Flex Wednesdays in the Library
What Can Your Media Center Do for You (and your students)?
Flex Wednesdays
The library schedule this year allows for Wednesdays to be flexibly scheduled. This not only frees up 22 computers and a lot of physical space and resources for class projects, it also allows you to enhance your projects and lessons by collaborating and co-teaching with the media specialist. Below are some ideas that you could use during Wednesday flex time.
Reserving the Media Center
Just send me (Mr. Burch) an email to reserve a slot on a Wednesday. If you would like to plan a collaborative lesson, let me know and we'll figure out a planning time that works for both of us.
Ways to Use the TES Media Center- Research
From learning how to use encyclopedias (print and digital), atlases, indexes, dictionaries, search engines and electronic databases to learning how to evaluate information and cite sources, your media center can provide everything you need to help your students get the most out of their research project. Lessons can be customized to your project needs.
Ways to Use the TES Media Center- Production
Once your students have researched their topic, you may want them to use a technology tool to demonstrate what they've learned. Using the computers in the media center, your students can create PowerPoint or Excel files. Or, you may want to teach them to use an alternative such as
Instead of having students make old-fashioned presentation boards, use the media center computers to make a digital poster using one of these free tools:
- Prezi (a great PowerPoint alternative for intermediate students)
- HaikuDeck (another great alternative for primary students.
Instead of having students make old-fashioned presentation boards, use the media center computers to make a digital poster using one of these free tools:
There are other free technologies that allow students to create videos, digital stories, flipped lessons, timelines and countless other products. I will do everything I can to find the one the is best for your project and your students. I am more than happy to help your students figure out how to use these tools and to work with you to figure out how to integrate them into your lessons.
Our broadcast studio is also available for students productions on Wednesdays. Not only can live video be broadcast, but it also has the capability to record and edit video productions. I will be happy to show your students how to use the equipment and work with them on the editing process.
Ways to Use the TES Media Center- Books and Ebooks
Obviously the TES media center is well stocked with a variety of print books that may help your students, but did you know we also have recently begun to offer ebooks? Some of these ebooks are available on an unlimited basis, meaning they can be checked out by an unlimited number of students at once. Also, I will be happy to purchase an unlimited ebook if you see one that will help your students. These ebooks come with features including highlighting and annotation tools, note taking tools, and built in dictionaries. Each student in your class could be on a computer reading the same ebook either together or at their own pace. To see available ebooks, click here. While you can search for books without logging in, you will have to log in to check out any ebooks. Let me know if you would like me to set you up with a login.