I KEEP FINDING MYSELF IN DIFFERENT ROOMS ASKING THE SAME QUESTION.

What happens in the space between what we say we value and what people can actually practice?

The rooms have changed. The question underneath them hasn't.

Work that connects ideas with practice

That question takes me into a lot of different territory: leadership and change, open education, learning design, care, communities of practice, technology, and the systems that shape how people work and learn.

I’m especially interested in the messy middle between what we intend and what people actually experience. The place where ideas need structure, people need support, and values have to become something we can actually practice.

Explore My Work


Writing

Read Field Notes, where I write about openness, leadership, learning, care, institutional change, doctoral inquiry, and ideas still taking shape.

Work With Me

Partner with me on advisory work, curriculum and learning design, research, writing, facilitation, or fractional projects.

Speaking

Explore keynotes, workshops, presentations, and conversations about open education, student leadership, learning design, relational practice, and change.

Made by Megan

Explore books, art, photography, videos, cakes, crafts, free resources, and other things I create across mediums.

The Open Practice Academy

I founded The Open Practice Academy to help educators, libraries, institutions, and communities move from good intentions to meaningful practice.

TOPA offers professional learning, curriculum and program development, communities of practice, open education support, and institutional partnerships grounded in care, access, participation, and relational change.

Current and Featured Work


A presentation slide with a beige background featuring a mountainous landscape illustration in watercolor style. The slide contains the title 'From Vision to Practice: The Path to Open' and lists the speaker's name Megan Zara, M.Ed., along with her titles including Open Education Librarian and THECB OER Fellow.

From Vision to Practice

Closing keynote from the Borderlands Open Access Symposium on the structures that help people move from believing in open education to participating in it.

Watercolor painting of an open book, leaves, stones, a pencil, and abstract watercolor splashes in earthy tones.

Field Notes

Follow my ongoing writing about openness, learning, leadership, care, institutional life, and the questions emerging from my doctoral work.

Close-up of a book cover titled "Open Education in Practice" with green leafy plant in corner.

Open Education in Practice

Explore my openly licensed book and learning resource developed to help educators move from curiosity about open education toward informed practice.

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