Yes that title is a nod to singers Charli XCX and Lorde‘s reconciling their differences by collaborating on a creative project—the remix. It just goes on to show the power of collaboration, transformation, and, well… the remix! Whether it’s in music or education, something magical happens when ideas meet halfway, bend a little, and become something new. Just like alloys! 🧪

If there’s one thing our session on Open Education with Alan Levine reminded me this week, it’s that open education is less about rules and more about rhythms. The more we share, remix, and build together, the more alive learning feels.

When Alan spoke about the culture of openness, I kept thinking about all the times I’ve shared teaching resources—sometimes a meme explaining stoichiometry, other times a lab trick that made my students laugh and learn at once. And then watching students come up with their own mnemonics and hacks—that act of sharing was an open-education moment before I even knew the term.

🌐 The remix mindset

Open education thrives on giving others permission to remix what you’ve made. Moreover, you get to remix the remixed version, making it an exploration of each other’s knowledge, ideas, and perspectives in a collaborative process—a celebration of participation rather than perfection. It’s not about owning the “final version” of anything, but keeping learning in motion—letting ideas bounce, shift, and evolve.

The phrase “knowledge wants to be free” (derived from “information wants to be free“) is about amplifying the reach of knowledge. Teaching is, at its heart, an act of generosity. Alan’s stories and the work he shared through OEGlobal reframe education as a global collaboration rather than a one-way transfer of information. That spirit runs deep in his blog, Cogdogblog, where his first post, I blog therefore I am, captures how sharing is such an important part of his identity to the extent that he has a huge collection of 74462 photos he has clicked and uploaded on Flickr.com, all freely available for others to use. That’s an incredible example of openness in action.

Open Educational Resources (OERs) and open practices invite us to rethink ownership and authorship in education. As Alan noted, openness is an attitude. His creative storytelling and open sharing illustrate how openness fuels innovation rather than limiting it.

Reflecting on this, I see parallels with my own practice. When I share a resource with colleagues—or when students share their discoveries with each other—I see learning networks expanding in real time. It’s the same spirit behind the OER Commons repository I explored last week: knowledge as a commons, built by many and for many.

💡 Creativity Wants to Be Free

Alan’s talk also made me think of Larry Lessig’s TED Talk, “Laws that Choke Creativity.” Lessig reminds us that creativity builds on what already exists; we remix, reinterpret, and reframe ideas to create something new. Democratic access to knowledge manifests in that creativity. Open licenses like Creative Commons protect that spirit of remix culture, making sure that educators and learners can contribute safely and meaningfully.

This culture of sharing also resonates with the Funds of Knowledge approach I discussed last week—valuing the lived experiences and cultural knowledge that learners bring. Open education, in a way, formalizes that same ethos: learning from one another, across boundaries and backgrounds. More on this later…

⚗️ Remixing From My Chemistry Classroom

When I think about my chemistry classroom back in India, I realize we teachers were remixing without realizing it. From repurposing old diagrams to creating meme-based quizzes about acids and bases, we were using what we had, making it ours, and passing it on.

When the pandemic hit, that spirit of openness became more than an idea—it became a necessity. Teaching chemistry online during COVID-19 forced me to rethink everything about access and equity. I couldn’t rely on printed materials or commercial resources anymore. Instead, I began creating my own worksheets, mock tests, and slide decks—everything digital and shareable.

At first, I thought of publishing some of these materials through a paid platform (I’d done that once before the pandemic), but something about that moment changed my outlook. Education was in crisis; students needed connection, not paywalls. So I built a shared Google Drive folder and began uploading my resources there, free for anyone who needed them. Each new academic year, I’d refresh the folder, add new material, and tell my students, “Take what you need, remix it, share it forward.”

That experience was my first real step into the world of open education—before I even knew there was a name for it. Looking back, it perfectly captures Alan’s point: openness isn’t a license or a policy, it’s a mindset.

Open education asks educators to be connectors and co-creators in a broader ecosystem of knowledge. Sharing is the currency of the open web. And every time we share—a resource, a reflection, a remix—we help sustain that economy of generosity.

🤝 Sharing is the pedagogy

Sharing isn’t an add-on to teaching—it’s pedagogy itself. When we make our work visible, we invite others to build on it. This culture of openness flattens hierarchies: no longer just “experts teaching novices,” but learners co-creating knowledge.

Platforms like OER Commons and OE Global are proof. They’re like open jam sessions for educators—you walk in with a few chords (a lesson plan, a simulation, a slide deck) and walk out with a remix that fits your classroom better than before.

🧩 The personal remix

Open education also aligns beautifully with the Funds of Knowledge idea—valuing what learners already bring to the table. Each remix is personal. When students or teachers take something open and make it their own, they’re embedding their context, culture, and creativity into it. That’s the beauty of it—openness isn’t about giving everything away, it’s about giving everyone a way in.

💬 So, why remix?

Because learning, like music, isn’t meant to stay the same after the first listen. It evolves with every play, every reinterpretation. The culture of openness that Alan champions reminds me that we don’t just teach content—we teach connections.

 

So here’s my takeaway:
Keep sharing, keep remixing, and never underestimate the power of a meme, a resource link, or a random conversation to spark someone else’s next big idea.

Finally, I’ll leave you with Larry Lessig’s words from his TED Talk:

You can’t kill the instinct that technology produces… we can’t make our kids passive again, we can only make them ‘pirates’…

And I say—by all means, let’s make them pirates of knowledge! 🏴‍☠️

So long!

—Dishant