Educators should share lessons, resources, and other materials that they have created openly online

Yes, I believe that teachers can share their lessons, resources and materials online but I do not believe that they should be forced to do so. After my internship my cooperating teacher also gave me a large amount of her resources, as explained in this article but it was mostly resources rather than the specific lessons.  With an increase of online teaching resources, both free and purchased, co teaching relationships may start to decrease because teachers are forming ideas for online resources rather than brainstorming with other teachers. 

As a teacher currently teaching outside of my subject area I would love to have free lessons, resources and materials. On the other hand, if I were to be have all of those resources for free then I would not research and teach myself as much because the resources would be made for me. I would not have the background for the lessons, and may not be able to teach as effectively. With new times like online learning I am glad that I found online facebook groups that are willing to share activities with each other. As explained in Teachers Share Resources for Teaching Online During Coronavirus School Closures, professional Learning communities were important during the original shut down of schools as teachers were able to share ideas and resources to teacher dealing with main different issues. 

OER Benefit Educators, Students, Districts, and the Community

• Increase Equity.
• By giving out free resources can we limit the amount of inequality with teachers. Would it be possible to create these resources to give each student a chance to learn the same information? 
  • Personalize learning, Customizable experiences
  • Support competency-based education
  • OER are available to learners of all ages
• Keep Content Relevant and High Quality
  • OER are hosted online, so they can be updated more quickly than traditional print textbooks
  •  Flexible, not static
• Empower Teachers and Students 
• Here is where the issue of differing curriculums can be an issues. Would it be easier to make OERs for the province of Saskatchewan or should teachers be looking at different provinces and countries. 
  • Teachers have more freedom to design learning experiences by creating or finding a wide variety of high-quality, standards-aligned OER to support and supplement their teaching.
  • Students can use OER to supplement their studies, as well as create OER while learning.  
  • Unlimited possibilities
• Save Money
  • Free, minimal costs
  • Savings can be diverted to teaching and learning
  • Streamline content delivery

There is a difference between creating a weak or basic unit plan and a create in-depth unit plan full of materials. Is it far that those different units can be sold for the same amount of money

Unlike other side jobs, selling teaching resources is not taking away from a teacher’s actual job since they would be creating some parts of these things for their classroom already. This article “Don’t Blame Teachers for Selling Their Lesson Plans. Blame the System That Makes It Necessary” explains that yes teachers love students but that does not mean that they are required to do share their materials for free, the metaphor used is doctors don’t give free medical advice for the children. Yes, it is okay to give some resources to other people or post online just like a doctor can choose to give free medical advice to a family in need but neither are necessary.

What is the difference between the resources and lessons found within published teaching book and the online lessons and resources? There are some copyright issues when changing TPT lessons but where does the line get drawn. 

I think it is amazing when teachers want to help each other by giving free lesson, resources and materials but I also believe that teachers should have the chance to make money on different resources that they created on their own time.  It is great to give free resources or to ask for compensation, whatever the teacher chooses is best for them. In the end, it is up to the teacher using the resources to make them fit their own teaching style and the requirements of their students and curriculum.