WOW Wednesday – Brandi Graham

     On Wednesdays I highlight some of our amazing MVSD staff on our social media pages. Everyday our staff are using tech in new and exciting ways, are learning new skills, and are sharing ways in which ed tech is assisting them in their practice.

@thompsonclassroom

#WOWWednesday goes to the Graham classroom because this laptop cart organization is so satisfying #mvsd_mb #thisiswhatdreamsaremadeof #teachersoftiktok #teacherlife

♬ Colors – Stella Jang

The video above (hosted via TikTok) is showcasing the work of Brandi Graham at the DRCSS. Brandi has gone above and beyond to ensure that the organization of their classroom device cart is as user-friendly as possible.

Many of our classes, especially at the middle- and high-school levels, operate on a period schedule which sees students moving to different rooms at regular intervals. It is also common to have shared resources across multiple spaces to ensure all students have access to the supplies they need. As such, the return of shared devices in an orderly manner can sometimes become a challenge and lead to:

• missing devices
  • devices are not returned to the storage area
  • devices are returned to the incorrect storage area or the wrong space within the storage area
• improper charging
  • devices are not plugged in when returned
  • batteries are “dead” and the device cannot be used by the next user
• tracking
  • there is no record of who used a specific device
    • hard to track down if something goes missing
    • if there are troubleshooting issues we cannot see if it has been operating long-term across users

Brandi’s system addresses these concerns through the use of a two-factor system:

• colour- and numeral-coding
  • a colour and number is assigned to the storage slot, device, and its charging cord
  • this makes it visually-easy to ensure that the device is returned and plugged into the correct charger
• accompanying sign-out sheet
  • users sign out, or are assigned, a device number so that you can quickly see who has (or has used) a device at any given time

This system is not only visually-satisfying (seriously, isn’t it beautiful!) but it has been praised by our computer technicians, other teaching staff, and students because this system just works so well. It is my hope that by sharing this out that other staff may feel that this system could be a good fit in their own device storage carts. Thank you so much Brandi!