So how do we take a bunch of OER and make it into a Saylor course?

Quick look:

• Want to jump in on the conversation? Search for #IOLConf or @IOLConf and join in!
• Interested in the course itself? Check out our Saylor101: Course Design and Development!
  
• Want to learn more about Ryan McPherson? Check out his bio on our faculty page!

The breakdown
The resource behind the presentation is Saylor101: Course Design and Development. This course is jam-packed with tips and tricks on how we bring a method to the madness and create a course out of a collection of OER. McPherson’s presentation carries the torch on to others (it’s subtitled A Review of Saylor.org Resources and Methods useful to instructional designers working outside the Saylor.org Environment). His presentation will include an overview of each of the 6 units, explain the ins and outs of permissions and Saylor formatting, give helpful links and lots of other great information.

We here at Saylor are pretty psyched that McPherson is spreading the word! We will also be watching the Twitter feed (#IOLconf) for tweets, and helping to forward the conversation. Thank you Ryan!

Hello Kate, thanks for taking the time to let us and our readers get to know you! Let’s get started with our first question. What work have you done with the Saylor Foundation?

I am developing the fully-loaded Geometry course for the K-12 courses.

Great, we are happy to have you here. Our K-12MATH: Geometry course is live and running. Thank you! When you’re not developing courses, what else keeps you busy? 

I am a middle school math teacher at Gimnasio La Montaña, a school in Bogotá, Colombia. Next year I will take on a new role as Director of Teacher Support and Development.

Congratulations on your new job, that sounds wonderful!

Thanks!

On to our next question, how did you get involved in open and/or online education?

Before working with the Saylor Foundation I had very limited experience with online education. We studied some successful programs, such as Khan Academy, in graduate school and I had the opportunity to work on some projects related to teacher training and support that used the Internet as a tool for collaboration. Additionally, I have participated in Coursera’s online courses and have begun thinking about creating courses for teachers. My work at the Saylor Foundation, however, has been my first formal development of an online course and it has been so exciting!

We are glad to hear that you have enjoyed it! Although this your first time developing a course, how has your work with the Saylor Foundation changed your professional practice or added to your repertoire?

Through my work with Saylor Foundation, I have learned about Open Education Resources and the Common Core State Standards Initiative. I love these new standards and think they have found a way to favor depth over breadth. Additionally, the search for Open Education Resources sheds light on the number of amazing educational resources online but also the shockingly few resources that are OER and can be shared freely. This work has made me want to assist in the creation of more high quality resources that are freely available to everyone.

The more OER, the merrier! Do you have advice for other teachers interested in open and/or online education?

When you create great resources for your classrooms, share them and make sure you’ve taken the time to label them with a Creative Commons license.

K-12 teachers have a great culture of sharing, so we can certainly hope for good things (and increasing use of Creative Commons licenses). Shifting gear a bit: as an educator, what do you truly enjoy about your work?

I love watching the learning process. I love seeing how the work I do helps to shape the minds of others, specifically young people.

Do you have any thoughts on the future of K-12 education and/or less-formal learning?

I think online education is the key to make differentiation truly possible in the classroom. Students can access anything they want to know online – as teachers we can steer them in the correct direction. I think there is still great value to having students in classrooms with a teacher to interact and create and question, but the online content increases the possibilities for learning.

And we are happy to help fill-in those gaps! What other advice would you have for our young student readers?

Explore, try new things, and don’t back away from opportunities that arise even if they seem a little scary or new or challenging. This is where learning happens and you discover yourself and your passions. When you have interests and goals and a vision for your future, the drive to learn comes naturally and that’s when you find your way to make your mark on the world, to make a difference.

And one last question before you go…what advice would you have for those who have graduated, or are themselves parents of students?

I think my advice would be the same for people of all ages – life is all about exploring and discovering. You are never too old to learn something new and to change the world for the better.

Interested in measuring the Earth like Eratosthenes? Want to wow your geometry teacher when you return to school in the fall? Or are you interested in putting some of your algebra and trigonometry skills to the test? Then  grab your graphing calculator, #2 pencil, let’s get crackin’! K12MATH: Geometry is live and running…

Perfect your math skills and surf the coordinate plane with the help of CK-12 texts, “Did I get it?” Wiki activities, and other resources that will help you build your expertise in problem solving  and critical thinking. By the end of this course, you’ll not only have picked up some geometric reasoning, but also skills in problem solving, critical thinking, mathematical modeling, and the ability to use a variety of tools to effectively tackle problems. (Geometry is kind of a big deal.)

Interested in a look behind the scenes? Stay tuned! We’ve got an Educator Snapshot of one of our awesome K12MATH course designers coming up this afternoon!

Worried about Common Core? Worry no more! We’ve got those standards covered! Our K12MATH and ELA courses are Common Core aligned and ready for action.

Photo: Adapted from an image by Double–M via photopin CC BY 2.0

Fiction

Fact: Management and leadership are two different concepts. BUT each is an essential part of your toolbox, as you near completion of the Saylor Business Administration major.

Another fact: BUS401: Management Leadership is now available on iTunes U, and it is our course o’ the week!

By the end of the course you will have learned how to differentiate between the concepts of leadership and management, evaluate the qualities necessary to manage and lead a team in the workplace, analyze the decision making process and so much more!

Still having trouble distinguishing the fiction from the facts? Don’t worry, we’ve got lots of readings, videos, and assessments to help you along the way!

If you prefer the PC version, BUS401 here at Saylor.org isn’t going anywhere. For those of you with an iOS inclination, we’ve got 47 additional courses to enjoy on your iDevice, and all of those plus 241 more to explore at Saylor.org via your favorite browser.

Done? Cool. You can click on the other buttons, too (you know, if you want)…and read on for a recap of our K-12 release news…

K12. Is. Here.

It’s true! Last week, we announced the launch of our new K-12 program of open online courses. The academic courses are aligned to the Common Core State Standards and use open educational resources (OER) extensively, making the courses, as well as their contents, widely reusable by students, teachers, and parents nationwide. Learn More

The K12 Courses can be found here and below are just a few ways to use and reuse our courses. Please feel free to share widely and let us know if you have more creative ideas to add to our list via tweet, facebook or email.

Teachers:

• Flip your classroom without shooting your own videos.  We already went through and chose our favorites!
• Incorporate more engaging digital content in your class.

Schools:

• Get current, Common Core-aligned materials for free. (Almost better than free lunch)

Parents:

• Provide extra resources to supplement what your kids learn in school.
• Self-contained curriculum for home school families.
• Accelerate or review subjects with your kids

Students:

• Do more challenging work. Your school might not offer Calculus, but Saylor.org does!
• Learn subjects in a different way and acclimate to an online learning environment.
• Review material you learned in school.
• Go further and prepare for your SATs/college (more on that on the site)

We begin in the U.K., England to be exact. Many recently surveyed British Academics have stated that they still prefer peer-reviewed journals to the social media and blogs. Institutional resources also serve as the favored resource for practicing research and creating courses.  The survey was conducted by Ithaka S + R, the research arm of a non-profit consulting firm, in conjunction with a similar organization, JISC. JISC highly “supports the use of digital tools in higher education.”  In spite of a variation in surveyed teaching methodology among different disciplines, these results are in tandem with a general trend in academe towards tradition, and conservatism.
Survey Examines British Academics’ Use of Digital Tools in Research and Teaching (Chronicle of Higher Ed.)

UNESCO and China join hands for Africa (Ed., UNESCO)
Next up, beginning in June, UNESCO and China are teaming up to help African students in higher ed. through the use of ICT and mobile technology. This is the start of a 4-year initiative to “boost national capacity in ministries and key teacher training institutions in eight African countries.”

U.S. Colleges Expand Connections in Latin America (Chronicle of Higher Ed.)
After having covered countries from Europe, Asia and Africa, we now move onto Latin America and the U.S. President Obama’s recent announcement of a bilateral agreement with Mexico pertaining to science education is just one of many  relationships between the U.S. and its southern neighbors that have been established in the name of education.

In blurring of online courses, traditional, Georgia Tech to offer full open online master’s (Washington Post)
We’re gonna stay in the U.S. for a moment longer now as we make a stop at Georgia Tech. Made possible through Udacity, these free course can provide students to an accredited Master’s Degree in Computer Science for just $7,000!

Should university students use Wikipedia? (the Guardian)
We now return to England where a British blogger is curiously wondering whether or not Wikipedia can be trusted in students’ research. Although he admits that politicians and other public figures have changed their own articles to hide unfavorable events, the blogger also stated that the motive behind the site’s openness is that it will only drive people to contribute about that which interests them. Even though this makes the contributors theoretically qualified, educators caution that students should use this source with a “critical eye” and be sure to refer to its footnotes for stronger information.

And look at that it’s only a few minutes later and we have effectively circumnavigated the globe? Well? How was your trip? Got any other news you want to add? Please feel free to let us know by commenting below! We’d love to hear from you!

Happy travels and have a great week! In other news…
‘The Daily Show’ urges kids to stay out of college (Desert News)
Mobile Apps Make Field Trips More Interactive (Ed. Week)
Opinion: Human psychology (with emphasis on the human) (Times Higher Ed.)

Photo Credit: hira3 via photopin by NC 2.0 CC

Want to make your parents (children, friends) proud and catch up on some extra learning this summer? Excited about starting college but unsure of what to choose as your major? Curious about employment opportunities and job searching ideas for a specific major?

Explore some free videos and podcasts from the Faculties! (But, video or no, you might want to forget the popcorn…butter all over the computer, you know?)

This resource is jam-packed with high school and university-level videos under 6 subjects:

• English
• Maths
• Biology
• Chemistry 
• History
• Psychology

How these videos can help you?

Visitors can approach the six subjects through three angles: A-Levels, Universities, and Careers.

A-Levels - Suitable for A-level/High School Students/University Students/The Curious
These lectures can help you on a difficult class or give you a head start on a new one. If you are about graduate, then you can use this resource to help you choose your major. Older students can check out these videos for supplementary learning or to pursue interests.

Universities – High School Students about to graduate
These videos provide advice on making the transition to higher education (of course, from a UK perspective).

Careers* – High School Students/University Students/Recent Graduates
Looking for a job in a specific area? Wondering about future employment opportunities for your chosen major? These videos help you find your way.

These resources will be of value to parents and teachers, too — and, indeed, are useful to many as OER under CC BY-NC-SA licence.

*Don’t forget we have a PRDV major if you’re looking for some more general help in your career!

Screenshot taken by author from thefaculties.org homepage.

Our first batch of K-12 courses, aligned to Common Core State Standards and built to be as open as possible, have been released.

None of us is happier than Angelyn Pinter, who’s been working non-stop on this since the middle of last year. We’ll be sharing more thoughts on the program this week and next, but here’s the quick version:

• Ideal for teachers, parents, students, homeschools
• Vetted, organized, well-structured content
• 3 Math, 1 ELA, 1 Common Core primer live now
• Full set of 6-12 + AP-style ELA and Math coming soon
• K-5 and additional subjects in the future

Let us know if how you plan to use these, what you’d like to see, and share with your parent/teacher/homeschool friends!

Learn how to best analyze and evaluate these ideas and write business plans as you watch video lectures, read one of the 3 e-texts,  and engage in other relevant activities. By the end of the course, you also should learn how to write a marketing plan, examine an entrepreneur’s personal potential in the field, and ways to finance business ventures.

If you prefer the PC version, BUS305 here at Saylor.org isn’t going anywhere. For those of you with an iOS inclination, we’ve got 46 additional courses to enjoy on your iDevice, and all of those plus 242 more to explore at Saylor.org via your favorite browser.

But entrepreneurship doesn’t come easy, and it doesn’t come cheap.

Back in April, our trustee, Michael Saylor, shared some of his thoughts on getting started in business:

Compare that to this quote from a recent blog post at The New York Times:

This goes to the heart of why we do what we do, and why Michael Saylor started the Saylor Foundation. It doesn’t mean that taking on debt is poison to business success, but increasingly no-debt and low-debt options exist, and they’re looking increasingly attractive. Our hope is that we can provide some of those skills that will allow you to take the resources you do have and put them to the greatest possible use.

If you’re a would-be entrepreneur with some time on your hands, you’ve got all the resources you need to learn Small Business Management and build up some of the confidence to blaze your own path in business.