OER Post

How do you see OER content transforming the education landscape? 

Our hope is to move away from a traditional text.  This will keep current with changing research whereas a textbook can only be changed every 4-5 years.  This will also help school districts/individuals save on textbook costs.

• What do you see as the main impediment to the widespread adoption of OER content by classroom teachers? 

I think one of our main concerns when starting using a flexbook in Health was the organization of the information for the students.  With a text they have all of the information in one place.  With the flexbook we have to gather the information and put it in one place for them.  CK12 offers a place for that.

• What advantages does OER content offer that traditional resources do not? 

 Flexbooks offer up to date (current) info.  In the ever changing world of health research this is very important.  The other very big advantage is costs.  OER websites are a free, collaborative place for educators to share their work.

• What about this model is inherently better than the model used by traditional content / textbook publishers?

 See above
 

LMS Lesson

Moodle can transform my classroom into a more student centered learning environment by getting students involved in their learning.  Students have to take the initiative in logging in and completing their tasks.

Students learn in different ways.  With Moodle, it is very easy to vary the instruction to help all students.

Flipped Teaching Lesson

I did a short little instructional lesson on Screencastomatic.  It was pretty cool and easy to use.  All my short lesson consisted of was giving instructions on how to do a Socrative homework assignment.  I could easily see doing this for other longer lessons and it was a very easy tool.

I got an error when trying to upload a video via Blogger and I am not sure if this will eventually load so here is a link to my flipped lesson video on WeVideo.

Flipped Teaching Reaction

I have not tried a lesson (problem with link and not enough time now) yet, but I actually wanted to try this before taking this class.  I think the ideal application is subject areas where the content requires difficult problem solving such as math or science.  I think it would be very valuable for teachers to have time with their students to work thru difficult materials during practice.  I think this could help you find lost instructional time by not being constrained by the bell. Sometimes we would love to have an extra set amount of time to complete a difficult lesson.  By having the students view the lesson at home it would give you more time to accomplish this.  There are many places to find instructional content.  In my areas we could use our textbooks and other sites such as WOH or the CDC.

Reflection

I agree with the author that this is a growing problem in our society.  I find myself being bored doing normal activities that I used to find relaxing and enjoyable.  I used to be able to sit and watch a baseball game on tv and enjoy the game, now I find I must multitask instead.  I feel this is a reflection on society and how we become so fast paced and require instant feedback.  I see this driving as well.  People are not able just drive and enjoy their time alone, now they find they have to multitask to make the drive tolerable.

Intro Video

Video