Technology, DIversity, & the Media Center

When I first read this question, what does encourgaging and supporting diversity through the media center mean, my previous media specialist popped into my mind. She had been at our school for as long as I could remember. She was "old school" and the media center was not an encourgaging, welcoming or diverse place at all. She was rude and at times condesending towards not only the students but the teachers as well. She did not go out of her way to do anything for anyone. Five years ago she retired and we got a new media specialist. She was a West GA media program grad and the whole atmostphere of the media center changed. Teachers were collaborating with her, she was friendly, happy, and encouraged the students to read.She updated the collection, taught lessons, and always has a smile for everyone. To encourage and be diverse through the media center it first and formost needs an encouraging media specialist.
Is diversity about race, gender, culture, language, special needs? In short yes. Your media center needs to be able to address all of these needs. You need to make sure your library, collection and LMS are in tune to the needs of their clients. For example, our county built a new elementry school 2 years ago and changed our district lines. Our school went from being 99% caucasian with 1% free and reduced lunch to having a very healthy population of spanish speaking a low socio- economic families. So the needs of our school changed quickly and so did the demands put on teachers and the media center. Our LMS increased our section of spanish/english books and also tried to provide more information for parents in our parent resource room.
Is it our responsibility to support and encourage diverse audiences and perspectives? I believe that just as a teacher can not meet all of her students needs with one instructional method, the LMS can not soley address the needs of one member of their audience or one perspecitve of audience member. If they did this would this not be like discrimination towards others and a complete lack of professionalism? Technology is making it easier and easier for teachers and LMS to address the needs, thoughts, ideas, perspecitves, culture of their ever changing audience. Through online chat/post pages like LM- NET, media specilaist are able to ask each other questions, share ideas, lesson plans, etc. other media specialist through out our country. It is an excellent technology tool that is put to use in so many differnt ways. Technology is also ever present in the media center's web pages. THese pages allow parents, students, and faculty to keep up with the latest happenings in the media center. They provide access to online resources and information that is made easily accessable to its users. Media specialist are also integrating new technology, such as ipads, into their "paper" world. Ipads can be used in many different ways with many different students with various learning needs. They can be used for interactive lessons in conjunction with promethean boards, teachers may use them in their classrooms, and they may be used in place of lap tops. Not to mention that they could be used to access e-books or to download copies of books to read. The possibilities are numerous.
I think that technology helps to breath new life into stagnant routines. It helps to bridge the learning gaps of students and meets the challenging needs of teachers as well.

Digital Stories and ebooks

Digital Storytelling and eBooks
The first I had heard of digital story telling was this course. I asked some friends if they knew what a digital story was. They did not! I told them I didn’t either but I had to make one so I guessed I would learn! In the article, Seven Things You should know about Digital Stories, a digital story is defined as a combination of “narrative with digital content including photos, sound, and video to create a short movie, typically with a strong emotional content”. It is further stated that “digital stories can be effectively applied to any subject and can be instructional, persuasive, historical or reflective”. The potential use of resources is virtually limitless.
In The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling, the authors state that a digital story generally lasts between two and ten minutes. Daniel Meadows defines digital stories as “short personal multimedia tales told from the heart.”
Under the create tab in The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling, the necessary sequence of steps are outlined as follows:
A Step-By-Step Approach to Creating a Digital Story from Material Found On the Web
PART ONE: Define, Collect, Decide
1. Select a topic for your digital story.
2. Create a folder on the desktop where you can store the materials you find.
3. Search for image resources for your story, including: pictures, drawings, photographs, maps, charts, etc. - Save these resources in your folder.
4. Try to locate audio resources such as music, speeches, interviews, and sound effects. - Save these resources in your folder.
5. Try to find informational content, which might come from web sites, word processed documents, or PowerPoint slides. - Save these resources in your folder.
6. Begin thinking of the purpose of your story. Are you trying to inform, convince, provoke, question?
PART TWO: Select, Import, Create
1. Select the images you would like to use for your digital story.
2. Select the audio you would like to use for your digital story.
3. Select the content and text you would like to use for your digital story.
4. Import images into Photo Story.
5. Import audio into Photo Story.
6. Modify number of images and/or image order, if necessary.
PART THREE: Decide, Write, Record, Finalize
1. Decide on the purpose and point of view of your digital story.
2. Write a script that will be used as narration in your digital story AND provides the purpose and point of view you have chosen.
3. Use a computer microphone and record the narration of your script.
4. Import the narration into Photo Story.
5. Finalize your digital story by saving it as a Windows Media Video (.wmv) file.
PART FOUR: Demonstrate, Evaluate, Replicate
1. Show your digital story to your colleagues.
2. Gather feedback about how the story could be improved, expanded, and used in your classroom.
3. Teach a colleague how to create their own digital story.
4. Congratulate yourself for a job well done!
A list of rubric resources are included under the evaluate tab which includes Rubistar a free rubric creator. Under the resources tab, there is a multitude of links and sources for creating and supporting the use of digital stories. This particular site will prove to be invaluable as I continue to explore and create my own digital story.
Another great site is How to Create Simple Digital Stories at http://electronicportfolios.com/digistory/howto.html
This site has a wide variety of references and tools that can aid in the creation of a digital story.

Ebooks
My first knowledge of ebooks was during this past fall in Selection and Materials with Dr. Goldberg. She introduced us to “The Dot” in class and we were assigned to use it in some way with students and create a project of sorts. We were exposed to a variety of ebooks such as those with the ball bouncing over the words or the words highlighted. I thought then WOW, I wish this had been available for my kids. What a great and interactive way to read!
At my school, we have access to the ebooks that are available through the public library. We also have Encarta and the math, social studies, and science books are available online as well as the resources that accompany the series. We have access to an online dictionary and Encarta as well. I also found through Dr. Goldberg’s class that ebooks are available through the Gwinnett Public Library (That’s how we accessed “The Dot”).
David Lankes states in Ereaders, the iPad—Is That All There Is? that “What excites me about ebooks is not that they’re easier to carry around but that they’re digital documents. Couple that with a digital network, and now we’re talking about reinventing reading.
So what should an ebook look like? With a ubiquitous network connection, not only could I take notes, but I could access them along with cited passages and share them with colleagues and friends in real time. Or while reading a book on the iPad, Kindle, or Sony Reader, imagine engaging in conversation with the author, a friend, or coworkers as you’re reading. Picture a device that’s more a social access mechanism through text than a simple display.”
After reading this article I had to rethink my position regarding ereaders and ipads. Yes, it would be soooo much easier to take one device than a basket full of books to the beach, but would I miss the page turning and holding the actual book? The jury is still out on that one!
Resources and References
Barrett, Helen “How to Create Simple Digital Stories” retrieved from http://electronicportfolios.com/digistory/howto.html

Center for Digital Storytelling retrieved from http://www.storycenter.org/index1.html

Educause/ELI: 7 Things You Should Know about Digital Storytelling, retrieved from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7021.pdf

Integrating Digital Storytelling in your Classroom, retrieved from http://its.ksbe.edu/dst

Lankes, David Ereaders, the iPad—Is That All There Is? Retrieved from http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/ca6723753.html

Rubistar, retrieved from http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php

The University of Houston, The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling, retrieved from http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/alignment.html

The University of Houston, The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling, Getting Started, retrieved from http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/getting_started.html

The University of Houston, The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling, Rubrics, retrieved from http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/rubrics.html

Tech Training in Schools

I realized there was a wide gap in technology training at my school the first week of work when I tried to open an attachment from my principal using my class computer.  My aide said that she and the former teacher never could get mail from him.  “It always looks Chinese”.  I had to locate and install Word!  For five years, they never figured out the problem.  Since then, I have found some very tech savvy teachers and novices alike. Once the parapros found out I was willing to teach them, I became a go-to resource. This week, the secretary dropped a file on her keyboard and her desktop images rotated sideways.  She called me to figure it out.  Training within my school seems to come from who you know and an “as needed” basis. If you suddenly have a problem, you ask the nearest person who you think can help you.  Our media specialist will only tell us to put in a work order with the county tech person so we use each other for speed.

 My principal once gave everyone a handout on how to streamline start-up programs so the computers would run faster.  This is the only “school” training from above we have received.  Our media specialist has not ever set up training.  The county offers courses at their offices. We have a handy website with tutorials.  http://tlc.floydboe.net  I guess she figures that is sufficient. The parapros were all required to take a class on Word and were also trained on the new online time clock. The county allowed them time during the day for that training. Some teachers have embraced Smart Board technology faster than others.  One set up her own after-school training for other teachers who wanted additional training help beyond the county class.  The county will only train you if you have a Smart Board in your classroom.  When I changed grade levels and needed to know how to access and use Study Island and the Reading Counts programs, I relied on my grade level teachers for guidance.

If I were the media specialist, I would survey teachers about what interesting programs they currently use which others might not know exist. I would publish a list of who is using what in their classrooms so we can share those with everyone interested. I would encourage teachers to share technology they come across with the media specialist even if they haven’t had time to research it themselves.  This would give me more leads in finding resources. I would advertise what is already available at school and offer to teach it to anyone wanting to learn. I would set aside time after school, on work days and staff development days to teach anyone interested.  I would provide examples and would give a brief synopsis of why teachers or staff might want to learn it to make their jobs easier or their classes more exciting.  I would try to make as much accessible to them to try in their own classrooms because I think they would feel more secure there.  I would provide self-paced tutorials with take-away handouts so they wouldn’t have to keep referring back to a lesson.

 I would never force teachers to attend classes. Instead, I would get a list of teachers and staff who were knowledgeable and willing to teach peers and offer those up as hallway resources.  Some people are just not comfortable asking just anyone for help. If I can provide peer teaching support, than that is fine, too. Teachers who have worked at many different grade levels will likely find someone on the list they feel comfortable asking for a lesson.  The biggest barrier to training is time.  Even when teachers are interested in learning, it is difficult to schedule the time needed to learn and practice.  This is why I think trying to get other teachers to peer tutor is helpful.  Being on the same schedule gives them the opportunity to squeeze out time to learn what interests them.  I think it would be great to get a group together in the computer lab to walk them through a tech class, but it isn’t always possible.

Fair Use- Fact and Fiction

To be 100% honest with you, until I began my masters program in media and instructional technology I had NO CLUE what fair use was or if I was breaking any copyright laws and I have been teaching for 11 years! I knew that it was not legal to copy a movie I rented from blockbuster and then there was the whole Napster thing. With the help of my instructors and some very insightful discussions with my school's media specialist, I now know that there are quite a few copyright laws that pertain to teachers and there is something called "fair use."

So what exactly is fair use? Fair use is the right to use copyrighted material without permission or payment under some circumstances- especially when the cultural or social benefits of the use are predominant (AUSOC , 1).Fair use is flexible and was meant to be used as a guideline not a law. Fair use was meant to be used and can be modified or changed to keep up with changing technology or to better meet the needs of its users. Copyright law does not state how fair use it to be applied exactly which helps to give it its flexibility and to work with its users.

When something is challenged and comes before the courts, most judges have four considerations that help them to determine if the work falls under "fair use":
1) the nature of the use
2) the nature of the work used
3) the extent of the use
4) its economic effect
(AUSOC, 6)

I chose to focus on: fair use is too unclear and complicated for me; it's better left to lawyers and administrators.
Who knows what resources are needed to educate better than the educators? Educators should be aware of what their rights are because they help to shape their own guidelines on fair use. Educators should be very vocal and share what they know with their faculty, media specialist, IT, and administrators. The more people are aware of these rights the more they will become put into practice. Who would you rather help to decide what good fair use practices are a politician that knows nothing about what is needed to teach your curriculum or teachers that are immersed in it every day. By not knowing and using those fair use guidelines you are allowing your students educational environment to be stifled.

Our county no longer has a policy & procedure manual that they post. Instead each school is encouraged to create their own or use one handed down from the state or previous media specialist. As I interviewed my media specialist about copyright, it was astonishing as to how little I actually knew. I began to think back on all the things I had done in the past and wondered why I wasn't sitting under the jail. She stated that she did post "fair use" around copy machines but that copyright was something that was very hard for her to enforce and at times was not a battle that she really wanted to fight. Instead of putting our heads in the sand or turning the other way, I think that it is necessary for those who know to share. We are in the business of teaching so why should that be limited to students? One way that this might be accomplished would be to have a copyright staff development at the beginning of the school year. This would help remind teachers how fair use was intended to be used and it would also inform those that were unaware of it purposes.

Resources
AUSOC. Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education.http://mediaeducationlab.com/code-best-practices-fair-use-media-literacy-education-0

Video Distribution and GPB Resources

At my school, we do have a closed circuit/video distribution system.  We lost many of our cable television channels last month when Comcast went to a digital signal.  Until Comcast installs a box at our school, we are reduced to a handful of channels.  My school does not currently have a school run news show.  We don’t have Channel One.  We use our closed circuit system to show things like: movies, teacher training, webinars, and to facilitate presentations school-wide, like fundraising promotions.  When I say school-wide, I mean that when videos are being shown, the closed circuit must be shut off to the rest of the school.  No television can get cable reception when any movie is running. My school is the only school in the county with this setup.  My media specialist says that two different opinions developed as to a fix.  One guy claims he can fix it for two hundred dollars.  The company who apparently has the county contract for the networking system doesn’t know how to fix it and says it cannot be done.  If the first guy touches it, it voids the county warranty.  Why nobody has put these two together to get it fixed is beyond me.  We use the telephone to call the media specialist to start and stop videos which have been scheduled.  If a teacher plans to watch a television show without checking the video schedule with the library, they may be out of luck when they turn on their t.v. Most classroom teachers use their own classroom VCR/DVD players.

            I was surprised to learn that some schools in my county do have some control over their system.  First, the teachers can find and select videos via the school internet.  Once they schedule a block of time for their video with the media specialist, they have control to start, stop, pause, rewind, etc. during that block of time.  This allows flexibility for the teacher.  It also keeps all of the videos within the library.  The teachers are required to give a day’s notice which cuts down on last minute demands to the media specialist.  When the e rate changes, we are supposed to get this used system and the Title I schools will get upgraded.

            My schools system does let teachers know about United Streaming.  They gave us a school code to sign up for it and have a link to it on our county teacher website. It is up to teachers to use it as they decide.  I rely on United Streaming heavily since I don’t have a smart board and so much content is blocked on the internet.  I can show videos with my scan converter on my tv.  I was shocked at how much was available when I took the time to look for this assignment at all that is available from GPB’s education area.  I found all of the following resources for administrators, teachers, parents and students within the site:

Education news

Educational Games

Benchmarks

RTI

Research

Professional development webinars

Educators blogs, forums, events

resources technology setup

Videos and lesson plans

Puzzle makers

Clip art

Worksheets

Science curriculum

STEM activities

Read to succeed Six Flags Challenge

Brainboosters

Math

Science fair central (too late for me)

Hands on science experiences

Safe driver

New teacher central

Digital storytelling

Health

Environmental lessons

Web 2.0 presentation tools

Contests

Homework help by subject

Motivational / emotional support

PTA tool kit

Math help

Interactive videos by subject

The Social Network!

The Social Network! by Gem Butterfield (I just couldn't resist the title!)

Social network technologies are software that let people connect, collaborate, and form virtual libraries through the computer or internet. Sites that allow visitors to send emails, post comments, build web content or take part in live chats are all social networking sites. The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) defines social networking in Teens & Social Networking in School & Public Libraries: A Toolkit for Librarians & Library Workers as “in the online world, this refers to the ability to connect with people through websites and other technologies like discussion boards”.Several Networking tools are defined in the toolkit such as blogs, podcasts, tagging and wikis. In another article by YALSA, Teens & Social Networking in the School & Public Library ties to literacy are given.Social networking tools give teens meaningful ways to use and improve reading and writing skills. All social networking software requires teens to read and write. When a teen:
• Creates a profile on a social networking site,
• Posts or comments on a blog
• Adds or edits content on a wiki
• Searches for social content
• Consults peers online as a part of research
reading and writing skills are required. This is why these technologies are often referred to as the read/write web.
The National School Board Association (NSBA), National School Board Association published survey results regarding social networking in July 2007 reported Patricia Deubel (Deubel, 2009. Social networking in Schools: Incentives for Participation). In the results, 52% of the districts interviewed prohibited the use of social networking sites in school; however it was found that about 60% of students who use social networking are talking about education topics and more than 50% specifically talk about school work. District leaders and teachers find the common social networks to be too global and scary. They also need evidence that social networking adds strong educational value and purpose. Some evidence is tied to providing a 21st century global education including project-based learning. This connects the social network to the curriculum and standards. Another challenge is that of accountability with the current mandates of No Child Left Behind (NCLB).

Fiehn reported on the use of Social Networking and Your Library OPAC. Fiehn introduces several OPAC products which work within your OPAC. Some of those mentioned were of course Destiny by Follett; Fish4Info, and Agent by Auto-Graphics. She also discusses SirsiDynix and Mandarin which have enhanced their OPAC capabilities to include social network type formats. In Fiehn’s discussions and interviews she found that the “top 10 books” was the most frequently used feature of the OPAC. Further responses from library media specialists regarding the use of social networks and the OPAC were met with hesitation as to how it would really work in their schools. Despite the hesitation, there was still a willing enthusiasm (Social Networking Through Your Library Automation System: What Librarians and Vendors Have to Say).

The Secure Social Network by Gail Junion-Metz (2008) offers some great sites and resources for teaching students and children how to be safe online. There are tutorials on how to set up your privacy settings on Facebook, MySpace and Xanga as well as a video about the privacy issues which can be encountered with a social networking site and resources for dealing with these issues. I dare say this may be an article to print and link to parent tabs on a school website.

What a fabulous resource the teacher librarian community TLNing is!It really has a wealth of information and resources. Love the way the blog is arranged to be grouped by latest, featured and favorites. The topics are great ones also, such as bullying and suicide.

Through researching this topic, I still found no mention of edmodo. Edmodo is a social networking tool that is provided through the Discovery Channel and is free. It gets through the filters in my district and is reportedly secure and safe. We have begun using it at my school and it has become fairly popular. You are able to post handouts, links, pictures and more. Not everyone at the school is on yet but we are getting there!

The WOW of Media Websites

Jurkowski states that close to 90 percent of school librarians maintain websites. The old question of whether to have a site is no longer the case, rather it is what features to use, and how to keep it organized and updated.
The library website is way of accessing electronic resources the library subscribes to as well as a way of finding print resources, sharing news and information, policies and other documents.
Walter Minkel recommends including links to teacher assignments, bibliographic aids, the library catalog, databases and local institutions such as museums, parks, zoos and their contact information. He warns that simply providing a list of links is not enough.
Guidelines for the creation of and maintenance of the school library website as reported by Anne Clyde, are
• Created by the library staff
• Created and managed by someone outside of the school
• Created by someone outside of the school but maintained by the library staff
• Created as part of the school website
• Created at the district level
• Created in part or whole by students.
Designing the look of a website is your first step. Keep in mind your audience. An elementary website will be much different from a high school website.
Also keep in mind Americans with Disabilities Act specifications. Simple things to note are alternate text for images for those with visual disabilities and include text with audio links for those with hearing impairments.
Jurkowski cited several Web editors such as Adobe Dreamweaver, and open-source options like Nvu or Mozilla SeaMonkey that can be used. (I always wanted a sea monkey….) Wikis can also be used to create the whole library website or a portion of it. This would give control as well as access for the librarian, however there would be limits to design and layout.
D. Warlick states that the goals of our job is assisting students in becoming successful learners and supporting teachers in their efforts to create meaningful learning experiences AND to do this within a contemporary information environment. That being said, there are several guidelines to get the most from your website. Determine how your target audience can help you accomplish your goals. If you want improved Accelerated Reader participation, include an interactive list of acceptable books. Perhaps even solicit book reviews from parents, students, or teachers. Posting an online curriculum map for the school may help teachers make better use of resources. This would accommodate issues of time and help you do your job in collaborating.
In your design, include varied media such as animation, sound music and maybe video. (hmmmm, podcast?) If you are posting complex information, include graphs.
When you are determining your layout, keep in mind these tips to make Web pages more printable:
• Indent the content.
• Keep paragraphs short.
• Bullet your lists.
• Use fonts wisely (instructions in a larger font perhaps)
• Create eye magnets. (Items that may be pondered include additional information in bold print.)
If you are interested in the return of visitors to your site, follow these guidelines;
• Put a section in the website that lists upcoming curriculum relevant programs with their time and channel.
• Have a holiday section with the latest gadgets and a comparison/review link.
• At the end of the year, include information about vacations.
The links and sites given on Course Den were phenomenal. No offense to my school, but wow! The elementary site (http://www.nobl.k12.in.us/North/NorthMedia/index.htm) was inviting and eye catching. It had some great links and was friendly. The middle school site (http://www.milton.k12.wi.us/schools/mms/website/library/MMS_LMC/Welcome.html) was equally attractive. There were some great links for skill enhancement and numerous resources. I like the math resources that were listed because it included skill areas that are often deficits but not part of middle school curriculum such as fractions. The high school site (https://sites.google.com/site/theunquietlibrary/) was really impressive. Within the social media presence were bookmarks for Delicious, their Blog, and many others. It received recognition from ALA Office for Information Technology Policy(OITP) (https://sites.google.com/site/theunquietlibrary/social-media-presence). The Delicious links were really comprehensive.