Well, I guess we made it to the end stages of our collaboration project. I have to say that the process was full of ups and downs. For a brief period, I was unsure if the project was going to be fully carried out but this last week has been super charged.
I really thought this project was going to run fairly smooth but then as more and more individuals became involved, ideas and techniques for implementing ran the gamut. This week Amy decided to take matters into her own hands and make some final decisions about how her department will construct and implement the unit. Unfortunately, there was major disagreement in between participating teachers and the librarians were running around in circles trying to unite the group.
When I first ventured into this project, I had many different ideas on how Amy could bring more technology into her classroom. Overall, the main reason I decided to work with Amy was her desire to learn about and implement more technology into her lessons. I am excited that the final project will incorporate Microsoft Publisher tools and internet research, but many of the technology ideas are being pushed off this year. Considering this is the first time the teachers will be implementing this unit, it has proven to be quite enough just for them to get their arms around the material. Our thought is we have started a template that can be expanded upon over the coming years.
The wiki turned out to be a bit of a barrier. Amy was not very excited about learning and utilizing a program that she was unfamiliar with, she was overwhelmed with all the new material and the disagreements within the department. So, Amy and I communicated mainly through email and the telephone. Amy and I would have discussions and hash out the key points through email, and then I would implement the majority of our material into the wiki. I did sit down, in person, with Amy a few times and I was able to show her how to work with the wiki. She did start implementing material this week, and after reviewing her additions I feel that she has gained an understanding with the process. Amy did make a very good point about copying and pasting documents, it was difficult. I have to agree. The process would destroy formatting, not include images, omit portions, etc..
I discovered through this particular situation that the role of a Media Specialist is more of a liaison to accessing information and technology coach. I am not disappointed with the role and I learned a tremendous amount about reviewing the collection, purchasing new materials, choosing web sites, teaching technology skills and working with many different teachers. I also found that as a librarian I really need to sell the assets of the library. I need to make teachers, students, parents and administrators aware of the resources offered by the library. I feel that highlighting and displaying exceptional projects, posting projects to the library web site, working with the broadcast station to run a story and air video footage will be beneficial in promoting the library.
Overall, I am very happy with how the project turned out. I feel Amy and I worked well with one another. I am excited to continue working on the mythology unit and adding to the wiki page.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Friday, April 3, 2009
Assessment
Honestly, it has been a stressful couple of weeks. In order to adequately explain the situation, I first need to supply some background information.
The district in which I work has two middle schools. Amy, my collaborative teacher, works at Harbor Lights. She teaches 7th grade Language Arts along with Amy D. The other middle school is known as Mac Bay, and the two 7th grade Language Arts teachers there are Mary and Carrie. Cindy is the middle school librarian and she travels between the two schools. I am currently conducting a practicum with Cindy on Thursdays.
The Language Arts department received new textbooks and supplemental material this year, after working with books over twenty years old. The department decided that they would receive the book The Lightning Thief as their supplemental material, so they could teach the mythology standards set by Michigan's Department of Education. Taking into consideration that they are working with new materials, the department is in the process of sorting through what will be taught and the best method to implement the lesson.
I have found that the collaboration project that began with Amy M. has now grown to include three other teachers at two different middle schools. Cindy and I have had the opportunity to sit down with both sets of teachers, at the two middle schools. Unfortunately, we have not had the opportunity to sit down with all four teachers at once.
During our two meetings, with each set of teachers, we have encountered a lot of confusion and contradictions. For instance, one set of teachers would like us to guide the students only to online sources, the other set would like both. One set would like us to teach proper APA citation the other MLA. One set would like us to guide them to classical Greek and Roman myths and legends, the other would like to include Nordic and Asian.
What has been our greatest concern, as media specialist, is how the teachers are going to address the questionable content. Many parents and administrators are already questioning the teaching of gods and goddesses. Also, as Cindy and I gathered research print and online sources, we addressed the questionable art work that the students may encounter. If you are unfamiliar with Greek and Roman mythology, often the god, goddess and scenes depict a naked figure. Our print collection is very limited because mythology has not been taught, in a number of years. So, as we rush to purchase new materials through Amazon, most of the material is Young Adult or Adult rated. We have found that most of the new material is targeted at these audiences. Also, as we peruse our existing collection many of the images show naked figures. When we addressed this subject with our two sets of Language Arts teachers, each teacher had a different opinion. One was very liberal, one very conservative, and two somewhere in the middle.
Cindy and I have decided that the media specialist role is to guide them to all print materials in our collection. We have created tags, through our Internet portal, to websites that are in-line with the print content. We have asked the teachers to address the questionable content to the students and we will reiterate the point, once the research begins. Let me make it clear that all the sites and books that we have selected are done tastefully, and have a tremendous amount of educational material.
Since the media specialist does not assess the students, no grade on a report card, we are taking the role of research and technology liaison. Since the teachers are still debating between a PowerPoint and Publisher project, Cindy and I have decided to gather the resources that the students will need to successfully fulfill either project. Until the differences are ironed out and an overall objective and rubric for the unit are created, we are focusing on research and technology materials. We have made suggestions and have provided ideas for both projects, but the department is still unsure about their research and project criteria.
Once a decision has been reached, Cindy and I have a couple of ideas on how to share this project with stakeholders. We will announce the project and post a few examples in both the middle school's newsletters. We will make weekly Classline announcements. We will create an announcement on the websites and provide links to the sites the students will be utilizing. We have decided that if Publisher is utilized, we will gather several copies of the student brochures and display them throughout the libraries. If PowerPoint is utilized we will upload several of their slides and use them as screen savers for the two school's computers. Also, since we plan on utilizing Mino cameras for either project, we will submit our video footage to the daily announcements broadcast. We will ask the news room to post footage, once a week as the footage is shot.
The district in which I work has two middle schools. Amy, my collaborative teacher, works at Harbor Lights. She teaches 7th grade Language Arts along with Amy D. The other middle school is known as Mac Bay, and the two 7th grade Language Arts teachers there are Mary and Carrie. Cindy is the middle school librarian and she travels between the two schools. I am currently conducting a practicum with Cindy on Thursdays.
The Language Arts department received new textbooks and supplemental material this year, after working with books over twenty years old. The department decided that they would receive the book The Lightning Thief as their supplemental material, so they could teach the mythology standards set by Michigan's Department of Education. Taking into consideration that they are working with new materials, the department is in the process of sorting through what will be taught and the best method to implement the lesson.
I have found that the collaboration project that began with Amy M. has now grown to include three other teachers at two different middle schools. Cindy and I have had the opportunity to sit down with both sets of teachers, at the two middle schools. Unfortunately, we have not had the opportunity to sit down with all four teachers at once.
During our two meetings, with each set of teachers, we have encountered a lot of confusion and contradictions. For instance, one set of teachers would like us to guide the students only to online sources, the other set would like both. One set would like us to teach proper APA citation the other MLA. One set would like us to guide them to classical Greek and Roman myths and legends, the other would like to include Nordic and Asian.
What has been our greatest concern, as media specialist, is how the teachers are going to address the questionable content. Many parents and administrators are already questioning the teaching of gods and goddesses. Also, as Cindy and I gathered research print and online sources, we addressed the questionable art work that the students may encounter. If you are unfamiliar with Greek and Roman mythology, often the god, goddess and scenes depict a naked figure. Our print collection is very limited because mythology has not been taught, in a number of years. So, as we rush to purchase new materials through Amazon, most of the material is Young Adult or Adult rated. We have found that most of the new material is targeted at these audiences. Also, as we peruse our existing collection many of the images show naked figures. When we addressed this subject with our two sets of Language Arts teachers, each teacher had a different opinion. One was very liberal, one very conservative, and two somewhere in the middle.
Cindy and I have decided that the media specialist role is to guide them to all print materials in our collection. We have created tags, through our Internet portal, to websites that are in-line with the print content. We have asked the teachers to address the questionable content to the students and we will reiterate the point, once the research begins. Let me make it clear that all the sites and books that we have selected are done tastefully, and have a tremendous amount of educational material.
Since the media specialist does not assess the students, no grade on a report card, we are taking the role of research and technology liaison. Since the teachers are still debating between a PowerPoint and Publisher project, Cindy and I have decided to gather the resources that the students will need to successfully fulfill either project. Until the differences are ironed out and an overall objective and rubric for the unit are created, we are focusing on research and technology materials. We have made suggestions and have provided ideas for both projects, but the department is still unsure about their research and project criteria.
Once a decision has been reached, Cindy and I have a couple of ideas on how to share this project with stakeholders. We will announce the project and post a few examples in both the middle school's newsletters. We will make weekly Classline announcements. We will create an announcement on the websites and provide links to the sites the students will be utilizing. We have decided that if Publisher is utilized, we will gather several copies of the student brochures and display them throughout the libraries. If PowerPoint is utilized we will upload several of their slides and use them as screen savers for the two school's computers. Also, since we plan on utilizing Mino cameras for either project, we will submit our video footage to the daily announcements broadcast. We will ask the news room to post footage, once a week as the footage is shot.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)