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Monday, December 28, 2015

European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning

European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning
According to the definition provided by Hewlett (n.d.), open educational resources are “teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and re-purposing by others”. These can include whole courses of open content, textbooks, multimedia, software and any other materials which may be used to teach or support learning such as lesson plans and curricula. There remains some debate about what should qualify as an ‘open’ resource, with some definitions emphasizing open access to resources and others focusing on the affordances for revising and repurposing afforded by open licenses (see Creative Commons, 2013). However, any disagreements tend to be limited to the specific kinds of licenses for educational that are termed ‘open’ and whether they should permit specific forms of re-use (such as only allowing non-commercial re-use).

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Restoring Humanity to Teaching, and Delight to Our Classrooms - Education Week

Restoring Humanity to Teaching, and Delight to Our Classrooms - Education Week
I have resolved to put less self worth into my students’ test scores, and more into the degree of excitement and curiosity I see in their faces each day.
I have made time to find out what my students like about our class, what they don’t, and why. One of the simplest ways to do this is the “Stoplight” activity, where students write one thing they want you to keep doing, one thing they want you to stop doing, and one thing they want you to start doing.
As a result, I took down the behavior chart this year. I have found ways to teach my students to work hard and be kind to one another without resorting to punishments or prizes. Being a teacher is harder now, but it’s better, too.
I love Philip Pullman’s line that “Responsibility and delight can co-exist.”