Overview

Knowledge in the New Millennium

Perhaps one day the 21st Century will be remembered as the time when knowledge became available to everyone for free.  Pioneers in open learning like Wikipedia have harnessed the collective intellect of the planet “to collect and develop educational content under a free license or in the public domain, and to disseminate it effectively and globally." (Wikipedia)

Prestigious centers of learning are also making good use of the Internet’s power to share knowledge in the form of OpenCourseWare (OCW). OCW can best be defined as high quality digital publications created by leading American universities that are organized as courses of study, offered free of charge, and delivered via the Internet.  OCW courses are available under open licenses, such as Creative Commons.  These courses allow for personalization of studies as students explore topics of their choosing.

The Independent OpenCourseWare Study Program

The Independent OpenCourseWare Study (IOCS) Program developed by Juliana Meehan and Eric Sheninger and pioneered at New Milford High School represents a bold, authentic learning experience for secondary students that allows them to fully utilize OCW to pursue learning that focuses on their passions, interests, and career aspirations. IOCS is aligned to Common Core, ISTE NETS•S and state technology curriculum standards as well as the Partnership for 21st Century Skills Framework for 21st Century Skills.

IOCS students choose from an array of OpenCourseWare offerings from such schools as MIT, Harvard, Yale, University of California at Berkeley, Stanford, and many others and apply their learning to earn high school credit.

The IOCS experience is accessed through the IOCS website, which contains links to OCW offerings that are constantly updated.  The site also provides an overview of the program, the IOCS Rubric, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), and a Google form through which students register for courses.  Other documents, like periodic check-in forms, are also available on the site.

Overview    .    How IOCS Works    .    The IOCS Rubric    .    IOCSRResources    

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