Using Educational Technologies: Open Education Resources

Education Week just published a report titled, Extending the Digital Reach, in which it explores a variety of ways that technology is impacting and changing education, specifically focusing on personalized learning approaches. In one particular section, the reports focuses on the vast array of Open Education Resources that have become available to educators. The article, aptly titled, Flood of Open Education Resources Challenges Educators, highlights the difficulty of finding, evaluating, and using a piece of software or app in the classroom.

So, what are Open Education Resources? Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching and learning materials that are freely available online for everyone to use, whether you are an instructor, student or self-learner. Examples of OER include: full courses, course modules, syllabi, lectures, homework assignments, quizzes, lab and classroom activities, pedagogical materials, games, simulations, and many more resources contained in digital media collections from around the world. According to Edweek’s report, “[Teachers] can find hundreds, if not thousands, of free pieces of content to accomplish their mission with students, but how to find the right one, aligned to the right standard, for the right student, at the right time? That challenge lies at the heart of personalized learning, whether conveyed through teachers, technology, or some combination of the two.”

As many districts move away for using solely textbooks for instructional materials, teachers become overwhelmed at the availability of tools to choose from. The report also states that “last year, the U.S. Department of Education appointed Andrew Marcinek its first open education adviser to help schools embrace the use of openly licensed resources to free funding for digital learning. The department also launched a high-profile campaign to #GoOpen with digital instruction—encouraging districts to use open-ed resources.

The issue lies, not in “needing more content”, but finding the tool and then using it well. EdWeek provides some good tips to help schools and districts curate their OER.

Finding the Right Resources

• Discovery by machine, by educators in classrooms, by employees—often former educators—paid to do the curation work
• Content could be games, videos, text, simulations, interactive activities, and more

Evaluating the Resources

• Using rubrics/systems established by each organization
• Decision point: Is this resource worthy of inclusion?
• Resources may be trashed here

Tagging Chosen Resources

• Type of content (text, video, game, etc.)
• Subject
• Grade
• Instructional standards (common core, others)
• Technical requirements
• Keyword

Publishing

• Vetted resources are published on the ed-tech platform

User Searches

• Educators look for content; sometimes students and parents do, too
• Curated content is identified
• Teachers add selected items to their lesson plans/playlists to sequence learning

Reviewing and Culling

• Based on educator feedback, usage statistics, and/or effectiveness criteria, providers remove old/ineffective content from their platforms

When you use Pepper, you’ve already got some great places to go for Open Education Resources. Start by visiting the Pepper Resource Library. Better Lesson, Common Sense Graphite, and STEM Builder all provide great OER that have already been checked out and organized by educators. Be sure to check out these great resources and see how you can use them to further engage your students.

Using Socratic Seminars and Literature Circles: Teaching by Questioning

The use of Socratic Seminars, also known as Literature Circles, in the classroom gives students the opportunity to engage and connect with their peers around a commonly read text. It should be noted that the use of the Socratic Method is not just for high schoolers, but can easily and effectively be used at all grade levels. Ross Cooper, Supervisor of Instructional Practice K-12, Salisbury Township School District, Allentown, PA, uses Literature Circles in his 4th grade classroom and talks about it in his recent article, “(Almost) Paperless Literature Circles”. The biggest thing to see here is that students own this process and thus are directing and managing their own learning - with some careful guidance from Cooper. Key to his implementation was his making sure that each student, in each group, had a role. Here are the “jobs” that his students performed:

• Connector: Go into detail regarding a specific text-to-self or text-to-text connection.
• Passage Picker: Find one or two paragraphs that are moving in some way. Write why you picked each passage and describe your thoughts.
• Plot Twister: What exactly would you change in the chapters that you read for homework to make them go the way that you would have preferred? Why?
• Wonderer: As you read, create a list of relevant statements starting with "What if?" or "I wonder."
• Predictor: Based on what you read for homework, explain what you think is going to happen next. Also explain why you made your predictions.
• Psychologist: Give advice to one of the book’s characters. What would you tell him or her to do, and why?
• Journalist: Pick a character and, based on what you read for homework, write a passage in his or her personal journal.
• Student Choice: Decide how you would like to respond to the chapters that you read for homework. If you aren't satisfied with any of the jobs, create your own idea.

These roles ensure that each student is actively engaged in the process. It also gives students the opportunity to direct their own learning.

The Paideia Institute focuses on training schools, administrators, and teachers to use the Socratic Method in their schools and classrooms. The word Paideia is pronounced (py-dee-a) from the Greek "pais, paidos": the upbringing of a child. According to The Paideia website, “socratic seminars continue the tradition of Socrates, the classical Greek philosopher who taught his followers by asking questions. Today, Socratic dialogue can transform students’ learning experience in classrooms from elementary through high school and beyond. When facilitated by a skilled teacher, the Paideia approach to Socratic Seminar can lead to:

• Significantly improved student achievement in core Language Arts skills, including reading, speaking and listening, and writing
• Increased student motivation because students get to generate and express their own ideas"

The use of the Socratic Method is generally characterized as "teaching by asking questions". Paideia officially defines Socratic Seminar “as a collaborative, intellectual dialogue facilitated with open-ended questions about a text.”

Pepper Langauge Arts Courses provide a great launching point for incorporating the Socratic Method and Literature Circles into your classroom practice. In the K-5 group, two courses, Text-Based Discussions in Elementary School and Balancing Informational and Literary Texts, provide great opportunity for engaging students in question-based learning. At the Middle and High School level, Text Discussion and ELA/Literacy Shifts courses are available for teachers.

Pepper Courses and your Pepper Learning Community can be great resources for implementing new ideas. Utilizing the experience and skills of teachers from around the country can provide unique opportunities for networking and sharing lesson ideas and classroom management tips.

Reaching and Teaching English Language Learners

"The hardest part of living in a different country is the language barrier. Because you know you have to learn the language in order to survive." – Betina Johnson

Most teachers will agree that building relationships with students can drastically affect classroom performance. As classrooms across the United States are becoming more diverse with increasing numbers of students whose primary home languages are not English, teachers must try to make connections with these students and, if possible, their families. Knowing what students are interested in will allow teachers to craft lessons that engage students and are relevant to them. Larry Ferlazzo, Sacramento, CA high school teacher, states, “When teachers get to know their students, they can make better decisions about the curriculum, instructional strategies, classroom management, assessment, [and] pacing.” In his recent article, 7 Tips for Building Positive Relationships with English-Language Learners, he also gives strategies to build and maintain positive student-teacher relationships. These include the following:

1. Regular Check-ins - Make a point to talk with a few students each day.
2. Reading Student Writings - Students often feel more comfortable communicating through writing.
3. Teachers Writing about the Classroom - “Taking a few minutes to write about the class (whether it is a simple reflection on how a lesson went, how a student demonstrated an exceptional insight, or sharing a few successes and challenges from the week) and then sharing this writing with the class can increase trust and respect between the teacher and the students.”
4. Teacher/Student Letter Exchange - This provides both a way to connect and learn more about your students as well as provide a writing sample that can be used to monitor growth.
5. Weekly Reflections - Teachers can stay connected to students by having them write a weekly reflection. This reflection could simply be a journal or responses to questions.
6. Evaluations - Asking students to complete anonymous evaluations can help build trust between the student and teacher.
7. “Talking and Walking” - If time and schedule allows, take a brief 5 minute walk with a few students each week. This provides a comfortable environment and another opportunity to connect.

These are just a few ways to connect with your ELL students. Pepper’s ELL courses, Constructive Classroom Conversations for K-5, 6-8, and 9-12, will help teachers facilitate meaningful conversations in the classroom. The overall goal is for participating educators to better understand student-to-student classroom discourse and use what they learn to facilitate higher quality interactions that build disciplinary knowledge and skills.