WWLD--What Would the Librarian Do?

Today, I went to Salem Elementary to attend a training session for 3rd grade teachers on the use of the Smartboard in the classroom. It was taught by the Instructional Technologist at the school and she gave me permission to sit in on the training like a "fly on the wall." I was unable to attend the first session of training on March 15 because of babysitting issues, so I missed the introductory lesson in a 3 part training series. The teachers have previously had some training on the smartboards and have been using them in their classrooms, but they are at the phase of experimentation and limited use. What I hoped to gain today was insight into the wants and needs of the teachers with regards to their Smartboard use and network for my project with Delicious.

The training session was very informal, with the IT demonstrating a few techniques of creating screens to be used in lessons incorporating the Smartboard. The trainer also reviewed some pre-fab designs for lessons and gave the participants a chance to try out these techniques. For the next meeting, teachers were asked to bring ideas on projects to work on so that the session can be a work session and the IT will be available to help. That is going to be next Thursday, April 1. I asked about whether or not teachers could download Smart Notebook software for use on their home computers; I was hoping to be able to use Smart Notebook at home for a little while, but I would have to be a school employee. My husband is an employee at another school in the same district, but that school doesn't have any Smartboards, so he doesn't have access either. I would need to come to the school to use the computers. I'm not sure if I can schedule any more school time. The teacher in me wants to do a little more to teach actual smartboard use, but I am continually reminding myself that the project is about "what would the librarian do?" In this case, the librarian is more of a resource person or teammate in the teaching process, so I think our original plan is going in the right direction.