Having attended the OER Conference for Social Studies in the past, I would say each of these options has been exremely helpful to my work as an educator. Previously, I remember listening to John Greene talk about his experiences as an author and passion for storytelling. When I introduce our class to my students at the start of the year, I always reference this. History is storytelling at its best! Collaboration with other educators is also incredibly important. Last year, several educators talked specifically about the video platform Flipgrid. Raving about the level of engagement they observed in their classroom. Having never heard about this platform, I did my research and quickly realized this would be an excellent learning tool for my class. And sure enough, it has become an essential device I use to teach my class. One of the perks about teaching is having the summer to recharge your batteries, so I don't know about you, but I could always use a positive, low-stress learning environment to get me ready for the school year. That is one of the biggest reasons I tune in. Prep me for the school year in a relaxed yet stimulating way. And, oh yeah, you get PD hours for this. I am really excited about attending again this year and looking forward to seeing you all there.

This will be my first year teaching OER. I want all the knowledge, support, and excitement I can soak in. I’m worried it’s going to be a long year

This will be my third OER Conference and I think what keeps me coming back is the variety of topics and new ideas I encounter each year.  Last year hearing Brian Stevenson talk and then reading his book Just Mercy really helped me adjust my mindset.  It made me think about how I could apply this in teaching.  That students really are more than their worst grade.  That if I could find ways to engage them and keep approaching each learning opportunity like it was their first then at some point I might breakthrough and engage them in their learning.  This led to some changes in my classroom with grading and the pacing of assignments. I also included the book Just Mercy in my Civics curriculum and my students loved it. It led to great discussions and some students who often resisted engaging in class finally engaged in discussion and reading in class.  For a few students this was the one unit they really participated in. 

Each year I take something away from the conference that I can put into practice and help my students to achieve even more. This year I'm giving a bit back by being a "Talk" creator and looking forward to the discussions about the Talk topics. 

Hey Larena Pickett So glad you will be joining us this year and welcome to the OER Project Family. This will be my fourth year using the OER Curriculum so if you have any questions feel free to reach out to me or other members of the OER Community. There are a number of dedicated educators here working together to support each other and we share ideas for best practices in order to help improve our learners' understanding of history. I routinely post images of various activities my students complete and reflect on lessons, so please feel free to grab an idea if that helps. The reason I really appreciate the OER Project is it breaks history down and makes it more accessible for our 21st Century learners to understand. It is also important to appreciate the first year can seem challenging because it is new, but ultimately, choose the activities that you are most comfortable with. Trust me when I say, your students will appreciate these activities more than typical textbook work. Wishing you the best of luck with your process and again, if you have any questions about anything throughout the course of the year, feel free to reach out to me or post in our community. All good things! 

This  will be my third year attending the OER conference and I always leave with valuable resources, ideas, and inspiration for my classes. It comes at the perfect time of the year, when we return from our summer holidays full of enthusiasm to innovate and plan the courses. The keynote speakers are certainly a big attraction but also the pre-recorded sessions because they provide novel points of view and ideas to implement in the classroom. The fact that there is a synchronous and asynchronous modality helps tremendously. You can always go back and re-watch the videos. I advertise the conference among members of the History Department because there is top level discussions and materials for every level of instruction. 

My favorite kind of PD is that which provides strategies that I can readily integrate into my classroom instruction. Getting inspiration from the track talks is a great way to “freshen up” my lessons as we embark on another school year! The keynote speakers look pretty incredible too!

I have been using the OER project resources for a year now.  I appreciate the tie in with Newsela for reading levels, and I appreciate the thoughtful questions that accompany the articles and videos.  The challenge for me has been using the resources for higher thinking, such as contextualization.  It is so important to our students to use this skill, but I need help with the practicalities. 

I also enjoy the clock hours.

I am looking forward to attending this year's OER Conference for social studies. I'm most looking forward to gaining enthusiasm and inspiration for the school year. The past couple of years have been challenging (to say the least), but one of thing that was the silver lining of it all was making the transition to teaching middle school and using Big History Project. I'm enthusiastic about collaborating with other teachers to share successes, struggles, and creative ideas.

This is my first time going to anything Social Studies related. I normally go to ELA but teach both and wanted to learn more to help teach SS. 

Melissa Solorzano  I have also taught ELA for many years and find that there are so many relevant connections between best teaching practices in ELA that can be brought into social studies. I hope you find the conference engaging! You might be interested in the Social Studies Summer Book club (Why Learn History when it's already on your phone by Sam Wineburg). I've been finding it to be a really great read so far. Here is the link to the post discussing it so far: Book Club Discussion