Following Up
Today was a half day at my school so I took the opportunity to do the follow-up visit to Charles Ellis Montessori Academy to see how they were progressing with Animoto. The teachers had several questions. The second visit was very beneficial for the participants because they had been working with the program and were more familiar with the process. I am embedding one of the teacher's videos made with Animoto. This particular video showcased a literacy event held at the school called "Book and a Cookie".
Total Hours: 2 hours
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
November 12, 2009
Bookfair!
I returned to Charles Ellis Montessori Academy this evening to assist with the bi-annual Media Center Scholastic Bookfair. It was family night which was scheduled to coincide with the PTA meeting. There was also a special event called "Book and a Cookie" where parents were invited to enjoy refreshments as they read a book to their child. It was a very successful event. Unfortunately, I cannot see putting a bookfair on at the Johnson High Media Center. I think the time it would take away from running the media program would not be worth it.
Total hours: 3 hours
I returned to Charles Ellis Montessori Academy this evening to assist with the bi-annual Media Center Scholastic Bookfair. It was family night which was scheduled to coincide with the PTA meeting. There was also a special event called "Book and a Cookie" where parents were invited to enjoy refreshments as they read a book to their child. It was a very successful event. Unfortunately, I cannot see putting a bookfair on at the Johnson High Media Center. I think the time it would take away from running the media program would not be worth it.
Total hours: 3 hours
Sunday, November 8, 2009
October 6, 2009
Collaboration is Key
This week I have been working with Brenda Smith's class to finish up the collaborative lesson that we developed. The students read "Uncle Tom's Cabin" in this U.S. History class to deepen their understanding of the growing tensions between the regions and to see how literature can have a profound effect on history. The students read the book individually and wrote a report to present their understandings. In addition, they were directed to find primary source images to create a multi-media presentation of the book using Animoto.com. This web-based program was taught to the class as a whole and I have been working with individual students this past week as they complete the project. I have been monitoring their progress through the common educator account in Animoto and am pleased with their results. Today the class came to the Media Center to watch the film version of the book and will write a brief comparison of the film versus print version. This collaboration has been a great experience for the students as well as the instructors.
Total hours: 8 hours
This week I have been working with Brenda Smith's class to finish up the collaborative lesson that we developed. The students read "Uncle Tom's Cabin" in this U.S. History class to deepen their understanding of the growing tensions between the regions and to see how literature can have a profound effect on history. The students read the book individually and wrote a report to present their understandings. In addition, they were directed to find primary source images to create a multi-media presentation of the book using Animoto.com. This web-based program was taught to the class as a whole and I have been working with individual students this past week as they complete the project. I have been monitoring their progress through the common educator account in Animoto and am pleased with their results. Today the class came to the Media Center to watch the film version of the book and will write a brief comparison of the film versus print version. This collaboration has been a great experience for the students as well as the instructors.
Total hours: 8 hours
Sunday, November 1, 2009
October 29, 2009
Progress by Committee
Today I worked at Johnson High Media Center. There were several classes visiting for research on recipes. The Consumer Science teacher is working on a project with her students based on a cookbook series called "Loook and Cook". The students will find recipes, research the main ingredient, take pictures of the equipment needed, photograph each step of the process and complete a visual recipe as the final product. I think it is a unique approach. I must admit that I really love working with this teacher. She embraces new technology and likes to collaborate.
After school I attended the first meeting of the 2009/10 Media Committee. The members of the committee are:
Total Hours: 9 Hours
Today I worked at Johnson High Media Center. There were several classes visiting for research on recipes. The Consumer Science teacher is working on a project with her students based on a cookbook series called "Loook and Cook". The students will find recipes, research the main ingredient, take pictures of the equipment needed, photograph each step of the process and complete a visual recipe as the final product. I think it is a unique approach. I must admit that I really love working with this teacher. She embraces new technology and likes to collaborate.
After school I attended the first meeting of the 2009/10 Media Committee. The members of the committee are:
- Juanita Harper (Administrator)
- Zyon Smiley (History)
- Kathryn Sukkestat (Science)
- Jason Buelterman (International Baccalaureate)
- Michelle Kilbourne (Language Arts)
- Cynthia Hall (Technology/Media Specialist)
- Susan Smith (Media Specialist)
Total Hours: 9 Hours
Thursday, October 22, 2009
October 20, 2009
A Change of Scenery
Today I spent the day working in the Media Center at Islands Elementary School in Savannah, Georgia. This is a relatively new media center that serves a population of Pre-K through 5th grade students. There are six student computers and a multi-media station. The media specialist is Susan Hill. I spent my time correcting class assignments and adding new students to the online catalog system. This was necessary because of the reshuffling of staff after the initial school start-up. In addition, I created shelf/marker library cards for several classes who were visiting the media center today. There was also a great deal of shelving to do.
The school was having testing so the media center was not very busy on this particular day. However, several classes visited. The first graders were checking out books for the first time. It was very interesting being in the media center at an elementary school. There is much more class interaction and much less individual interaction and research. I also saw much less collaboration and teacher interaction than at Johnson High School. It may have been because of the testing.
Total Hours: 7 Hours
Today I spent the day working in the Media Center at Islands Elementary School in Savannah, Georgia. This is a relatively new media center that serves a population of Pre-K through 5th grade students. There are six student computers and a multi-media station. The media specialist is Susan Hill. I spent my time correcting class assignments and adding new students to the online catalog system. This was necessary because of the reshuffling of staff after the initial school start-up. In addition, I created shelf/marker library cards for several classes who were visiting the media center today. There was also a great deal of shelving to do.
The school was having testing so the media center was not very busy on this particular day. However, several classes visited. The first graders were checking out books for the first time. It was very interesting being in the media center at an elementary school. There is much more class interaction and much less individual interaction and research. I also saw much less collaboration and teacher interaction than at Johnson High School. It may have been because of the testing.
Total Hours: 7 Hours
Monday, October 19, 2009
October 19, 2009
Fall in the Media Center
Today I changed out the bulletin boards in the Media Center. I ordered the Teen Reed Week banner which meant crawling up tall ladder to hang it over the circulation desk. We put up a table with "spooky" tales for all those teens that love a good scare. I included the "hooks" like the Twilight series and the Sweep series and the Blue Blood series. To keep me happy, I also included Bram Stoker's Dracula, Edgar Allen Poe, and The Ledgend of Sleepy Hollow.
Friday was the district "in-service day" where the media specialists were charged with the task of delivering the NetSmartz.com curriculum to ALL students at the school. The material is very current and vital to today's students. I set up an appointment with the principal to decide how to best accomplish this. I then stepped through the presentation to become familiar with all the cues (it's scripted). It will be interesting and definitely addresses our standards.
Total hours: 8 hours
Today I changed out the bulletin boards in the Media Center. I ordered the Teen Reed Week banner which meant crawling up tall ladder to hang it over the circulation desk. We put up a table with "spooky" tales for all those teens that love a good scare. I included the "hooks" like the Twilight series and the Sweep series and the Blue Blood series. To keep me happy, I also included Bram Stoker's Dracula, Edgar Allen Poe, and The Ledgend of Sleepy Hollow.
Friday was the district "in-service day" where the media specialists were charged with the task of delivering the NetSmartz.com curriculum to ALL students at the school. The material is very current and vital to today's students. I set up an appointment with the principal to decide how to best accomplish this. I then stepped through the presentation to become familiar with all the cues (it's scripted). It will be interesting and definitely addresses our standards.
Total hours: 8 hours
Thursday, October 15, 2009
October 12, 2009
A New Setting
Today I spent a day at Charles Ellis Montessori Academy. This school serves a student population that ranges from Pre-K to eighth grade. This is a bit of challenge to keep the upper school materials out of the hands of the youngest patrons. Age appropriate content is a concern. The materials that are restricted to sixth grade and above are placed in a special area and labled accordingly. This media center has self-check-out. Assistance is often needed, however, the students really enjoy the ability to check out on their own. My familiarality with the middle school chapter books really helps out when suggesting books for the children.
The Accelerated Reader program is a real factor in the middle and lower grades. I am not sure about my feelings toward this program. However, the media specialist here seems very enthusiastic about the program and its impact on circulation.
After school I met with six teachers to deliver my staff development lesson. The participants voiced satisfaction with the new program. I taught an introduction to Audacity and Animoto. To improve the lesson I would split the lesson to teach these two programs separately.
Total Hours: 8 hours
Today I spent a day at Charles Ellis Montessori Academy. This school serves a student population that ranges from Pre-K to eighth grade. This is a bit of challenge to keep the upper school materials out of the hands of the youngest patrons. Age appropriate content is a concern. The materials that are restricted to sixth grade and above are placed in a special area and labled accordingly. This media center has self-check-out. Assistance is often needed, however, the students really enjoy the ability to check out on their own. My familiarality with the middle school chapter books really helps out when suggesting books for the children.
The Accelerated Reader program is a real factor in the middle and lower grades. I am not sure about my feelings toward this program. However, the media specialist here seems very enthusiastic about the program and its impact on circulation.
After school I met with six teachers to deliver my staff development lesson. The participants voiced satisfaction with the new program. I taught an introduction to Audacity and Animoto. To improve the lesson I would split the lesson to teach these two programs separately.
Total Hours: 8 hours
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