of wasn't going to be an open ed conference. If, if people didn't step up to organize it and, you know, our role in that process was to provide a little bit of stability and certainty over the, the, the 2020 and 2021 years, of course, that was before we knew there was going to be a pandemic. But I think that, you know, I just want to express to, to you MJ and, and, and to our colleagues in Colorado and open stocks, just, you know, how grateful we here at the spark team have been to work together and we're, you know, all certainly committed to making sure that, that next year's conference is successful but equally committed to continuing to work closely with the community to figure out what happens next after 2021 and making sure that this continues to be a conference that is truly foreign by the community. And, you know, our, our sort of mission in all of this is to provide the space for those important conversations to happen. So we're counting on everybody who's here and everybody who's not here to be part of that process going forward. So, so more to come soon. All right. So now I am going to turn it over to Emily to share back a little bit of what we have heard from you all in the, in the open ed 20 feedback form. Great. Well, we're going to step back in time to June, I think. Oh no, here we are. So here we are with some nice responses at the end of the conference, we had a feedback form. One question was where do you reside and we had 89% of respondents in North America, but we were excited. We did have international participation. 4% of respondents were in Asia, two and a half percent in Africa, 2% in South America. So while it did remain an overwhelmingly North American audience, we do have participants from all over the world, which is very exciting. Let's see. So the next question was how many times have you attended open ed conferences in previous years? And we had a little over 70% of attendees were very first time attendees had never attended the conference before. And another about 10%, this was just their second year. They'd only attended one previous time. So about 80% of our attendees were in their first or second year of attending the conference. And we certainly do think the online format made it possible for many people who had been unable to attend in the past to be able to attend this year. Oh, nice. And so there's an opportunity in the chat to fill out the conference and had not yet had a chance to fill out the feedback. So now we're stepping back in time to June 2020. And we solicited feedback as we were planning the conference. And here were a few of the highlights that we heard. There were some concern around having keynotes. There was a request to avoid or at least clearly mark vendor presentations. We wanted more diverse representation, including black, indigenous and people of color. A call to elevate voices on the margins to focus on accessibility of the conference, the importance of inclusive networking and mentoring opportunities, and as well as a call to help newcomers feel welcome. So that's where we were starting. And so these were goals. We wanted to address all of these areas. And now after we have held the conference, here's some of the positive feedback that we have received. I'm excited about the variety and diversity of programming that we offered. We talked about how there were a lot of people who were able to attend for the first time because of the virtual format. And again, that was pandemic driven. That just happened, but I think there have been benefits to come from that virtual format. Many people said that they were surprised at how much they were able to attend for the organization, the technology, the way you were able to get into sessions, that sessions were recorded, and appreciation for Discord, the opportunity to connect in that other platform. There was also some more negative feedback or areas for growth. People commented about the quantity of programming. It was hard to attend all the sessions. And the scheduling didn't work for everyone. The schedule was too early or too late for some. There was a comment that there wasn't much down time. And so some people were requesting longer breaks. Of course, Zoom fatigue, it's a thing, and we do hear you on that. There were some comments on the frequency of the code of conduct statement. It was read at the beginning of each session. And then a call for more student, international, and black indigenous people of color voices. There's more work for us to do as we continue trying to plan a very inclusive conference. And so this is kind of a summation overall. How much would you like to encourage your colleagues to attend this conference? How likely are you to recommend it? And we're pleased that fewer than 5% scored six or lower. So we really had a very overwhelmingly strong, a lot of tens, right? So that was very encouraging for us. And I'm going to turn this one over to Ethan. Yeah. So one of the questions, you know, that we are super interested in hearing from the community about is the venue and sort of the structure of the conference overall. And so one of the questions we asked in the survey. Was about the, you know, the online versus in-person question and how to navigate that. Sort of post or still mid COVID pandemic. And so I just, I wanted to talk for a second, quickly about the responses to this. Emily was talking about some of the tensions in the feedback that we received, right? For some folks, it was too early. For some folks, it was too late. Some folks said it was too many things. Some folks said they wish there was more programming and, you know, conference planning is very much about threading that needle. And so with a similar question, a similar result with this question in terms of comparing in-person folks who are interested in it being in-person or online. So one thing that really stood out to us is that, you know, over 80%, you know, almost 90% of people wanted a virtual component of the conference. 20% of people said that it should be exclusively virtual. You know, we had about 70% that had some sort of dual, dual existence and a very small number of people who said exclusively in-person. I totally get it. I love the in-person conference, but I'm also somebody that's been privileged enough to work for an organization that has funding and can send me there. And I can go, you know, year after year to build those relationships and connections. So knowing that travel budgets have been, you know, hit really hard as somebody just said in the chat, John said that, you know, we are being super mindful of that and conscious of that obviously with next year's planning. But we will definitely, you know, this is definitely informing how we look at future years as well. Yes. And as Maha says in the chat, nothing should ever be without a virtual option again. Agreed. Thanks, Ethan. Anyone else on the steering committee have things to add before we, about the 2020 feedback before we move on? I think the one thing that, that I was reflecting on looking at the chat is just how a lot of the critiques are in areas of tension where it's not that there's a right answer and a wrong answer for everybody. It's that there are right answers and wrong answers for individual people. So for example, with the schedule, some things that are too early for some are too late for others. And I think that the work of conference organizing is, is sort of all about finding the balance that works for as many people as possible and then working on ways to be inclusive of, of sort of everybody else. So we have a lot to think about in terms of how to strike the best balance and the, I think one of the biggest things that, that, that, you know, certainly I, and I think we have learned through this year is that the best way to do that is by asking people. So, you know, thank you all for continuing to show up at these meetings and, and sharing your input. And the conference is so much better for all of the input that everybody gave. So definitely, definitely intending to continue that for next year. So I think Haley, it's over to you. Cool. So I'm, I'm Haley Bab, I'm a open education coordinator with open ed committee, and I'm a member of the student committee, but I am sort of the liaison for the future of open ed committee who has been working to, well, I guess now that the 2020 conference is over to, I guess really dive into what the longterm planning of the conference is going to look like and, and how this is going to take shape after 2021. So our big focus now is to, I guess design the strategic planning process. It's going to be a very in-depth process. So I imagine, you know, it will take some time, but I'm confident that, you know, this team is, is full of, you know, excellent people, experts in the field who will be able to help us do something that's truly inclusive. And serves the needs of the community as best we can. So we will be using, you know, some of the feedback that we collected from 2020 and before that we're certainly going to continue getting community feedback throughout the year, you know, whether that be through these monthly calls or, or whatever else we deem necessary, but, you know, want to recommit that it's incredibly important to us with the communities at the center of this process. So we'll be doing everything we can to make sure that that model is going to be something that's going to be something that's welcoming of everyone and inclusive of everyone in the community. Yeah. So like I said, we'll be reaching out to try and include more voices. The ultimate goal is that after 2021, this will be a completely community governed conference and community. So really looking forward to see what that's going to look like. I think it's a really, really exciting project to be a part of because the possibilities are just endless and we're at such a rare opportunity to be able to shape this in a way that, you know, is good for all of us. So very excited to be a part of this work and looking forward to working more with the community to create something awesome together. Is this me too? Yep. Oh, okay. Cool. Sorry, everyone, we're exhausted. We're just doing the best we can. We're all ready to say goodbye to 2020. Yeah, seriously. Great. Yeah. So this is just, if you could give us some feedback now, we'll start now. So how do you want to be involved in 2021 and not only in 2021, but beyond what does that look like to you and everything away? I can. Oh, I love that. Me too. Yeah, I feel like this is a hard question because, you know, there's so much. And of course, anybody, this isn't going to be linked to your name. So if you would like to sign up for something specific, please, you know, make sure that you communicate that in a different way. But we just want to ask, you know, what, what ways do you want to be involved and maybe ways that we're not, we're not thinking about equitable, hospitable virtual meetings. I like that word hospitable. Clapping and cheering. We're going to need lots of that. Yeah. Yeah. Lots of questions about the needs. Like, I think we'll have more information on that sort of in the new year and more specific roles that we're recruiting for, but still working through 2020 content. Me too. There's so much, so much good stuff. Holding the steering committee accountable to DEI and social justice commitments. Awesome. Yeah. That's exactly what we need. Great. Yeah. So I see there are a couple of questions in the chat. So one is what, what are some of the needs from, from Michael? I think. We have a lot of thinking to do about that. So more, more to come on that, but we also just wanted to ask the question of, of how you want to contribute. So this is the other side of that. And Maya also asked the question about. Is there an opportunity for the community to be able to pose questions and meetings like this and like, yeah, that's a great suggestion. And maybe there's like a form or a structured process for doing that. Thanks. Cool. So yeah, our next question. I really like this question. What's one resolution that you're setting for your open education work in 2021. I think there's been. A very overarching theme of kind of like. You know, reestablishing and publishing. Yeah, that's a good one. And it's, it's an opportunity for all of us, I guess to take inventory of our work and, and be intentional in how we go about it. So this is something that I'm definitely going to be thinking about over the next little while. Self care, conserving energy, advocacy. Ooh, a student union open X policy. Love that. Getting more involved with the conference, more adoption at my institution, more community engagement, student connection. Equity, certainly. Fantastic. Structuring my program and positioning it for accountability. Apologies. I think this was set so you can only submit once. So if you have something else to say, feel free to put it in the chat. The self care. Yeah, especially if. If next year is anything like this year, which hopefully it's not, but you know, I've been a good lesson for me in conserving my energy. That's for sure. Yeah. So to wrap us up, I think we're over to winning. Yes. Can you hear me okay? Yep. Awesome. So we are hosting a holiday party this year. I'm actually so excited for it because I couldn't play among us or trivia at the actual conference. So I'm really excited to play some games with the whole group this conference. So we'll be doing a holiday party on Thursday next week, December 17th from 4pm to 6pm. We will also be doing a treats kind of competition. So you can bring your own homemade treats and show everyone, give a 30 seconds feel and enter in for a chance to win. Some open ed merch and swag. So bring your homemade treats. We'll have lots of games there and breakout rooms. Ethan will be leading among us. Tiffany will be leading just general games. So we have some of those planned as well. And I believe Tina will be leading trivia. So it will be a lot of fun. Oh my gosh. Cheeto bingo. Yes. Cheeto bingo. So please join to register. I'll put the link in the chat. And then I just stuck a link in the chat to the. Participate page on the open education conference website and we'll, we're going to be good about posting upcoming events there. And including information on time zones. And how to register. So in addition to finding this, you can find other information as well. So I think that is all we had for today. I think we just want to remind everybody to connect with us on, on social media. And I think we all can agree saying goodbye to 2020. It was quite a year. And just, you know, I think. Continue to be grateful of how members of the open education field came together to support the convening that happened and to see all of the energy and excitement about what's going forward. I think you can probably tell by how this meeting is gone. We're all ready to go for a holiday break. And just, you know, grateful to all of you for showing up and continuing to be part of this and, and, and please do continue and stay tuned for more next year. So yeah, sleep. So yeah, any Amy Lee, anything else to share in closing? Having trouble finding the unmute key. We, we feel so privileged to be part of this community and the, the conference just underscored all the things that, that I love about being part of this community and really looking forward to a merry break mess. All right. Well, please join me in saying goodbye 2020. We'll see you officially in 2021, but do come to the holiday party and open ed conversations next week. It'll be fun.