15 seconds of fame

Hawthorne Elementary upgrades library with digital activities



Lucky Me!

The Missoulian came and did a piece on me this week.  the reporter did a wonderful job distilling our hour-long interview into a readable and interesting piece.  The photographer came the following day.  Although he spent an hour and took hundreds of photographs, he managed to choose some pretty cranky-looking images.  Ah well.

It's always nice to advocate for my field as best as I can.  I feel that some of my colleagues are probably more articulate than I am, but none of them are more enthusiastic!  I truly love my job, and feel pretty passionately about how important libraries can be in schools.

Gathering and Display of Data

Last year, one of my former students was engaged in research for her senior project.  (although how she became a senior so fast, I don't know!)  She had prepared a questionnaire for this purpose, but it was in printed hard copy, which I found disturbing.

In this day and age, it is ridiculous to be gathering data on paper.  First of all, it's terribly inefficient and a waste of resources.  People will misplace the form either before they fill it out or after they fill it out. Trying to get the completed forms back to the originator can be a problem as well, and that is all before  the data is "crunched" in a spreadsheet, or worse, tabulated by hand.

It's so very easy to create forms online to gather data.  I LOVE Google forms, and the different ways I can author and finesse the behavior of the questionnaire is amazing.  There are also lots of sites online that allow a student to create simple polls without any sort of account.

This week, my students will be taking a poll called "My Voice"  from Pearson Education. I would be willing to bet that my district paid quite a bit for this 50 question survey that I could have put together in  less than an hour on Google forms, and I could have customized it... no generic questions.

When my students finish the poll this week, I plan on showing them how they too, can create online forms to collect data.  With luck, none of them will be issuing paper questionnaires for their senior projects, or any other data quest that they may need to do in the future.  I will have them embed their forms into their blogs.  I know they will love this activity and hopefully understand how the tools can be applied in real life.

School "Branding"

We've been hearing a lot about school identity lately, which brings me to wonder what "branding" we should be applying to our learning environment.  Our local high schools have already been concentrating on promoting and nurturing their own particular strengths.  For example, Big Sky High School has developed a "Health Sciences Academy".  Hellgate High School is now our "International Baccalaureate" school. 

"Branding" is about identity building from the inside-out and can resonate with faculty and prospective students because it articulates the school’s commitment to 

communicating its true essence, core values and academic reputation.

I would love to adopt the "Maker Ed" moniker and philosophy to our building.  In my mind, it encompasses the very best of the STEM model (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) while also acknowledging the importance of applied, hands-on, creative work that is so important in the education of young children. 

"Branding"  is a concept that has long been recognized in the marketing sector, but hasn't been applied to schools as readily.  Insomuch as I can tell, we could readily and productively adopt some of the tenets.  For example:

IDEA:  We already have a mission statement, although it needs to be revisited.  Do all stakeholders buy in to the statement?  Can we develop a slogan to go with it?  How about this "Hawthorne: Where Learning Is Doing" or something along those lines.  We must convey that we are very very good at what we do, and have a lot to offer.  What makes us different?  Special?  This is traditional marketing at its most basic.

OUTREACH:  We have a webpage, we have our Facebook presence, our teachers try to keep parents updated.  These efforts need to be expanded even more.  Frequent, eye-catching, and engaging communications with our extended learning community are what we need more of (especially multimedia). Have we claimed our hashtag yet?

LOYALTY:  Demonstrating our  collaborative strength is important.  More school-wide units of study and themes will build our identity, help learners develop a positive attitude toward school, and keep our community cohesive. 

TIMING:  We need to stay fresh and exciting, and be nimble enough to keep up with the changes in pedagogy and educational technology.  Embracing the possibilities of 21st century learning tools should be a priority.

This article prompted the musings above.