Step 5: Talk About It

So after that incredibly busy and wonderful week at the beginning of December, I realized that I needed to talk more about what I do.  Great!  I have a blog, so isn't' that spreading my word to the masses? Sort of, but not to the extent that I need to be spreading the word...well, I'm extended, but not necessarily intended!  I realized that I am putting the word "out", but what I really need to do is put the word "in".  Specifically, I need to share the word within my school about what I do and what I can help others do.

Ready for hugs and sharing!

What exactly do I do?  Well, I teach library classes for PreK through 5th grade for 40 minutes once a week.  During these time slots I teach literacy appreciation, research skills, technology skills and when applicable I integrate math, science, social studies, etc! In addition, I teach keyboarding skills to 3rd and 4th graders once a week for 30 minutes.  This is an interesting thing to "teach" as it requires little more than monitoring and reminding beyond the first few weeks.  The kids come and practice, practice, practice while I monitor, remind and encourage. I also have several "open" time slots during each day for doing technology integration.  Unfortunately, I haven't been called on for much true integration yet.  Sure, they call me when the technology isn't working and I troubleshoot what I can.  They ask for resources and I scrounge up print and non-print materials.  They sometimes even ask for suggestions on what to incorporate into their lessons in terms of web resources...but none of this is true integration.

Lone penguin in a Charlie Brownish tree

What do I mean by true integration?  What I envision is planning with classroom and special education teachers to provide lessons that are scaffolded, engaging, creative and memorable for students.  I envision lessons that include some technology, some hands on experiential work and real world applications.  I envision being viewed as a colleague and sought after for my incredible brains and insightful lessons! Okay, okay, maybe that last part has me echoing maniacal laughter, but I would like to help in any way possible.  So I'm going to start putting myself out there more.  I have a plan to start small, let the word spread and build a set of truly integrated lessons that we can share, not only within our school, but also with the greater community.

Look for a January installment to my blog about my presentation to the school board!

Happy Holidays!