Impactful Integration With Amy

  Throughout my time as an educator there have been training sessions that really stuck with me and those that were quickly forgotten.  As I begin rolling out Tech Tuesday sessions with teachers this school year, I took some time to reflect on what makes an interesting, memorable and impactful training session for me.  These are some of the questions I consider in how I provide training for teachers: 1.  What does this look like in the classroom? 2.  How can I apply what I've learned? 3.  How does this solve a problem or make my life easier? 4.  Is the information easy to follow and come back to? Making Thinking Visible- What does it look like in the classroom? In my recent training session with my teachers, we revisited their Gripe Jam which I spoke more about in this blog post .  They delved into brainstorming areas they are struggling with in their classroom.  It could be organization, lesson planning, lesson implementation, engagement, ut...

Big announcement!! I just found out I am officially an Google Certified Coach!  Getting started with tech coaching has been a dream of mine for awhile.  In this blog, you will be following along in my journey as a librarian and tech coach.  Come along with me as I navigate how to balance running a high school library and support my campus with impactful technology integration.  It is new waters for me and I'm excited about the challenge ahead. During the pandemic, my perspective on technology integration changed as the reality of one to one devices and virtual learning set in.  I saw the need for more teacher support in navigating the sea of technology tools and options.  In the summer of 2020 I heard about the Google Certified Coaching program .  I had just applied to be a Google Trainer and I knew from completing that certification program I wanted more of what Google had to offer.  The Google Trainer Program prepared me to provide effective an...

This post is week 8 of 8 in the #8WeeksofSummer Blog Challenge for educators . Honestly, as the final week concludes I'm sad to see it go. I'm so glad I stumbled across this challenge during #pd4uandme Twitter Chats.  I had received some feedback from a few of my colleagues and friends that I should try my hand at something new.  One suggested blogging and one suggested opening a TPT store.  I thought about options and marked them down as possibilities.  When I saw the #8weeksofsummer Blog Challenge I knew this was the time for me to make the leap and just start already!   This week's topic is all about sharing new knowledge, skills and attitudes I learned this year.  The biggest change that led me to gaining new knowledge was becoming a Google certified trainer.  It has opened so many doors for me.  Three years ago I attended a regional service center training to become Google level one certified.  During that summer, three years ago, t...

This post is week 7 of 8 in the #8WeeksofSummer Blog Challenge for educators .  I don't know about you, but I always have mixed emotions as we get ready to go back to school.  I am excited about all the potential each new school year brings, but I'm also feeling like summer passed to quickly.  Can you relate?  Throughout this summer I have been searching out my own training through my PLN on Twitter, PD books and other online resources.  I also stumbled upon some new to me blogs and podcasts that I felt like I could really relate to.  One thing all of these resources have in common is that they are focused on one or more of these topics:  how to engage students with high yield strategies a framework that allows students to represent their ideas in multiple ways and to provide students voice and choice in how they express what they know using backward design to choose technology tools after the learning objective has be set innovative teaching methods...

  Have you had a chance to try out www.wakelet.com yet?  If you haven't it is a really awesome tool for organizing information.  It can be used in so many ways.  You can create interactive collections of links, videos, notes, gifs, and so much more.  I have been using Wakelet for about a year now and I'm at a place where I really see why people get so excited about Wakelet.  Recently Wakelet hosted "Wakelet Live" on YouTube where educators and Wakelet ambassadors from around the globe shared their ideas and uses for Wakelet.  You can check out the playlist from the event here.    During the event, I attended some exciting sessions including portfolios, thinking about what to keep and what to ditch after our pandemic experience and many new ways to utilize Wakelet.  I also attended Desiree Alexander's Keynote on " How to Break Barriers and Achieve Your Goals ." Alexander's presentation was so just what I needed in the place where I am in...

This post is week 1 of 8 in the #8WeeksofSummer Blog Challenge for educators.   2021 was such a pivotal point in my career.  It was filled with ups and downs, challenges and excitement.  I found myself faced with figuring out how to be a school librarian in a completely virtual setting.   How do you engage students and staff when you don't have the physical library space they are used to engaging with you in?   This was the challenge I faced this year; a nd I realized some things that truly changed me as a teacher librarian.  I saw my school community with new perspective.  In July of 2020, I realized I wanted to reinvent my role as the school librarian.  I wanted to engage my school community in ways I never had before.  I decided to fall back on my library science degree and research as much as I could about technology integration, blended learning and technology support.  Impactful technology integration was need at my campus and...