Grant Idea
I have gone back and forth with this since we started
looking into grants and what my school could benefit from. Being in the
library, I could look at what my teachers need in their classrooms or what they
need in the library. Finally I talked with teachers that utilize the library a
lot and spoke with our technology coordinator and made the decision to look at
what we can use in the library that would be beneficial to not only our
teachers, but people in the community as well. Our school is the newest high
school in Harrison County so it is used quite a bit from people in the
community. I chose to apply for a grant to be able to buy a presentation cart
(a cart, laptop, and an Elmo). I already have a projector in the library and a
screen that can be used with it. When classes come down to the library or I am
teaching a class I always try and show students things that would help them. I
am a visual learner and I know a lot of students that are as well. This
presentation cart will help the teachers and me when we are teaching students
in the library. The library is also used during the summer and some evenings
during the school year for various meetings and I know that this presentation
cart would help them as well.
Being that this purchase would be for our school and our
community, I went with the Wal-Mart Community Grant. This grant ranges from
$250-$2500 and would pay for everything that I have listed above. There are a
lot of grants for the library but a lot of them you had to have 3 years
experience or be a member of their organization. Since this is my first year in
the library it made it difficult to find one that suited my current position.
Chapter 9 Increasing Student Engagement and
Enhancing Learning
“Digital Leadership is a mindset and a call
to transform a school’s culture into one that unleashes the creativity of
students so they can create artifacts of learning that demonstrates conceptual
mastery”. Do you agree that schools
should reflect real life?
I completely
agree with this quote. For students to succeed in real life, I think that it is
up to us to prepare them for it. What better ways to prepare them for the real
world than having schools reflect it? Students are always asking where they are
going to use different content in real life; well if we have courses that
reflect real life and have those learning traits that will help them then
students will not ask those questions. They want to see how the concepts you’re
teaching them is going to help them in the real world once they leave high
school. We need to teach them how to become digital leaders and prepare them
for jobs that may not even be available right now.
Chapter 10 Rethinking Learning Environments
and Spaces
Summarize the story of Clark Hall and reflect
on your workplace or learning environment.
What are you thinking now after reading about Clark Hall?
Clark Hall
is a high school that was established in 2010. Clark Hall was different than a
regular school when it came to technology. Students could bring in their
personal devices and connect to the network during school hours. Students and
teachers were encouraged to become close with each other when it came to
talking about personal things. The school provided a home like campus where
students could be comfortable and have fun while learning. They created this
school to be different than the others. The creators wanted this school to be
more technology based and have students be ready for the real world once they
left. They wanted the atmosphere to be more of a college atmosphere where the
students felt they were free but still worked hard in their classes.
After
reading this chapter and learning about Clark Hall, I think that giving
students the freedom to use their devices and connect to the network would be
great. However, I know that there are some risks too. Looking at my school
right now, we have issues with students always being on their devices and not
paying attention in class. I think that it would be nice to lean more towards
having the school ran like a college atmosphere. Looking at how Clark Hall was
made and how they wanted it to be real world based curriculum, I think that
schools and students would benefit from this in the present and in the future.
Brianna,
ReplyDeleteI think a presentation cart available for use is a good grant idea. It could be shared among the staff when they need it and having it fully loaded and ready for their laptop could prove to be a good "foot-in-the-door" technique for more technology integration. What better way for a media specialist to help resisting staffers integrate technology than by removing the excuse... "I don't know how to plug all that stuff in" ... it's already done. As for the rest of your comments they seem to be right in line with of our thoughts about real world learning and what it might be like to work in a school like Clark Hall. Truth is you could possibly make most any school an imagine of Clark Hall if the staff wold buy into the ideology that makes it work. Integrating math and science only works if the math and science department want it to work and strive to make it successful. It's like co-teaching... it only works well when both teachers work toward the same goal... cooperative and collaborative as equals not one greater and the other subordinate. I agree with your thought... " schools and students would benefit from this in the present and in the future."
Real life applications are going to be a key factor in education in the future, at least I hope. I agree with what you're saying about Clark Hall and that having too much freedom can sometimes cause problems. There is never not going to be problems though so we need to shoot for the stars and hope it sticks. When students are given freedom I like to think they are more responsible than they let on. There is always the conflict of authority where if students are told to do something they are less likely to do it because they are told to, but if left to do it by themselves would because they want to learn. Your grant idea is good, but if you're writing a grant I would shoot for a little extra just to see if you can get it and if not you can settle for what you wanted in the first place.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you really dug deep to find a great tool to be used by all. Great job! I think your presentation cart will be very useful! Our library had similar "carts" til our TIS organized a mounted ceiling projector and smart screen. Seems it took a lot of the needs away from our previous carts. So far so good. I love ceiling mounted projectors. They really take a lot of work out of the whole process.
ReplyDeleteWe have similar thoughts with regard to the readings. Clark Hall can teach us all a lot about how to make our spaces useful, creative and effective. Great job!
Brianna,
ReplyDeleteI like your ideas for your grant. It sounds like this technology will go a long way in helping you, and the other teachers in the school. We have the same views when it came to chapter 9. Students often question where they will learn what they are taught, because it is so far removed from “the real world” that they cannot see how it will help them in life. For Clark Hall I think you are right, there are some risks to it, but so does every progressive strategy, and by showing trust towards the students in using their electronic devices educators can better earn their respect.
Brianna,
ReplyDeleteGreat choice for a grant based on the needs in your school. Informal conversations with teachers can lead us in the right direction. The presentation cart can be used for some many different things to support teachers and students. I believe if we allowed students to use devices in the classroom for academics, it would help alleviate the constant "sneaking" around to use devices. It's all about the expectations we set for device use, and the consistency of our expectations. I want teachers to let go of the "losing control" mindset. Some teachers are afraid students will not learn if the teacher is not in front of the room in total control of sending the message for learning. When students do not show academic growth, teachers will tend to blame everything, except their instructional practices. This where true teacher leaders rise above and help support those teachers to move toward effective instructional practices.
Excellent post, Brianna!
ReplyDeleteI'm too am glad to see someone else looking into the Walmart grant. I am in a similar situation, with no being a public school teacher and not having a lot of experience or being a member of a certain group. Nice collaboration with your coworkers to get the best possible outcome for you school, community, teachers, and students! I agree, as do most of us, that we need to reflect real life in school. Students come to school to learn and be prepared for the future, so how can we justify NOT bring real life into their lessons? I know that it't not that easy, as I too struggle with my students being on their phone when they aren't supposed to be. And I have adults, which to me is worse that they can't respect me for 50 minutes. It's frustrating, but it comes with the territory I suppose!
ReplyDelete