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Open Educational Resources

Open Educational Resources (OER) is a concept that allows students and teachers to learn at little or no cost. This website shows us seven things we should know about Open Educational Resources.  Open Educational Resources are usually some sort of electronic device. OER's are under a license that tells the user how the device can be used.  Some forms of OER can be modified, and some must be used in their original source.  OER's can be used in online learning, but also in the traditional face to face classroom environments.  OER's provide a different type of learning environment for students and teachers. Student textbooks are ridiculously expensive in elementary school, high-school, and universities; however, OER's can lower the cost, and make the content meaningful and resourceful to the student. However, OER's depend a lot on the resources available, and sometimes there are few resources. With there being few resources, much of the content can be modified, making it hard to know what information is valid. OER will without a doubt help learners who are working, adult learners, and other non traditional students learn and have free and unlimited access to information. As the article states, Open Educational Resources are one solution to dealing with the high costs of education, and introduce new ways of learning and teaching.

One company that licenses OER's and decides how they can be used is called the Commons.  The Commons is a web resource that allows users to search for information needed.  The website provided is the Commons national website. The website provides different sources to different subject areas such as science, english, math, etc. An article by the Washington Post discusses the cost of books and the effect it has on college students. According to the Washington Post, some students simply cannot afford the price of their textbooks, and therefore just doing without for the semester or duration of the class. OER solves this problem.  OER allows all students to access the information needed, and is at an affordable cost, or no cost at all.  This is fair and equal opportunity to all students. The article referenced above titled the "Seven Things You Should Know About Open Educational Resources" discussed different concepts, what Open Educational Resources are, how they work, who is using them, the significance, and the downfalls to OER.

Open Educational Resources are an excellent way to teach now and in the future.  Different subject areas and assignments can be completed through this process. OER's allow all students to have the opportunity to have access and learn the content needed.  I believe Open Educational Resources are a great transformation, and I believe that this is in the benefit of all students. If available to me in the future, as an educator and learner, I will definitely take advantage of  Open Educational Resources.

Three more interesting and informative websites to explore:
Hewlett Foundation
Classroom Aid
Communication and Information

Teaching Channel

In my technology for teaching class, we were introduced to a new website called the Teaching Channel.  This website provided us with many different short video clips with ideas for teaching techniques in the classroom.  The videos contained many different subjects, and was very informative and up to date.  In one video, the teacher has the students read a reading assignment, and write important notes or ideas on a sticky note they wish to discuss later. I thought this technique was excellent, and it allows the children to better comprehend what they have read and wish to discuss.
I will definitely be using this website throughout my teaching career. 

Flipped Learning

What is flipped learning?  According to the Flipped Learning Network  after an observation, it was shown that students need the teachers there to answer questions or provide help, but they didn’t need their teachers present to listen to a lecture or review content. Flipped learning is more for college, high school, and middle school students. Flipped learning is a way of allowing students to be the center of the classroom.  In one of the videos viewed from this website, the teachers discuss how flipped learning allows children to learn on their own levels, and how flipped learning is more consistent with 21^st century learning.  Flipped learning is using videos and different forms of technology to teach the students the material.  The students watch a lesson online,and complete an activity or an assessment to show understanding. The second link provided to us was a link to the Tech Ed website.  This website has many different lesson pages, and videos provided by professionals.  The videos can be used based on curiosity or subject themes.  In the lessons are quizzes, and if the student does not answer correctly, there options for video hints and additional resources.  A teacher can flip a lesson using this website.  A teacher can edit a title, add instructions, select certain quizzes, and add their own resources. 

These two articles and videos helped me form an opinion of flipped learning.  I believe that flipped learning is a way of moving forward in the education system and making students accountable for their own education. This way of learning is more hands on and allows students to work at their own pace.  

The next article I read was titled “Flipped Learning: Revolution or Transformation?  This article discussed how students were reacting to the flipped learning concept.  Stated, “Flipped learning is transformational shift which is changing classrooms across the globe.”  The author explains how he has seen teachers who were ready to give up, get a new sense of purpose. How students take ownership for their learning, and become more excited to learn.   The author explains how schools and parents have a new sense of hope and love for learning. 

Like I said earlier, flipping a classroom was more for the older grade levels. However, my specialty is early childhood and special education.  So an article titled Flipping the Elementary Classroom  caught my eye. This article explains rather than flipping the classroom, flip a lesson. A good way to start this, as the article explains, is to ask yourself as a teacher what are you constantly repeating, and what do the students need to know more of? Make the video short and meaningful. Ensure that all students have access to the video and decide on a way to ensure they all watched the video.

After reading these articles, I am excited on learning more about flipped learning, and to incorporate this method in my classroom someday.  I agree with idea of flipping a few lessons, but I disagree on flipping a whole classroom.  Flipped learning is without a doubt a way for the students to become active in their own learning, and a way for them to learn at their own pace.  However, I do believe that it is important for teacher instruction.  With adding flipped learning to a few lessons throughout the week or day, the learning is more interactive and draws away from direct instruction, but still allows for the teacher in the classroom.

For more information, check out these sites: 

Flipped Learning: A response to criticisms 

Advantages of flipped learning

Information on flipped classrooms and technology

When I become a teacher, I will flip a few lessons, but I will still be active in my classroom and provide different types of activities and lessons for a diverse learning setting.  There are some complications with flipped learning.  Some students may not have access to computers, and some students may not learn using the flipped method. Some students do not benefit from watching videos and teaching themselves.  Flipped learning is a look into the future, and I agree that this is more appropriate for older aged students. However, when done correctly, flipped learning is great for elementary aged students and allows them practice and exploration on different lessons and ways of learning, and prepares the students for later grades and forms of instruction. In my classroom, I will try flipped learning and base my opinion on the outcomes of my students. With technology rapidly becoming apart of learning and everyday instruction, it will greatly affect how i conduct my classroom.  Based on the research I have conducted, students like flip learning, and it is a new and exciting way to learn a new concept.

This Video explains how a 4th grade teacher uses flipped learning as a math lesson, and how the students feel about the method

Experiencing Group

The group research project was interesting.  Working in a group is not something that I have done very often in the past, or something that I have particularly liked.  Freshman year, I had to write a group research paper for my English class, and it was a disaster to say the least. So, when told we would be writing a group research paper, I was nervous. 
When introduced to Google Docs, I felt a little better about the project.  It was a way we could all collaborate and be involved in the projects from the comfort of our homes, at our own time.  However, I wrote my part of the paper in a Microsoft Word Document, and could not figure out how to copy and paste it to Google, or how to save and upload it to Google, so this was a struggle for me. 
Each member of our group decided on a separate topic to discuss involving 21st century learning.  This way, everyone could see a few of the many different components of 21st century learning. Although I felt the paper was a little scattered, and maybe in a way four separate small papers combined into one, I felt the final project was insightful and showed each one of our own personal tastes and beliefs about the education system. 
There were many different applications discussed in our project.  I know for a fact when I have my own classroom we will be using computers, most likely mac books, and smart boards; therefore, it is important for us as future educators to research and be knowledgeable on the different applications that we will use, and possibly the students may be teaching us how to use. There are many different forms of technology that can be used in education, as all of the groups discussed.  I used the example of Google Earth to incorporate a geography lesson, or using an I-pad for special education learners. Another group brought up many different forms of communication via the internet for keeping in touch with students and families, such as twitter groups, facebook groups, etc.  
The final outcome for my group I though was okay.  I feel that we could have collaborated a little better with the components of the paper.  I also feel that we could have done a better job at the presentation, such as getting together and making a Prezi.  We only made a poster, and I felt that we could have done more for the visual.  At the end, we all did work well together and each member did their part, which is hard when working in groups.  
This is a LEARNING experience, and I feel that I absolutely did learn important parts of presentations, working in groups, and writing collaborative research papers. 

 

 

PowerPoint Terrific

As a requirement for our technology for teaching class, we had to create and design a PowerPoint.  We had to pick a Pennsylvania State Standard, create an objective, a narrative, and a lesson plan. I chose to do a third grade writing lesson, and chose these standards to work with.  After choosing the standards, I was ready to create my lesson.  I reviewed proper grammar, capital letters, periods, question marks, and periods by playing a game.  After reviewing this, I had the students work on this worksheet, based on a story we read.

 The PowerPoint had to be visually appealing, free of errors, contain links, animations, and effects.  Although I am some-what familiar with PowerPoint, this was still a challenge for me.  First of all, I never have created a lesson plan before, or an objective.  Also, I have never added internal and external hyperlinks to a PowerPoint, or transitions and animations.  To learn and work with these different options was wonderful, and when done in a way other than direct instruction, PowerPoint is a great way to construct a lesson. Presenting to a small group of peers was wonderful, and in my opinion more beneficial than presenting to the whole class.  By presenting to a small group of peers, we were able to go into more detail about our projects, explain them, and actually give meaningful feedback.  All of the Power Points that I saw were excellent, had wonderful content, and were very appealing.

Although it was challenging, this project was very much worth the effort and time.  I learned a lot, and in turn feel more comfortable with PowerPoint, and creating a lesson plan.

This is the story that I had said my class had read prior to the lesson:

Here are some more pictures that my PowerPoint included to make the lesson more interesting:

Two More for The Roll

While searching and reading many different blogs to add to my blog list, I came across the blog kidney garden .  This blog highlights many different ideas and projects in which to make learning more enjoyable for the children,.  In the most recent post, she gives different examples of how to make learning interactive.  I believe that when I have my own classroom, I will rearrange the desks as she points out, and add fun designs and projects to the class assignments.  This blog shares excellent tips on how to manage the classroom environment, different techniques for different types of learners, and different ideas for her peers to use and grow as teachers.

The next blog I came across shared many different thoughts, ideas, and controversies in the educational world.  The blog, danesedblog shares ideas on who decides what students should read, Maria Montessori, fears of learning math, and many many other different topics.  As a teacher or educator of any sort, it is important to have a very open mind, research, and think in depth about the many different obstacles that one may have to overcome as an educator.  I really enjoyed reading his thoughts and ideas, and liked how he shares different articles and journals in his blog.  When I become a teacher and have my own class, I will also share different thoughts and ideas with my fellow teachers.  It is important to work together and share different thoughts and beliefs.