Amanda Webb Gibbs

Business / Marketing & FBLA Advisor
Athens Middle School

What is a 21st Century School? The vision of the 21st Century initiative is defined as:

New understandings about the brain; about how people learn; about the potential of information and communication technologies; about radical changes in patterns of work as well as deep fears about social divisions in society necessitate a profound rethinking of the structures of education. (http://www.21learn.org)

Athens Middle School, located in Athens, Alabama, has been deemed a “21st Century School.” It is one of 20 schools participating in an online exploration of 21st Century learning through the Alabama Best Practices Center. Amanda Gibbs teaches 8th grade Computer Essentials and uses SCHOOLinSITES to demonstrate 21st Century Technology in her classroom. We recently discovered her teacher page while providing follow-up training and what a great website it is!

Mrs. Gibbs uses her SCHOOLinSITES Teacher Page for so many things:

• Posting assignments
• Listing helpful websites for her students
• Displaying student work
• Uploading podcasts
• And much more

Posting her weekly lesson plans in the Assignments area of her page allows her students to cross reference assignments with the calendar. Electronic uploads of files allows her to also link from Assignments to helpful information referenced by her students.

Students are not the only ones benefitting from the use of SCHOOLinSITES in Mrs. Gibbs classroom. Parents are able to view both resources and the work of students.

When asked to identify the best feature of her SCHOOLinSITES website, Mrs. Gibbs was quick to refer to her Projects page. “My students do awesome projects and I love being able to showcase them using my SIS website.” Along with projects, there are tutorials that can be viewed by students, parents, and the community.

Communication with parents and community has improved dramatically through the use of these Web resources. Mrs. Gibbs is among other staff members of Athens City Schools who recently implemented their Private Network. After training by a certified trainer from SCHOOLinSITES, members of this network are able to share files (teaching resources, helpful links, and instructional aides) as well as blog privately among their own groups.

Congratulations to Featured Teacher Amanda Gibbs. And kudos to Athens City Schools for taking this valuable step toward helping all students in their system become 21st Century Learners!