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WVPB Salutes Sandy Wiseman, 2017 PBS Digital Innovator

Sandy Wisemen is the 2017 PBS Digital Innovator for West Virginia

Sandy Wiseman, a Librarian at Woodsdale Elementary School, Ohio County, is named as one of 52 educators from across the country selected for the fifth annual PBS Digital Innovators Program. The program recognizes classroom changemakers: educators who skillfully approach education with a bold and fresh perspective, and who integrate digital media and resources into their classrooms in a way that sparks a love of learning for their students.

Sandra has been at the same school, Woodsdale Elementary, for the past 28 years. But that has not stopped her from innovating! In her classroom—the media center—children sit breathlessly, watching robots they have programmed drop ping pong balls into a red cup. Her class is always an adventure–filled with reading stories, practicing coding skills, using QR codes, and programming robots. Sandra also supervises the Tiger News Team, a weekly news program produced by 5th grade students and published on the school website. “I started my career as a very traditional librarian, when computers were just beginning to make their way into classrooms,” Sandra says. “What I originally learned in college about managing a library has become obsolete—so over the years I have adapted and changed the way I do things so I can bring my students the very best learning environment possible.”

A panel of judges selected the 52 PBS Digital Innovators from across the US, representing each of the 50 states, and the District of Columbia. In partnership with WVPB, Sandra will serve as education partner–deepening the connection between the educator community and WVPB.

PBS Digital Innovators also participate in ongoing professional development; share their ideas on PBS platforms; have access to exclusive resources from PBS LearningMedia; receive a free PBS Teacherline professional development course; and are invited to special events, including the 2017 PBS Digital Summit. This year’s summit, in San Antonio, Texas, takes place directly before the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference.

We’re excited for the opportunity to learn from and work with Sandra to share content that engages and empowers students in every community.