Learning+Objects

=Learning Objects=

Learning Objects are pedagogical resources that can be reused. They are wonderful for differentiating and providing students with various ways to learn and experience material in their classroom.

[|Librivox] Through Librivox, students would be able to do one of two things: listen to literature or volunteer to read poems and stories which are then recorded. The goal of Librivox is to make all public domain books available as free audio books. This is an amazing resource for an English teacher, and I am really excited to use it. Much of literature, especially ancient literature, is meant to be spoken, and its meaning is best understood when it is experienced in multiple ways.

[|Teacher's Domain] This site grants educators free digital media from public TV broadcasters for educational use. There is an English Language Arts section with many exciting resources that I can use, such as interactive games, poetry readings, video segments, and lessons. Users can also search for materials via individual state standards, which makes it a very useful learning object.

[|Open Yale Courses] This project provides free and open access to a selection of introductory courses at Yale University. I am extremely excited to use this. There is a classics section as well as an English one. I explored the English track, found a Milton class, was able to click on a lecture subject I found intriguing, and then had my choice of transcript, audio or video. How perfect for the student who desires to learn independently at a fast pace. The possibilities for independent learning and differentiation are endless with this learning object!

[|MIT Courses] This learning object works in a similar fashion to the Yale one. Courses are accessible through video or audio, and although there are mainly science based classes, I did find some interesting ones that I would use in teaching English, such as a film making, philosophy, etc. It would be a great resource for all scholars.

[|TED Ideas] TED Ideas is an amazing learning object. It features a huge variety of videos of speakers in all subject areas, many of them very inspirational. I found Steve Jobs' Commencement Speech at Stanford University in 2005, and watched the entire thing (with tears in my eyes). That is something I would show my students. Telling your students who someone else was has no weight compared to listening and watching that person share their thoughts and ideas. What a great way to bring in new ideas and perspectives into a classroom!