Dear friends, I should be embarrassed to report that our carbon footprint went through the roof in April, and I am, in part, but truth is all those air miles have been consumed in the name of open education! (I promise I’ll plant a few trees, honestly).

First, Beck headed to Houston to take part in CNX2014, where she presented research on OpenStax College open textbook users as part of the Student Efficacy: Are they Learning? panel. Read her notes here.

While PIs Patrick and Martin attended the Hewlett OER Grantees meeting in Sausalito, California, the research team in full set sail (metaphorically, of course) to Ljubljana, Slovenia to take over OCWC Global 2014. Ok, I exaggerate, slightly, but we did have some presence: Rob made an impact with the OER Impact Map, before joining OERRH fellow Una Daly to talk about OER in US Community Colleges; Leigh-Anne, Tim Seal and Alison Buckler showed they are a force to reckon with when discussing the TESS-India and TESSA teacher education projects; and I took the floor to delight the audience on the impact of OER use in flipped classrooms. Conferences are often the place to catch up with old friends and make new ones: it was a pleasure to talk in the flesh with Cheryl Hodgkinson-Williams from the ROER4D project –I’m grateful for Skype calls but let’s face it, you can’t beat a good hug! We hope to collaborate closely with Cheryl and her colleagues in the near future. To learn more about their work in South America, Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, watch the interview that she kindly agreed to do with Beck here. Beck also chatted to Karen Vignare, from University of Maryland University College (UMUC) about the institution’s move toward a 100% e-resources/OER model. Thank you both for taking the time to share their wonderful initiatives.

Finally, after a few Laškos, some idrijski žlikrofi and collecting an award on our way to Metelkova, we headed straight to Newcastle and OER14, where the fOERce was strong with the team: Martin and Rob took advantage of openness; Beck spread the word on librarians’ use of OER; Leigh-Anne shared her expertise on OER localization; Rob took us on a grand tour of OER policy; and I invited school teachers to discuss open licenses with students. That all? No. OERRHub fellow Megan Beckett presented Siyavula’s community building and collaborative authoring features, and Sarah Frank Bristow (Salient Research) gave us OER Exchange.

Back in Milton Keynes, we said goodbye (for the time being) to our Collaborations and Dissemination manager, Simone, off to enjoy her maternity leave. Good luck, girl!

So much has been happening that I’m tempted to go into May… Alan Levine, webinars, School of Open course, data analysis… ah, you’ll have to wait!

Have a good weekend. It’s set to be a scorchio!