Serendipity35

When I talk to people about open textbooks, I always point out that it is a subset of open educational resources. An article I read this week had caught my eye because it addressed a school using only open textbooks, but the interesting thing about the school is that ALL of its content is built using open content.

This virtual high school in Utah has left traditional textbooks and the "curriculum" that they drive to embrace open content for all of its coursework. In 2009, when Open High School of Utah started, it was with the plan to have no textbooks ordered, no buildings, and no classrooms. They would use a virtual environment.

Two years later, this Salt Lake City-based public charter school is using open content coursework created by its instructors and available on the Web at any time.

I first came upon the school via the article "Open Content in Practice" online at the THEjournal.com

On their demonstration site at http://www.openhighschool.org/the-ohsu-experience/see-how-ohsu-works they introduce the school by saying:
"At the Open High School of Utah, we combine our incredible Open Curriculum with an innovative teaching model that (1) provides students with one-on-one individualized tutoring when they need it, and (2) allows them to work ahead at their own pace when they don’t. The result is great flexibility for you and your student with the assurance that a caring, qualified teacher is there to help when you need it."

You can see some presentations by teachers on some of their courses (like English grade 9) on the site.

David Wiley was key in moving the school forward. Wiley is an associate professor of instructional psychology and technology at Brigham Young University and also the founder of OpenContent.org.

The school opened with 225 ninth-grade students, added 125 tenth graders in 2010. The course content for the new 11th and 12th grade students for this fall is currently under development.

If the only benefit you hear touted for using any open content is cost savings, then I question the effort. Whether it is selecting an open textbook for your class or puttingan entire school together, you would need to show that the coursework is up to date and relevant.

I like that teachers are curriculum developers and that they are paid a good amount ($8 -10,000) to produce a course. Free content, like the proverbial free lunch, has costs.

Open content is certainly easier to adapt because of local needs or changing state and federal core curriculums and standards. Teachers at the school know that curriculum writing and revising is part of the job description for teachers.

The school is accredited through the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools. It is free to attend with nominal charges for yearbooks and equipment.

They will graduate the first class in 2013 and plan to expand to 1,500 students over the next three years.



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http://www.openhighschool.org
http://www.opencontent.org