FIPPA, Content Creation, and OER

This week’s topic of FIPPA and Content Creation I found very eye opening, especially when it came to the fact that data for Google Classroom is stored on servers outside Canada and is therefore against FIPPA regulations.

We asked our Link to Practice facilitators how they get around this, as Google Classroom is commonly used throughout the school. They said they have to get parents to sign waivers in order for the students to have access to Google Classroom. In the event the waiver is not signed/they do not have consent, it is then on teachers to adapt for that student. This leaves me wondering why schools and districts don’t just use Microsoft Teams instead and if this would mitigate the teachers having to adapt to the problems Google Classroom poses? What exactly is the draw to using Google programs over Microsoft? I am eager to try out both management tools so I can form my own opinion about which is better/easier to use for myself and for students.

In terms of my history with content creation and WordPress, my only online content creation has really been with WordPress and Canva. I used WordPress often in high school to show learning for subjects like English, Social Justice, and Careers. In all these cases, we used WordPress as a way to display a project we had been developing. However, the interface looked significantly different and I am now finding myself a bit disoriented. But like most things, I’m hoping it gets easier overtime.

Lastly, there is Open Educational Resources. I had no idea how much free and accessible content there is for teachers online. In terms of my subject area of French, a quick google search brought my to the University of Washington’s Libraries with links to OER’s specifically for French.

My favourite OER I found from their available tools was LibreTexts, which has endless vocabulary, grammar, and verb resources for teachers and students at various French levels. The best part: every activity is available to download for free. Please check it out if you have the chance!