Group items tagged

In completing a work-related project, I found some great sites that assist educators in locating open educational resources. Merlot is one of those resources. If you have not used it before, it is a community of resources designed to focus on providing learning materials for faculty members in higher education. As a member of Merlot, you not only have access to the free online resources, but you can contribute material as well. There are also opportunities to become a peer reviewer of the posted content. I think this is an excellent way for an educator to be assured that the learning materials obtained from Merlot has a stamp of approval from others in the discipline.

In completing a work-related project, I found some great sites that assist educators in locating open educational resources. The Orange Grove Digital Repository is one of those resources. If you have not used it before, it is a repository of instructional resources. It can be integrated with a Learning Management System and educators can import resources directly from a teacher's LMS. The collection of resources consists of open textbooks and open courseware. There are resources for higher education and K -12, both of which contain categories that are easy to navigate. Among the available content: videos, presentations, audio, spreadsheets, syllabi, assessments, and images.

FROM OLD BOOKS: The images here are mostly scanned at 1200dpi or higher, often up to 2400dpi; if you would like a high-resolution scan, just ask, either with email or using the Comment link on the page for the image you need. For non-commercial or educational use they are generally free, although a donation would be appreciated; you'd probably pay $100 or more per image if I put the images on a microstock site. For commercial use, give the author an idea of how you will use the image; they are not expensive, but they are also not free. This is a great resource for literature or reading teachers to use in class. History and Social Studies of all grade levels may find this a useful resource as well. The author provides a list of his books and offers about 3400 images. These images may be specific to one book, however they can be used for storyboards or posters for the classroom. They may also be used in powerpoint presentations, prezis, and video when the students are required to descibe their literature. One challenge that I found was in the website's design. It seems a bit wordy, but it is loaded with many images. The owner of the sites seems interested in making the resources available to educators while still asking for some limitations. Post 2 for UWG Photographers

This is free educational blogging site. It could be used for any subject and grade level, but it is probably best for students ranging from 3-12 and higher education. It contains images, videos, audio, and visuals. This online resource allows students and teachers to collaborate, share thoughts and ideas, and so much more! There are tools within this site that allow you to upload quizzes, set due dates, and post assignments or required readings from the web. This website can be used to facilitate discussions about lessons you teach in class. For example, after reading a story or book with your students, the teacher can pose an open-ending discussion question on the blog. Students would then be asked to answer the question during center time or even for homework. Other students in the class will be able to read and respond to each other's posts to create a rich discussion. Teachers can also use the blog to post upcoming events, tests, or quizzes in the classroom and parents can use it to stay informed. Teachers can also use the website to post videos, podcasts, and documents they create. Students are able to view these things at home. This is especially helpful when parents are unsure how to help their child with homework because they do not understand the concept you taught that day. For example, if you introduce a new concept in math and assign homework that night, parents and students can watch a lesson you recorded to get a better understanding of the material. Using Edublogs is a safe and easy way to integrate technology in the classroom! As I reflect, I think about the possible difficulties this resource could possess. Being that it is not a program you can purchase and install on your computer, problems could occur with the being able to connect. Since it is a resource that anyone could use, a lot of people can be on the website at one time and cause it to "crash" or free up. Also, I think about routine maintenance or updates that must be d

Animated treatment of copyright in a university environment.