by Bruce Friend
Accessing digital content has never been easier for educators. Could it be however that the abundance of digital content may inadvertently be an obstacle unto itself as it relates to the effort to find more engaging materials beyond textbooks for educators and students to use?
With so many digital content resources available to teachers to select from, be they licensed or freely available materials, I often hear from teachers that they feel overwhelmed and lack the time to do proper vetting of content to ensure appropriateness and quality. Having to remember multiple access credentials to an array of products also generates frustration.
Fortunately there are places that teachers can go to access freely available content as well as to contribute lessons and share ideas that they have around the effective use of digital materials. Many homeschool organizations have created websites and content portals where digital content can be accessed and in many cases already reviewed for quality assurance purposes. Technology companies and philanthropic ventures coming from places such as SAS, PBS, HP, Google (just to name a few) have created content themselves that is freely available or have created websites where educators and find, review, and even contribute digital materials.
The start of a new school year is a great time to consider tapping into some digital learning materials to enhance the instruction that you already provide for your home school student.
If you have questions about digital content and the use of online learning and what options may be available to you, e-mail me at: bruce.friend@sas.com
Bruce Friend is the Director of SAS® Curriculum Pathways®, an award-winning education resource that provides online lessons, engaging tools and activities at no cost to U.S. educators. Bruce has spent the past decade working in the field of online learning. He is a national pioneer in helping to establish the country’s first statewide online program and has been the chief administrator of two state virtual schools. He has been honored with the “Most Outstanding Achievement in Distance Education” award by the US Distance Learning Association and is a two-time recipient of the Florida Principal Achievement Award. Prior to joining SAS, Bruce was the Vice President of the International Association for K12 Online Learning; a non-profit organization that provides support to students, parents, and online learning programs.
Accessing digital content has never been easier for educators. Could it be however that the abundance of digital content may inadvertently be an obstacle unto itself as it relates to the effort to find more engaging materials beyond textbooks for educators and students to use?
With so many digital content resources available to teachers to select from, be they licensed or freely available materials, I often hear from teachers that they feel overwhelmed and lack the time to do proper vetting of content to ensure appropriateness and quality. Having to remember multiple access credentials to an array of products also generates frustration.
Fortunately there are places that teachers can go to access freely available content as well as to contribute lessons and share ideas that they have around the effective use of digital materials. Many homeschool organizations have created websites and content portals where digital content can be accessed and in many cases already reviewed for quality assurance purposes. Technology companies and philanthropic ventures coming from places such as SAS, PBS, HP, Google (just to name a few) have created content themselves that is freely available or have created websites where educators and find, review, and even contribute digital materials.
The start of a new school year is a great time to consider tapping into some digital learning materials to enhance the instruction that you already provide for your home school student.
If you have questions about digital content and the use of online learning and what options may be available to you, e-mail me at: bruce.friend@sas.com
Bruce Friend is the Director of SAS® Curriculum Pathways®, an award-winning education resource that provides online lessons, engaging tools and activities at no cost to U.S. educators. Bruce has spent the past decade working in the field of online learning. He is a national pioneer in helping to establish the country’s first statewide online program and has been the chief administrator of two state virtual schools. He has been honored with the “Most Outstanding Achievement in Distance Education” award by the US Distance Learning Association and is a two-time recipient of the Florida Principal Achievement Award. Prior to joining SAS, Bruce was the Vice President of the International Association for K12 Online Learning; a non-profit organization that provides support to students, parents, and online learning programs.
