Diversity in the School

      Diversity is a word that we hear often in today's times.  There are so many different type of people that it is important that the schools reflect this.  Diversity is not a bad thing it is actually a very good thing.  When people, children and adults alike, are exposed to and accepting of  a world of differences they become more well rounded people.  The knowledge that we all have differences and that those differences are what makes us who we are is a very powerful thing.  However, when others are not accepting of these differences it can be very dangerous.

     Diversity is not merely focused on race or culture.  It doesn't center around gender, language, of special needs.  It encompasses it all.  Diversity speaks to the many differences between people and how those differences create the person.  sadly, many people are quick to judge others because of one or more of these categories.  Some people treat others as lesser people because of their race or gender.  Some are made fun of because of cultural habits or special needs.  As teachers we need to create a community where we support the diversity and allow the students to cross social barriers. The fear or hatred towards others based on their differences often comes from a lack of understanding.  If we bridge the gap then we hopefully will break down some of these walls.

      Knowledge is the most important aspect of accepting the differences and supporting a diverse community.  As a media specialist we are able to support this diversity by providing materials that allow information to be shared.  Also, as in the case demonstrated in the story about Ashley, allowing students that have those differences become an active and visual part of the program allows the other students to see that they are not so different after all.  Ashley was in a position where at many schools she would be pitied by the students, but by showing them she was able to accomplish the things that they could this allowed her to become a role model for others.  This provided others with the knowledge that people with differences are still capable of the same things they are.

     It is important that the media center have equipment that provides for the population of the students.  If there are students who have difficulty seeing provide large print books and magnification equipment to cater to them.  If there is a large population of English second language learners then provide materials in their home language.  Have a variety of materials that reflect multiple cultures and create programs highlighting them.  At my school we have a large Hispanic population with Spanish being their home language so our shelves house books in both English and Spanish.  There are magnifiers and computer programs that help the small population of students with special needs.  We have regular programs that highlight the cultures that are represented in the school.  On the morning announcements the mission statement is quoted in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.  Our media center could uses more technology to support the diversity in our school but there are many pieces already in use.

Diversity

In an article regarding diversity in a classroom, it mentions two main aspects of diversity that children will most likely encounter in a classroom. One aspect is children with learning disabilities and physical disabilities. The other aspect is the different cultures. As the media specialist, we can collaborate with the teachers to meet the needs of the students to encourage and make the students feel comfortable with learning. Our media specialist reads and sings to our special needs class. She has used Tumbleweed with the Pre-K class. We have a kindergarten class that has majority Hispanic culture. The media specialist and teacher incorporate stories the students can relate to.
As a Title One School, we have received funding to purchase approved technology to be available to assist students with learning in every area possible. Computers are available for students in classrooms and in the media center. Some of our students have been going on IPASS either to work on it in their classroom, or some use the media center. Before CRCT testing, the computer lab is open to parents to bring in students to work (students that don’t have computers at home). Our Parent Resource person allows parents to check out certain learning instruments to work at home with the student.
As educators, we want to provide every opportunity for our students to learn and grow without any hindering factors.

Technology, Diversity, and the Media Center

Most all of the classes in the media/technology program provide opportunities for us to consider diversity as it relates to the media center. In MEDT 6401 we learned about many different assistive technologies that are available to help students with special needs access information. When designing the floor plan for a media center in MEDT 6461, we were reminded to consider the needs of our patrons in placement of furniture and spacing of shelves to accommodate wheelchairs. In MEDT 6465 we read and reviewed books from many different countries and cultures and encouraged to include diversity as we developed out media collection. We also discussed the media patrons’ right to intellectual freedom and the importance of not allowing our beliefs, biases, or opinions to influence the materials we purchased for the media collection. In PTED 7271 and CEPD 6101 we explored at great length the topic of diversity and meeting the needs of all children. In MEDT 6466 we planned media programs that meet the needs of all school populations or groups. Diversity and the media program are definitely linked.

When considering Technology, Diversity, and the Media Program there are two main areas to consider - the stakeholders and the media collection. Many schools consider the media center to be the hub of the school because it is used by all stakeholders from diverse backgrounds and different ability levels and provides information resources in many formats. For this reason, the media center needs to be prepared to meet the needs of all its stakeholders. The public school populations are diverse so the media specialist must be diligent in making sure that the many cultures and religions of the school and both sides of social issues are represented in the media collection. Technology must also be available to help special education students access the information they need.

Our media specialist does a good job of meeting the diverse needs of the media center’s patrons. Last year we had a situation similar to Ashley’s experience with her school’s TV news show. Our media specialist recognized one of our special education student’s strong interest in the daily weather. With great enthusiasm, he always told us when it was going to rain or snow so she invited him to be a guest meteorologist on our morning news. This opportunity was such a morale boost for him. We also have an Early Reader collection in the media center for our special education students who are reading on an elementary level.

The school media center has many opportunities to address the diverse needs of the school population through its programs, the books on the shelves, technologies used, and varied formats in which its rich information resources are provided.

Digital Storytelling and Ebooks

The new technologies available in today’s schools provide opportunities for new projects like digital storytelling. However, when I first started thinking about this topic, I was drawn to a project my sister did in the late 1970s that was an early version of a digital story. She created a slideshow that illustrated the song “Where do the Children Play?” by Cat Stevens. She went through hundreds of my family’s slides and found pictures that depicted the words in the song, sequenced them, and manually advanced the slides on the slide projector while playing the song on the record player. Same idea, right? Of course today we would search the internet for images, video, and music to download or save on our computer. We then combine them with text and personal narration and create a digital story using software such as Moviemaker or Photostory 3.
Karen Diaz and Anne Fields cover the subject of digital storytelling very thoroughly in our text, Library 2.0 and Beyond. Especially helpful is the section identifying the elements of digital storytelling. The University of Houston’s Digital Storytelling website provides even more useful information as it offers examples, essential information and tips, and ideas for using digital storytelling in the classroom. Digital storytelling can be used by K-12 teachers as a hook at the beginning of a lesson, during a lesson to present information, or as a way to “pull it all together” at the end of a unit. Just from what I’ve read for this assignment, I think that using digital storytelling as student projects is more appropriate for older elementary, middle, and high school student as it helps student develop technology skills, verbal storytelling skills, information literacy skills through research, and writing skills. Of course, with more experience and training, I might think differently. I just don’t see the seven elements of digital storytelling being understood by younger children. Although I am still struggling through the digital storytelling assignment for our MEDT class, I look forward to seeing the many finished products at the end. Training or staff development for digital storytelling would be time well spent for teachers. The media specialist also needs be knowledgeable and willing to collaborate with teachers and use this tool with students.

Ebooks is a hot topic among librarians, media specialists, publishers, and book lovers in general. The big question is, “Will ebooks take the place of printed books?” Many people will say that the printed text will become a thing of the past and therefore libraries will not exist. I’m not sure I agree. There will always be people who prefer the printed book and not everyone can afford the tools needed for using ebooks. Although picture books and YA fiction ebooks are not available or used in most schools, encyclopedias and other reference materials are available online in ebook format. Many of the textbooks are also available in ebook format but a password is needed for student’s to access them.
Our media specialist shared information with me from the recent district media specialist meeting on the topic of ebooks. The technology department is currently researching the mobile devices such as Kindle, Ipad, Nook, etc. that are used to read ebooks. Some of the schools are purchasing these devices and using them with success. At this time our school does not have ebooks except the reference materials that are available online through the county or in GALILEO. Our media specialist is considering ordering through Titlewave some ebook versions of the middle school titles that are part of the reading curriculum for teacher use. These stories can be projected on the Smartboard and incorporated into lessons. Our media specialist commented that the biggest issue is the limited number of titles available for purchase from Follett.
For now I believe that the cost of the devices for reading ebooks may keep them out of our schools. However, technology is no longer a thing of the past, so ebooks may become more of the norm in the near future.

Ebooks and Digital Storytelling

Ebooks are becoming more familiar in the electronic world. In our school, it hasn’t made an impact. The cost of ebooks along with the devices for use will be too costly at the moment. Along with the cost issue, the media specialist at our school does not feel that it will be used to its full capacity right now. We do have the PDAs (personal digital assistant), which is one of the devices used for ebooks. It is used in our school for Dibels at this time, we only check them out to team leaders. I viewed several electronic reference sources that the schools are familiar with for students and teachers such as EBSCO and Britannia.com, which you have to be a member of or have access to it. I don’t think our students will have a problem wanting ebooks, because students today enjoy electronic devices. Many of our younger students (K-2) enjoy their story time in the media center and having the book in their hands. The ebooks that I have seen on a low level could be great for lessons especially for students needing the assistant.

Digital storytelling is a story told with digital images, narration and music. The author of “Library 2.0 and Beyond” referred digital storytelling to allowing the story to be re told. Several subjects can be used with digital storytelling for students to do from the basic to getting very creative in formatting a story. It will certainly be helpful to teachers to enhance a lesson, and allow students to research information that they can relate to. The University of Houston gave seven elements that could be helpful to a beginner like myself:
1. Point of view
2. Dramatic question
3. Emotional Content
4. Gift of your voice
5. Power of the Soundtrack
6. Economy
7. Pacing

These elements can also be found in the textbook (Library 2.0 and Beyond by N. Courtney)and with explanations of each one. Digital Storytelling will be helpful to students with a more active outlook of their lesson.

Training with Technology

     Technology is a field that is constantly changing. It seems there is always a newer or better version being introduced. Not to mention the new technological advances that are being produced at an alarming speed. Unfortunately the users are not as quick to develop as the technology. The students in the school often have more experience using technology that the instructors. This makes it necessary that teachers participate in staff development that focuses on technology.

     I am working in an elementary school that has many different types of technology in the classroom. There are LCD projectors and interactive white boards in every classroom. There are also equipment such as document cameras, digital cameras, and student response systems that can be checked out of the media center. The only issue that we face is that many of the teachers do not know how to use the technology and many are unwilling to learn.

    These teachers moan and groan as we sit through professional development about the new technology then never use the technology in the classroom. We usually only have one training that is an overview where we watch the instructor use the technology and we will watch. We have a training next week on creating our teacher websites. We had this training two years ago and I think we had about ten teachers who published a website after the training. Unfortunately, I am not expecting a much better turn out this year. There is very little hands on training and I think that is part of the reason teachers do not want to use technology, they don't feel comfortable using it. I have some experience with technology and I usually need to go and play with the equipment to figure out how it works.

     If I were to deliver a training on a new piece of technology there are a few things I would do differently than the trainings I am attending. First I would have a one page help guide that the teachers could take with them to reference on their own. If there are a lot of steps I would break it up into sections. I would compile the help guides in a notebook that would be stored in the professional section of the library as a resource. I would also post a link to the guides on the school media center web page as a reference. Secondly, I would break the trainings into shorter sections during the day. This would prevent overload on information and also more time to practice. Which leads to my third change, I would make the trainings interactive and meaningful. This means I would give the teachers a chance to use the technology in a real life setting to model uses in the classroom.


April's DOs of technology training

1. Do give plenty of time to practice using the technology.
2. Do keep it simple and as basic as possible.
3. Do create a help guide for teachers to reference on their own.
4. Do connect the technology to practical uses in the classroom.
5. Do encourage all teachers to use the technology. Excitement is contagious!
6. Do share ways that teachers are using the technology in their classroom.
7. Do be mindful of the other responsibilities of the teachers.
8. Do be available for questions or modeling.

April's DON'Ts of technology training

1. Don't get discouraged by the teacher's reactions.
2. Don't lecture about the technology to the teachers.
3. Don't stop after one training.
4. Don't be surprised when you need to show a teacher the same thing multiple times.
5. Don't expect the teachers to get it the first time.
6. Don't use technical terms that your audience will not understand.
7. Don't monopolize the teachers time with trainings.

Technology Training

Technology has become a major part of the school media center. The media specialist incorporated training for teacher to assist with their instruction. The media specialist provides this assistance to administrators, teachers, and sometimes students. Technology training is the media specialist's way of sharing their skills and knowledge with the staff. The training can consist of the use of equipments such as digital cameras, the LCD projector, or the Promethean Board. Also, various websites to show the staff how they can assist the each other such as Ning in Education, Library Thing gives listing of books with comments and rating for other members, and Flickr is great for photo sharing. Teachers may request training in the area of educational links to lesson plans such as Discovery/United Streaming, research such as Nettrekker, and instructional assistance in the classroom such as Odyssey.
Our media specialist, Ms. Henry, is a first year media specialist, but has directed staff developments for her previous school while teaching 5th grade. She surveyed the teacher at our school to see how they felt about the training they had before they got the Promethean Board. Many of the teachers felt they still needed training. She is proposing with the county school system technology personnel to provide another training particular to help with the Activhub, Activslate, and Activpen. Her goal is to arrange staff development whenever there is new technology to assist teachers and staff when using in the classroom. A few DO's and DON'Ts when arranging a staff development training that Ms. Henry recommend:

• Do make it fun for the staff that have to sit in;
• Don't make it last the whole day (after a while the fun will run out);
• Do make a survey to find out what the teachers need training with;
• Don't have it on a Sat. unless the staff will receive a stipend.

Technology training introduces the staff with what is new in technology and to enhance curriculum for our students.