Original Meeting date: September 26, 2014 On Friday, the STEAM team met to discuss how we wanted to further show our presence within the elementary and middle schools. The STEAM team is made up of both grade levels art teachers and myself (elementary media tech teacher). At the moment, there is only enough time for me to teach technology while still fulfilling the media specialist duties I have now assumed. During this meeting, we discussed how we could branch ourselves away from the "black sheep" view of the connections department to show parents and students what we do matters and affects the overall school environment.
One way we hope to expand our influence is through a STEAM-inspired bulletin board strategically placed within the school. The bulletin board example our crew leader found looked like a Facebook page with information and photographs about a particular artist. I suggested we tweak it to use Twitter since that's typically more education-friendly and likely to get the approval from administration. Additionally, we could incorporate student work and/or suggestions. An actual Facebook page was also suggested for the media center as a branch off from the school's official Facebook page. It would also be a useful format to share information, including volunteer recruitment, student book reviews, and activities in the library. We are waiting to hear back from admin for the next step in solidifying our mark on the school.
Reflection: I'll be honest that work is taking over my time to focus on completing the checklist items. I need to make more a priority in doing so to avoid falling further behind. However, now that I have taken over the media specialist duties, I am quickly jumping into the deep end and learning as I go. As expeditions kick off soon for all grade levels, teachers K-8 will rely on me to help pull resources to help their students grasp the understanding of a topic. For example, I suggested recently to a 4th grade Math/Science teacher that she download Google Sketch Up on our COW (Computers on Wheels) for her students to design their own gardens. Hopefully we can find time to work together in answering students' questions or I can show them better how to use it during technology class.
No comments:
Post a Comment