On Thursday, March 9th, in celebration of Open Education Week, the #GoOpen National Network presented the session, OER & Digital Accessibility, featuring Cynthia Curry of the National Center on Accessible Educational Materials for Learning (AEM Center) at CAST, in conversation with Vanessa Clark, Aujalee Moore, and Matt Hiefield of the Oregon Department of Education, and facilitated by Amee Evans Godwin of ISKME and #GoOpen.Learn more about accessibility and open educational resources (OER), including shared definitions, benefits, guidelines, and implementations so that educators can better support learners with disabilities and learning preferences.

Career fairs are great places to learn about job openings, to network, and more -- but job-seekers need to be prepared. Career fairs can be critical tools for job search success -- whether job-seekers use them to get an internship or job, or, whether job-seekers use them as a networking tool. Regardless of how you plan to take advantage of your next job expo or career fair, here are some key resources to help you make the most of the experience -- as well as key resources for finding your next career or career fair.

This lesson asks students to examine the concept of cultural appropriation and the impact that contemporary acts of cultural appropriation may have on Native Americans in Oregon and across the country. Students will participate in two activities. First, they will engage in a whole-class discussion about cultural appropriation, led by the teacher using the accompanying PowerPoint presentation. The presentation shows several contemporary examples of how Native culture has been generalized and appropriated by media and advertising. Second, students will engage in structured academic controversy—an instructional strategy that requires them to argue one side of an issue, then change sides and argue the opposing view. The background section of this lesson offers a brief of overview of how Native American cultures have been appropriated by the media, advertising, entertainers, artists, writers, and others. The following definition of cultural appropriation may be useful for both teachers and students: Cultural appropriation is the adoption of the elements of another culture (often a minority group) by members of the dominant culture. It is an unequal exchange in that the appropriators often uses these stolen elements for monetary gain or prestige, without regard for the value, respect, or importance paid to these images and traditions in the original culture.

In this lesson, students will have the opportunity to learn about one such game, which is often called double ball in English. Double ball is a team sport that is similar to the contemporary game of lacrosse, in that it involves multiple players using long sticks and a ball, with the purpose—in most versions—of getting the ball across a goal line or through some sort of target. Many tribes, including several in Oregon, played a version of double ball and continue to do so today.While focused on physical education, this lesson reinforces two important concepts that are woven throughout this curriculum. First, students will learn that while there are many similarities across tribal nations and Indigenous communities— including some of the games they play—Native American people are far from homogeneous and in fact represent a rich diversity of unique cultures. Second, students will be encouraged to think about how the specific natural environment in which a given tribe lived—its ancestral territory— shaped its identity and culture in both large and small ways. Understanding this strong connection to place is essential to understanding and respecting Native American cultures in Oregon and across North America, past and present.

Tribal nations and Indigenous communities throughout North America have always enjoyed games and athletic activities that provide entertainment, teach skills of physical and mental endurance, promote tribal values such as teamwork and fairness, and allow individuals and teams to challenge themselves in competition. These games and activities range from the simple hand (or“stick”) game that dates back thousands of years to the modern-day Indian Relay Races that oftendraw large crowds. Even in the pre-contact era there were some similarities in the games playedby tribes in a given region or even in completely different parts of the country, but there were also many variations in the rules, materials, and methods of play. In this lesson, students will learn how to play one version of the hand game and will hear about some of the variations in the playing materials and rules used by different tribes in Oregon. Students will learn to take cues from opponents to identify the hand that holds the chosen item.

This lesson explores the concepts of personal and cultural identity and asks students to reflect on how their own sense of identity might impact their health. The lesson provides a holistic look at the different types of health people experience.  While the lesson acknowledges that discrimination based on identity is an unfortunate fact of life for many people, identity can also be used as a springboard to better health. This concept is explored in the second activity. The lesson also draws on examples from Native American culture to show how survivance and physical identity expression can support a positive experience of health.

In this lesson students will learn basic concepts about nutrition while also exploring traditional Indigenous food practices. Students will first learn about energy balance: how the human body derives energy and nutrients from food and expends it through daily activities such as exercise. Next, they will review current recommendations for eating and exercise that promote good health. Finally, they will identify plants and animals that are native to Oregon and provided a well-rounded and nutritious diet for Indigenous people since time immemorial.

Presentation about How the Selection of HQIM Addresses Challenges Presented in TNTP's The Opportunity Myth. Content adapted from slides by The New Teacher Project.

Attribution: SANS Security Awareness In today's digital age, your personal information is more valuable than ever. Unfortunately, this also makes it a prime target for identity theft. Understanding this threat, detecting it, and knowing how to protect yourself are essential elements in safeguarding your online digital life. 

Attribution: SANS Security Awareness Identity theft happens when a criminal steals information about you and uses that information to commit fraud, such as requesting unemployment benefits, tax refunds, or a new loan or credit card in your name. If you don’t take precautions, you may end up paying for products or services that you didn’t buy and dealing with the stress and financial heartache that follows identity theft. Your personal information exists in numerous places all over the internet. Every time you browse or purchase something online, watch a video, buy groceries, visit your doctor, or use an app on your smartphone, information about you is being collected. That information is often legally sold or shared with other companies. Even if just one of these gets hacked, the criminals can gain access to your personal information. Assume that some information about you is already available to criminals and consider what you can do to slow down or detect the use of your information for fraud

Slides to teach students about how and why to build a LinkedIn profile.

This math lesson introduces students to an important element of Native American culture: thepow wow. These are public events in which Native people celebrate and share their culture; honorfriends, family members, elders, and military veterans; participate in singing and dancing; and display traditional skills and crafts. There are more than a dozen pow wows held in Oregon each year, from early spring to early fall, in all regions of the state. Most pow wows are also open to non-Native people. In this lesson, pow wows serve as the basis for a task-rich exercise in which students choose which pow wow to attend and then calculate the related expenses. The lesson allows students to develop their skills in using math for contextual problem solving and to make informed decisions. 

Many federal policies have had a negative impact on tribal nations in Oregon. This is particularly true in the area of fishing rights. The treaties signed with many different tribes ensured access to traditional Native fishing grounds, but the U.S. government later attempted to limit or eliminate this access. The tribes have fought back in the courts, and there have been several high-profile cases over the past several decades. In this lesson, students will examine these treaty rights violations through the application of linear equations.

Philanthropy is a core value of Native American tribes in Oregon. Many tribes refer to this as the “spirit of potlatch,” which is a tradition that goes back hundreds and possibly thousands of years. In this spirit, many tribes have created charitable foundations or funds to support causes that benefit the local and surrounding communities. Collectively, tribal foundations are among the largest sources of philanthropy in Oregon.This lesson uses the mathematical practice of fractions to introduce students to Native philanthropy. Students are given a dataset and asked to perform fraction concepts and justify their choices as part of a philanthropic effort. Students will be addressing Critical Areas 1 and 2 while addressing mathematical practices.

In this lesson, students will learn essential information about taxes and how they impact enrolledmembers of federally recognized Native American Tribes. Many people believe that Native Americans do not pay taxes and therefore should not benefit from federal and state tax-supported programs. This lesson debunks that myth and helps students understand the complex interrelation between state, federal, and Tribal governments and tax systems. Students will also complete a math exercise using piecewise functions to analyze and calculate federal and Oregon state income taxes. The lesson can stand on its own or serve as a complement to or extension of other math lessons.