Collaboration - Thing #15

Working with teachers is one of the things I like best about being an LMS. It's fun to hear about projects the kids will be doing and to be part of the process by providing good sites, pulling books for them, and helping the students when they visit the LMC. Having been in the classroom for many years, I can empathize with the lack of time teachers have to do everything they want to do. Helping them with the research piece I know saves them precious time. Unfortunately, my EA was cut two years ago; consequently, there would have been no book pulling had it not been for the great interns I've had, and that part of the support I offer would have suffered. I worry about the future and I'm afraid that when there are no LMC interns or EAs at Como, the collaboration process will suffer. Working with the Como staff reminds me how lucky our students are to have such creative teachers who are very concerned about what their students learn. The MILI project has also reinforced LMS-classroom teacher teaming. When LMSs and teachers have the equipment they need, it makes the transfer of information literacy tips that much easier, not only from LMSs to teachers and students, but from teachers to students as well. For example, recently Kita, Kathy, Kristin and I got together (Steve had a 1 on 1 session later) and we explored how to do a smart search on Google, using the advanced search page and limiting searches to various domains like .edu. It took about 15 minutes. This productive time, then, led to these teachers showing their students the same tips. The result? Hundreds of kids benefited and will continue to benefit from one short collaboration session between the LMS and four teachers. This is just one example of the good that can come from LMSs and classroom teachers working as partners.