Full Curriculum OER
with Saylor.org
About the Saylor Foundation
• The Saylor Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization
established by Michael J. Saylor, founder and CEO of business
intelligence firm MicroStrategy. Mr. Saylor created the
Foundation because he had a very simple, very earnest, and
very bold idea: Education should be free.
• Mission The mission of the foundation is to make education
freely available to all.
• Major products and highlights
– Experienced educators build courses from online materials.
– Saylor.org provides over 280 free online post-secondary courses
to anyone with an internet connection.
– Initiatives in K12 and Masters level courseware to launch 2013.
Introduction to Saylor K-12
The Saylor Foundation is developing K-12
courses that are:
• Free
• Complete
• High-quality
• Peer-reviewed
These courses are built around the Common
Core State Standards and incorporate the
most innovative ideas in education.
Introduction to Saylor K-12
About the K-12 Courses:
• Open Educational Resources
• Student and Educator versions
• Final Exams
• Reviewed by 3 other educators
• Saylor.org, iTunes U, and in other formats
First Look at Saylor K-12
SneakPeak Courses:
• K12ELA11
• K12MATHALGI
Unit View
Resource Box
How do we build a course?
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Review Common Core State Standards
Write learning objectives
Develop course blueprint
Find resources that fit the objectives and
content
Select standards to cover in that resource or
activity
Write directions for what students should do
Edit and revise
Peer Review
Where do you get your
content?
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Publishers?
Other teachers?
Khan Academy?
Teachers Pay Teachers?
Thinkfinity?
Other sources?
What do you want to
learn more about?
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How we locate resources?
How we vet resources?
How we frame resources?
How we implement using OER?
What is challenging for teachers? What
resources have we created to support
them?
How do we locate resources?
• Simple search = Google topic + Creative
Commons
• OER Resource Guides
• Creative Commons Search
• OER Commons
• The Orange Grove
• Connexions
Major Sources for Content
Math:
• cK-12
• Khan Academy
• Wallace Math
• James Sousa
• Open Textbook
Catalog
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ELA:
Project Gutenberg
Librivox
Sophia.org
BetterLesson.com
EDSITEment
Great Writers Inspire
How do we vet resources?
• Use your judgment – does this fit the
learning objectives? Is it accurate? Does
this fit my needs?
• Text complexity guidelines and rubrics
• Common Core standards - What standard
would this meet? Is this really fostering
critical thinking and analysis?
How do we frame resources?
Clear directions for self-paced resources
How does this fit in with our unit and our course?
Why are we looking at this resource?
What are the goals for this?
What do I do when I get to this website?
What should I look for while going through this
resource?
• What should I get from this? How can I tell if I met
that goal?
• Be specific! GeoGebra applets are great but they need
directions
• Ask questions
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Unit Introductions
K12MATHPRECALC
Unit 4
Our final unit concludes the course with the exploration of exponential and
logarithmic functions. These two functions are studied together because they create
inverses of each other.
Exponential functions describe situations that get very large or very small quickly.
The unknown in the function is in the exponent. Solution processes for solving
these exponential equations are significantly different from how we handle
equations involving linear, polynomial or rational functions. Of course equations like
3x = 9 or 2x = 16 can be solved easily using number sense, but equations like 7x =
10 need special techniques, and that’s where logarithms come in.
Logarithms were invented in the early 17th century as a way to simplify some
calculations. For example: if you need to multiply 7,000 * 80,000, you can multiply
7 * 8 = 56 and add seven zeros thereafter, yielding 560,000,000. Technically, you
are doing the follow calculation:
7,000 * 80,000 = (7 * 103) (8 * 104) = (7 * 8) (103 * 104) = 56 * 107 =
560,000,000.
Logarithms use properties of exponents to simplify calculations. One of the
advantages of logarithms is that problems like 7x = 10 can be written in a different
format and that simplifies the solution process. For a long time those logarithmic
expressions were approached by books of tables, but we live in the world of
technology where a simple scientific calculator can yield the information we want.
Subunit Introductions
K12MATHPRECALC
• 4.1 Exponential Functions
Exponential functions have their unknown in the
exponent of the function. Suppose you invest $2 in a
bank that doubles your money every month. The amount
of money you have after x months could be described by
the exponential function f(x) = 2x. Note that after a year
you would have f(12) = 212 = $4096. That’s fast money!
Some exponential functions get small very fast. This
subunit will help you identify exponential functions, to
find equations to describe them and to apply them to the
concept of compound interest.
Examples of Instructions
K12ELA10 Instructions:
• This video discusses four of the first
abolitionists. Think about the motivation of
each of these abolitionists. Were they
motivated by the same thing? Were they
motivated by different things? Write down the
abolitionists names mentioned in this video
and tell what motivated them. For example,
were they motivated to fight for abolition
because of their beliefs about education,
Christianity, morals, personal experiences, and
so forth?
Examples of Instructions
K12MATHGEOM Instructions:
• This page provides a series of practice
problems that allow you test your knowledge
of arcs in circles. Each question has
explanations worked out step-by-step if you
need hints along the way. The program
monitors your success, and when you have
correctly completed about six questions
consecutively, it will tell you that you are ready
to move on to a new skill.
Examples of Instructions
K12MATHSTATS Instructions:
• Please watch the video, which reviews
everything you learned in the first two
subunits. It takes you through a real-world
example of using the normal distribution to
solve a real-world problem. The lecturer also
shows you how to use the calculator
“backwards,” because you now are given a
normal probability and you want to find the
z-value or the x-value corresponding to it.
How do we implement?
• OER gives us lots of options – be selective, make sure
each resource meets our needs.
• Students need answer keys, review, and activities.
• Pick the best content and tailor it to your students’
needs.
What is challenging
for teachers?
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Distinguishing if content is open
Time commitment to vet content
Modern fiction
Fair use v. open
Interactive content
YouTube
Tricky providers – edu sources that are
copyright, YouTube.edu, DANA center, etc.
What resources have we
created to support them?
• How-to find open YouTube videos
• Webinar how-to find open content
• Resource guides for ELA and math with
categories (videos, readings, practice
problems, etc.)
• Saylor 101 and Common Core 101
• Targeted resource assists
What questions
do you have?