Open Educational Resources

 As said in the article, "Things You should Know About... Open Educational Resources." from the Educause Learning Initiative, Open Educational Resources are free teaching, learning, or research materials (textbooks, games, syllabi, quizzes etc.) that are available electronically online.  Each resource is available for students or teachers to download and use as directed in the individual license of the source.

The Article states that OER are very effective in helping to keep pace with changes in learning such as the introduction of newer technologies, and new teaching methods.

     Building and Leading Effective Teams
The first source from the OER Commons website is about how to create and lead effective teams in a learning environment. Because collaboration is very important for a teacher in any level of education, I chose this course to look at. This is a graduate course created by Prof. John Carroll. Leading a classroom is  a lot like leading a team. in order for the students to have success they must be able to efficiently work with their peers as well as with their teacher.

     Cognitive Psychology
This source is a great source to go to for all teachers or teaching students. Every teacher has to know the cognitive psychology of their students so that they may understand how his or her student's think and what level they are at, cognitively, at each age.

Creating a Community in the Classroom
This is a great source for teachers of any age group. It teaches children that a classroom is a community and it is up to each of them to keep it that way. The other great thing is that this lesson can be modified to fit the level of the students who will be learning it. 

OER is the future of education. It is available for schools to use as a free resource and for students and teachers to use as assistance or individual learning.