I went from a classroom, to a library, to now a collaborative workspace with two other coordinators. As we developed our space, we wanted to create a workspace that teachers could possibly use for ideas for their classrooms or libraries. Our district has several teachers who have chosen to remove traditional desks and create a more collaborative physical space. Our first group we hosted was the district librarians. I think they liked the space!
In addition to working with librarians, I spend time on our eleven different campuses and help teachers create "future ready" learning opportunities for their students. Sometimes this is helping with a new technology tool, sometimes it is assisting in a global connection, and sometimes it is brainstorming innovative ideas with teachers.
One of the things we started this year is #N2WISD, a new teacher chat for teachers new to WISD. While it has been very successful, it is hard to tell how many new teachers are being supported. Generally, there are many more "not new to WISD" teachers that participate. We have had topics such as Successes, Genius Hour, Reformation vs. Transformation, and Being a Connected Educator. We will continue these chats, making them monthly though instead of weekly. I will also be sending out a survey to see if we should adjust the date and time to bring in more participants. Something that helped to make the chats successful has been having them "hosted" by groups or campuses. This helped get more people involved as the chat was advertised through email & Remind. Here is the link to some of the archives for the #N2WISD chat.
