LTHEchat poem (Open Ed Week 2015)

Open education makes open minds

It really isn’t such a pain to share
When there is so much knowledge in the air.
Our institutions – grand, so proud and tall,
Open them up and give access to all.

The greatest shame of all remains that those
Who think that learning should always be closed
Still have control of what others have made;
Denying access, unless users pay!

Open education makes open minds
Which means that they are free to go and find
The shining things that help us all to see
How dreams are made; how thoughts can become free

So open your mind for the common good,
Create and share (you know you really should)
All those resources floating in your mind,
As well as those you searched so hard to find.

Sharing ideas in innovative ways,
Collaborative working helps rephrase
The way in which social media’s used
With open platforms helping ideas fuse.

Open publishing should become the norm
Traditional formats we should reform
Open access should be more than a treat,
Without it, what we do is incomplete.

Together, our communities can grow
When we go share the best of what we know
Open resources in all of their glory;
So spread the word, and tell others our story.

Connected, supported, valued and true,
Are all ingredients of social glue,
Join us if you believe and show you care;
A better tomorrow we can then share.

contributors
Sam Illingworth
David Smith
Debbie Baff
Kevyn Smith
Sue Beckingham
Katherine Inskip
Magda Bober
Anna Wood
Simon Rae
The Unseen Poets

This poem was co-created during Open Education Week 2015 and co-ordinated by Dr Sam Illingworth (MMU) and Dr David Smith (SHU)

open licence
Open education makes open minds by #LTHEchatpoets is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.