Diversity

The role of a media center is to be the source for information. This information should be available over not only over a variety of subjects but should also be provided through a variety of formats and technologies. The media center should be the example for the school of diversity; they are essentially gatekeepers of information and can choose what is presented to the students and faculty. Media specialists should work to ensure that they represent the pros and cons of social issues, different cultures, different religions, etc. and to ensure that their own personal beliefts are not reflected in the makeup of the media center's collection. Having said that, I know that as a media specialist, something close to my heart is Spanish. I will want to make sure to incorporate bilingual books and materials for students to have. While Spanish is a more dominant second language spoken in our region, I would need to be sure to also allocate budget and space to other languages and culture groups.

While a media center's collectin of materials can be diverse in their content there are other methods to incorporate diversity in the media center which could then be reflected throughout the school. We read the example of Ashley and her experience with working on the school's TV newscast. This was a great way to include students from all backgrounds and learning abilities. In MEDT 6401, another technology course, we researched different technologies that could benefit the media center. There were such items as text-to-voice readers and magnifiers that could aid students with different special needs. These technologies along with others should be incorporated in a media center in order to include everyone.

eBooks

With new ebooks/ereaders available on the market, I have really only given thought to which format I personally preferred for reading. These articles give an insight into the implications these devices may have for the future of books and reading in our schools. I have not used the iPad for reading purposes, so it was interesting to hear all of the features it offers. I used to tend towards wanting a Kindle because I felt that it gave the most authentic "book" feel rather than an electrical device. The iPad has proven that it can be a tool that kids will not only use but enjoy. The feature of being able to connect it to an overhead projector would be greatly beneficial to schools. I am still however, unsure of how these books would be "circulated". I know that through downloadable audio books, a user has a three day time frame to have the book "checked-out" in which they must download it before it expires from their account. I wonder if there would be a similar system in place for ebooks. Also, this would be highly expensive. If the media center was to eventually switch to be completely electronic, how would students use the materials? How would the media center even look? Would each student be required to have an iPad or other ereader in order to download and take home books? While I favor print books, both in easyiness of use and circulation and in personal reading preferences, I am unsure of their future. I feel that many people still love the feel of a printed book and casually browsing through books at bookstores, will this end at some point? One article mentioned that we should not impose our preferences on our kids, which I can see is true. My niece and nephew are like glue to games and electronics. I even liked his (John Green's) idea about even changing the basic format of books and reading. I think students would love to read a game type book, which many even prove more beneficial for reading comprehension.

Digital Storytelling

Digital Storytelling has shaped the way in which I collaborate with teachers. I have found that this a fantastic opportunity to work with teachers and be a part of the classroom experience with students as well. When I first learned how to use moviemaker I was so excited at how easy it was and wanted to share my new knowledge. I went to the English department chair and showed her the personal memoir I created and asked if she could use something like that in her classroom. Since then we have worked together on a few projects using moviemaker to create digital stories. At the beginning of this year, she had her freshman students create biographies to share with the class. This allowed the students to not only acquaint themselves with the peers they will be spending the next four years with, but gave them an introduction into how to navigate this program. Since then  we have done projects with the students and their digital storytelling skills are gradually evolving. Another assignment we did was to create Propaganda Commercials based on their studies of Animal Farm. Ms. Collie made this project a ‘competition’ and a group in each class won a trophy for best commercial. I loved stepping outside of the library to watch the students present their projects. This has been a truly rewarding collaboration experience. Teachers can be wary of using technology (outside of standard PowerPoints) in their classrooms, but with something like this that is easy and fun, you can really get students and teachers equally excited about creating these Digital Stories!!

eBooks & Digital Storytelling

Digital storytelling is new to me yet similar in that it reminds me of a beefed up PowerPoint. I can see fourth and fifth grade utilizing digital storytelling for large units in Reading and Social Studies. Because creating and composing the stories is so time consuming I don’t know if there is only enough time for any more than two to four videos during a single school year. Hopefully if fourth grade teachers are willing to take the time to teach their students this skill, the fifth grade teachers will continue the trend the following year. This is a large undertaking to ask of the fourth grade teachers but with the right support digital storytelling could be very successful and meaningful for students. The media specialist could provide example videos, a catalog of royalty free audio, video, and images, and offer their support during the construction phase. The media specialist can also assist teachers in creating a digital story to introduce or conclude a unit.

My answer to Christopher Harris’s question, would children select a traditional, printed or a digitally enriched electronic version of a book would be the printed version overall for my age level (elementary). I feel many of the younger students would be intimidated with the electronic version, especially those without a computer at home. The special needs students will also need print versions of books. As an educator I would not mind giving my students an electronic version of a book but it would take time to train the students on how to use the technology and ensure the “cool” features will not be a distraction.

I have not given eBooks to much thought because my students aren’t asking for them yet. I guess I am old fashioned & like the paper/book in my hands, I like to dog-ear pages or highlight when appropriate. I usually print anything I need to read off the internet. Even when I’m writing a paper I’ll type the rough draft version, print, then edit the hard copy, & make the changes on my computer. With all the possibilities David Lankes brought to mind in his article, Ereaders, the iPad-Is That All There Is?, I see an eBook is/should be more than a copy of a book. With an electronic book a student should be able to double click words and have the computer read it to them and have the option of having it defined. Electronic books should be able to be enlarged for visually impaired students. Electronic books should come in color with full graphics and/or animations, http://www.tumblebooks.com/ is a great example to illustrate what I am saying (sign up for a free month trial, my students loved it)!

I still feel the need for eBooks is limited from many schools financially and logistically. My school does have a few picture eBooks, teachers access them through the OPAC in their classroom for student viewing or to project through the LCD projector. I feel if a student is doing a writing on a book then it would be more functional to have it in hardcopy that students can share and pass back and forth.

I viewed a couple different books on the International Children's Digital Library but could not see this as being a valuable tool in my elementary classrooms. The “online” version of the book was just a photograph of the book one page at a time; there was very little electronic about it. Many times I could not zoom in close enough to even read the pages.

I found Project Gutenberg to be just as helpful as the International Children's Digital Library because most of their books were so old I couldn’t find a current, pertinent children’s author there. Every book was black and white plain text.

The school I mentor is only in its second year of being open; being new provides the school and faculty with both benefits and draw backs. Part of the benefits would be that they still receive new school funds and have a little more flexibility in attaining newer resources than other schools. A downfall would be that since they are new, programs have not quite established but are developing. The media specialists and paraprofessional at the school I mentor in both work to create more knowledge and awareness of the media center. They have conducted a few larger group inservice sessions. I know that the paraprofessional working in the media center has worked hard to collaborate with teachers. This collaboration has provided her with an opportunity to work with and teach teachers on newer technologies, or rather how to integrate technologies into lessons; some examples would be with podcasts, vodcasts, and powerpoints.
Jurkowski speaks of the difficulties seen in creating and conducting these sessions, which are mirrored in the school. Teachers already have a lot on their plate, and getting them to attend an inservice session proves to be difficult. One media specialist I have mentored with told me that if you wish to do anything after school with teachers, you must feed them. I thought this was funny, but then also thought that she was very smart. She would just get cheap sodas and provide popcorn, but this was at least an incentive for coming. Something to snack on after a long day of work, while listening to something informative, not too bad.
When I am a media specialist myself, I look forward to teaching teachers how to integrate these technologies which will enhance their lessons. Starting out new, I would begin small. I would not want teachers to think that the new media specialist is coming in thinking that they do not know anything and is now offering all of these sessions. I would first like to get a feel for the school and the teachers, what they already know and what they would like to learn about. From here I would begin doing one on one collaboration to "show my worth". Once I've had success with several teachers and they have had success with what I've showed/taught them, I would try to begin larger group sessions. Hopefully, there could be something maybe once a month or every other month; during lunch time would be great.

Distribution Systems

Say the word Distribution System at my school and wait for the sighs, moans and groans from our teachers (I keep my sighs, moans and groans to myself or in the the solitude of my office). The distribution system has been both a blessing and a curse.

One great service our distribution system plays is that it distributes our directTVchannels through the whole school. We have 4 VCR/DVD combo units in which we can play select channels through. I am often emailed by coaches asking me to change the channel to show the game they are watching, but normally we have Fox News, CNN, Food Network and ESPN running.

There are also 4 solo DVD units that can only be used to play movies. Movies can also be played on the DVD/VCR units, but those are our last choice, as the are used to route the directTV channels. The movies can either be controlled by the Media Specialist directly or they can be scheduled and controlled by the teacher using a computer program. The program is relatively simple to use, but the teachers do not like using it. Many teachers are annoyed that they cannot take the videos to their classroom and they also cannot show videos that don't have administrator approval. Another disadvantage is that the DVD players often shut themselves off between classes and they have to have the Media Specialist or I turn it back on. If i was in  the classroom, I think I would probably use the computer as my DVD player as they mostly do. The computers are all connected to the hanging flat screens in every classroom.  

We have one other channel that is available for use by our broadcast journalism class for morning announcements.(Last year, we had a few semi-successful weeks of video announcements, but the program is yet to be up and running this year.) I really hope that we can get the program running again soon.

Another feature of the distribution system is being able to show things on the attached computer. I create a PowerPoint  show daily of school announcements and teachers have the option to have these scrolling announcements on their TVs.

Social Networking in Schools

Today's student is extremely comfortable with Social Networking and communicating via the internet, sometimes to a fault. But using various Social Networking sites is an opportunity to work with students using a platform in which they are comfortable. There are multiple ways these tools can be used in the classroom in facilitate learning and create a lasting learning experience for students. One standard that we as school librarians are expected to fulfill is to create lifelong learners and by collaborating with teachers on something like this, we could help to do that.One example is that I love the goodreads.com site and think that this could be very successful for encouraging student reading and encouraging literary discussion between peers.

One of the most depressing things about my job in a high school library is the ridiculously strict filtering enforced in our system. I often read articles about Web 2.0 tools and the fantastic ways that school libraries around the country are using Social Networking and then find myself blocked from attempting to do the same.

One way that our teachers have somewhat gotten around this blockage is by creating similar projects, but not using the actual sites. Our teachers have students create Facebook pages for book characters, such as Beowulf and Hamlet. This way students can communicate their learnings in a format that they understand and find exciting. It has been fun to watch students create these projects.

Another way we 'get around the system' is by using the county blog format on our webpage. I added a blog widget to my book club site and my kids really loved it. This year I shared this with an English teacher and he has begun to see similar success.

There are so many options and opportunities for classroom success with Social Networking, but currently there are many hurdles. Hopefully one day school systems will be able to get past the negative stigma of the sites and allow this opportunity to blossom.