This week I worked with teachers from both West Chatham Elementary, as well as my own, to work on using Google Drive. While setting up for this workshop, I created many smaller modules and placed them on my iGould website for teachers to use and work through as needed. These smaller modules can also serve as long distance learning or as refreshers in case someone forgets some of the items discussed in training.
The training was given in workshop fashion. This allowed me to see where teachers needed the most help, and allow me to offer assistance. Gould Elementary has begun to use Google Drive as its primary method for collecting and collaborating on lesson plans. West Chatham and the Savannah Chatham County School District (SCCPSS) are both moving towards Google Drive, as the district as already purchased Google Apps accounts for all its employees. The workshop format worked perfectly as I was able to curve my training towards the areas needed. Many teachers were still learning how to share their plans with colleagues and administrators. Others needed help uploaded or moving files for organization. Overall, I believe the workshop was a success.
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My secondary site visit to New Hampstead High was quite impressive. New Hampstead is still a relatively new school, and the facilities built for the media center are very impressive. The technology and tools available to the students are amazing. They include both Mac and PC computers for student use, a "Cafe" area with tables for students to eat and read, a desk area for PTSA (Parent Teacher Student Association) officers, a computer lab for teachers to use, and plenty of space for students to just sit and read!
What impressed me the mot about this visit was the media specialist Peer Facilitator Program. The Peer Facilitator program is a class for students to take where they learn many job related skills needed for both college and their future careers. Peer Facilitators are responsible for many small jobs around the media center. With the help of these peer facilitators, the media specialist is free to do other tasks. The students are graded on various criteria including professionalism. This class helps prepare these students for the work force and also looks great on college applications. Today Mrs. Jackson and I looked over the Library Media Program Self-Evaluation Rubric. Mrs. Jackson explained what each of the criteria was looking for, and also explained many of the difficulties that budget cuts and high class sizes have placed on various expectations within the rubric. She explained the scoring for each section, and how exceeding in certain areas does not guarantee an overall score that exceeds expectations. Some problems that arise that I did not realize is the difficulty in collaborating and planning with classroom teachers. As a classroom teacher, I had always welcomed input and help from anyone who would give it. Part of that reason is because I viewed it as possible help in alleviating the ever growing pile of tasks added to a teacher's plate. However, Mrs. Jackson explained that as a media specialist you have to keep in mind that not everyone welcomes such help or assistance. She said it was a fine line that has to be walked at times. If you offer too much assistance, some could view you as pushy, but if you do not offer enough, then you are not available. This perspective offered me something to think about as to what would be the best method when I am a media specialist? Afterwards, Mrs. Jackson asked me to review the rubric and takes notes of ways the Gould Media Center could improve on in hopes of achieving an exceeds mark in every area of the rubric. Today I visited Oglethorpe Charter Middle School Media Center. The middle school library is very different than the elementary school library. The media center has various study sessions for teachers to bring classes, and there is a much greater sense of independence for the students in choosing what they wish to read.
Some of the ideas and differences I noticed were:
Over the course of my journey through the GSU/GOML Media Specialist Certification, I have gathered many different interesting tidbits and best practices. I have also experimented with many different ways of collecting these interesting tidbits and ways of making connections. Below are the three that I currently use, and that are currently my favorites. Pinterest is by far my favorite method of working on my PLN. I am a very visual learning, and Pinterest provides a very visual method of searching though items and seeing what other teachers are actually doing in their classroom. I can then easily pin the items I find interesting on my boards. Twitter is the network that alway intrigues me, but I can never find the best method of using. It remains one of my favorites, because for some reason I always go back to it. I also like it because I can set it to automatically sync with my Pinterest board or my class Facebook page. iGould is the website I have set up for my class this year. It has quickly become my pet project that I add to and work with normally once (or more) each week. This site has developed into much more than just my PLN as it has also become a way to connect with students, parents, and other teachers. Feel free to explore the links to my PLN below! My PLNs |
Jason SmithJason Smith is the 3rd & 4th Grade Gifted Facilitator at Gould Elementary. Archives
March 2017
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