Future Ready Schools and Open Education

One of the sessions I attended at TCEA was about Future Ready Schools and the Department of Education’s initiatives for a national technology plan.  One part of the plan is the movement toward Open Education

The basic idea is that schools from PK to 16 can benefit from resource sharing and that such a program/initiative will help keeps costs for a quality education low by leveling the playing field a little by providing free online/digital resources for learning.  The database includes learning resources, lesson plans, websites, and more.  Publishers are even donating resources to the project and Follett will be rolling out a search engine that is tied to its Library Management System (Destiny).

By next fall, Follett will build an OER search tool, powered by the Learning Registry ( a DOE and DOD and White House-supported effort to create a repository of learning resource metadata) into the Destiny library management software.  It will also offer the ability to create lesson plans and playlists.

You can search and browse the database of materials.  Below is an example of some of the results I found when I browsed by subject.  Here is a screen shot of the filters I used:

Wetlands Education through Maps and Aerial Photography (WETMAAP)

Source: www.wetmaap.org
This partnership of government and education seeks to: introduce educators to wetland habitats' functions and values; introduce educators and students to wetland mapping, digital databases, and Global Information System (GIS) technology; assist educators with the integration of wetland issues into e...
http://www.wetmaap.org/index.html

United States Antarctic Research Center

Source: usarc.usgs.gov
The US Antarctic Research Center maintains the Nation's most comprehensive collection of Antarctic maps, charts, atlases, satellite images, photographs, slides, video produced by the United States and other member nations of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research. Materials can be ordered. I...
http://usarc.usgs.gov

You may say—"I can find these on my own, why should I use this database?”  There are several reasons:

This database was built with the specific purpose of helping teachers and students find reliable and high value “open” content.  If you go to the site, you will also notice that you can browse by educational standards.  Unfortunately, Texas State Standards are not on the list, but Common Core and several National Teachers Associations (such as the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics, National Council for Teachers of English, and the National Science Education Standards) are there.  It is a tool that should streamline your searches for online resources to use with students and eventually, it should be a tool that students learn to use themselves to find quality resources for their own learning.
By participating in a national initiative, we become a part of the larger conversation about education, technology, and equality.