Welcome!
Hi,
After 11 years of teaching at UCLA, I started teaching high school at Monroe High School in Los Angeles in 2004, where I began developing strategies and practices that have become known as Open-Source Learning. I joined the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District in 2006, and I've taught my courses as hybrid learning communities that operated both in campus classrooms and also on the public internet. If you'd like to learn more about Open-Source Learning, here is a short video that was produced by Lesson Planet and the Santa Barbara County Education Office.
Because of the pandemic and campus closures, we've all been forced to reevaluate our practices and adapt to collaborating online. I've been asked by SMJUHSD to create this site as a resource for teachers, students, and parents.
Please bookmark this URL and follow the blog (click the blue FOLLOW button on the right side of the screen) so that you can receive updates automatically.
Part of the Open-Source Learning experience is expanding our network. We are surrounded by wisdom and experience, and this is a time to ask for it. Begin family and friends. As the year rolls on, we may need to connect with experts in specific fields - they're out there, and many of them are generous and willing to help. By the end of the year we will have an entire community to help support and guide our work. If you choose to, you will also have your own blog/ website that you can use to share value with anyone you like - in the past, students have found these helpful in reaching out to prospective employers, scholarship judges, and college admissions officers.
This year will be challenging. It will also offer us unique experiences to thrive. I'm here to help. Please feel free to post any questions or comments here, or email me, either via SMJUHSD (dpreston@smjuhsd.org) or my 24/7 off-campus address (dpreston.learning@gmail.com).
I look forward to seeing you here!
Best,
David Preston
