{"id":219,"date":"2008-07-22T12:23:29","date_gmt":"2008-07-22T12:23:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ivyrun.com\/wordpress\/?p=219"},"modified":"2008-07-22T12:23:29","modified_gmt":"2008-07-22T12:23:29","slug":"its-free-but-thats-not-the-important-part","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ivyrun.com\/inanotherplace\/?p=219","title":{"rendered":"It’s Free, But That’s Not The Important Part"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week’s Education Week<\/em> featured<\/a> the open content movement. (You can read the first couple paragraphs but you’ll need a subscription to see the rest. And, if you don’t have a subscription, you should get one.)\u00a0 While the article suggests that the main reason for the interest in open content is that it is free and thus will save schools money, it also points to some of the other benefits of using this content.\u00a0 One, in particular, struck me:<\/p>\n

The process of content creation and sharing is also a way to build professional relationships between teachers, proponents of open content say.\u00a0 And the more that teachers get their hands into content creation, the better they can teach that material.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The article goes on to quote Laura Petrides, president and founder of the Institute for the Study of Knoweldge Management in Education<\/a>, a group interested in open educational resources.\u00a0 She talks about being able to “harness the knowledge base that already exists” among teachers.\u00a0 That’s what got my attention this morning:\u00a0 a movement that respects teachers for their knwoeldge and provides them a way to share it with others.<\/p>\n

For everyone who is busy planning professional development for the beginning of school, you might consider doing a workshop on open education resources.\u00a0 Give teachers a chance to look at some of the sites below, locating materials they can use but also places where they can make a contribution.\u00a0 Then, throughout the year, provide them with time to work on those contributions.\u00a0 You would be building community and knowledge at the same time.\u00a0 I’m doing a session for admins in a few weeks and am going to incorporate these ideas.<\/p>\n

The article also mentions that traditional textbook publishers aren’t all that worried.\u00a0 I’m not surprised.\u00a0 Their seeming strangle hold on education probably makes it tough for them to see past it to the future.\u00a0 (Remember, Bill Gates didn’t see much future for the Internet either.)\u00a0 The spokesperson for the textbook publishers points out that they have been offering digital materials for six or seven years now.\u00a0 Wow…they just don’t get it.\u00a0 The open content movement is so much more than providing digital materials.\u00a0 Here’s what Samuel Donovan, head of Bioquest Curriculum Consortium<\/a>, had to say:<\/p>\n

Teachers can use that work not just in their own classroom, but repurpose them, organize them, customize them, and share them back to the educational community…it creates a very different kind of professional status for teachers.\u00a0 They achieve ownership and professionalism.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Once again, we hear respect for teachers in this quote, something that often doesn’t form the foundation of contemporary movements in education.\u00a0 I’ve been involved in several conversations this summer where the main point was that, if we’re going to make any real differences in education, we need to fire teachers who aren’t on board.\u00a0 Here’s a movement that suggests that maybe we need to respect them instead and give them an opportunity to share what they know.\u00a0 I think that’s a much better way to go.\u00a0 After all, it’s not like we have a long line of people waiting to sign up to be teachers.\u00a0 And, those that do enter the profession often only stay for a few years.\u00a0 Could making them part of this kind of knowledge building community be a possible step in the direction of retention?\u00a0 I’m in the midst of planning my course for pre-service teachers in the fall and will be getting them involved in this movement as part of that.<\/p>\n

In Virginia, the Virginia Open Education Foundation<\/a> is taking a proactive approach with the legislature to begin exploring this at a state level. \u00a0 I blogged about my work<\/a> in this area as part of my “best of NECC” post a few weeks ago if you’re interested in what we’re doing.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile here’s a short list of open education resources to get you started:<\/p>\n