AFT's Weingarten: "Share My Lesson allows educators to share tried-and-true ideas, lessons and teaching tools with their colleagues to improve the quality of teaching in America."
DETROIT—The American Federation of Teachers, with British partner TES Connect, today officially launched "Share My Lesson," the nation's largest free collection of classroom resources created by teachers, for teachers, including a new section of materials for developing curricula based on the Common Core State Standards.
"Share My Lesson allows educators to share tried-and-true ideas, lessons and teaching tools with their colleagues to improve the quality of teaching in America," AFT President Randi Weingarten said.
Since it was unveiled in June, Share My Lesson has added a significant bank of resources that are mapped to help teachers implement the Common Core State Standards, a requirement for teachers in 46 states and Washington, D.C.
"The Common Core standards emphasize critical thinking and deep understanding of concepts—a far cry from the testing and test-prep mania out there," Weingarten said. "For students to develop these skills, their teachers must have the tools and support—like Share My Lesson—to educate students for the realities of the 21stcentury."
The Share My Lesson website, www.sharemylesson.com, already has more than 200,000 resources for any educator, from preschool to college.
Wanda Longoria, a 30-year teacher in the San Antonio, Texas, area who was among the more than 300 teachers who helped develop the project, told the convention how impressed she is with the nascent site's breadth and creative ideas for lessons, quizzes, videos and handouts for the different grades.
"Teachers can truly make a difference, but they need the right resources to do a great job. Share My Lesson supports teachers by giving them a place to come together and share their knowledge, skills, lesson plans and effective classroom strategies," Longoria said.
Carolyn Jones, executive vice president of the Norfolk (Va.) Federation of Teachers, told the convention that Share My Lesson avoids the deficiencies of similar resource websites.
"Share My Lesson is easy to navigate and is a one-stop shop for absolutely free uploading and downloading. Teachers in Norfolk and around the country are going to love it," Jones said.
The AFT's partner for the online site is TES Connect, the largest network of teachers in the world, with more than 400,000 resources. Louise Rogers, CEO of TSL Education, the parent company of TES Connect, said instruction becomes more creative and effective when teachers share their knowledge and experience.
"We know from experience that if you give teachers the chance, they will willingly share their best ideas, most inspiring teaching methods and most effective lesson without hesitation," Rogers said.
A video introducing Share My Lesson can be found at http://www.sharemylesson.com/article.aspx?storyCode=50000300&s_cid=Landing_IntroVideo.
Follow AFT for convention updates: http://twitter.com/AFTunion #AFTConv12