Taking classes to learn or improve writing skills does not always
have to be in the environment that people are traditionally accustomed to
doing. As much as I enjoy being in a
classroom interacting with my students, not everyone is able to learn that
way. Open educational resources are
available on virtually any subject that could be thought of and some that may
not have even been considered. www.oercommons.org is one such site that
provides access to webinars and learning materials that have been archived for
anyone to view at any time. I took the
time to view a class that was given regarding English language learning through
the art of storytelling. It was a great
perspective for ESL students and native speakers alike. The website was easy to navigate and comes
with the option to search subjects based on educational level from k-12 to
post-secondary.
The Open Learning Initiative is another site that has
multiple courses available for free. One
in particular was a course centered on American English speech. It focuses less on specifics in writing and
grammar and more on the pronunciation of English language. Anyone could enter the course directly from
that point and begin working. Again,
the site was easy to navigate and there were several subjects from which to
choose. It is only a matter of what the
interests are.
Open courses are great for enhancing prior knowledge, or
from an educator’s position, look at how learning material can be presented in
a different, interactive way. It is
important to use some good internet savvy to determine if the sites are
credible ultimately offering credible content.
Learning can occur anywhere and anytime and open education is simply
another way to make that happen.
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