 There are a lot of people coming into open education for the first time right now, and people still learning after being here for years. So for those of you out there trying to get your bearings around all this open education stuff, this video is for you. The first question you're probably asking is, where do I start? Chances are, you know a little about open educational resources, the openly licensed educational materials that are a big part of open ed. If not, check out my video on that topic and then come back to this one. But what do you need to know after that? The second thing you want to explore are the landmark studies, blog posts, and topics that have arisen around open education over the last decade. Each of these works has provided valuable ideas to the open education movement, and I recommend that you explore them in your own time. I've provided links to these and a few other readings in the description of this video, and I encourage you to find others that talk about the ideas behind open ed as well. Besides reviewing the major literature, I also recommend that you read up on current trends, and remember to explore the topics that interest you. Things I'd recommend include open pedagogy, educational technology, and how open science and open source tie into the open education movement. Depending on your background, you could love all or none of these topics, so you decide what to read. But don't just read up on ideas as abstract topics. When you're building your understanding of what exactly open education is, it's a great idea to learn from thought leaders in the movement. Individuals whose work stands apart. I've put together this collage of a few thought leaders that I feel have really pushed the open education movement over the past few years, and some people who are just starting out. Robin de Rosa and Rajiv Jangani have done a lot of good work in open pedagogy with their open pedagogy notebook. Chris Gilliard has talked about and written about digital redlining and the issue of privacy with the use of student data in online education. Tanya Spilavoy and Jeff Gallant have done a lot of excellent work with statewide initiatives and helping to mentor others in the movement. And Cody Taylor has worked to make OER more accessible and editable through the use of simple formats like Markdown. Everyone I included here has done great work, and while I'd love to talk more about each of them, instead, I urge you to look into their presentations and publications yourself to learn what you can from them. I've provided more information about each of them in the description below. But learning isn't the only thing you want to do to get involved. Join in and build relationships with other people in the movement, whether they're new or have been working in the field for years. Even if you aren't a huge fan of social media, it's true that Twitter can be a great place to network with other professionals working in open education. If you're interested in attending conferences, it's also a great way to keep up with others attending the same events and sharing notes. Another way to start building relationships and the stay on top of news is to join a mailing list. I know, everyone hates mailing lists, but lists like the Community College Consortium for OER, the OER Digest from Spark, and the Open Textbook Network mailing list, if you remember, can be incredibly useful, and it can make it easier for you to ask questions too. And of course, you can attend one of the many and growing number of OER conferences happening around the world. Whether it's a large-scale conference like OpenEd or a smaller one in your state or province, look around and find a way to talk to others about what interests you. So I've talked a bit about what you can do to improve your understanding of the concepts behind open education and what you can do to make connections with people. But after that, it's important to process that information and make it work for you. Here's some homework. Describe a topic you've learned about as concisely as possible. This will help you later on as you're teaching your colleagues and others at your institution about open education. Topics to consider explaining include what is and isn't an open educational resource, how do the five R's relate to open educational practices, and how can using OER benefit faculty. And finally, don't be afraid to reach out. As you're learning and making connections, it's easy to get overwhelmed, and that's okay. This topic can be confusing at first, but it doesn't need to be. Thanks for watching. Feel free to check out our library guide about OER for more information and continue the conversation on Twitter or in the comments below.