I once saw a quote that said teamwork is “Coming together, sharing together, working together, succeeding together.” I had the privilege of seeing this quote come to life during the past few months as more than 150 educators came together to build out the K-12 curriculum for the SchoolRooms™ portal.
It was impressive to watch these teams create 71 subject-based taxonomies composed of approximately 2,000 Web page views of content on topics like Art & Theater, Math, Sciences, Language Arts, Social Studies (and more), as well as a collection of more than 15,000 hand-selected Web sites. However, the most compelling piece of this process was the collaboration between the teachers and librarians involved in the project.
Last March, a group of individuals from INFOhio, Kent State University, and SirsiDynix met to discuss the usability testing and results of the Shaker Heights pilot of the nine original SchoolRooms subject areas on Earth Science, U.S. History, and the Parent Guide. Based on the overwhelming success of the pilot (89 percent of students said they would use SchoolRooms again, and 44 percent said they preferred SchoolRooms to Google and Yahoo!), the decision was made to build an additional 62 virtual rooms that would cover the entire K-12 curriculum. During the next two months, we (INFOhio, Kent State University, and SirsiDynix) hand-selected the “best of the best” teachers and librarians from Ohio to help us with the process. These educators (approximately 58 teachers and 76 librarians) were paired together to form teacher/librarian teams and assigned to a SchoolRooms subject where they had expertise.
For three months the pairs worked closely together to develop an in-depth taxonomy based on national standards, hand-select 200-400 Web sites, and identify “teaser content” such as educational games, multi-media resources, and more for their subject rooms. Their journey began June 12-16 when all participants, nine Ohio Department of Education consultants, visitors from other states, and the press came together at Kent State University for a week-long training workshop (or, as it was lovingly referred to, “content boot camp”). The teams were instructed in content development methodologies, introduced to Personas, and went through an extensive hands-on taxonomy workshop. By the time each team left, they had developed their full taxonomy and begun to identify content for their virtual room.
Photograph by Rami Daud |
For the next month, the teams worked remotely to pull their content together. While there were moments of frustration and concerns about whether or not this project was possible – there were also moments of excitement, sharing, and passion for what they were doing. In the end, that passion and determination, coupled with the willingness to share ideas and resources, kept them going.
For instance, to help everyone communicate more effectively during the process, we set up a Web forum for idea exchanges and FAQs. Within the first couple of weeks, the board was covered with tons of ideas, resources, and Web sites to share on various topics. I have never seen such a diverse group of individuals work together so well and accomplish so much in such a short amount of time.
But perhaps the most encouraging part of this process was that in the end, not only was a product produced to be released this fall that will touch the lives of millions of students across the nation, but we all have gained a new appreciation for each others’ roles - a greater understanding of how powerful the teacher/librarian partnership can really be.
I overheard one teacher say, “I thought I knew how to find good Web sites and information until I started working with my librarian.” On another occasion I heard a librarian say, “I now have a better understanding of the standards and the perspective and needs of teachers that I will be able to use in supporting my own staff this upcoming school year.”
Our conclusion? The perfect equation seems to be teacher + librarian = educational and product success.
