In this article we will describe a continuum of development towards knowledge generation and networked learning which emerges as practising teachers participate in a connectivist experience offered through an open online class (OOC) learning design. We believe that this design offers an opportunity to provide authentic professional development and collaboration particularly for those teachers in remote areas such as in the Alaska bush. Research remains in progress; however, current findings indicate that those teachers who valued the connectivist experience indicate a desire to promote these experiences with their own students. Content analysis of interviews, focus group transcripts and Twitter transcripts reveal four distinct stages of awareness of values necessary for success in the OOC. Of the practising teachers who enrolled, 98% were successful in completing the OOC for credit; however, 20% remained resistant to connectivist pedagogy throughout the experience.

Open learning is becoming a critical focus for K‐12 technology‐supported programs as the importance of digital literacy and digital freedoms for all learners grows. This article describes current open learning policy, open educational resources and potential implications for open practice and ends with suggestions for future research in open learning. The column situates this examination in the context of current opportunities and challenges that impact open learning in educational spaces.

We outline a model for innovative online practice called the open hub model of knowledge generation in higher-education environments. Following from models such as communities of inquiry, communities of practice, and learning in the collective, we present a model that is based on a modified connectivist practice to support teachers in creating learning environments in which they can develop and expand tools for learning in an age of rapid change and information abundance. We explore literature on designing for an open pedagogical environment, specifically in terms of the usefulness of a blog for realization in