Over the past two years, I've been working with my district to transition from the popular textbook towards Open Educational Resources, or OER. One of the leading benefits of OER options is that they are free and open to educators. That in itself is a reason to inquire. The information has been vetted for credibility and some of it is derived from some of the world's top colleges and universities.
Via Tom D'Amico (@TDOttawa) , Anne Whaits, Petra Pollum
Making the transition to OERs can be quite daunting as it's not just a matter of accessing open content but repurposing it and digitizing your own to suit your students' needs. I find that using OERs in combination with cloud computing, mobile assisted seamless learning and field trips into virtual worlds, works well with my language students. However, what works within my teaching context may not be appropriate for yours. In my opinion, it's not just about introducing new technologies and pedagogies because they are trending, but doing a thorough analysis of what is needed within a specfic context before transforming your teaching practices, as these transformations will influence your students' learning environment and learning outcomes.
Four great OER sources provided here for teachers to explore.