Social network sites, such as Nings, allow teachers to share lesson plan ideas. Many teachers maintain websites where their lessons are readily available to others. But what about the selling and buying of lessons plans online. Check this front page article in the New York Times today: Selling Lesson Plans Online Raises Cash and Questions. Let us know what you think?Image from the article, credit and photo caption:
Ruby Washington/The New York Times, Ms. Bohrer has sold 31 M&M counting exercises, which come with directions, sorting mats and work sheets, for $3 each.
11 comments:
I think the idea of selling lesson plans online is awesome. I know that as a young teacher, I am going to want any type of guidance or already existing template for a unit because I will be a little self consious of creating my own. I'm not saying that I want to buy every single one I can, but just a few so I can get in the hang of things. I also think it's a great way for great teachers to earn a little extra cash on the side, whether they spend that money on their class or themselves. I don't think that schools have any right going against teachers who are selling their unit/lesson plans, because they are the teachers, the schools do not own those plans. I also think selling these lesson/unit plans would be a great idea for any retired teachers, or teachers who are having a hard time finding a job who need a little extra cash.
I have mixed feelings about selling lesson plans. I am unclear as to who exactly owns the intellectual property. As an employee in the corporate world, anything that I created on the job remained the intellectual property of the company. I was forbidden to disseminate or sell any of the information even if it benefited the company or client (without prior written authorization). While teachers are creating these plans "on their own time" the prep time outside of class is considered an ordinary and usual part of the job so I would argue that they are not able to sell it. However, the spin on this is that most teachers readily give the stuff away which is not "corporate-like" so the rules may not apply. Interestingly, in the world of religous education where I am currently employed, current, relevant and engaging lesson plans are difficult to find. My church subscribes to the Center for Minsitry Development (for a pretty good annual fee). As a result, I have access to seasonal lesson plans, gathered teen nights, and service ideas to name a few. Seems like the religious world does not take issue with selling the intellectual property (although anything developed in a church setting is readily shared and fees would be frowned upon).
Apparently, the NYT article set off a flurry of responses. I found this in Teacher Magazine today. See what some teachers have had to say on the topic of teachers selling lesson plans online.
http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2009/11/18/norton_sales.html?tkn=LVVFk%2FzHNgnJrihZpRZAbTANqqrKS0h9jnbj
I agree with the article when it stated that selling lesson plans is a way for teachers to finally get the deserved recognition for their hard work. I think it's great that teachers are selling lesson plans after having them available online for free for so many years. Alot of research, time, knowledge, subject and grade level expertise and effort goes into creating any given lesson plan, let alone an entire unit plan. And with the increasing demands and necessity to address the varying needs of all of the unique learners. Developing a lesson plan is so much more than just using the textbooks provided by the district. It entails having in depth understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of each learner in the room so that individualized instruction is provided at all times. Lesson development requires knowledge of special education learners, IEPs and differentiation and modification. It means providing reteaching moments and opportunites for enrichment. It involves having a repetoire of classroom management techniques. I strongly feel that any lesson a teacher creates should be a product that teacher can do with as they wish...sell it or give it away.
I agree with Kim G. As a 5th year teacher I have put in numerous hours developing different lesson plans for 5 different classes throughout the years. A good example is when a new course is thrown into the curriculum. If a teacher has to create the curriculum from scratch, order all the textbooks and write a syllabus then that teacher should be entitled to do anything she wants with her "lesson plans". I do believe that teachers should share with another, because we are all in this together, but if someone has put in a lot of extra time and effort I completely understand why she wouldn't just want to give it all out for free. We do work in a most often thankless profession, and for people not in the field I think it's extremely difficult for them to actually see how much time we put into lesson planning during and outside of school time. It really irks me also to see that these lesson plans could possibly be seen as "property" of the town or Board of Education. If one person created everything from scratch, it should belong to that person.
I am not sure how I feel about selling lesson plans online. Initially, I was opposed to the selling of lesson plans online because we are all in this together. Collaboration is synonymous with teaching. It is pointless to reinvent the wheel when there is so little time as it is, so sharing ideas and lesson plans among colleagues is a must. Therefore, I think teachers should have access to lesson plans for free without having to spend money on them. However, if a teacher spent countless hours putting together a unit on the civil war for instance and wanted to charge money for her hard labor, I can understand this. I could also understand a teacher who spent many hours modifying lesson plans to make them appropriate for special education students and wanting monetary compensation for sharing these plans. Something to consider is that teachers do not make a huge salary as it is, so buying lesson plans seems like a lot to ask. Personally, as a fifth grade teacher, I would never buy a lesson plan. I would rather spend the time modifying or making adjustments to a lesson I found for free online. In the article it mentions how teaching is often a "thankless profession" and that getting paid for created lessons would give credit where credit is deserved. Teaching is a hard job, there is no doubt about that, however if I believed that teaching was a thankless job, I would not be a teacher. Knowing you are helping children grow as human beings is an amazing feeling. I do not think that getting paid for producing lessons should be what gives a teacher the boost she needs to continue in a "thankless profession."
Similar to the other posts to this blog, I also had mixed feelings about teachers selling their lesson plans to other teachers. I see both sides of it, who actually owns the lesson plans? Does the school or the teacher that designed them? I know when I took my certification classes I spent hours designing and researching information to use in my lessons. I would have loved seeing some one else's work and how they decided to present the information and maybe build off of what they already did. My fear if this was available to me is that it would not force me to think outside the box and be original with my ideas.
After reading the article and some of the other reviews that have already been posted I have to say that I also have a mixed review on this topic. I feel that teachers deserve the credit for their creation of their own lessons; however, don’t we teach our children that “sharing is caring?” I’m not sure that teachers need to be paying for ideas that we should all be sharing. I know that this year my second grade team created 3 IB planners. I know there are other people out there that could use these but I’d give it to them because I believe that is what teachers should do. I strongly believe that teachers should be able to be creative and then share their results. This will help our education system to become stronger. On the other hand, I understand that teachers are over-worked and under paid; therefore, earning extra cash could be a nice feature for all our hard work. This is an interesting issue and I wonder what will happen in the future …
My first reaction when reading this article was that teachers should not be selling their lesson plans. Us teachers need to ban together to help each other. I became a teacher in order to touch young lives and make a difference, not to become a millionaire. I would be willing to share all of my ideas and lessons with whoever needs or wants them, sharing is what makes teachers stronger. I am constantly searching the internet to find ideas for my lessons and evaluating what others have done. I generally skip the websites where I have to pay a fee. Teachers don't get paid enough as it is, why not share your hard work for free?
On the other side, I see why teachers want to make a few extra dollars, but I don't think this is the appropriate avenue. There has to be other ways of making money without selling your secrets. I feel that teachers need to ban together and do things that are in the best interests of the students. I can see some teachers taking advantage of the money they are obtaining from selling their lessons, and it's apparent from this article that some teachers have been taking advantage of it. I tend to agree with Joseph McDonald from the article when he said, "Teachers swapping ideas with one another, that’s a great thing,” he said. “But somebody asking 75 cents for a word puzzle reduces the power of the learning community and is ultimately destructive to the profession.” My cooperating teacher during my student teaching is retiring at the end of the year and has been sending me all of her materials from her teaching career, never asking anything from me. She says that she has devoted her whole life to her career and she wants to share what she's learned and collected with others. She is truly a person who is in the profession to make a difference and not a profit. I think some teachers are losing sight of why they've become teachers in the first place.
Fascinating! On the one hand, this is the beauty of the world wide commercial we call the internet. See a need and fill it, attract people to your site, and reap the benefits. Right? Not quite. Well, I don't think it's wrong, exactly. But there's something unsettling about it. Ostensibly, public school teachers are planning at least part of these lessons on the taxpayer's dime. Yes, I realize a lot of research and planning is done on a teacher's own time; but as Christina W. said, didn't we go into this profession for deeper reasons than cash? Also, as Ashley said, we are modeling values for our students. I recently overheard a highly qualified educator exclaiming, "I love the teaching part of my job! I would do it for free!" Years ago, I heard another teacher tell her students, "Integrity is what you do when nobody is watching." (You can't put a price tag on that.)
I think that being able to sell your lesson plans is a great idea. I have worked hard in making lesson plans that are engaging and meet the standards. Teachers provide schools with a service, teaching, the lessons they develop to do that service belong to the teacher. This is not acceptable in corporate companies because they would lose money if employees sold information. Not only does the teacher selling the lesson plan benefit but the teacher buying it does as well. It’s a win, win situation. This reminds me of a similar situation concerning attorneys making commercials to drum up business. At first people were appalled but now you can’t watch a show without seeing such a commercial. Besides, the real test of good teaching is not in the lesson itself but in the delivery.
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