This was a new topic for me as I didn't realize OER existed- I have always just looked for CC or created my own materials so I knew that I wasn't "stealing" someone else's work. I was glad that I found this topic and that I could explore with it more. I did however, find it tricky at first to navigate and find resources.
I am getting ready to work on a project with my 7th grade science teacher about the solar system. The students are given the task of researching a particular planet and then creating a travel brochure for it. I currently have a set of books along with eBooks that relate specifically to each planet but I was interested in finding other resources because I also do the solar system with my third grade library class. As you may have guess I love the solar system.
I decided to go to opened.com and see what they have on the solar system. The one item I clicked on has taken me to an interactive website where you appear to be in space. You move the cursor around until you land on a planet or object in space once you click on it you're taken to a information bubble that fills you in on the topic. The link is as follows http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/kids/index.cfm#.
I found this site very useful and I feel that I will use this with my 3rd grade class so that they are more engaged with the project. I loved that this site had a lot of videos to be able to use and interact with.
My BOCES has access to PBSLearnigMedia which was referenced on this site. This makes me very happy to know that I already have access to such a great resources.
I also found the first article Frequently asked questions to be very beneficial since I had never heard of OER. It was a nice clean breakdown and easily understandable. My favorite piece of the article was the description between free and open. Many people wouldn't realize that there is a difference but there is and it is good to have it pointed out to you. It is not anything I would have compared prior to completing this lesson.
Glad to hear this was brand new content for you. I think it will be for many people. As you said, it can be a bit tricky to find the right content. I think once you find a few of the tools that work well for you, it will be smoother. I was a bit overwhelmed trying to narrow things down to just a few key tools that I thought would work well for K12 folks.
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