#GoOpenNC Explorers

Hi, Donna!  Last week, when I searched by Science content, I noticed I could futher modify my search and select STEM.  Today, I see that Physical Science has been added under the Science tab, too.  I wonder what other science "categories" we can expect to see.  thanks!  

Hi, again, Donna,

I clicked on the textbook tab on the homepage, but there are none currently available.  I wonder what the textbook resources will look like  if they will have interactivity.  Thanks!  

Hi Emma,

Yes, it is exciting to think about the possibilities of OER textbooks. We are certainly exporling the possibilities. Do you know of any open textbooks that are aligned to NC SCOS?

Thanks,

Pam

If I am not mistaken, CK-12 have a few FlexBooks that are aligned to our state standards.  You can search for these at https://www.ck12.org/standards/.  

I wonder if this site will go away at some point and I will lose access to my folders?

Hi Donna,

It's our hope to have #GoOpenNC available for a long time! I definitely understand your concern but at this point we have our microsite for at least the next three years.

Thanks,

Pam

What if material is not rated by users, will it be eliminted from the site? Also what if a learning domain is not listed under a grade category, will it only be added of content for that domain is added?

What if a certain standard is not listed, I wonder if there is a contact where we can request it to be added. 

Hi Ashley,

Standards only appear in search results if we have an item aligned to that standard.

When you click on the "align" button on a resource, you will see all the standards documents available with the exception of CTE, World Languages, Guidance, and ESL standards, those standards documents are still being loaded to the site.

Thanks,

Pam

Just out of curiosity, I shared something with a Google Classroom.  I'm curious as to what the student sees.  I posted it from the actual resource view (which I think it was a PDF, so I could have downloaded and posted it) but when I sent it to Google Classroom through the OER resource, the link took me to the "view resource" page.  Would students be able to access it from there?  Are there some resources that can be linked to classroom better than others?

Chiming in to second this question. As much as I like the idea of importing resources to Classroom, I don't know how students will be able to view them if the link takes them to the OER resource. Will this site be open for students to access? If not, how can resources be made available on other platforms (such as Classroom, Canvas, etc) for students to use?

In response to Katie and Heather, I also saved some items to a Google Classroom that opened for the specific purpose of trying some of these resources. I had issues with the actual resource appearing...the title appeared, but no resource. Is there some specific detail that we need to get it to appear? (I logged in as a student from an incognito window.)

I think this could be a powerful way to share! Please help. Also, I would love to see some further integrations, as well...Canvas, Seesaw?, etc.

Thanks!

I wonder, what if teachers start posting one "free" resource from their Teachers Pay Teachers account to drive trafffic there and get people to see their paid content.  I found three resources that looked to be exactly that.  I put in a low rating and comment, but it does give me pause that so many links are to sites that aren't truly open, even if they are technically free. 

I fear that an overabundance of quckly posted commercial material might artificially inflate the number of resources the site seems to be offering, disguise gaps in the resource needs, and overshadow the real user created open resources. 

This is a good point. What is the vetting process for materials that are posted? Is there a way to assure they are truly open and aren't going to push people to have to purchase what they have created?

Hi Brandon,

Most of the resources currently in #GoOpenNC are resources from the NCLOR. The NCLOR did not feature exclusively open content. We did not want to lose valuable resources just because they were not 100% open. We are working on tagging all NCLOR content so users can know to check the license area of the resource to see if it is in fact truly open content.

In the future, this will provide a great discussion point as we introduce #GoOpenNC and the world of creative commons licensing. Governance is up to all of us as users and stewards of OER. I'm hopeful that with guidance, we can continue to grow the amount of open content and provide a much needed alternative to TPT.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Are there plans to end NCLOR and move exclusively to #GoOpenNC?  

Yes. NCLOR will be discontinued at the end of the current school year.

Are the NC Tools for Teachers lessons going to be added to this site?

I wonder how this site will be rolled out to teachers and districts. Will they access via their NCEDCLOUD accounts for easy access? I think there are great resources, but if folks have to remember to bookmark one more place, they may not. Also, if they aren't given some guidance about how to use or contribute, they may not.

Hi Shannon,

Yes, #GoOpenNC will be accessible from the NCEdCloud as an icon, as well as an LTI connection for those using Canvas.

Thanks!

What happens if a source is taken down by the supplier?  Do we have an archived version we can still access?

I wonder is educators will really take advantage of the resources that the site has to offer.  I know that I sure will!

I wonder if the ARC IRLA resources will be to this site. That would very helpful!!

I wonder if you can add Eureka Math or CKLA, they are curriculums we use in our district. 

Thanks for the suggestions, we will investigate if they can be added!

I wonder, especially after perusing some of the materials on here what happens to poorly rated or non-reviewed materials? Will they eventually be retired?  It also worries me as it has some others, how long will we have the site—meaning does the initiative has long term funding?

I wonder if the district plans on adding CKLA and Eureka math elements/resources to this site.  The books offer some outside resources.  Can GCS find and load them onto this site? That would be awesome!

Hi,

I wonder if there is a plan for more evaluating resources?  I can't speak for others, but I would be willing to evaluate resources after this first look at things.  I can see the benefits of having some of the GoOpenNCExplorers continue during the summer to get as many resources as possible evaluated, so that the Fall 2019 rollout would have even more resources vetted for the teachers. 

Hi Doug,

We would love for that to happen! Access will not end after the pilot phase and we will continue to enhance the site based on the pilot users feedback.

I wonder if materials rated by many different teachers will have too much subjectivity to really earmark excellent resources.