I am now an official member of the American Library Association (ALA) and the Georgia Library Association (GLA)!
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This week, my supervising media specialist showed me the media center inventory. Since Spring Break is beginning, she completed an inventory before students went on break. While this was not as extensive as the end of year inventory, it was still pretty extensive. My supervisor does inventory by printing out her materials, and keeping them in a big binder. If something is weeded out, she marks it off her sheet, and deletes it from the system. This helps her ensure items are where they belong in the media center (along with continuous reshelving). Probably what amazed me the most about her inventory, was the fixed assets.
One section of her binder is dedicated to fixed assets, such as computers in each classroom. She should me that the district actually has a database to help LMS keep track of each computer. On Acorn (the district intranet), there is an area that media specialist can use to look up any computer serial number (or work station tag). Once looked up it can tell the LMS which user last logged into the computer, and when they did so. This helps her determine its approximate location in the school. If a teacher has logged into it multiple times, it is more than likely in his/her classroom. If only the teacher logs into it, it is more than likely a teacher computer or projector computer. If students primarily log into it, it is more than likely one of the student work stations. I thought this was a pretty handy tool for LMS to complete inventory, and keep track of computer use. Today was Read Across America Day! In celebration of Read Across America, and Dr. Seuss's Birthday, the entire school had a door decorating contest. While it wasn't so much of a contest (since everyone who participated won), it was an opportunity for me to create a school wide display. Where is the best place for a school wide display in Gould Elementary? The gym doors! The gym is at the very end of the main hallway at the school, and can be seen as soon as you enter the main doors of the school. For my display, I decided to create a display I have seen done on Pinterest. Using the doors, I recreated a "Readbox" (instead of Redbox, the movie rental service). Fourth and fifth grade students wrote summaries of some of their favorite books the previous week, and I used the summaries as "teasers" on the cover of each book. Also, instead of advertising movie rentals, I created a sign that read, "Free Book Rentals now available in the Library!" While the idea came from a Pinterest image, the addition of the student work element was my own. Also, I added a digital element to the display by adding QR codes on each of the books. Once scanned, the QR codes would take the scanner to either a book trailer of the book, the official site of the book, or an unofficial fan site of the book, in order to help "advertise" the book for check out at the media center. Today I viewed a webinar created by our district on Google Chromebooks. The district has purchased many Chromebooks for various schools, and has been offering many opportunities to learn about the laptops and operating system (OS). A video created by the district (as another opportunity) can also be found here on their tiny url link.
I believe that webinars are beneficial for two primary reasons. The first is that live webinars are almost on par with talking to a real person. Webinars provide interaction and the chance to ask questions. Some believe you can have more interaction with the host in webinars than in the traditional conference or workshop setting. Personally, while I am a tech nut, I would still rather the face to face interaction. The second primary reason webinars are beneficial is because it allows a quick way for teachers to stay on top of advancing technology, often in the comfort of their own home. In this case, it provided me with a chance to familiarize myself with an OS that is quickly on the rise. I am a primarily Mac user myself, but am familiar with Linux, and very familiar with Windows. I have used Android extensively in the past, but have had limited experience with the Chrome OS. I believe it is vital for LMS to stay on top of new technology, even if you prefer a different OS or manufacturer, teachers and students should be exposed to all types, and thus the media specialist must know a little about everything in order to support that. This week I created a technology display used for school wide information. I choose to create this display just outside my own classroom because it is one of the places parents often congregate during PTA and school wide events. My classroom is next to the gym, were PTA and school events are often hosted, and the PTA Sign-In sheet is often placed across from my classroom.
On the display I created (or obtained) QR codes for various school sites used to disseminate information to parents (such as the school website & Facebook group). I also created a how-to display about QR codes for parents who are not familiar. While parents stand in line to sign-in, or are waiting for PTA to start, they will be able to scan QR codes of important sites from the school! Today I attended an "unconference" of sorts. The Savannah-Chatham School System's Technology Department hosted an Ideas Exchange Conference where many teachers across the district came and shared ways they used technology in the classroom. This is the first time I have attended an unconference. Two years ago, I attended the GaETC 2012 Tech Conference. The conference was awesome, and honestly I am sad that I did not get to attend the 2013 Conference. I have also attended (and presented at two) the past three Coastal Middle School eInstruction Tech Conferences. In comparison, the unconference style does not suit me. I much prefer the more organized traditional conference approach. The one benefit I did find at the unconference is the opportunities to network with other teachers. I did meet some other teachers across the Savannah-Chataham district who were using technology in ways I did not think of, and was able to connect with them. I feel from this aspect, I did benefit from the conference. I also like that we were able to "take the conference with us" since an Edmodo group was established for the conference, where many participants went to share sites, apps, and ideas they use in the classroom.
This week I attended a second grade, grade group meeting. The meeting was to set up for the Second Grade Parent Night. The second grade teachers were to present various information and expectations of second grade students during the school year. This included explaining the Scholastic Reading Inventory (SRI) and Math Academic Progress (MAP) requirements for promotion to third grade.
The second grade teachers had also asked for a representative from the media center to attend the meeting to go over Accelerated Reader (AR), Parent connect, Tumble Books, and Media Center resources with parents. My mentor prepared the information that needed to be delivered, and I stayed that night to help deliver the material to the second grade parents. 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 PLNsThis week I attended a Technology/Media Center Committee Meeting. During the meeting the team discussed various sources of grants and funding. The media center is looking for ways to enhance the technology available for teachers at Gould. Some of the methods discussed were various grants from local companies such as Gulf Stream and Georgia Pacific. Also grants from larger corporations, such as Walmart, Sams, and Kroger were also discussed. Below I am attaching the minutes from the meeting that were sent to all members of the committee. |
Jason SmithJason Smith is the 3rd & 4th Grade Gifted Facilitator at Gould Elementary. Archives
March 2017
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