The Hottest Post Ever That Everybody's Commenting On: Should Teachers Sell or Share?

I recently shared the hottest post ever that everyone was reading on The Innovative Educator which garnered more than 17,000 views in one week.  That post shared secrets to success for getting your principal to say yes from former @NYCSchools Principal Jason Levy (@Levy_Jason).

This week's hottest post, makes it to the top for the number of comments generated in a week. The post asks the question which served as a hot topic at the recent #ISTE2016 conference:

"Should teachers sell to teachers or share freely?"

I share the views on both sides from prominent educators then asked readers to decide. Of the 90+ comments, most were from those who engaged in thoughtful discourse. Some decided to attack the author rather than the issue. Ultimately it was a strong conversation. Even a member of the United States Office of Ed Tech chimed in on Twitter, though he jumped out of the conversation when pushed for some hard answers on his viewpoint.

You can see that conversation here and below:

When I wrote the piece, I was not sure how I felt about the topic.

After the thoughtful and lively discourse on my face off question: "Should teachers share or sell?"
the conclusion I came to was this:

If I am creating material as part of my job, a speaking engagement, or event that I am compensated for, I share the materials I create freely. If I am doing something outside the hours of my job or paid activity, I may create something (such as a book or curriculum materials) for which I request compensation. Ideally, that compensation would not come from fellow teachers but rather from a school, district, grant, or corporation. In the best case scenario, that material would then be provided free to teachers. An example of that is a project I managed where teachers came together after work hours to create social media guidelines, activity books, infographics, and curricular materials. The teachers were compensated from grant funding. The materials are available for free to educators, students, and families at Schools.nyc.gov/socialmedia.

You can check out the post and comments here. If you want to share your thoughts on the issue please jump in on that post or start fresh here.

Face Off: Should Teachers Pay Teachers Or Share Freely?

Summer is the time that innovative educators reflect on their practice and begin putting in place plans to make their upcoming year better than ever. The big debate at #ISTE2016 this year is which materials they'll use to do that.  

Sparking this debate is @AmazonEdu's Inspire (click here for early access). Amazon announced yesterday that they would use their familiar marketplace look and feel with a search bar, ratings, and reviews to offer teachers a platform where they can access tens of thousands of lesson plans, worksheets, and other instructional materials just in time for the back to school season this August. 

At @AmazonEdu Inspire vs @TpTdotcom. Advantages/disadvantages. What say you #ISTE2016 attendees? pic.twitter.com/AlJCES2JK0

— Lisa Nielsen (@InnovativeEdu) June 28, 2016

But what does this mean for the more than 2 million teachers who are already paying other teachers for this type of content on the popular Teachers Pay Teachers website where teachers earn money for the materials they've created for the classroom?

If you are Tom Whitby or Steve Anderson, authors of The Relevant Educator Amazon Inspire is on the right track. In their recent talk at #ISTE2016 they shared that they believe relevant educators don't pay each other they share with each other freely. 

#RelevantEdu teachers shouldn't pay teachers. Teachers should be sharing. - @web20classroom at #iste2016 pic.twitter.com/a7ESOJXmUV

— Lisa Nielsen (@InnovativeEdu) June 27, 2016

On the other side of the debate are educators like Angela Maiers and Vicki Davis.  They believe that when teachers are compensated, they are motivated to create materials that surpass the quality of anything processed by the textbook industry muddle machine. Angela and Vicki explain that when teachers enter the freelance marketplace, they work on their own time to transform what they use for the classroom into quality materials with instructions that can be used in the world.  

So, what do you think?  Should educators pay each other or share their genius freely?

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Update: It seems it may be a little harder than Amazon anticipated to make teacher materials free on a popular site. The New York Times reports that some of the content was pegged as being for sale on Teachers Pay Teachers. As a result it can not be given away freely. Similarly, Teachers Pay Teachers has had ongoing issues of teachers selling works they don’t have to the rights to. It is understandable, that there may be times that sites have material that violates copyright. Both companies are working on an efficient process to identify and remove such content.

Ultimately, as the dust settles and these industries emerge, copyright will become more clear, fall into place, and in the end teachers will win with a more vetted, higher quality of materials where sources are cited and permissions are granted.  

Being a #RelevanEdu cator in a Digital World: #ISTE2016 Insights fr @TomWhitby + @Web20Classroom

How do teachers maintain relevance in an ever-changing digital world? Tom Whitby and Steve Anderson shared ideas with a room full of educators at #ISTE2016.  One big idea is that relevant educators share freely with the world. There were several others. 

Below is a recap of what they shared that stood out for me.  Take a look and consider how this can impact the work you do.

Future of Education Highlights from Dr @MichioKaku at #ISTE2016

The #ISTE2016 opening keynote was Dr Michio Kaku who had powerful insights impacting the future of education.  Here is a recap of what he shared that stood out for me.  Take a look and consider how this can impact teaching and learning where you work.