Learning how to expertly manage files requires a lot of practice. So here's the problem. Most Juniors and Seniors aren't old enough to have had a lot of practice. 🤷🏻♀️ When your entire course depends on students having solid file management skills, you have to teach them. Journalism Teacher & Yearbook Advisor Sam Deane models for her students:
- Labeling files
- Adopting naming conventions
- Understanding document file extensions
- Color coding
- Managing digital storage
Yes, teaching these skills makes things go smoother in her project-based classroom. But let's zoom out to the big picture. Sam is all about transferable skills. She wants to give her students experiences they can take into the workspace. Before incorporating a new tool in the classrooms, she asks herself -- when would this kid use this tool outside of the classroom? Outside of Noblesville? She turns to the industry to identify tools. While Adobe InDesign and Dropbox are part of her curriculum, she leans heavily on Google Suite.
Google Spaces
Students use Google Spaces for collaboration and communication. Think Slack channel. The ability to add emoji reactions is a favorite feature. 🍕🍨🌮
Students use Google Sheets for project management. They track progress toward yearbook completion using dropdown and checkbox features.
Google Shared Drive
Photography is a big part of a journalism class. Sam reminds students that uploading five hundred photos to a shared folder doesn't make sense. Most platforms don't have enough storage; however, students must also learn the art of curation. They need to think five photos instead of five hundred.
This is Sam's tenth year with Noblesville Schools, and she remains one of our technology-savviest teachers. When asked what advice she would give to technology-hesitant teachers, "Get into it and play with it!" Agreed, agreed.
Kristin Patrick, Blended Learning Coach
Kristin Patrick, Blended Learning Coach
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