Diversity: Something to be Celebrated and Supported

Encouraging and supporting diversity through the media center means utilizing the media center space and resources in ways that promote learning support for all students and enhance the positive aspects of diversity in a student body. There are many characteristics that contribute to the diversity of students within a particular school. Culture, race, gender, special needs, and language are all examples of areas in which students' characteristics may differ.

I think it is very much a responsibility of the media center to strive to serve all of its students. Whether that means purchasing technology to assist special needs students or making sure to include foreign language films and CDs in the media center's collection, a media specialist should always be cognizant of students' diverse needs and seek to accommodate them.

I also think that the media center is a wonderful place for student congregation and should be used as a tool to encourage diversity and support the richness of experience it brings. When you have a group of students, where individuals come from all walks of life, those students have an opportunity to learn something valuable from each other. I think media centers should strive to promote diverse perspectives in regard to programs and should reach out to students in an effort to bring their diverse life experiences to the table for others to learn from.

Technology can be used to support this endeavor in a number of ways. With computers, students can email with other students across the world to learn more about their lives. Students can use various technologies for presentations that emphasize diverse peoples and perspectives. Online technologies, such as web pages, blogs, wikis, and podcasts can allow students who are disabled - and more likely to be absent from school - to view class materials and participate online. A physically handicapped student who typically has trouble holding and turning the pages of a book might find a Kindle or Nook to be much more user-friendly. There are endless ways in which technology can be used to support diversity within a student population.

I have not yet had the opportunity to see technology used to support diversity while doing my field experience. I have, however, seen this at the university library where I work. We have a room we call the Visual Aid Lab, which houses voice-to-text technology for visually impaired students and other technologies to assist physically handicapped students. The Visual Aid Lab is used on a regular basis by certain students who often visit the library. This resource is incredibly helpful to these students, and is a great example of how technology can be used to support a diverse student population.

Unique personal characteristics should always be celebrated, as it is these characteristics that set each student apart from all the rest. When a student with special or specific needs walks into his media center and finds nothing to support his specific learning needs, not only are his educational efforts inhibited, but he is also faced with the reality that no one noticed or cared enough to provide for his educational needs. Students should be provided with the tools they need in order to get the best education possible. They should also be made to feel confident about themselves and who they are, no matter what traits they have that make them different.

Kicking and e-Screaming!/It's (digital) Storytime!

“Kicking and e-Screaming!”

I’ll start out with a confession, I guess. I don’t own an e-reader (iPad, Nook, Kindle, etc.). For one, it’s not in my budget, and I’m also a little resistant to change. I really enjoy the convenience of reading the e-version of the AJC, and it’s definitely a good day when I find some free, helpful, e-book resources online. It’s so cool when I find published books and manuals in electronic format that cover everything from printer errors, to medical guides. So, I guess what I’m saying is I like the convenience and availability of some e-book resources out there for personal and business use, but I fear the unknown effects they may have on the future of the media center. My husband always tells me that there will always be a need for a media specialist no matter what format the books are in. I know schools need someone to sort through, organize and present appropriate materials for students. I guess that will be true whether they are print materials or electronic materials. I already teach students how to use Galileo and all of its many databases, and they are e-resources. I just don’t know when it will be feasible to incorporate e-readers in my media center or how this will change things. This is something I have begun to research, and I am reading about what other schools are doing with e-readers. I plan to stay informed about the degree of success elsewhere until we have the funds to support such devices and services.

“It’s (digital) Storytime!”

Digital stories are new to me, but I am quickly embracing this concept. I envision using this format to preserve and tell family stories. In the educational world, there seem to be endless possibilities for this type of presentation as well. A teacher or media specialist could use digital storytelling to communicate historical information, to illustrate scientific research, to demonstrate sequencing in various subjects.

From what I gather in reading about digital storytelling, the element that sets it apart from just reporting facts is emotion. Combining voice narration, pictures, videos, and music allows you to communicate more vivid and life-touching presentations. In Library 2.0 and Beyond, Karen Diaz and Anne M. Fields talk about the potential for a sense of community that is created by digital storytelling. They say we need to tell stories about how library users interact with the library, about who works there, and about how people can support the library. These creative stories can have a tremendous effect on the sense of community within a school.

Considering the idea of promoting community, I can’t help but think of story-like medium that I’ve seen used recently in high schools and other organizations that seems to be very similar. They call them lip dubs. The product is a video, set to music, with high school students or members of the organization actively moving around in various activities while mouthing the words to the song. I have seen three of these, and they each had a very specific message they wanted to communicate. One was about breast cancer. One was about gearing up to have a positive day at school by seeing the student body as a family. One was about celebrating academic success while approaching spring break. Talk about community. I felt like I was part of the community after watching the videos. These videos lack still images and voice narration, so they are a little different from digital stories. The emotion and sense of community are definitely there. After looking at various samples of digital stories, I am really excited about learning to use them at school and for personal use.

Follow-Up is Key to Effective Technology Training

As a new media specialist, I have only been called upon to deliver one session of formal technology training. This involved instructing teachers on how to use School Center to design and update their classroom web pages. I designed a scaled down handout with step-by-step instructions for them to follow. I chose to demonstrate the steps using a data projector and screen while they watched. They did not have access to computers during this session. Sometimes having the computers in front of them is distracting and it’s difficult to keep everyone working on the same page. This initial session was designed to demonstrate the steps involved as they followed along in their handout and made notes. The handout would serve as their guide when they returned to their classroom to set up their pages. The session lasted 45 minutes. I was available for individual questions for an hour afterwards. I also invited teachers to come to me with questions as needed when they began working on their pages.

I think the main challenge with technology training is a lack of follow-up and ongoing training. I’ve only worked in two schools for six years, but my county has rolled out a lot of new technology during that time. Sometimes the training is done by other teachers, and sometimes by outside groups. The complaint I hear most often from teachers is that they receive training for new equipment/materials, and then the trainer leaves never to return. In the best case scenario, during the days and weeks following the training, teachers begin to attempt to use the new technology. It is during this hands-on application that they discover they have more questions. Unfortunately, follow-up support is very limited and sometimes non-existent at that time.

At my former school we had a regular classroom teacher who was also paid a stipend to be the master tech teacher. She would occasionally deliver tech training lessons during planning periods to follow up on earlier training. This proved to be very effective. She offered individual help along the way as needed, but she offered the follow-up courses on a monthly basis. I really like the idea of the media specialist and/or master tech teacher offering monthly training opportunities for teachers and staff, maybe something like “Tech Tidbits”. Finding time to piggyback initial training with some smaller follow-up training sessions would likely complete this process and help teachers use the new technology more effectively and with greater confidence.