Media Center Collaborations

Our Core Focus:

Build real-life connections that inform and expand the textbook.

Our Guiding Framework:

Students need more help determining when a resource will be most effective than they need help actually using it.

Our Approach:

1. Begin with the idea or the learning goal. What do we want to achieve? No idea is too crazy.

2. Media Center Collaboration begins in finding the right resources to fit your goals.

   1. What technology do we have access to that we can use to bring this goal to life?

   2. What  people, institutions, or communities can we connect with to bring this goal to life?

3. Begin our personal explorations. Everything we've tried with students, we did first. This is crucial for the class rollout when both teachers become support for students as they navigate it for themselves.

4. Explore whether this resource is the best fit or if we should adjust either it or our idea.

   1. What troubles did we have using it for ourselves?

   2. Are there any parts students will need to do at home? Where will they have wifi?

   3. What excited us about the resources?

5. Rollout to students. As you present it, explain why you chose to use these resources and how they align with the learning goals.

Evolving as We Go:

We will mess up. And we have often.

The resources will be complicated and have a high cognitive load. Sometimes, this means that students miss the main point of the assignment because they focus more on the tools.

We always note these moments and misconceptions so we can return to them and adjust for later.