Preplanning

The partner I chose for the collaboration project is actually my husband, David Cherry. Dave is a 4/5 split teacher at Sayre Elementary in South Lyon. He teaches all subjects. I also teach in South Lyon, but at Kent Lake Elementary. I picked Dave to do my project with for a number of reasons. First off, he is currently pursuing his masters degree in Educational Leadership (administration.) I thought that his background of administration and as a classroom teacher would provide our project with multiple perspectives in the planning and implementing stages. Secondly, as my husband, his input and critique will be honest and helpful. Often when I work with colleagues, it is hard to get a true feel for their thoughts and constructive criticism. With Dave, there will be no holding back. :) I look forward to this honest dialogue with hopes of developing an upper elementary unit that will be viewed positively by classroom teachers, media specialists and administrators. Also, I have a few ideas for the unit that center on reading instruction and technology. I am eager to develop a unit that will be applicable to the curriculum and useful to the student population.

I really don't have many fears about the project itself. I was a little apprehensive about creating the Wiki which I have not done before and blogging, with which I have minimal experience. I think they will both be great learning experiences which will pave the way for further use of both areas as a media specialist. I feel one strength that I bring to the project is the fact that I am a classroom teacher and am knowledgeable of the curriculum. This will be helpful in making sure that the unit I plan is realistic and useful in the elementary school setting. I anticipate designing the unit for fourth grade students. There will be extensions to challenge the high students and accommodations to assist the lower students.

Throughout the past two weeks of this class I was really amazed at the number of collaboration articles available to us as students. I have found the articles to be helpful and informative. Especially on a topic that is so new and ever changing, I think the amount of resources of SLMS collaboration is an asset to our learning as SLMS students and to this project.