OER

OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

In my SEDU 183 class, we are learning about Open Educational Resources (OER). Until an article titled 7 things you should know about Open Educational Resources, I was not familiar with OER. In this article, it explains that OER are resources available at little or no cost that can be used for teaching, learning, or research. Most of these resources are digital resources. The resources originate from colleges , universities, libraries, organizations and government agencies to name a few. In addition to this article, I also found two other great resources that explain OER:  Hewlett and  Info Kit. I also found an informational video: 

A great online resource is OER Commons. This site is a network with 41,028 OER tools for sharing. You can narrow your search to allow you to browse by subject area. You can browse Lesson Plans, and you can even enroll in their fellowship program.

In the article we had to read, it states some of the benefits as well as some of the disadvantages. One of the disadvantages is that some of the resources are not kept current. One that I agree with is lack of human interaction between students and teachers. I've also found other disadvantages listed on this website that has both pros and cons listed.


I feel OER will only grow due to the advantages. One major advantage is the vast resources available to so many. Having OERs available, will also help students cut the cost of text books and materials. I feel this is moving our education in the right direction!

Teaching Channel

What is Teaching Channel

Teaching Channel is a website dedicated to teachers. This website has many video resources for teachers. It allows teachers to watch many different strategies that are being used for teaching. I like how you can watch these strategies in action instead of just reading information about it.






Here is a video that is about bullying. This video gives ideas on how you can address bullying in a proactive way. There are many different topics within this website that you can explore!

                                                    

FLIPPED LEARNING

What is Flipped Learning

The Flipped Learning strategy allows students to explore, create and learn in the classroom using a hands-on approach. The lectures that would normally take place in the classroom, are assigned as homework. During class time, teachers have more time to work with students.





This video helps explain Flipped Learning:

                                                           How is this beneficial?

According to thedailyriff.com, the greatest benefit of flipped learning is the overall participation and interaction of the students. Students are more engaged with the flipped approach. It also allows the students to learn at their own pace according to ISTE.com. Check out , it states benefits from the student's point of view. Instead of the classroom being centered around the teacher, it is centered around the students. Flippedclassroom.com is also another great sorce of information.

Down Falls

According to edutopia.org, there are some disadvantages of  Flipped Learning. For instance, some companies just want to jump on the bandwagon and gain profit from this by producing technology tools to help implement this strategy. Edutopia also goes on to say many teachers think, "this won't work in my classroom" and also, not everyone learns the same way.

Conclusion

If anything, Flipped Learning is shinning much needed light on the way we teach and the way students learn. By bringing light to such an important topic, it allows teachers to reflect on their teaching style as well as the way their students are learning and if they are truly getting it.

Experiencing Group

THE GROUP PROJECT

For my SEDU 183 class, we had to form into groups for a research project (there were four people in our group). For this project, we had to research and compose a research paper relating to education in the 21st Century. After we completed the research paper, our group had to present our research to the class. 

Typically, I would prefer to work alone only because it is more convenient. Usually it is difficult for the group to get together to work on the project but after being introduced to Google Docs, I felt much better about this group project. 

Our research paper was centered around the question: How did 21st Century First Ladies Influence Education in America?
                                                     
                                                                 

THE TECHNOLOGY

We decided to split the research into two categories. Two of us would research Laura Bush and the other two would research Michelle Obama. It was so nice to be able to all work using one document (with Google Docs). If you're unfamiliar with Google Docs, I would recommend giving it a try. Check out this tutorial. Since we were all able to share the document (all having equal access) it made it so convenient, we could work from our own computer without having to meet up with each other. We were able to see what everyone in our group wrote so we knew not to duplicate the research they came across.

We also used Prezi for the presentation of our research project. I thought it flowed much better than PowerPoint. The amount of things you can do with Prezi is amazing. I'm much more familiar with PowerPoint but Prezi is more entertaining and eye-catching than PowerPoint. I would prefer to watch Prezi presentations than PowerPoint.                                                                                                                           

TAKE AWAYS FOR THE FUTURE

 I feel Google Docs is something that I will use as a future teacher. I think it would save time and also allow me to work on collaboration tasks when it is convenient for me. The demands of teaching has increased greatly in the 21st Century and by using Google Docs, it would allow teachers to focus on the more demanding issues while still communicating and collaborating with each other in a productive way.

PowerPoint (Terrific)

THE ASSIGNMENT

In this assignment, we were to create part of a lesson plan using PowerPoint. The PowerPoint was not to be used for direct instruction. We had to complete a narrative page explaining what PA standard supported our lesson, what the students knew prior to this lesson and what our objective was for the students.We had to decide who and where we would be teaching. We then had to present our completed PowerPoint to a small group within the class to be evaluated (we also had to do a self-evaluation). The point of this assignment is to make us aware of other uses of PowerPoint (not used solely for direct instruction). I found a blog that talks a little about this. The last thing you want to do is bore your students.
                           

I would best describe this assignment as educational. I had very little experience with PowerPoint prior to this project. I feel it expanded my knowledge and helped me develop a better understanding of all the tools within PowerPoint to help create an interesting and interactive lesson plan. I've always viewed PowerPoint as a direct instruction tool but now I view it as a great tool that can be non-direct instructional to help spark students interest and put the action in their hands. There are also many resources out there to help you prepare and create lessons using PowerPoint.

PRESENTING THE POWERPOINT

It was a little difficult to present to my fellow classmates. I knew I spent a lot of time creating my PowerPoint but it was still my first PowerPoint and I was just starting to get familiar with all the tools and ad-ins within the program. I knew I would meet all the requirements of the assignment but would I be creative enough? Did I take enough risks? I'm sure with practice, I will only improve!
I thought my peers did a great job with their projects. I could tell they put a lot of time into the assignment. Their PowerPoint presentations were very creative and colorful. I felt they were far more advanced than mine.

OVERALL

Overall, the project was time consuming and a bit difficult only because it was something that I was not familiar with. I also felt it was important to teach us the non-direct way to use PowerPoint and the great tools out there within PowerPoint so when we are out in the field, we can take advantage of all PowerPoint has to offer!

Two More for The Roll

Here is a great blog I found regarding education in early childhood as the new school year begins. It's important for teachers to enter a new school year with excitment and in this blog, it is evident that there is some excitement out there as the new school year begins. Creating excitement will help the children feel welcome as the new school year begins.



I also found another great resource for early childhood ed.

My Beliefs about Technology and Learning

I feel technology is such a huge part of life. It's important for students to understand how to use technology. It is equally important for teachers to teach children how to use technology properly. One pitfall of this could be that teachers may be apprehensive or threatened by technology if it's something they are new to. Another drawback could be the funding for technology in public schools. With technology changing so quickly, it may be hard for schools to stay on top of the latest equipment. Some teachers may have success in using technology in the class room by using it as a tool to help teach. Students may be very receptive and eager to learn if they are already familiar with the technology being used. As much as I feel technology should be implemented into the class room, I also feel it should not replace face to face communication and interaction.