DPI 1.A: School library media coordinators lead the school library media center
and media program to support student success
and media program to support student success
- Provides an open, equitable and accessible learning environment
There has never been a clearly stated mission statement, or goals, for the media center. At the start of the school year, I complied the following goals that will remind the media specialist, media assistant, and other helpers in the library of the purpose of the media center and how it can be clearly executed. The statements come from specific experiences and are suited towards patron services. The goals are posted on the media center website, as well as two conspicuous places: one near the circulation desk, and the other on our media center bulletin board. Because we have several classroom assistants who help with check out in the media center, these goals and other skills have been shared and practiced with them to maintain continuity in the media center, and to reinforce the importance of a positive experience.
DPI 1.B: School library media coordinators lead in their schools
- Provides technology-enabled one-on-one and group professional development for school-based educators
- Collaborates with teachers to integrate information and instructional technology into all curricular areas
To provide group professional development, I invited the PLC group of the "Specials" teachers to participate in an in-service that would help them with a resource they can use in instruction, as well as communicating with parents. One of the major goals for the teachers at our school is to create and maintain a classroom website with the Learning Management System, Haiku. The specials team, consisting of the Music, Art, PE, Spanish, and Technology teachers are in the unique position to work with all 750 students, so it is essential that they use their Haiku pages to effectively communicate with parents and provide learning resources for grades K-5. The in-service I conducted catered to the need for a tool to help them better organize content-area links, as well as demonstrating my ability to be a collaborative resource to them. Symbaloo is a Web 2.0 tool that teachers can use to organize links to lesson ideas, or to provide resources for students and parents to access at home. Using Symbaloo helps instructors and students become more information literate, as it is a self-guided tool and a way to help users navigate the Internet. The presentation to the Specials content team lasted about 25 minutes and covered how it is used to provide ‘portals’ to appropriate resources, specific links for the Specials’ teachers needs, and how to create a free webmix. Not only were the teachers instructed on how to make a Symbaloo account for themselves, they were also taught how to add the tool to their classroom Haiku page. Just days after the in-service was conducted, all of the Specials teachers have added Symbaloo to their Haiku pages, and many other teachers have come to the media center to ask how they can add it to their pages as well. The tool is also being used as a way for students to access keyboarding and internet safety links in their technology lessons. So far, it has shown to be a useful tool not only for the in-service audience, but for the entire school community.
DPI 1.C School library media coordinators advocate for
effective media programs / AASL 4.4 Advocacy
effective media programs / AASL 4.4 Advocacy
- Establishes internal and external partnerships to advocate for an effective school library media program
- Candidates identify stakeholders within and outside the school community who impact the school library program
- Candidates develop a plan to advocate for school library and information programs, resources, and services
Each grade level held a Literacy Night for parents early in the school year so teachers could share strategies for how to improve reading habits and comprehension at home. The 5th grade teachers invited me to present with them, in order to promote the Fiction Diggers program, as well as discuss the many resources available on the Media Center Haiku site. The Fiction Diggers site gives students and parents recommended books, links to discussion questions and resources to better understand the text, and the reflection guides (see "Instructional Practices" ) which can be used with any fictional book. I also presented a Symbaloo webmix with articles, booklists, comprehension strategies, and more for parents to explore. After the presentations were over, I had several parents approach me, seeking more instructions on how to access the website and my contact information for future inquiries. It was a great experience to advocate for how the media center can help students, and also serve parents. Many parents have younger students still in our school, so building those relationships will be crucial for years to come.