Should Teachers Pay Teachers or Share Freely? My #GoOpen Verdict at #TLTechLive

Today I will be presenting at #TLTechLive in Princeton, NJ where among other things I will be discussing why the U.S. Department of Education wants teachers, schools, districts, and states to #GoOpen.  I was interested in discussing this topic after attending #ISTE2016 when Amazon announced "Inspire" and then there was a debate about if teachers should pay teachers or share freely. I wrote an article on the topic which immediately received dozens of comments.

When I wrote the post my mind wasn't made up but after having numerous conversations and reading and responding to 92 comments and having a conversation on Twitter with the person who was the head of #GoOpen at the time, made a personal decision which you can read here and a global outlook.


The Verdict...

Teachers should not pay teachers.

And...

Teachers should not share freely.

Instead...

Teachers should be compensated by their schools, districts, government grants, philanthropic organizations, or from some other funding stream to create materials that are then made available freely. This way the teachers are compensated for their time and the world benefits.

I'll be saying more of this today at the #TLTechLive event. If all goes well, you can stay tuned here for a livestream of the panel.