Most recent public comments by Sarah Aungst https://nowcomment.com/users/25491 https://nowcomment.com/documents/65469?scroll_to=640149 https://nowcomment.com/documents/65469?scroll_to=640149 One of the school districts close to mine has switched over to an entirely digital curriculum. Teachers have their lessons in digital format and available for download through iTunes. This allows them to have flipped classrooms, even for economically disadvantaged students. They can download the lessons onto their computers at school and take them home to study. While this isn't a "free" resource for the school, they do save a considerable amount of money on textbooks and information is as up to date as the teacher makes it. I will openly admit I will look to borrow or download a copy of a book before I buy a brand new physical copy for a class. The prices for a textbook are outrageous. Our school is also in the same boat with unused texts-- we have French books from the 1960s, but the vernacular and standards are completely different, so there is no point to pulling them out of the closet. Thu, 15 Dec 2016 11:34:01 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/65469?scroll_to=640140 https://nowcomment.com/documents/65469?scroll_to=640140 I credit that quote to my Grandpa Farrell. My mom brings it up whenever I talk about college. I am one of very few in my family who had the opportunity to go to college, and she helps keep me grounded about the value of our very expensive pieces of paper on the wall. I like to think of OER as the fight against the social concept of degrees defining intelligence. When I graduated from high school I remember being tracked into the college prep group. There was also a business group and a basic skills group. I remember, even then, finding a certain level of smugness amongst my peers that we were headed to bigger, better things than the rest of the group because we were smarter. Apparently smarter meant that you were gifted with academic prowess but still struggled with changing a tire and sewing on a button. Now we are faced with a situation where we have many heavily educated young people entering the workforce but not enough jobs that fit what they were trained to do. This brings to mind the following: do we encourage students to attain higher education because it is economically appropriate and logical, or because we've allowed that fancy piece of paper to become the status quo? Sat, 17 Dec 2016 02:49:14 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/65469?scroll_to=640063 https://nowcomment.com/documents/65469?scroll_to=640063 MIT's website had courses that were taught all the way back in 2005. While the resources were pretty good (medieval music doesn't change much anymore!) I feel like many of the theories in the lectures may have changed, or new research may have been discovered in the area since the class was taught at the university. While it was irritating to me that there seemed to be a direct tie with Amazon regarding books, you bring up a valid point: the money has to come from somewhere. The resources may be open, but there is still a cost to someone eventually. I find it highly unlikely to happen, given our new political outlook, but I wonder if there is (or could be) federal funding for a project like this. Thu, 15 Dec 2016 11:17:51 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/65469?scroll_to=638058 https://nowcomment.com/documents/65469?scroll_to=638058 I noticed that within the MIT OCW site many of the courses still required students to purchase books online through Amazon, and that MIT actually received up to 10% of your purchase towards their OCW system. As discussed earlier this semester, this may lead to potential corporate interference. This almost feels like the professor who asks you to buy the new version of the book they wrote because they updated two words on page 49 of the second edition. In some situations, I think OER is more At-Your-Own-Risk than we like to think. Thu, 15 Dec 2016 19:42:06 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/65469?scroll_to=638052 https://nowcomment.com/documents/65469?scroll_to=638052 I just had a conversation last night with a friend about how much I missed being part of an academic community. I do enjoy studying online for its ease of use and fast pace, but I truly miss a sense of belonging and acceptance in a learning community that collaborates together in the same place. I was particularly happy to see that that Femi was able to make connections to other students through online learning communities and even discovered people in the same country studying the same coursework. However, this gets me thinking about the social discourse that occurs when interacting directly with other people. I really struggle with communicating online because I can't put a face to words and I have difficulty interpreting intent. (Texting is awful and I misinterpret what someone means half the time I'm talking to them.) Hence, a lot of online discussion comes across as cold, or authoritative. Are there any studies being done on how education solely based around online experiences shapes anthropological developments in various societies? It would be interesting to see the impact that OER might have, especially in those societies where internet access is extremely limited. Thu, 15 Dec 2016 11:04:18 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/65469?scroll_to=638051 https://nowcomment.com/documents/65469?scroll_to=638051 I have never stopped a video so quickly in my life. I had NO IDEA that colleges offered this option to students, let alone people who are not even registered to take classes at the university. The closest I came to this was auditing a course at MSU. I went to MIT's website and have been sitting in shock for about the past 15 minutes. This is one of the best educational resources I have ever stumbled upon in my life, as a teacher and as a student! I immediately thought back to the week we studied connected learning. What a goldmine for self-motivated students who want to explore new avenues! OER can help someone in my position immensely, in multiple ways. If you've followed any of my comments or posts, you know my school is pretty underfunded and a majority of our population is at poverty level (or below). We have groups of kids that we try to help "get out alive" and break the circle of poverty in their family. These are incredibly intelligent children. Unfortunately, many don't strive towards living up to their full potential because of social traditions in the community, and an inability to believe that they can do more than what they have experienced through their families. Having access to look at information to see what higher education is like, or to explore at a later time when they are ready to take a step out, would in my opinion, increase the chances of helping students break that cycle. In addition, our school is in the process of redesigning our curriculum maps-- in some cases, creating one for the first time. Our district struggles with prepping students for college readiness, and I believe that being able to view the way courses are designed can help us be more efficient teachers for high flyers. Thu, 15 Dec 2016 10:59:27 -0500