Flexible educational resources provide students with access to different resources and provide them with flexibility in their choice when deciding on ways to show their mastery of standards and skills. When utilizing technology in the classroom, teachers can provide flexible educational resources in many ways. According to the GAPSC Standards for Personalized Learning, teachers can employ flexible education resources by providing a curated menu for students to obtain information from, utilizing engaging methods to "curate, mine, create, and organize" resources and making them accessible, and monitoring the effectiveness of digital tools in their classroom, pivoting as needed. The major benefit of flexible educational resources is that they are always changing. Traditionally, schools employed a textbook or a particular set of materials that did not change; however, flexible resources can change with the students and the teacher depending on their needs at any given time.

One way that teachers can utilize flexible educational resources is through open educational resources (OER). In his article, Bixler explains that OER are public domain materials that are not subject to copyright laws; he further explains the four benefits of OER: they start out digital but can be shared in print, they are shared around the world, they are free, and they are customizable. OER have also been endorsed federally through the Every Student Succeeds Act signed into law in 2015 by former President Obama. Finding and/or creating multiple flexible materials can take a lot of time that educators do not have at their fingertips. Using OER can alleviate stress from teachers and allow them to be more productive with their time, because many open educational resources can be found, evaluated, and potentially tweaked for student use in the same amount of time it might take that same teacher to create one material on his/her own. Educators can provide various ways for their students to learn and interact with content to assist them in their mastery, which can lead to increased engagement and student success.

Once teachers have their digital resources selected and have evaluated them to ensure that they are appropriate to use with their students, they have to put them somewhere accessible to the students. Lynch suggests having a central "hub" where students can access all digital resources they may need for your class. This may be a Single Sign-On portal or another resource, such as these shared by Gilkison: Blendspace, Symbaloo, and Wakelet. If a teacher has a teacher webpage, that can also act as a hub for digital resources. Overall, teachers should strive to eliminate as much confusion and unnecessary searching time as possible for their students. Organizing digital materials in an easy-to-find manner can alleviate stress for our students who are still learning how to navigate various digital resources within the same day or even the same class period.

Finally, when considering which digital tools to utilize in the classroom and which resources will be most beneficial to students, Vander Ark has provided criteria for learning platforms including potential components and services provided to different stakeholders. One important thing in particular that he highlights is that educators should be looking for digital resources and platforms that are mobile device-friendly. Many students still do not have their own personal computers and/or the ability to check out a device from their school. However, more students do have access to either their own or their guardian's smart phone. If educators can utilize resources that can be accessed on a smart phone, this provides increased equitability for students who need to look at materials and/or complete work outside of the school day. Use of these kinds of resources also increases flexibility due to educational apps that do not have a desktop webpage equivalent, because students can find and use these resources to demonstrate mastery in addition to resources provided on the computer. For example, I can create a GooseChase scavenger hunt on my computer, but students would need access to the smart phone app in order to participate. Currently, all of my students have access to a smart phone, so I could allow them to utilize this tool in order to show me real-world connections to their Latin curriculum. Vander Ark has the right idea with the consideration of mobile device-friendly resources that educators often overlook.

Three educational resources that I have monitored and observed this school year are Quizizz, Nearpod, and Gimkit.

I mostly use Quizizz for multiple choice questions over reading comprehension and Latin grammatical constructions. If it is something like a grammar practice (e.g. the screenshot below in which students identified grammar constructions from the context of a story) then I will allow students multiple attempts for practice. The reports help me see who needed more than one attempt, which questions were missed the most, and more. I have changed how I ask questions on Quizizz over time, because I noticed that some formats confuse my students. One feature that my students have agreed makes Quizizz effective is that I can put in an explanation for the correct answer after each question, so my students can be working at different paces but all receive the same immediate feedback that allows them to learn and pivot in their thinking.

I use Nearpod for a variety of purposes and I implement multiple question types. The screenshot below was for a review for the final exam, and I mostly utilized open-ended questions and matching pairs questions. Students had to complete some kind of mini assessment for the grammar concept from each chapter. The reports gave me good feedback, and I determined that Nearpod is still effective for the data we need from it, because it let me know who was struggling with which concept as well as how I can better ask questions after receiving feedback from my students.

Finally, I use Gimkit for multiple purposes as well. For every unit, there are usually three chapters, and each chapter has a cultural reading section. When reviewing for the test for each unit, students have to go back through all three cultural topics, and there is a lot of information. The screenshot below is from a culture Gimkit that prepared students for their test. I pulled all the major points and details from the three readings and put them into this Gimkit for them to study. This resource was extremely effective. I posted it as an optional study resource a few days before the test, and the data showed that the students who completed the Gimkit before the assessment did much better than the students who did not review using the Gimkit.

Bixler, N. (2021, September 21). What are open educational resources (OER)? Hapara. https://hapara.com/blog/what-are-open-educational-resources/

Every Student Succeeds Act, 20 U.S.C. § 6301 (2015). https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/1177

Georgia Professional Standards Commission. (2019, January 15). GAPSC standards for personalized learning.
https://www.gapsc.com/Rules/Current/EducatorPreparation/505-3-.108.pdf?dt=%3C%25

Gilkison, N. (2019, March 2). Organize your digital resources. Smekens. https://www.smekenseducation.com/Organize-Your-Digital-Resources0/

Lynch, M. (2018, May 27). How to future proof your school district's digital ecosystem. The Tech Advocate.
https://www.thetechedvocate.org/how-to-future-proof-your-school-districts-digital-ecosystem/

Vander Ark, T. (2015, Jan 29). How learning will work in the near future: 12 features of next-gen platforms. Getting Smart.
https://www.gettingsmart.com/2015/01/29/learning-will-work-near-future-12-features-next-gen-platforms/