Do the Math

After reading this post, I started re-thinking the way I organize my curriculum.

Organization is the key to completing almost any task. Whether it be planning an event, writing a textbook, creating a new website, or trying to master a new subject, if there is no organization, it is much more difficult to achieve success.When I was brainstorming the issues with creating an online Algebra 1 textbook, one of the first questions that had to be answered was “How should this textbook be organized?” Usually this would be an easy question to answer. First you start with the title, then chapters, and last lessons. But as I was brainstorming, I realized that this organization structure does not fit the new school 2.0 movement.

What fits?

Whether it be a blog post, a wiki page, or a youtube video, members of the school 2.0 community organize their content by categories and tags.

A movie is 1) uploaded 2) categorized 3) tagged so it is easily found on google

A blog post is 1) categorized 2) tagged so it is easily found on google

A wiki page is 1) linked to from a category 2) tagged so it is easily found on google

So I think we should start rethinking the way we organize our classes and curriculum. I teach Algebra 1, which is similarly taught all over the planet. One thing that has always bothered me is that I cannot find free Algebra content on the web that is really really good. It is hard to find good content that fits the concept that I am trying to have my students learn.

What I Propose We Do?

I propose that somehow we universalize the organization of our school 2.0 content. I am starting with the class I teach. You can see my progress at Flat Algebra 1 Classroom Textbook. I also suggest we start universal online experiences and/or online textbooks for subjects that all schools currently teach. That is why I am trying to get a Flat Algebra 1 Classroom Project started for next school year. I figure that if I can get ten school from different areas, we can offer some great learning experiences for our Algebra 1 students.

Any Algebra 1 teachers want to give it a try?