Technology Tuesday Underway...

I talked to my media coordinator this week and presented my project idea to her. She was more than willing to help me out. In fact, she is planning to start a staff development project called "Technology Tuesdays" where teachers have the option to stay after school on Tuesday afternoons to learn various technology skills. When I told her about my project idea, she was excited to have someone who could potentially help her to present some of the workshops. I think it would take some of the burden off of her while providing a learning experience for me. There is such a need for teachers to learn how to use what we have available in the library. My only hope is that teachers actually make the time to stay afterschool on Tuesdays. The sessions will be breif, so hopefully that will draw more attention to the workshops. Our hope is that once word gets out about how informative the workshops are, more people will stay. The first workshop she is presenting is going to be on using United Streaming and getting everyone's account set up. I would like to present some workshops on how to use PowerPoint and Photostory in the classroom. Of course I'll need to research this and discover this for myself first.

Excited about my project idea...

Today I spoke with the librarian at my school to discuss my project idea. I asked her if it would be helpful to her if I helped with the workshops to educate teachers about the technology available to them in the library. I explained that I would actually have a great deal to learn first and she was willing to help me with that. She was more than willing to help me with my project because she liked the idea that I would be taking some of the burden off her shoulders, I believe. She said that instead of presenting this information at faculty meetings, she was just planning to start a series of workshops called "Technology Tuesdays" offered only on Tuesday afternoons after school. I told her that I would love to participate in these workshops and possibly offer a "second chance" workshop to those teachers who couldn't make the first one. That way, teachers won't feel obligated to attend these meetings and they will be more receptive to learning the information and using it in the classroom. I'm very excited to have the opportunity to teach teachers! I have always had a love of technology and I am eager to keep my knowledge current. I just have to clear it with my principal first. Hopefully he will be willing to work with me. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Reflections on the Action Learning Project

Today my group met to discuss the Action Learning Project ideas for LIB5050. We all met for approximately an hour and everyone had very different ideas. I was thinking they would overlap, but they didn't. Everyone has a great project idea. The group members did an excellent job of sticking to the "question" format (Socratic seminar) approach when discussing the project ideas. Meeting with the group like this really helped me to think of aspects of the project that I hadn't thought of in the past. Everyone looked at it from a different perspective and I really enjoyed the input that the group members provided.

I am on the media advisory committee at my school. This committee decides how the technology money (and other money allotted to the media center at our school) is supposed to be spent to best support the students. We do this by surveying teachers, parents, and discussing with the administrators. Since the issue of teacher education in using the technologies available in the classroom came up at the last meeting, I'm thinking of doing a project on this issue. I am going to survey the teachers to see what technology needs they have. I need to find out what they want to learn/know. I also need to find out what all they don't even have a clue about, so that I can hopefully, eventually, plan a workshop, or series of workshops, to help these teachers learn and utilize the technology available to them. We actually discussed this at our last meeting. There is software and hardware that I need to learn to use as well. I also need to learn exactly how it can be used in the classroom. I am familiar with most of it, but I do not have many lesson ideas with any of it. I thought I could either give workshops to my grade level or give at least one workshop during a regular faculty meeting (the principal has already approved the use of this time for technology training; I just need to get him to approve of me teaching it). If teachers don't have to give up any time after school or planning time, they are more likely to be receptive to the training and use it in their classrooms.

This idea hasn't been fully thought out, but hopefully my principal will work with me and my colleagues will support me in this endeavor. I'm very excited about the idea of learning a new skill and actually being able to teach the teachers at our school!

Librarian Interview: Assignment 1

Today I interviewed Jan Jones, the librarian at St. Stephens Elementary School (where I teach 6th grade), to try and understand what role technology plays in the library and how this technology is being used by the patrons. She informed me that all sorts of technology are being used, new and old. She mentioned specifically the use of computers, digital and video cameras, computers on wheels with projectors, televisions, VCRs, and school pads. This equipment is used by both teachers and students for projects, research, information, presentations, and enjoyment. When I asked her what new opportunities she felt this technology presented to the patrons, she replied simply, "the world." She said because of the world wide web and other resources, patrons are able to access things they would've never been able to access with books alone.

While the advent of this new technology is incredible, it does come with some problems, challenges, and frustrations for the users. Mrs. Jones informed me that tech support is an ongoing issue. Simply keeping all the equipment up and running smoothly can be a difficult ordeal. She also mentioned the acceptable use policy and the Patriot Act as being cumbersome in terms of keeping patrons up to date and ensuring that they aren't using the Internet inappropriately. She also mentioned that some teachers are simply afraid (for lack of a better word) of the technology because they are unfamiliar with it. However, most patrons are willing to embrace it and view it as making their lives easier.

The implementation of this new technology is quite expensive as well. While Mr. Gouge, the principal, and Dr. Markley, the superintendent is on board with new technology in the media center and schools in the county, funding can be an issue. Mrs. Jones informed me that most of the funding comes from the county. They have a technology budget and are allotted a certain amount of money each school year. The rest comes from grants, which can be written by the county or the librarian. Each school is also required to have a Media Advisory Committee that decides how these funds should be spent. The Building Leadership Team also has input in this decision. It is difficult for school libraries to keep up with the changing technological world because funding is so limited. Mrs. Jones said she would love to have several other items for her library, including a mounted projector for presentations, MAC stations with video and podcasting, and another video camera because the one they have is out dated.

Because the use of wikis are controversial, specifically in research, I asked Mrs. Jones what role they played in the media center. She mentioned both pros and cons of wikis. She said they give children the opportunity to add to something already done. In other words, a wiki is a working document, a work in progress. Users can continually add to or take away from this document. However, she feels it is not appropriate to use as a reasearch tool because there is no verification of the accuracy or authenticity of the information posted.

We discussed the use of podcasts in the media center as well. She feels these would be good tools for students to utilize because it would open up a whole new world of information to the students. She said she wants Mac centers for podcasting, simply because it is simpler to download podcasts onto a Mac. This year, Catawba County Schools finally has a new server on which to store this new data. Mrs. Jones also anticipates the use of DVRs in the media center. Students can take these devices on field trips, for example, and conduct interviews and gather information for projects and reports. She also mentioned the use of DVRs to increase fluency in reading by reading and recording stories. She said that the use of DVRs dubbed over a Photostory, would create "a Photostory on steroids."

Finally, I spoke to Mrs. Jones about the differences in technology amoung the various schools in the system. For example, I asked her what you might find in a middle or high school that you wouldn't find in an elementary school and vice versa. She told me that most high school would have programs like CAD training and other real world tools to prepare them for the work force after high school. High schools, however, would not have accelerated reading or math programs, like you may find at the elementary and middle levels. Other programs you might find at the lower levels would be graphic organizer programs, like Kidspiration (which uses pictures, rather than words to create organizers), and Inspiration. Openbook (a reading remediation tool) and Orchard (a math remediation tool) can also be found in elementary schools.

Just out of curosity, I asked Mrs. Jones why she chose to work in an elementary library, rather than a secondary library. She told me that she felt she had more of an opportunity to share the joy of reading with small children. Elementary schools still have story time where the librarian actually gets to read great books to children. Middle and high schools, she said, focus more on research rather than reading for enjoyment. In my opinion, while all this new technology is wonderful, nothing can take the place of a great book and being able to share it with others.