OER Commons

Article: Before I talk about OER, I need to tell everyone what it is. It is simply just any resource used for teaching or whatever you need it for that costs little to nothing. They were started to help people find good resources that people can share to  help them achieve whatever they need to. For example, if you need a course materials, you can go onto a website and find all the course materials you would need from a ton of universities. This is always a plus because as well as having endless resources, you know they are valuable because people who have higher education on the subjects are the ones who are sharing a vetting for the information. But of course you will always have to watch out because the fact of the matter is that anyone can share a resource and it's your job to make sure it is a reliable source. The fact of the matter is that OER is constantly growing with new resources and soon there will be resources for no matter what you need. All they need to do now is find a way to cancel out all the unreliable resources. As the resources grow, it can have a huge impact on teaching and learning. People  will be able to find all the resources they need to basically teach themselves all the necessary components of education. Plus, people can use these resources to better help their understanding of a subject so that they can teach others what they have learned.

Websource: One resource that I have found very helpful in OER is that you can find out how to make things and put them into your classroom. For example, I found an article about how to make a hovercraft. It is a fun activity to do with young kids and it shows you exactly how it works. This means that either the teacher can teach themselves first so they can explain it to the class or they can have the students teach themselves. Another good resource I found for teachers is they give you fun games and activities to do with your class. Not only do they give you ideas, but also they link you to other reliable sites to show you an example or give you more ideas. This is helpful if you find a subject to teach, but don't really have an idea of an activity. Then finally what I think is the most important resource is they have a whole section devoted to primary sources on anything you can think. This is helpful for the students of your classroom because say they are having trouble understanding a concept you can direct them to the site and they can find a resource to help them better understand it.

Other sources- OER is doing so much for everyone. I give us resources for everything we need. It is transforming education as we know it. Teachers and college professors are getting together to collaborate to make education better. They are changing curriculum. All of this is due to the endless resources shared on OER. OER is bringing all teachers together through peer-led collaboration. They have already trained 1500 teachers in 25 countries. So not only are teachers working with other teachers in the US, but all around the world. They are gaining new perspectives on teaching. And most importantly is that it gives the power to the teachers. It gives them the leadership opportunity to make the right educational reforms. They are able to talk to other teachers to find the best way to teach and learn.

-Ben Cox

Flipped Learning

It was started by Bergmann and Sams. It was seen by Jon and Aaron who were teachers at Woodland Park High School. They were noticing how students were missing classes due to sports and events. Then, they found the software that allowed them to put voice into their ppt which would allow them to send the ppt to students. And these are not the only teachers who have seen satisfaction with this program. Research found that teachers had 88% improved job satisfaction. And the teachers were even impressed with what it did for students. Studies showed that 67% of teachers saw improvement in student grades. This most likely happens because  even if students miss a class the teacher can send them the lectures and notes showing students what they missed. Also, it allows teachers to get more 1:1 attention with the students because they are moving the lectures outside the classroom. And since the lessons are made into videos the students are able to look over information as much as they want to better understand the concepts. There are 5 major points to this classroom that are described in more detail in the article Flipped Learning: A Response to Five Common Criticisms.

                                          

One benefit to Flipped Learning is that it individualizes learning. Students are giving the lectures by the teacher which allows students to work at their own pace. Also, it allows students to get the one on one attention they want. Another benefit is that it eliminates students falling behind when they miss. In the Flipped classroom the students are sent videos and podcast of the lesson so even though a student might miss class they can look at the videos and see what they miss. Another pro is that it has shown to reduce behavioral problems in students. Since students can work at their own pace the students don't start acting up because they are behind or gifted. The people falling behind can have more time while gifted students can work ahead.

A con to the flipped classroom and the biggest one is that some schools simply don't have the technology to fulfill the needs for this style of teaching. Some schools just can't afford the money to supply the technology. Another disadvantage of a flipped classroom is that all the students' homework time would be spent in front of a computer screen. It is already hard to get students up away from the computer and TV, and now they are being put in front of it to do homework too. Not to mention that students learn in different ways and not every student can learn in front of a computer. The next con is that the students are going to fall even more behind if the students don't watch the videos. The whole system is based on the videos and if the students aren't watching them they will fall behind.

I believe that flipped learning could have huge implications on teaching in the future. The classrooms are going to be purely based on technology. Students will be taught responsibility a lot earlier because they will be working at their own pace, but it is up to them to get their work done. There eventually might be no need for classrooms anymore. Teachers will make universal lessons that students can few from home to teach themselves. Desks might be replaced by computer stations. There might never be a need for paper and pencil in a classroom ever again.

-Ben Cox