I am now an official member of the American Library Association (ALA) and the Georgia Library Association (GLA)!
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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. 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 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. 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 year, before school started, I created a website: iGould. This site began as a way for my classes and students to start each class, as well as provide resources and games they can use in their homeroom or at home. From there, it has morphed into a resource for parents, as well as a resource for teachers. This has easily become my staff development website and web 2.0 tool. The teacher section of the iGould website is broken into three sections: useful weblinks, my App and website blog, and resource modules. Teachers have expressed to me their appreciation for having many of the websites used within our school or district in one place. Some have even begun to use it as their home page on their school computer so they have an easy jump page to needed websites.
What needed to be added was a "2.0" area. This is what sparked the blog. Many teachers have asked me for useful apps or websites to work on various skills or concepts. On the flip side, many teachers also share with me many websites they find. The blog will become a place where I can share apps and websites I find whether on my own or shared from a colleague. This in turn allows comments from colleagues to discuss how they have used the item in their classroom, or even other tools they have found! |
Jason SmithJason Smith is the 3rd & 4th Grade Gifted Facilitator at Gould Elementary. Archives
March 2017
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