Sign-Up

Anyone can follow a course on P2PU. Participating is the next level of engagement. The sign-up is a space where interested individuals can express their interest and background in the topic and commit to working with the rest of the participants. Please answer the following set(s) of questions if you want to become a participant or organizer.

Standard Set

This set of signup questions is common to all study groups, courses, ... in P2PU. The answers to these questions will be public once you get accepted.

Public Custom Set

This set of signup questions is particular to this course. The answers to these questions will be public once you get accepted.

Between Participants Custom Set

This set of signup questions is particular to this course. The answers to these questions will be visible to all participants once you get accepted.

Answers

• 
  richardnsalvador   Aug. 29, 2011, 1:12 p.m.

  Bio:

  what up?!

  Location:

  Standard Set Answer:

  Why the interest in this topic: A few years ago, I attempted to find relevant resources on the Internet to supplement my lesson plans in teaching English and Social Studies. I used speeches from Martin Luther King, George Bush, Oprah Winfrey, etc, to aid in lessons on reading comprehension, critical thinking and American history. I was amazed at the amount of resources I found. In this context, the title of this course fascinated me. I don't claim to know what "free, open educational resources" are. Are these in books, in magazines, the Internet, given to us by the government? What are they? I am interested in participating in the class to learn about them, how to find them, how to choose which are relevant for which topics in class, how to use them, etc, etc. Overall, I want to learn...

  Expectations; what to hope to achieve: Learning as much as I can about the topics of this course. Over 20 years, Harvard education professor Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot told Bill Moyers in a public tv interview that teachers, if they are not careful to engage their colleagues and peers in regular discussion, debate, and intellectual sharings in the nature and practice of their craft, could potentially become bored and become bad teachers. It's not because they intend to become bad teachers. Work becomes tedious; a profession where an obvious structure of power relationship between teacher and student, by nature, precludes the type of rigorous intellectual sharing seen among professors in higher education and university level teaching environments, can so easily lead to boredom and burnout among teachers. I hope to engage other participants in this course in ways that I can re-live the excitement of intellectual sharing among folks with passion to educate our younger ones. A cohort type of course with online sharings among students, I feel, would contribute to the overall result a participant might be able to get. In general, I hope to learn as much as I can.

  Any potential interest in helping with course organization?: Quite possibly. In my graduate studies and in international environmental justice work that I did concentrated my academic and personal attention on Indigenous philosophy and the various ways in which the worldviews and political perspectives of Indigenous communities competed with conventional political, economic, and social agendas in the shaping of our values and social ends. In my work as a teacher, I became more interested in the ways in which Indigenous or any other alternative pedagogies might help to democratize education, expand our knowledge bases, and showcase diversity in the manner of our teaching and learning. If there any any interest in this or any other P2PU classes in exploring alternative pedagogy that conventional educational programs and practices might benefit from, then, yes, I may just consider helping to lead explorations in this direction.

  Public Set Answer:

  Any suggestions to the syllabus?: For now, since I do not have any knowledge of what open educational resources are, I have nothing to add. I think the syllabus looks great as it is. I think i will learn a lot. In line with comments about potential contribuitions I made above about alternative educational pedagogy, yes, I will consider contributing whatever might seem relevant.

  Plans for focusing on this work: First of all, I know little about wha the topic of this course will cover. So I have no comments except for what may seem obvious to me (which may be way off, in terms of what this course is about). If, by free, open educational resources, there is any reference to producing useful educational resources that can be freely shared, then I am all for this fine idea. I am will to contribute my experise and knowledge in producing, in tandem with the participants of this course, free educational resources that become part of our common heritage. Do I understand free, open educational resources in this context to be correct? In any event, I am willing and open to producing any relevant educational material that can be freely shared and used to elevate our collective knowledge. I have no problem with producing materials under an open licence.

  Nature of (potential) contribution to final products of this course on OER: Whatever I can contribute, I will gladly do so. My academic work in the university centered around the social sciences and the competing perspectives communities of people have toward claims to resources. Moreover, I had and pursed interests in studying Indigenous philosophies and their potential in terms of shaping how governments, schools, and other institutions might serve whole communities traditionally excluded from many areas and from public benefits. Next steps in this type of work in terms of education are to consider to some length the kinds of relevant pedagogies of education that can bridge huge gaps among communities. I would be interested in exploring publication,along with participants of this course, if possible, any material that tries to address these matters.