INFOhio ICoach

One of my favorite resources located in Where Can I Find High-Quality Instructional Materials, is the New York State Teacher Center.  This site provides information about state standards and ways effectively to align those standards to the curriculum.  Educators in my building would benefit from this resource because there are materials available for teachers to use in the classroom.   Another benefit to using this resource is having access to tools that will assist teachers in ensuring equity to all learners. 

OER Commons is my favorite of the resources because it quickly digs down into usable content, rather than just more reviews of content that may, or may not, be free for teachers. 

Sharing this platform could really help teachers find quality materials faster.

We are building model courses for our LMS and we need to be able to connect to high-quality, royalty-free content. This would definitely help us meet that goa. 

1.  Since I am a new technology integration specialist, I chose to explore EdSurge Product Index.

2.  This information can be used to evaluate tech resources used in our classrooms or resources that are on our teachers' wish lists.  This resource gives details about cost, usability and privacy just to name a few.  

3.  Our district can benefit from this greatly since we are in the process of taking inventory on tech resources currently being used so we can determine if applications need to be discontinued or replaced with something better.  This index can really help evaluate resources before we put them into place.  

The reviewed materials resource I used was EdSurge. I really like how you can set different criteria to limit your search until you find a product or service that works for your classroom. Part of my job entails tracking what websites and products our teachers are using in their classrooms, then seeing if these sites are instructially engaging and high quality. A tool like EdSurge could help me find other tools to replace things that are currently used, but do not meet district standards.

I explored SETDA's Guide to Quality Instruction.  There were many options to choose from in this resource. I had no idea that Amazon offered ed resources, but I focused on Bookshare A Benetech Initiative. Bookshare provides alternatives for people with reading problems.  They provide for blindness, dyslexia, cerebal palsy and other impairments.  I looked at the variety of books offered and they had the latest books like Coleen Hoover's Heart Bones and the reader can then alter/customize according to what they need.  With a 40% special education population, Bookshare will be a great asset.

I chose the Achieve's EQuiP resource. This information from what I could tell would be useful to our school, but some of the pages have been moved. I tried to click on the Macbeth lesson, but it was moved. This resource would have been helpful, but it is a moot point since I cannot access the page. I was only able to access the review of the unit and how it aligned to certain things. Because I am an English teacher, the second and third questions relate to one another. I tried to play around with this resource as much as I could, but I did not find much use from this. It would have been more helpful if there were more units or at least units that are aligned to our own curriculum. It would have also been nice if the pages would have all worked so I could have done a little bit more research. 

I explored Ohio Materials Matter Reviews. I would share it with administrators, department leaders, and curriculum directors. This would be beneficial when investing in curriculm development and textbook adoption.

I looked at Edreports.  I think it will be helpful to share the data with the teachers.

I chose SETDA and found the cK-12 of some interest. Our district is looking to replace our Social Studies curriculum. If I share this with the teachers to review and make suggestions to our administration. 

IF not, then maybe they can find other quality resources there.

*I originally posted this in HQIM's Open Space Discussion*

I chose to explore the EdSurge Product Index considering my current role as an instructional technology specialist.  I am often working directly with our curriculum department to evaluate products and resources and determine if they will work in our learning environment.  This resource does a great job being able to filter content by product type, operating system, LMS integration, privacy agreements and price.  We can use this as a district to help evaluate possible solutions for teaching and learning.  It should prove to be helpful.

I choose Ohio Materials Matter Review.  I thought this resource was very informative and will be suggesting it to the teachers for them to review when considering new materials.

1. I chose SEDTA's Guide to Quality Instructional Materials. 

2. I can use this information in my classroom because I can pull materials that would benefit my students. There are so many different options that I can use to make sure my students are using high quality materials. 

3. My building could benefit from this information because other teachers could use these resources in their classrooms when searching for supplemental materials. This site also includes reviews on various materials that we can use to check other resources. In addition, there are some online libraries linked that could help our students. 

I chose to look into the EdSurge Product Index to explore High-Quality Instruction Materials. This information would be great in many aspects of choosing resources and even curriculums. Multiple resources were based on McGraw Hill which is the math program we use in our district. Choosing a curriculum is one way in which it might be helpful. It would also be helpful to use it for any outside support. For example, STEAM HUB would be a great resource for teachers to use to get more hands-on learning as well as incorporate multiple standards. 

Making sure we have high-qualuity instruction ensures that the students are utilizing their best resources possible, It will give them the opportunity for a more well rounded education.