Kimberly Patterson

Managing Editor
kpatterson@curriki.org
 Digital Lesson Plans
Who is Curriki?
• Traditional approach vs. OER
• Benefits and challenges
• Lesson plans at Curriki and other sources
 Challenges of Traditional Approach
Who is Curriki?
• High cost of today’s instructional materials
• Quality instruction not easily disseminated
• Sharing of ideas not easily facilitated
 Opportunities for Innovation
Who is Curriki?
• Information access anywhere in the world
• Web 2.0—participatory
– Networks of people interact and provide feedback
– Opportunity to leverage the knowledge of the entire community

• Open Source
• Programmed by volunteers
• Free and available to anyone
Web 2.0 Content Development
Who is Curriki?
What Does This Mean for Education?

• High quality content made widely available for free

• Users can create and improve, not just consume content
• Content can be collaboratively developed by the
community (both locally and globally)
• Teachers are more engaged, which can result in
improved student outcomes
• Content can be updated regularly to stay current
 OER Inverts the Existing Publishing
Model
• No need to buy a single expensive textbook,
workbook, or instructional activity from a
publisher
• Can now share a portion of the “book”
• Can create a customized learning resource (or
dozens) at no cost
• Teachers are empowered to be content creators
 Challenges
• Copyright issues & Creative Commons
• Locating materials
• Quality of materials
• Permanence of resources
 What Is Curriki?

Free, online curricula created & validated by the community

• Defined learning objectives
• Scope & sequence for instruction
• Lesson plans
• Textbooks & other instructional materials
• Teacher training
• Capable of hosting virtually any file format, including video
• Tools for content creation
 Who Is Curriki?

• The first Internet destination for Open Source Curricula

(OSC)
• Founded by Sun Microsystems in 2004
• Created as independent 501(c)(3) in 2006
• More than 100,000 registered members
• 35,000+ learning assets
• Global reach
 Content Contributors

• For-profit publishers
• Non-profit publishers/organizations
• School districts/regional organizations
• Ministries of Education
• The global community of educators
 Quality Control

Robust multi-level quality control

• File Check
• Review by subject matter experts
• Member Comments
• Member “Star Rating” system
• Member “Flag” for questionable content