The American Federation of Teachers and British publishing firm TSL Education have invested $10 million together in an online repository of lesson plans, tools, and supports aligned to the Common Core State Standards. The union hopes it will become the premier destination for teachers seeking to align their instruction with the new student expectations.
Called 鈥淪hare My Lesson,鈥� will be free for any K-12 teacher in the United States. Teachers will be able to download, rate, share, and upload tools ranging from lesson plans to videos to assessments, all organized by grade level, content area, and particular skills.
鈥淧eople on both sides of the pond have been working 24/7 to make this site uniquely American and make sure it鈥檚 ready for September, when teachers are coming back to their classrooms and will be expected to start teaching to the common core,鈥� said Randi Weingarten, the president of the AFT.
The product of this unusual partnership arrives right as the field of digital repositories of tools for educators has begun to expand rapidly. Depending on the source, such content can be or be state-designed or business-designed.
TSL publishes the Times Education Supplement, the U.K.'s primary and secondary education trade magazine鈥攅ssentially, its version of 91直播. Four years ago, it also launched an for teachers to share resources, called TES. TES is now the largest such network in the world. (TSL reported operating profits of 拢8.4 million in 2011.)
Share My Lesson鈥檚 infrastructure is largely drawn from that of TES. About 100,000 U.S. teachers already belonged to the TES, and those teachers will be transitioned to the Share My Lesson platform.
Teacher volunteers from more than 70 AFT districts helped to comb through TES resources, translate them into American English where necessary, and align them to common-core skills. They also played a role in designing the new system鈥檚 features.
New Features?
Louise Rogers, the chief executive officer of TSL, outlined elements of the site that she says sets it apart from other teacher-resource networks. For one, all the resources, ratings, and reviews will be driven by teachers. The site鈥檚 look, design, and interface were also designed by teachers, and its resources are categorized and organized to reflect American teachers鈥� thinking. Finally, the resources will be free and open to K-12 teachers, and their personal data will never be sold, Rogers said.
One interesting feature identifies the user who contributed each resource, allowing teachers who have created the most popular and highest-rated lessons to receive recognition for their efforts.
鈥淚t makes superstars of particular teachers,鈥� Rogers noted. 鈥淭he teachers that create and share the best resources become celebrities because of the quality of their work.鈥�
The partners hope to make Share My Lesson the No. 1 destination for teachers seeking resources for the common core, though that remains an open question in light of the increasing number of similarly themed sites.
For example, the Council of Chief State School Officers last year announced plans for an to aid states and districts in the development and dissemination of resources aligned to the common core. This , now known as the , is currently being piloted in six districts and five states (with four more scheduled to come on board); like Share My Lesson, it has a 鈥渃rowdsourcing鈥� feature for rating resources.
Some states, such as California and , have also begun to devise networks for teachers to share common-standards resources on their own. And finally, the two assessment consortia that are designing tests aligned to the common core are planning to put out model curricula and tools.
These efforts come in addition to other common-core courses and curricula that major for-profit companies like Pearson, as well as smaller nonprofits, are devising.
It鈥檚 not clear how far the partners鈥� initial $10 million investment will go to maintain the site: A long-term cost strategy hasn鈥檛 yet been decided on, they said. Charging for some degree of premium content is one potential option. Another possibility is Web advertising, of which the TES has a minimal amount, but 鈥測ou can鈥檛 put [a lot of] it on a teacher site and keep it credible,鈥� Rogers acknowledged.