STEM and Open Education Resources Awareness Discussion

Welcome to this weeklong discussion about how to improve awareness of and access to OERs (Open Education Resources) for STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) instruction. OERs are digital teaching and learning materials of all types, including text, videos, games, and assessments that are freely available and adaptable for use in any educational setting for all types of learners. 

Dena Fisher and I (Delphinia Brown) work on a new project funded by OVAE: Open Education Resources to Support Adult STEM Teaching and Learning. We will moderate this discussion, November 5 – 9.  We hope to learn more about how adult educators are using OERs to use this information to develop a communication plan for building interest in STEM among adult educators and sharing information about the training and instructional resources created through the project.

Thank you in advance for participation in this discussion.  We look forward to learning about your experiences with OERs and STEM instruction!

Respond to the following discussion questions to join the conversation:

What is your awareness of OERs and how they can be used to support instruction?

Have you used OERs to teach math or science, or for other instructional purposes? If so, which types of OERs do you use and how did you find them?

If you haven’t used OERs as part of STEM instruction, would you?  Which types of OERs would you be most likely to use and why (examples: lesson plans, assessments, videos, labs)?

What information do you need to know about how to use OERs effectively? Where would you go to find this information?

 

Comments

Which types of OERs do you use and how did you find them?I have used on-line "calculators" that, for example, calculate the water wasted from a leaky faucet or turn your statistics into a graph. I have shown short videos of math in action in the workplace and skits that illustrate or make a concept humerous and memorable. I have used activities out of lesson plans that fit in with mine. Some of these OERs I discovered because I searched for a certain concept, but most of the STEM ones I use, I discovered during on-line courses (from instructors and participants) and other professional development. Which types of OERs would you be most likely to use and why? I am less likely to use OERs that are very lengthy and involved. I tend to use them to fill in a concept, "spice up" my lesson, or add a hands-on component. I sometimes use pieces of assessments. I like to show video segments to enrich what I am teaching. I use technology to bring in something that feels more "real world" to my students than the elementary classroom we are sitting in for the evening. I also prefer using any OER that can be downloaded and played from my laptop, rather than relying on technology that changes from site to site or internet that I may not be able to access during a particular class period. I try to use only OERs that do not list grade levels or look too childish. What information do you need to know about how to use OERs effectively? Where would you go to find this information? I tend to look for a role model, try out what they do, and make it my own. I make use of a lot of professional development. What I learn has helped me look in the right places for more good material to use.  

 

... I don't use many OER because we've got Modumath here, and I havent' found an OER that has both instruction and interaction with good feedback (which Modumath does).   I do work with students in Science classes and we use all kinds of assorted INternet sites and work with the students to learn how to search for the right key terms and how to recognize a site that will meet their needs.  Sometimes we do find a site that's interactive and instructional (tho' usually it's anatomy so it's mostly naming body parts).   However, my actual job description is working with students in pre-college level courses so the math is where I focus. 

     Most of my students really focus on learning the procedures prescribed by their course's curriculum, so they would want to find a resource with the same structure and sequence. 

 

   I'd loev to hear what others have found.   I like David Rosen's skill-by-skill breakdown and plan to peruse it more closely....

His email to the LINCS list went like this:  (

 

I have just updated the Math/Numeracy  web page on the The Literacy  List. To view it, go to: http://newsomeassociates.com  1) Scroll down to "Publications,"2) Choose "The Literacy List,"3) Choose "Websites for Teachers and Students", and4) Choose "Numeracy/Mathematics." This and other Literacy List web pages improve with suggestions I  receive from adult numeracy/math teachers. If you think there's a good  (free) resource that I should consider adding, contact me directly. David J. RosenDJRosen@theworld.com  

Hello DKubiak and others who may be interested,

You will find the free 21-page list of numeracy and math videos suitable for ABE, ASE and HSE students in a dropbox at this web address

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/6715575/ABE%20AND%20ASE_HSE_GED%20Math%20Videos%208.21.12.docx

You may, as Susan Jones suggested, also be interested in free numeracy and math web sites I have listed on The Literacy List. To find that, go to

http://www.newsomeassociates.com

Scroll down to "Publications" at the bottom of the page

Select "The Literacy List"

Select Websites for Teachers and Adult Learners

Select Numeracy/Mathematics .

I am providing the information this way because there are other publications on this web site, and within The Literacy List other web pages, that may also be of interest.

Let me know if you have a problem accessing any link on either the numeracy and math videos list or The Literacy List. Also,  I like teachers' suggestions for additions to either of these lists.That's how they got to be be useful, and how they can be improved. Please email me yours.

 

David J. Rosen

djrosen123@gmail.com

 

 

 

Thank you, Connie, for taking the time to comment.  One of our goals for this project is to help direct educators to OERs so that they can use them in the ways you've described. Would you mind sharing the names of a few of the OER web sites or tools that you use? 

Thanks for your interest!  I wouldn’t say that I have a favorite source; it depends on what I am doing with the class.  I will describe the OERs in one of my units as an example to answer your question.  My repertoire of tried-and-true lessons includes a Gelato-Themed Bar and Circle Graph unit.  (I have to give credit for the basis of this idea to Dr. Lynda Ginsberg for her workshop on “The Components of Numeracy.”)  I poll the students as they arrive for class.  “What’s your favorite flavor of gelato (or ice cream)?”  They answer on a sticky note and post it.  We turn their responses into a bar graph and watch a video from www.TheFuturesChannel.com called “Ice Cream the Italian Way” that features the Ciao Bella Gelato Company’s production in action.  …After experiencing creating bar graphs and turning them into circle graphs, we use a website called Create a Graph (http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/) to further our understanding of graphing.  This is the only site I use that says “Kids” on it; I don’t like that, but the site seems to be the best of its kind.  Toward the end of the unit, we look at a recipe for homemade gelato and a photo of a gelato shop’s pricing board that I got from the internet.  I bring in samples of different size containers (1 cup, 1 pint, 1 quart, etc.) to help them construct word problems for each other that use the information in the recipe and photo.  Lastly, we use the distributer’s list of available flavors and case/pallet information from the Ciao Bella site to plan our own gelato shop.  So, I guess that three of the ‘instructional materials’ I have mentioned were never intended to be instructional materials by their creators (recipe, pricing board, distributer information).  Also, for the most part the OERs supplement my units, not inspire them or become the unit.

Hi Susan!  You must be referring to www.thefutureschannel.com.  Several years ago, I did a one month free trial that allowed me to access the video.  At that time, there was an option to download the videos.  I have them on a jump drive so that I do not have to rely on internet access at any of the sites where my classes are held.  The Futures Channel website has greatly improved since then, but I don't know if any changes were made to the option to download.  It was worth the time I spent watching these videos; I found quite a few that had the concepts for which I was searching.  If anyone prefers a more scripted approach, they also offer a variety of sample lesson plans to go with each video.  I never came across anything that printed with grade levels, although they are offered.  Nothing I came across seemed childish in any way; I liked that.  My students seem to enjoy the videos.  :-)Connie

I understand your point of view.  It is free, but obviously not as easily accessible as web pages that are open any time you type in the address.  Still, I do own a perfectly legal, free copy of the video that I use in an educational setting.  I will post another example that does not require any registration.

An OER by definition is both (1) free and (2) openly licensed, which means that it can be reused, modified, and/or shared without copyright restriction, making the resource customizable.  The need for a paid subscription to access the video Connie referenced means the resource is not an OER.  You're more likely to find an OER in an online repository such as OERcommons.org where everything is free and openly licensed.   With videos, as with all other education resources, if they're not openly licensed then they're not really "open".  I don't have a subscription to the service, so I can't confirm whether the videos are copyrighted, but I suspect that they are...That is not to say that there is not value in resources such as the gelato video, which may be perfect the way it is as an enhancement to or integral piece of Connie's lesson on graphing. (By the way, reading about it really made me wish it was warm enjoy gelato right now).

The beauty of OERs is that they are customizable. Fortunately, the thousands of K-12 OERs that are geared towards children can be "remixed" so that the resources resonate with your adult learners.  Most of the OERs I've seen are K-12 oriented, so the ability customize should be underscored and is something that we hope to help adult education instructors be able to do as part of this project.

 

I am posting another example because my first examples included a site that required a free trial.  I recently wrote up a new lesson that I plan to teach next semester.  I start by referring to the USGS web site and telling the students, “Drips from a leaky faucet can come in different sizes, but the United States’ Geological Survey (USGS) calculates that approximately ¼ milliliter (mL) is wasted with every drop.”  “How much is ¼ mL?”  We take predictions and I show them my mini measuring cup that starts off with 10 mL.  We create an in/out table to compare drips to mL of water wasted.  … jumping to the OERs…  I play a series of videos posted by Dan Meyer that can be found at:  http://threeacts.mrmeyer.com/leakyfaucet/ with instruction, more tables, and graphs in between.  (btw, if you haven’t heard of him, check out:  http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_meyer_math_curriculum_makeover.html) Near the end of the mini-unit, we will visit the calculator at http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/sc4.html setting the “Number of Homes” to one and the “Number of Faucets in Homes” to one.

I had never even heard the term OER before the call for OER User Group members!  Thank you for the resource, OERCommons.org.  I will check it out.

I guess I hadn't ever considered posting to an open site such as this because my lesson plans tend to be notes for me, rather than formal lesson plans.  They are detailed, but I don't write down the connections to the standards, etc. in my description.  I don’t know that they “speak for themselves” without an explanation from me.  I have, however, shared my notes in smaller discussion groups.  I think it can be difficult/tedious to sift through plans at a site like this to find lessons that are 1) age and level appropriate, 2) the math topic which I'm seeking, 3) quality plans, and 4) fit my teaching style.  I haven't used an entire lesson from anyone else's idea that I found on the internet.

My first response to this site is frustration that I can’t figure out how to further narrow the search after making my first selection.  I will look at the site more closely and consider adding to an idea to the mix.

I’m fond of the Annenberg Learner courses (http://www.learner.org/index.html). My favorite is: Mathematics Illuminated (http://www.learner.org/courses/mathilluminated/about/index.php). There are numerous math titles and learned levels to choose from in their catalog (http://www.learner.org/catalog/catalog_web_mathematics.pdf). You and your students can view video on demand (Vod) by selecting a program from the list (http://www.learner.org/resources/browse.html) and clicking on the VoD icon to view a particular program.

Thank you all for taking the time to share your thoughts and experiences with us last week. You contributions to the discussion have added to our understanding of how open education resources (OERs) can be used to support STEM instruction and learning.  Stay tuned to LINCS for more information about opportunitites to learn more about OERs and STEM.