Mrs. Levine Teach

T he learning that was created for me with this course has been absolutely invaluable.  Through the course projects, our gifted professor and guest speakers, all students enrolled were able to leave with a better understanding of what it takes to lead a school library program. It showed me how collaboration with colleagues across the district can create much needed changes in our policies and procedures and have plans to develop those lacking areas this year.  The text book that we purchase was inspiring and gave me actionable steps to managing the school library including collection developments and developing relationships with staff and patrons.  The discussions and assignments motivated me to implement ideas immediately into our library programming.    Flexibility and understanding by our instructor, Judith Kaplan, were commendable during this course.  For many of us, this was absolutely the toughest year in education.  I have b...

  November 10, 2021 As I write this date, it doesn't seem possible.  I have two thoughts.   1.) How is it ALREADY November 10th?  2.) How is it ONLY November 10th? This year seems to not allow enough time for all of the things that need to get done in both of my schools that I work in this year but it also seems to be dragging by as it feels like there is no end in sight.  It's a hard hard year.  I've been teaching since 2006 and this is by far the hardest.  I have asked around how others are feeling.  Was last year harder?  Is this year the hardest?  I have not found one person, not one in the dozens I've asked that said last year was worse.  So what is it?  What is making this so difficult for everyone?  The answer:  EXHAUSTION. We are mentally and emotionally exhausted.  The worries we carry everyday around the health and well being of our families and our colleagues are impossible.  The stress and worklo...

 October 24, 2021 As my second course in the librarian series at UVM begins to wrap up, I am feeling so grateful for my mentor, Michael Flanagan.  For years people have been telling me that we are two kindred spirits.  Two peas in a pod.  But it wasn't until I went to visit him and his space that I actually believed it! His palpable energy is felt throughout his space.  It's excited, it's put together, it's inviting....just like him.  Although he has been doing this for five years now, he still makes me feel like I have something to offer HIM in the library/tech world.  I see this being a true partnership as we move forward. We have already begun to discuss a common section procedure and challenged book policy for our district.  We do not currently have one that has been adopted by the school board and are both anxious to have more "teeth" in the documents that protect our collections and ourselves.   This project has been my favorite so far ...

 October 2nd, 2021 Well, I just finished up my very first celebration of Banned Book Week and I am feeling empowered, invigorated, and so so hopeful!  The students were engaged and more motivated than ever to ask questions, seek answers, and promoted others to get involved too.  This was a huge win. Students not only read the books but they participated in a socratic seminar too!  Kiddos that read a banned book motivated me to bust out the button maker and we made buttons that said, "Censorship leaves us in the dark.  Read a banned book." They were so excited to use this maker space resource, send a message to the world about their stance and have some fun while we were at it!  They also were able to pull a vinyl sticker from the cool bin I stocked up at the beginning of the year.  Who doesn't want a great sticker for their water bottle?!  They were a huge hit and I plan to continue with that external motivator in some of the other library challen...

It's me again!  I'm officially gearing up for my first banned book week and I couldn't be more excited.  I can't wait to motivate our 7th/8th graders who are seemingly not all that excited to read through critical thinking and questioning.  I love this!  

I have three schools in my life this school year! I am the library media and ed tech specialist at Fairfield Center School and the librarian at St. Albans City School.  I am finishing up my first week of my second library media specialist class at the University of Vermont and my third week in this split role in elementary education.   Both of these schools vary greatly in size but both serve grades PreK-8. And still I am attending the University of Vermont! 💚💛 This gif is what I feel like my husband, family, friends & the registrar staff at the UVM must be saying about my school career there. 😂  I have been going to UVM since 2002.  19 years.  And I think everyone is still waiting for me to be finished with my learning there.  What maybe they don't realize and most educators do though is that our learning is NEVER done.   My journey has been formative and truly exciting. For the first 14 years of my career I was a classroom teacher...

It is hard to believe that this is my final reflection and an end to the coursework to obtain my ed-tech specialist endorsement.  For three years I have been working towards gaining expertise and knowledge and skills and an understanding.  My pedagogy has shifted, my focus too.  When I began this journey, I intended to work towards becoming a STEAM teacher.  I wanted to teach kids about technology.  Now, I will be working mostly with adults as a coach and I have never felt more prepared than I do right now. Not only has a pandemic ravaged our world, but our roles in education have also shifted and changed in an instant.  It is only because of the last three years of graduate courses that I have taken that I have felt solidly prepared for this challenge.   If you had asked me two weeks ago how I was doing, I might have said awful.  This is a very different response for me because typically, I am lighthearted and energetic ...

One last thoughtful vision... When students and teachers are engaged in work that is challenging, adventurous and meaningful, learning, and achievement flourish.  This is a vision that speaks to me and I hope for my children and grandchildren.  

March 22, 2020 Dear Readers, I have finally come up to breathe.  Barely.  These have been some of the most trying weeks I have ever faced in my entire life.  Personally and professionally I have been asked to transform.  And I know I can do it.  I am prepared to face this challenge and lead colleagues and citizens with my skill-set and knowledge.  But I just can't explain how hard this has been. Reflecting on my experiences I realize that I am fortunate to have had the coursework in achieving my Ed Tech Specialist endorsement from UVM.  I am prepared and have what I need to engage in "remote learning".  At this point, my students have engaged in hours of technology tools in my classroom and most have shown proficiency in many of the programs I have introduced.  Google Classroom has continued and many are engaging using google hangouts and chat.  Docs are being shared and feedback is being given.  Questions are being a...

Welcome Back! My professor asked us to indicate our Twitter use very early on in our EDCI 325 course.  I identified as a user, but not exactly a part of my everyday life. At the time, I had limited use and truly only tweeted and engaged on occasions that I wanted to appear connected with technology.  It was more for show and not for learning. I can now say that because of this course, I see how my PLN communities (all thanks to Twitter) will be invaluable resources for my next adventure in the world of education.   It began with the mandatory book study and what was seemingly the least time-consuming assignment that I had been given.  I’ll read a chapter or two a week, give a couple of short responses, and that piece of the course would be an easy thing to check off.  Boy, was I wrong! This assignment created a playground for me in my professional learning and keeps leading me to new and exciting opportunities.  I have been engaging with expe...

Hello all, When I consider the new coaching role that I will take on next year, Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard is speaking to me in new ways.  Yes, you read that right, no more classroom teaching for me next year, but I'll save that for another post.  On Friday we went through a data-meeting using the 5  Why's  Protocol.  It was amazing to me after reading this chapter and noticing now how many people went to the negative observations first.  Rather than focusing our energy on the good, we focused on the bad.   This observation reminds me that I want students to focus more on the "dos" then the " don'ts " as the Heath brothers and the ISTE standards for digital citizenship recommend. I want students (and teachers) to have a "solution focus" and not a problem focus.  How many of us have been guilty of going down the rabbit hole of negativity?  And how helpful has that been?  This growth mindset ...

February 5, 2020 Happy Wednesday, "Shouldn’t our mindset and work be rooted in creativity and innovation and not just in best practices?" ~Raymond J. McNulty This quote is the optimism that I seek.  The question is, do you have the freedom to create and redesign lessons & curriculum using the "new practices"?  I am lucky, I do.  This time to collaborate and innovate meaningful learning experiences for our students is a must. As a nation, we must do better in the world of education.  To do this, we must relook at how we are running things and change, adapt, and grow.  As educators, we cannot resist change but encourage big moves to be made.  We need to prepare the next generation in our country so that they can have the knowledge and skills to be positive citizens of the world. We need to be innovative.  We need to enlist coaches and teachers that inspire connection, reflection, and support change.  Katie Novak, Chip Heath, and To...

Happy Sunday! I am thankful to my growing PLN and have seen many examples of mavens, connectors, and salesmen.  In my newest learning network, Jaime Donally has been all three for me.  Not only have I been reading her e-book to participate in a "slow chat" but I have engaged in some of her live chats on Wednesday nights around AR/VR/MR resources.  She has a way of connecting with her audience and is persuasive in her mission to use technology in innovative ways.  Donally has clearly gathered a lot of information on this topic and is spreading the word using online tools (thank you Twitter, such an efficient way to hear the message!)  The infographic below explains how information can spread so quickly using Twitter and my new passion for using this resource to grow my PLN. At St. Albans City School, I find myself playing the role of a maven and connector often.  This year I am not the literacy leader (I have been in the past) yet I find myself sharing ...

A few years ago, I quit Facebook and never really started Twitter.  I found myself after hours and hours of "research" realizing that I had been lost in cyberspace, reading a lot and learning about absolutely nothing that would help me be a better citizen of the world.  I would look at pages of people I knew, which led me to pages with people I sort of knew, which led me to pages of people I did in fact know but didn't realize they knew the other person I knew.  Then I began my sleuth missions, looking to see why some people were connected to others or why they weren't. Waste. Of. Time. I realize now that I can quit Facebook and Twitter as personal relationship social media, but it is irreplaceable for the professional connections and collaborations that can be created.  It is our job is to be stewards of educational technology. To do that well, we must be connected in ways that are immediate, relevant, and allow us to collaborate globally.  These two platform...

January 16, 2020 Hi again! As I began thinking about what makes a great leader, I pondered the definition of a leader first.  I used to think that you had to be loud and strong and pushy and stubborn to be a good leader.  After reflection and thinking about some of the amazing leaders that I've witnessed over my career, I think about one in particular.  This leader kept work relationships professional but was also empathetic.  This leader supported their teachers first and foremost.  This leader was assertive with their agenda but listened to what should be on that agenda.  They were the strong but silent type and made everyone want to be better.  We were held to high standards and it raised the bar of our teaching and student learning. I picked this leader because they showed me how I can have a balance between friendliness and professionalism and has helped me stretch my skills, making me a better educator. ~Ashley agenda a...

Hello all, To those of you that have stumbled upon this blog, WELCOME, and thank you for taking the time to read my considerations for our educational institutions in the year 2020.  As a classroom teacher of 14 years, I have found myself often in the position of leadership.  I am not quiet or shy and speak up for the voice that isn't always heard.  I have persevered in instances where others have given up and have remained optimistic, even in times where others have not.  It is important to me to transform curriculum and instruction in our school districts to be equitable for all learners.  I have been known to collaborate effectively with faculty both in and out of our district as well as create meaningful experiences for some of our most fragile students.  I often do this through work on smaller committees that strive to meet a common goal but also look beyond the work of committees to extend to long term goals and solutions. My communicati...