Technology​ ​in​ ​the​ ​WHS​ ​Library

The Weymouth High School Library experienced a transformation this summer that went well beyond the facelift of the new rug and the much needed paint job. With the help and support of the Weymouth Public Schools Technology Department, our library received some technology upgrades to support our students’ education. Along with new desktop computers and printers for the two library computer labs, a projector was added to the College and Career Readiness Center of the library where the WHS counselors provide workshops for students during the school year. A cart with thirty-two Chromebooks was also added allowing technology to be used in all areas of the library by individual students and small groups and in the​ ​library​ ​classroom.

The picture to the left shows ninth grade students participating in an information literacy lesson I taught this week where they learned to access the state research databases, find articles and download them to their Google Drive. They then accessed Google Classroom to complete an assignment. This lesson took place in the library classroom using our new Chromebook​ ​cart. 

To the right is a picture of a class using Chromebooks in our new small group study area. The new Chromebook cart opens up many more opportunities for students to use technology in the library. This new small group area is perfect for a small class or group working collaboratively especially when the computer lab​ ​is​ ​already​ ​occupied​ ​by​ ​a​ ​class​ ​as​ ​shown​ ​in​ ​the​ ​picture​ ​below. With the recent improvements in technology, our library is busier than ever as our students take advantage of the library and all that it has to offer. I look forward to working with many more classes this year as students learn how to use a 21st century library to the fullest extent possible. ​Thanks to the support of the district technology team, our library continues to move forward as a Learning Commons where students participate in a variety of activities involving research, collaboration​ ​and​ ​creativity.

Annmarie O'Neill

Library Teacher

annmarie.oneill@weymouthschools.org

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Collaborating with Google Drive

Collaborating with Google Drive

The Weymouth educational technology team finished a district wide Google Drive training this week with visits to the Johnson Early Childhood Center and Ralph Talbot Primary School. Although we have seen a wide range of skill levels using Google tools, we have seen the same passionate and

eager curiosity in all of you to learn how to use this new tool effectively. I’m sure you recognized our passion to help you collaborate in meaningful ways in your classroom and unify Weymouth in a common goal of improving teaching and learning. This has been a wonderful opportunity for our team to meet with you face-to-face to establish a partnership and foster lifetime learning in Weymouth Public Schools. We will be back next month to help you discover new ways to use technology. Happy Friday!

Brett Lindholm

Director of Educational Technology

Weymouth Public Schools

Please visit our training Portal: https://sites.google.com/weymouthps.org/edtech/home

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Google Drive training

Google Drive Training

We conducted our biggest Google Drive training yet at Weymouth High School and Chapman middle school staff meetings yesterday.

We have been visiting all schools in Weymouth to provide training since we became a Google school this September! These large schools required us to break into departments and ask teachers to help us present. We thank all the teachers and staff members who presented this Google Drive training along with members of our educational technology team. Since there is such a broad diversity of skill levels, we have been breaking into beginner and expert groups at smaller schools to make the training as relevant as possible. We are working on the best format for larger schools to give staff choices and gear the training toward tools they can readily implement in their classrooms. 

If you have had a chance to attend a Google Drive training, please fill our our survey so we can make our training as relevant as possible!

I presented to the foreign language and special education teachers at the High School who were eager to learn this new collaborative platform. They had many great questions ranging from converting Word documents to Google Docs, sharing documents with colleagues, and advanced Google Apps Add-ons. They also had some questions about Gmail so be sure to review our Gmail Onboarding presentation if you still have questions. All training material is conveniently located on our training portal.

Other sessions were able to introduce Google Classroom which "streamlines assignments, boosts collaboration, and fosters seamless communication to make teaching more productive and meaningful." Following the training, we received numerous requests from teachers wanting to start their own classroom. All teachers can request Google classroom access by going to
classroom.google.com or contacting our edtech team.

We are looking forward to providing more training on the Google platform to improve teaching and learning.

Brett Lindholm

Director of Educational Technology

Weymouth Public Schools

1 Wildcat Way, South Weymouth, MA 02190

O: 7813377500 x25181

C: 5087287966 

METAA Chief Technology Officer Certificate holder

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Please visit our training Portal: https://sites.google.com/weymouthps.org/edtech/home

Follow me on Twitter! @brettelindholm