The interesting thing about this course is that it doesn’t really feel finished. My final project is a work in progress (more on that later), I don’t feel I’ve really had time for all of what we learned and accomplished together to sink in (it may not until I’m back at my school in September), and I’m enthusiastic about the potential for us all to continue some form of this journey together. Every day I was more and more impressed with how open, knowledgeable, understanding, and helpful each and every one of you is. Seems like teaching was a good choice!

Since today was the last day, and this post is my last official post, I should spend some time talking about my final project:

Open Educational Resources

Let me begin with the link: My final project!

It feels very “final” posting the link, but rest assured there is nothing final about what you will see there. I started out with a very grand idea, which I believe was rooted in a good intentions… or should I say two grand ideas:

1. There are a lot of amazing digital resources available online. I find out about them from a lot of different sources: our library website and teacher-librarian, random Google searches, colleagues, classes such as this one, blogs, luck. It would be amazing if there existed a database, searchable by subject and/or curriculum standard, with all of these amazing resources. Even more ideal would be if we could create and share resources to add to this database, and/or add comments and ratings.
2. Corporations seem very interested in getting their claws into education. There’s a lot of money to be made. Before school districts start spending a lot of cash on ready-made learning resources to standardize the system (“start” may not be the most appropriate choice of words….), it would be great if we could try out as many of these free options as possible, do amazing things with them, and then advocate their use because, let’s be honest, I bet the school boards would like the idea of “free”.

So, with those two thoughts in mind, my ideal goal was to create a site that is both a database of open education resources and a place to inform people about OER, how to find them, and how to contribute to them. Initially I was going to start with resources that support the British Columbia secondary science curriculum and I spent some time looking at PLO’s, then searching existing databases, identifying gaps, and thinking about what I could create to fill those gaps. I quickly realized that this idea for a project was much bigger than one person could do on their own – plus the whole purpose of the project was to get people collaborating on creating the database, not to do it myself. At this point I decided to make it more about providing teachers with information about OER, some background on the project, and a discussion forum in which to share stories and resources.

Challenges/Issues

I ran into a number of challenges with the project. The problem with developing a project of this type in a week is that by the time you identify what you want to do, do some research, and attempt to create a product, there isn’t much time for making changes when you realize there are issues. Many of these things will need to be addressed in the future – ideally when I get some additional collaborators on board:

• Is this site redundant? On the OER links page, I list several other amazing databases that are essentially doing what I want to do, but without the BC connection. One of my issues is that there already are so many different places to find resources – do we really need another one? When I recognized this issue, I chose to spend less time developing a database, and more time thinking about how to use and add to existing databases
• How can I get teachers and teacher-librarians interested in visiting and contributing to my site? This is clearly not a site that anyone is going to randomly stumble across. I tried to make my site as honest and useful as possible, keep it professional looking, and link to some high quality resources that may be unfamiliar to my colleagues. In the future, once I feel the site is where I want it, I will likely turn to my professional social network to recruit contributers
• Is there a better platform for what I want to do? I started out with Yola, tried Google sites, looked into the wiki option. I ended up on Blogger, but was disappointed with one or more aspects of each of these. Trying to figure out how to incorporate a discussion forum that was free, embeddable, and didn’t produce advertising led to a lot of dead ends. I also wanted to ability to blog so I could include updates as the site grows. This feels like the type of project that, if it is to be successful, may need someone who is a little better at website development to be a contributor. Even little things, like figuring out how to add static text to the blog page only on my site took a long time! I’m proud of how much I already tried out and what I learned to do, but I know, realistically, that once the school year begins I’ll have less time for the technical aspect. If there is a platform that has more of what I need, or comes with a more user-friendly interface, that would be useful!
• Do I even want to include a database of specific resources? Should my discussion forum topics be based more on identifying existing databases, advocacy for OER, getting BC curriculum tags on existing databases, and working on advice for creating and sharing resources? I’m still not sure! I left the discussion forum page in the “barely complete” stage because I can’t decide how to best use collaboration for the purpose of supporting the OER cause.

Final Thoughts

Before beginning my final project, I didn’t even know OER was a thing, or a movement. I knew that there were things available online, and that some of them were great. I’d heard of Khan academy, I knew there were some free textbooks and courses. I feel like I know so much more now, and I’m excited about the opportunity to contribute to what currently exists. If learning about Curriki is the only thing I take into my future practice, I’m already much better off than I was before. Realistically, I plan to do much more than that. I will have my classes this year create. We will share what we create. I will share what I know with my colleagues (as soon as I’m given to our department site on the district hub, I will post a link to my own new website!) and encourage them to create and share as well. I will also share what we’ve done in this course with my colleagues and administrators – hopefully we can all do the same to keep the ball rolling!

I’m not sure how I ended up forgetting to do a blog post last night. I think my brain has finally reached a point of overload. If I were more organized, I’d have a to-do list or calendar to help me keep track of these things, but alas….

The exercise and discussion yesterday around the Teachers vs. iPads article was a fascinating study in information literacy and the way emotion can get in the way of reason. Like everyone else in the class, I responded instantly to the content. Not only did I respond emotionally to the idea that iPads are replacing teachers, and that boards are spending “public” money on untested technology, I did so in a way that was unproductive. It was honestly eye-opening to reflect on how an article like that can whirl teachers into a bit of a frenzy after which we start throwing our iPads into the ditches and returning to slate (maybe a bit of an exaggeration?). For the remainder of the class, when identifying things that stand in our way, we tried to broach it from the lens of “well what do we do about it?” rather than merely griping.

As for my final project, I accomplished absolutely nothing. By the time we looked at the article, had some open and honest discussion about the ultimate goals of school boards, administrators, and the BCTF (and how much that matters/what we can change if necessary), and enjoyed some great 10 minutes of fame presentations, the class was over! Today is going to be the day to really get into it… because tomorrow is Friday, and that’s really scary!

I feel like I spent the majority of my time rethinking the scope of my project. I would rather do something small and do it really well (at least to start) than try to do something too large and have it be unmanageable or unsuccessful. I found it incredibly useful having a discussion with classmates about our intended audiences. My website is aimed at teachers, and, upon further reflection, a fairly select group. Teachers who are well-established in their routines, who are using old textbooks and other resources that they’re comfortable with, may not see a need for developing a library of free online educational resources linked to BC curriculum standards. Even if they are interested in the resources themselves, a larger part of my goal is to convince teachers that it is our responsibility to create and share resources in areas where there exists a gap. I’m likely looking at more “innovative” teachers (at least those who are willing to experiment), and likely those who are newer to the field of teaching.

I also spent some time checking out what other educators have done with student-created textbooks. I’m not sure that a “textbook” is necessarily the best resource to have students create and share, but I like the idea and would like to include this option on my site.

My major goal for my final project today was deciding on its purpose. I was amazed how focussed the rest of the class seemed in describing what they were doing and why. As I mentioned in my previous post, I had too many potential ideas, and since they all seemed like worthwhile mini causes, it was difficult to throw some of them away (or perhaps postpone them, but it seems like an uncommon opportunity we have in this course to have both time and a network of supporter on our side).

After Jenny mentioned OER (Open Educational Resources) I spent some time looking to see what was currently available to support the subjects that I teach. For certain topics, there are already quite a few resources available, although not necessarily always at the ideal grade level. What I intend to do with my project is create a website where educators in BC can find out what’s available for free to support their own curriculum, rate what’s available, identify where resources are still lacking, and encourage one another to create (or have their students create) resources in those areas. This may be too big to accomplish in a week, but I’m looking forward to getting started. I feel strongly that information should be free for schools to use and the ability to share what OER Commons is doing and add to the cause will make me feel like I’ve at least played a small part!

I’m looking into using YOLA as a platform at this point. I’ll spend some time experimenting with it to see if it has what I need, but it seems to be easy to use and the websites are professional-looking. Any suggestions you can offer at this point (or any point along my journey) would be great!

Apologies for the late post for the my reflection on the week. I went to a wedding yesterday afternoon which, in combination with the preparation for said wedding (including a last-minute haircut) occupied much of my Friday and Saturday time. But I digress! After the creative and inspiring summative presentations in Friday’s class, I feel like I need some sort of theme for updating everyone on my learning journey. So! I created a timeline. You can read more details by clicking on the individual “events” or switching to text view:

I was having a conversation with a classmate today about how this class makes more and more sense the longer we’re immersed in it. I remember on the first few days how we were trying so hard to adjust to the unlearning process (or, in terms of the class metaphor, trying to stay between the rapids and the muddy estuaries of the Fraser), but now that we have a feel for it, there’s this sense of excitement and purpose.

Our grade level group discussions about world libraries did not go the way we expected, in part because we were taking some time to figure out some of the software available for sharing and annotating online resources. After Amy suggested the PDF Reader app for the iPad, I installed it and spent some time trying to annotate the articles that I’d discovered. It is not the easiest app to negotiate, and I was pleased when I was able to access Diigo later in the class. I’ve used this for compiling resources for an inquiry-based research project in the past and I find it to suit my needs – not just because I already know how to use it, but because it has an intuitive interface that was fairly easy to experiment with from the beginning.

Once all of our group members had sorted out the ICT aspect, we had a great discussion about some of the potential for world libraries as well as identifying what the roadblocks may be. Ideally, it would be amazing if all of the world’s resources (or, perhaps more realistically, everything that was available within the libraries of my own school district) were available online, for free, in a digital form, 24 hours a day. It would allow individual libraries to cultivate their own specialized collections while still being able to provide their clients with a breadth of resources. The concerns mainly had to do with distribution and copyright issues. Unfortunately there are still authors and publishing companies that need to make money off of their intellectual property and the more people who have access to their works online, the more they need to charge. We discussed the Creative Commons movement as an alternative to the established method of sharing information and ideas.  When I met with my inquiry group we also talked about the idea of students being able to generate their own information (picture books, textbooks, blogs, videos) and sharing it through social media as an initial step in generating a world library. Sites like Diigo allow those materials to be organized in ways that resemble (but are superior to) library catalogues.

Some very exciting and inspiring ideas, once again! My hope is that we can find a way to continue this work once the course is over.

Had a great discussion with the inquiry group today. We decided to continue the divide and conquer approach, each checking out one of the resources we’d previously located then reporting back to the group. On the “pros” side of using social media in the classroom, we talked about how it gives students the opportunity to share their learning with a wider community. We also saw an example of study done with Twitter where the researchers found its use for educational purposes led to a measurable increase in student engagement as well as GPA. Social media allows classroom discussions to go beyond the time and space allowed in the school day and provides students a safe way to interact with their ideas, each other, and their instructor. On the “cons” side, we spent some time talking about face-to-face communication and that we notice, as time online increases, our students are becoming less comfortable with social interactions in person.

This tied in well with the whole class discussion on linguistic cognitive domains and structural coupling. I liked the idea that we require connection with other living entities and our environments in order to survive. The idea that words are powerful is not a foreign concept, but for some reason I haven’t made an effort to use words more appropriately to create a positive environment in my school. If we, as educators, need more practice in effective social communication, imagine how much our students could benefit from the same. It’s interesting that in searching for how to introduce social skills to students, the majority of the articles involve LD students or those with specific disorders. I don’t think the struggle with social connections is limited to this group of students (or to students at all).

If you have time, check out this TED talk on the adolescent brain, in particular how young people form social connections:

Class today felt very substantial! I feel like some of the ideas that were addressed have the potential to completely change the way I view public education (as an institution) and I hope it’s not one of those situations where I’m inspired at the outset but then that fizzles over time as I forget.

I have been exposed to the idea of inquiry and some models for inquiry in previous courses, through workshops, and through my own practice as a teacher, but the discussion in class today provided some unique outlooks. I can’t remember who brought up the idea of creating a safe learning environment (perhaps Janet?), but I feel that this was one of the pieces missing in my own classroom. Asking students to take on an inquiry project takes a lot of trust. They need to be able to trust us when we tell them that they are in control of their own learning. When I attempt inquiry projects with students I find they want to rely on me for each step in the process to tell them that they’re doing it “right” and are making good decisions. I need to find a way to allow them to feel comfortable in their role in the process.

I also liked the idea of inquiry as an evolution of information. When you look at the models of inquiry, such as The Points of Inquiry,  there is a need to define certain steps and stages, and usually in a particular order. This is a necessity in teaching the process and planning for it within the school schedule, but in some ways it also limits where students are able to take the process. At the end of a week in the library, they may not be ready to come up with a final presentation, but may have gone off on an interesting tangent that they are inspired to pursue further. When picturing what schools could look like in the future, the idea of scheduling time for inquiry is something that needs to be considered.

The “lecture” on institutional isomorphism, dynamic conservatism, and sociocultural homeostasis was surprisingly interesting (given the number of syllables!). I have often felt stuck in a system that pushes back when innovation is attempted, and these concepts offered some explanation of where that was coming from. I was once that idealistic first year teacher that felt I could accomplish anything and now feel myself frequently at the mercy of the bigger institution. I agreed strongly with the point that we have to understand what’s keeping us in place before we can move forward.

As a final point, I wanted to speak to BC’s Education Plan, because it’s been coming up a lot in this course, and I think it’s most relevant today. In the forum posts today, there was some mention of how teachers are resisting the plan simply because it’s coming from the government. I like the idea that the ministry of education is trying to bring our system in line with what research is telling us is best practice (as we’ve seen, it can be difficult to make sweeping changes in a well-rooted system). I think my concern, and the concern of other teachers, is that the plan is so vague that it could be used to do anything, some of which may not represent positive change. One of my colleagues in Surrey annotated the BC Ed. Plan to show some of these possibilities, and I think it’s worth a read if you have time. Of course, some of this just comes from the fear that we have, as teachers, of losing our jobs or our rights. Keeping the system the same guarantees us that we won’t lose what we already have more than a changing system, so in a way we’re part of the problem.