Tech Diversity and the MC

The media center can play a pivotal role in technology and diversity in the school setting. Technology is available in most media centers and if students are trained correctly they can use this as they continue through life. The role of diversity can be addressed in many ways. Diversity means different things to different people. We have students with special needs that utilize various resources that our media center offers. This year to address diversity we have created a culture corner. Each month we celebrate another cultural group. We pull the books and other resources that address that culture. We have people bring in items to go on display that are relevant to the heritage or group we are celebrating. Also, to address the different diverse needs in our media center I am trying to get input from the faculty, parents, and students about the types of materials they would like to see available in our media center. We also invite guest speakers to come in and talk with students about various events, share stories of different cultures, and demonstrate arts and crafts. Hopefully, in the future as our school grows and changes we will be able to continue to develop a diverse school community.

Technology Training

This year as a new media specialist and taking this class I have experienced many new technologies that I have never used before. The focus of technology training that has been offered this year at my school has been about Infinite Campus. Lucky, for me I have not been impacted by this update. Our county updated right before school started. The first few weeks of school were a nightmare for most people in the county. The only problems this has caused for us in the library is student numbers not being updated into Destiny very quick. Teachers at my school feel like they are on technology overload this year. It seems like every other week I hear an announcement about technology training in the lab. I have heard many complaints about all of these changes. I don't dare try to offer the teachers an in-service dealing with technology this year. I think I will start with training the students on some of the new resources that I have learned in this class. I think students are always receptive to new technology. Personally I enjoy learning about new technology. Some of them I find easier and more beneficial than others.

Diversity in the Media Center

Often times in education teachers, administrators, and various other specialists use the term diverse to categorize learners with different needs. This is partially true, but it does not encompass everything that diversity can refer to. The problem is that most teachers, when they use the word, are only talking about where kids are in their learning. However, to me diversity means every way a human being is different from another. This is a broad category, but in education there are several categories that can be diverse when talking about a student population.

Some different areas of diversity are:
Socio-economic status Cultural traditions, norms, and mores Background and experiences Education levels
Innate abilities and talents
Learning styles

Technology is a great tool in general for reaching, motivating, and teaching students with various diversities and diverse needs. Whatever the technology is, most students, no matter their background, culture, economic level, or any other quality, want to work with it. It is rare to find a student who is not really interested in using a new technological tool in school. Technology also often reaches kids where they are. Typically students can make use of technology in some format no matter where they are or what their background is. The use of technology is just extremely adaptable. Since the media center is typically a hub of novel technology, kids of all different needs and levels can find benefits to experience and learning there. The fact that many media centers have a plethora of multimedia is also beneficial in reaching students no matter where they are or what they need. Unlike the stricter curriculum of a classroom, the media center can provide materials, technology, and experiences in what the students are interested in. If technology and media are constantly being expanded in the media center, it can be a place of growth and learning for all students.

Technology can also serve to teach teachers about diversity. For instance, we seek to find information in many different formats to meet many different needs. We need to take the same approach for our students. They need different things and so there is no one magic technology, software, skill, or strategy. We need to realize that, like technology, our students are growing and changing, and we must be looking for cutting edge ways to meet the diversity that exists within all people.

Technology and Diversity in the Media Center

I have always felt that "diversity" has been used in the schools to describe students of various ethnic backgrounds. But the real meaning of the word is "differences." Differences can be many things. In my school it would also include special-needs pre-k and the behavior disorder classes. We also have a number of students with serious economic needs--needs so great that they do not eat when not in school. Other differences would include children:

-- from a one parent household
--with parents in prison
--with hearing, speech, motor, or visual impairments
--non-english speaking students

We can serve all these populations in the media center. There are also technologies for these populations, some of which we surveyed in 6401. Most media centers are arranged and stocked for the white, "regular ed" student. Our population has changed and our books, materials, and technologies need to change as well to reflect and educate all our students.

Diversity in the Media Center by Sharon H.

In the media centers I have visited this quarter, I haven't seen much evidence of diversity. Most students are treated one and the same. However, research has shown us that there are different learning styles among individuals that should be addressed by the educational system. As a media specialist, I would like to meet those needs by having different centers that apppeal to different learning styles. For example, a listening center for those who learn best by listening. A center where the students does a hands-on project for tactile learners. A center that incorporates movement for those students who need learn best when active. That is not to say that a student must only use one center, they can rotate if they like.

Another type of diversity is disabilities. In my media center, I would like to have books on different reading levels to accomodate a wide range of reading ability. I would also like to have books with large print for those who may have difficulty seeing small print. Books on tape could be used to aid those with hearing problems. I would also like my media center to be bright and cheerful so that each student would feel welcome to stay and browse for awhile (with their teacher's permission of course).

Thirdly, there are racial and cultural diversities. These areas can be addressed at different times of the year. For example, a center on Martin Luther King for Black History Month or a center with Spanish music, books, and artifacts for the month of May.

I feel that there is a lot of opportunity to address these areas in the media center which is central to all students in the school.

E-books and Digital Storytelling

After reading about E-books I feel that I have learned many new ideas of how these would work well in a media center. I have not tried these before but with my next book order, I am going to order one and give it a try. I think I will order a book that we can't keep on the shelves. I would enjoy being able to tell students they can access it on our computers if it is not actually available on our shelves. Students could at least begin the book until the hard copy becomes available. Some students might enjoy this format so well they will finish the book and not even want the hard copy. I would like to see research on how reading comprehension scores stand up using E-books versus reading the hard copy of the book.

Digital storytelling is a wonderful resource that I have not used in the past. I have to say it was very difficult for me to create my digital story. I had to start over more than once. I found the hardest part to complete were the sound clips. The pictures were more easily obtained but getting them positioned correctly on the storyboard was another story. Hopefully, with more practice this will become a less cumbersome task for me. I will give it another try.

E-Books and Digital Storytelling by Sharon H

Digital storytelling is wonderful and challenging at the same time. That is why it would be such a great tool to use with students. It is something that they would create themselves yet it would make them think also. I didn't know anything about digital storytelling until I had to create my own project this week. Though at times I became frustrated and tired, overall, I really enjoyed the experience. If I used this in an elementary classroom or with a group of students in the media center, however, I think it would be best to break the project down into easy steps and to provide most the of pictures for them. Older students in middle or high school would probably be able to complete the projects themselves with guidance from the teacher of course. The most important thing I learned from this project was that the student, not the teacher, is doing the work. The students are actively involved in their own learning, and I think that is great. I wouldn't be able to do more than 1 to 2 projects a year because of the time involved in planning, assembling, and proofreading. However, this experience is something that I believe students will remember for years to come.
E-Books are on-line books that can be read directly from the computer using Abode or MP3 readers. Also, a special device called e-book readers can be used. Some cell phones can even be used to read e-books. I think this would be wonderful for students to use. They could listen to the stories and look at the text and pictures at the same time. It might help low readers to read books that are slightly above their reading level. Also, it would be great for students who are vision impaired. If the e-books could not be read from the computers, however, it would costs the media center extra to purchase the hand held devices. Also, if not strictly supervised, these devices may suddenly become "misplaced" causing additional cost to the library.
However, in my research, I easily came across two web sites that offer free e-books. One was for adults, Free E Books.net, and the other for children, kids.nypl.org/readingchildren'sbooks.cfm. It seems that there is a lot of reading materials out there which can be readily accessed at little or no cost to the reader. All I can say is, "How can that be a bad thing?"