Open Access and the Classrooms of Today

    Lately I have been delving into the idea of open education and all that it entails, especially in relation to the classrooms of today and tomorrow.   It seems that the idea of open education is one that is only growing in popularity, and for solid reasons.  Open classrooms provide current, easily accessible, easily adaptable digital resources to classrooms worldwide.  They save schools money by removing the need for textbooks, and by having multiple resources at the fingertips of students and teachers alike.   OERs may soon replace textbooks as they are superior in many ways.  The cost is minimal, they provide more student interaction, and are current with information.  A good summary of open education and it's benefits can be found here.  

     One of the aspects of OERs that I find most appealing is the opportunity for collaboration among educators.  I can borrow and adapt another teacher's lesson or activity, use it, and then share my work with others.  Even textbooks with online extras can't provide this sort of interaction between educators.  And this collaboration helps educators bring the very best, most current information into their classrooms.  Often this collaboration means that entire units, with formative and summative assessments, activities, and ideas for differentiation are already available to teachers, saving them time and energy.  This means they have more time dedicated to reflection and being as effective as possible, rather than wrung out from spending hours and hours outside of the school day searching for extras to engage their students when textbooks leave much to be desired.  

     As teachers, by utilizing OERs in our classrooms and by encouraging our students to collaborate with others via safe online forums, we can continue building open classrooms and participatory culture.  Our students already spend a great deal of their time in the digital world as they are digital natives.  They are constantly creating, publishing, and sharing information.  They are equal parts consumer and producer.   Teaching them how to safely and responsibly publish and share information, as well as making them aware of how to tell good sources from those masquerading as such will enhance their learning experience and increase their engagement with subject matter while increasing their awareness of the dangers the internet and it's connectivity pose.  

      Open learning is already being implemented in different fashions.  Many school districts offer online K-12 courses for free as part of a public school education.  While many of these have real time face-to-face interactions scheduled as part of the course, much of the course is taught whenever the student decides to sit in front of a screen.  I see this becoming more mainstream.  Parents who prefer to homeschool can do so more effectively, as the resources are at their fingertips.  And while I think that these open courses will increase in popularity, I think there is still a necessity for the structure the brick and mortal schools provide.  These schools often provide more than simply education, they provide social services such as counseling, free breakfast and/or lunch, free childcare, and true social interaction.  I think in most cases OER's will be used to enhance the education experience rather than replace it entirely.  

If you are currently looking for good OERs, I highly recommend you check this out.

To Share or Not to Share?

      So, this week I have been asked to mull over if educators do or do not have a responsibility and/or moral obligation to share their work.  I would have to say that I believe they should.  If our true mission is educate children to the best of our ability, why wouldn't we want to provide great tools to help other educators or ask for help when we need it?  The internet is a great tool to do this, in fact, it makes it almost easy.  Blogs, vlogs, Pinterest, Twitter . . . the list of sites dedicated to helping people share ideas is seemingly infinite.  But, what is worth sharing?

      Coming from someone who is not fluent in technology and who is a newbie just about to enter the teaching field, I can say that I originally found the idea of sharing a little awkward and absurd.  I absolutely identified with Jennie Snyder when I read her article here.  I, too, wondered "how can someone with so little experience have anything to offer someone else?"  That being said, after listening to and reading other educators' discuss sharing, I have realized that even I can benefit from the practice.  New teachers should be sharing the new ideas and experiences they have - the good, the bad, and even the ugly.  They can use technology to search out advice from seasoned teachers.  They can also share their experiences when their lessons flop to seek out feedback on how to improve.  Good educators are constantly reflecting on their practices and revising, and technology can be a tool used to do this better!  And while there is definitely value in sharing ideas, tools and strategies face to face with colleagues, sharing can go further and is readily available 24/7 when it is done via the internet.  While I mainly just read the feeds and posts of others now, as I begin my journey as an educator, I plan on commenting and responding to posts and ideas I find interesting. In this manner I can begin a dialogue with veteran educators who can help me when I need it most.

     It is also worth noting that it is vitally important that sharing be done safely for both you and the students.  Most schools require permission before you record or photograph students.  Sharing descriptions of students' failures must be done with utmost care, and without any risk of embarrassing them.  If you find yourself blogging about a lack of student success, I would suggest you focus on your failure to make the lesson meaningful for your students, rather than their failure to understand.  

    Sharing can seem time consuming and intimidating, but it doesn't have to be.  Much like any writing, you simply need to consider the purpose of what you are sharing.  There is no rule stating it has to be polished to perfection or in printable form, though these are sometimes helpful and will get your ideas more than a passing glance.  And it doesn't have to be professionally edited by a videographer.  (For more on value of mistakes look here).  

      While some teachers don't care to share, I think it is critical to encourage it.  We can help to create a culture of transparency by creating education blogs and sharing lesson plans that work wonders.  We can contribute to this culture by following other educators and responding to their ideas, or questioning them, or borrowing them.  Transparency is about allowing others to see what we are doing, giving them insight on what is working and what isn't.  

Digital Introduction

     
    As someone who is new to blogging, I feel like describing myself is a necessary point of lift off.  I am a graduate student working on becoming a high school English Language Arts teacher.  I am also a mother of 4 kids, a wife, a Christian, a wine enthusiast, and someone who enjoys going to the theater.  That last bit makes me sound snobby, but I'm not, I simply enjoy performance art.  I tend to be somewhat of an old-fashioned, introvert.  I am not glued to a screen all the time, and I rather like that aspect of myself.  I am an avid fiction reader who even prefers real, bound books because I can write in them and dog ear actual pages.  I feel like there is more interaction between the book and myself.  Weird, right?  
     While I think I am old-fashioned, I haven't been entirely tucked away inside a hole.   I have a smartphone and have apps downloaded to keep tabs on my kids' progress at school.  I use Pinterest to find inspiration for cooking and crafting.  I do use Facebook, though Andrew Watt's article A Teenager's View on Social Media makes me think that perhaps my view of my digital capabilities is entirely wrong.  Perhaps, that means I am outdated rather than connected? I tried Instagram, but I find that I don't like it as well as Facebook, but it could just be that it still feels unfamiliar.  
     While I know there is so much more social media out there, and I understand it is a large portion of teenagers' lives, I am also sure that there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.  Teenagers love social media, and it isn't going anywhere, but I feel that having their eyes glued to a screen is detrimental.   Students need to devote attention to learning content in a classroom and learn self-control.  As far as I understand, posting a selfie every hour is frowned upon in most workplaces, and teaching students how to focus and be present with the tasks at hand is crucial to learning.  Learning how to connect and interact with others face to face is also an important skill that is slowly being lost on the digital generation. This article describes how millennials may be missing out because of their technology dependence: Two Reasons Millennials Leaders Struggle with Communication.  
     That being said, if today's educators want to connect with students and hold their attention, some technology should be utilized.  If your classroom has a Smartboard or comes equipped with a set of Chromebooks, use them!  Not only will it grab students' attention, but it also makes the learning more relevant to what students need to be able to do upon graduating.  Students will need to know how to use technology well, and how to use it responsibly.  I do not like sharing too much on social media, as I understand that very little is every truly deleted from the internet.  I am content with a personal Facebook account, and perhaps will eventually create a professional blog.  Teenage students do not always share this awareness and it is an educator's job to help students learn to navigate the internet safely, as it is an important learning tool they will need to use frequently both in school and beyond.  As someone who is not super tech savvy, I hope to expand my knowledge of ways to incorporate technology into teaching ELA content in order to grab students' attention and help them discover that reading and writing (both on paper and digitally) aren't so bad.