Syllabus - OER in the K-12 Classroom

Course developer and facilitator:
Karen Fasimpaur

Preferred contact methods:
email: karen at k12opened dot com
chat or skype by appointment
online office hours - TBA

We will also be having several synchronous web sessions, schedule to be announced.

Webinar #1 - Where OER hang out
This webinar will highlight some premiere OER sites and will give quick tours of each. Participants will hear from the site organizers and will be invited to ask questions and make suggestions.

Webinar #2 - Remix lab
This webinar will highlight resources that can be used in remixing content and will showcase examples of remixing from this course.

Hack this syllabus - Here is a copy of this syllabus in Google Docs. Please add comments about to what you would like to see changed in the syllabus. (Click the Comments button at the top to do this.)

Also, if you'd like to create a customized syllabus for yourself with varied activities to meet your own goals, please do so by going to the File menu and selecting Make a Copy. Save with your own name, and share a link with us if you'd like.

For each week's goals and tasks, see individual week's content for more detail.

Week 1 (Oct. 3-9) - Creating your customized plan for this course

Goals:

• Get to know each other
• Discuss possible team collaborations
• Explore the benefits of OER in K-12
• Begin thinking about remixing content

Tasks/assignments:

• Introduce yourself
• Set your own objectives for participating in this course
• Identify others you might collaborate with for course tasks
• Look at examples of remixes and speculate as to why you might want to remix content

Week 2 (Oct. 10-16) - Understanding licenses

Goals:

• Know about different types of open licenses
• Identify open-licensed content (as distinct from all rights reserved content)
• Identify copyright holder and write appropriate credits

Tasks/assignments:

• Review various Creative Commons licenses and write about which license you think is preferable for education
• Review one or more custom licenses and give an opinion on whether or not they are "open"
• Choose open resources from various sources, identify the copyright owner, and put them in a derivative work of your choosing (e.g. document, wiki page, etc.) with an appropriate credit

Week 3 (Oct. 17-23) - Finding and Evaluating Resources

Goals:

• Identify OERs that are appropriate for use with your students
• Think about the context you will be using these materials in and evaluate them accordingly

Tasks/assignments:

• Evaluate one or more OER using the Achieve rubrics of your choice

Week 4 + 5 (Oct. 24-Nov. 6) - Remixing and publishing your own work

Goals:

• Remix one or more OERs so that they are more appropriate for your students

Tasks/assignments:

• Select an open resource (e.g. document, music, video, etc.) and remix it in a way that makes it better for your use
• Identify an instructional resource that you have created that you are willing to share under an open license and post it publicly
  OR
• Identify or create an instructional resource or collection of your own that you are willing to share under an open license and post it publicly

Week 6 (Nov. 7-13) - Reflecting on what you've learned

Goals:

• Reflect on what you've learned and how you'll use it in your classroom

Tasks/assignments:

• Finish any tasks you haven't completed
• Think and write about how you'll use OER in the future for the benefit of your students
• Complete course evaluation