Creating your Digital Library
Type of Technology: Website
SAMR Model rating: Modification
Grade levels: K-12
Subject areas: Primarily Math and Science
Cost: Free
With the ongoing shift to Common Core and continued progression into the digital classroom many teachers have an increased anxiety as textbooks are being fazed out. How are we going to effectively find resources and keep them organized to do our job? I was recently fortunate enough to attend a workshop with Diana Laufenburg who is a guru of sorts on educational recourses. One of the resources that she introduced us to was CK-12 which is described as a free online textbook and resource site. Their mission is to reduce the cost of, and increase access to, K-12 education in the United States and worldwide.
personal library within ck12
For the past month I have been exploring this resource and have found that it can be very valuable to help us organize and create textbooks and resources for our practice. The site provides both student and teacher versions and is free. As you sign in you are taken to a dashboard which gives you a plethora of subjects to choose from, you can also create classes and Flexbook-textbooks. The Flexbook area allows you to save and organize resources. You can easily organize resources by subject and topic into a single folder. You can download into PDFs and print for handouts or assign to students electronically. The resources you save to the Flexbook are editable, which is really usefl. Folders, Flexbooks and resources are kept in your library tab of your dashboard which can be organized in a variety of ways.
resources within library, highlights added in edit mode.
With this website you are given the flexibility to create and organize your curriculum designed to your specific pedagogical needs. You can edit out the information you feel isn’t necessary and pare it down to what you really want students to comprehend. You may also add highlights and notes to the text. Students have the same ability, as they read an assigned text they can highlight and write notes. These are the features that sets CK-12 apart from other sites that allow you to upload and organize your resources.
CK-12 can be used by any subject area teacher at any grade level. If you are looking to find resources it is best suited for Science and Math. The resources for English and Social studies are limited.
