ORIGINAL QUESTION:
I am writing to get suggestions and ideas as a result of the SACS visiting team.
My situation is an elementary school media center (preK-6 and various special
education classes) adjacent to the school computer lab separated by a door.
(both facilities are side by side). The computer lab has enough computers for 1
child per computer equipped with internet access ,Microsoft Ofice, and AR testing
The computer lab schedules each class twice a week (i.e. M W / Tues Thurs). Friday
is an open day. A Computer Lab Manager (paraprofessional) supervises the computer
lab. AR is handled by the computer lab manager (hereafter, CLM). The CLM is very,
very knowledgeable, proficient, and competent with computers, scanners, and digital
cameras. The CLM is an asset to the school. Tests and all AR
activities/responsibilities are of the CLM and enjoys AR very, very much. The SACS
visiting team believes both facilities are not being utilized and providing
students with a comprehensive and
unified approach to media and technology. The SACS recommendation is a plan for
coordination, collaboration, and unification of the use of the media center and the
computer lab. According to the SACS team, the intended goal/direction is increased
use of both facilities for independent rersearch and student's use of technology.
I am on a weekly fixed schedule of 23 classes @ 40 minutes each . The CLM sees 20
classes each week @ 30 minutes for each class with 2 classes in the lab at the same
time.. The media center has 5 computers with internet access, Microsoft Office,
and the online catalog. I coordinate book orders with the CLM whereby I order AR
books and color code the books. We talk periodically about AR books and titles.
I see a scheduling problem. The computer lab manager has classes when I have
classes. Any ideas and suggestions you have, please send to me off the list. Send
both positives and negatives. I would like to have some ideas when the time comes
for a "plan" to be written.
Thank you for your replies. I appreciate your time and response.
Robert Joyce
Halifax County Virginia
Library Media Specialist
robert@gcronline.com
Any way that the schedule can be changed so that a class comes to you
and the computer lab back-to-back at least once a week? For instance, on
Monday class 5A is in computer then library and 5B is in library then
computer. That way you could do the two classes together for
instructional input sometimes then divide their time between the library
and computer lab. Or a student could do the online research in their
computer time and continue it with print in the library or vise versa.
Just brainstorming!
I am going to read your message again and again until I completely
understand your situation. One problem I see is the fixed schedule.
What are you teaching in the fixed schedule, just technology skills or
are you integrating technology with research and curriculum projects? Is
your fixed schedule part of a resource rotation so teachers can have
uninterrupted planning periods? Do the teachers stay with the students
during instruction? Do the students plan the technology integration
units with you and your technology facilitator? When we abandoned the
fixed schedule idea, our collaboration and integration focus improved.
Teachers and the media specialists are partners, both sharing the
responsibility of using technology to advance the curriculum. We share
lesson plans and technology integration ideas more often now. I look
forward to hearing more about your situation. Thanks for sharing your
concerns.
I know you probably provide planning time for classroom teachers, but maybe some
variation of the way we schedule at my middle school would work for you. I schedule
every English/Lang. Arts class in to visit the Library Media Center once every
OTHER week. We call that Circulation Week. The alternate week is RESEARCH WEEK.
Classes schedule time to use the LMC as needed and it's usually pretty busy. I have
a computer lab in the library and classes schedule to use that separately. I might
have one class in the lab and a different one doing something else in the rest of
the library. Actually, we have up to 4 classes at really busy times but I don't
like to have that many at once. Needless to say, the classroom teacher must
accompany and supervise whenever his/her class comes. Students may also come on
their own throughout either week with a pass from any teacher. Those students must
sign in and if we have a full house, they have to go back to class.
The lab is in use all the time for AR quizzes, word processing, research. My aide
and I have plenty to do keeping everyone on task but I don't think anyone could
accuse us of under-utilization. In effect, you have the same staff because you have
a paraprofessional in the lab. You need to convince the principal and teachers that
you can get better use from the facilities IF teachers accompany their classes to
provide instruction and supervision. That's not easy, especially at elementary. You
might try just with 4th-6th grades for a limited time, like 3 months and see how it
works. Switch them to every other week for circulation and really focus on research
on the alternate weeks.
The best thing that could happen to you is to go to flexible scheduling. What they
are suggesting can work with a flexible scheduling. It would be almost impossible
with a structured schedule. But that's my opinion, and flexible scheduling is
probably not an option, right?
Are you sure you want my opinion???...There are several "facts" that may not have
been "known" to your visiting team. #1 - This is an administrative problem. They
are responsible for schedules.
#2 - You should not have classes scheduled every minute to make the library look
used. The more flexible time you have in your schedule, the more the library will
be used. #3 - Teachers should be taking their classes to the tech lab during open
times. This is not a "library" matter. Collaborating is wonderful, but you are
only responsible for one program. The amount of library work involved in just
keeping things going demands that you have as much time as possible to keep things
"going".
It sounds to me like you all ARE utilizing both facilities to the max, and doing a
darn good job of it! I'd be real tempted to tell them all to go jump.
Since that's not very professional however, discuss with your principal, and maybe
your plan could read that research, etc, would just carry over from the Lib. Media
Center into the lab for a particular class's next time slot in the lab. And that
you and the CLM are collaborating together with the teachers for a comprehensive
plan. [some B.S. is always involved.]
As far as I know, the SACS never comes back to check, they just disrupt lives and
move on, creating unnecessary hoops for you to jump thru. You all just write it
up, it looks good, then you go your merry way also.
It sounds to me like you all ARE utilizing both facilities to the max, and doing a
darn good job of it! I'd be real tempted to tell them all to go jump.
Since that's not very professional however, discuss with your principal, and maybe
your plan could read that research, etc, would just carry over from the Lib. Media
Center into the lab for a particular class's next time slot in the lab. And that
you and the CLM are collaborating together with the teachers for a comprehensive
plan. [some B.S. is always involved.]
As far as I know, the SACS never comes back to check, they just disrupt lives and
move on, creating unnecessary hoops for you to jump thru. You all just write it
up, it looks good, then you go your merry way also.
Could your problem be solved by more collaboration with the CLM, whereby students
conduct independent Internet searches in conjunction with your research projects in
the library? Her lessons would therefore support yours. You wouldn't have to
actually teach together, but your lessons would be integrated.
have worked with our computer lab person by introducing and starting a webquest in
the library and having the children finish the research in the lab. We then bring
the info back to library and compile the results or finish the webquest. You
really need to make sure the computer person understands what the students are to
do. It appears to me that you have an ideal situation to do these kinds of
projects. It can be a pain depending on what the lab person does with the children
but it would open up a way to start planning with the teachers and do projects with
their SOLs. The teacher could even take the kids to the lab during open periods and
complete the research. This would enable you to become the research specialist!
My computer lab teacher and myself jointly plan meaning units with the
classroom teachers. We are in a 4th/5th grade school of 570 and teach
on a rotating schedule, each seeing only 3 classes per day at 50
minutes
each. Maybe what we do can help.
We choose a project, such as presidents. I teach the information
literacy, using the index, using the OPAC, finding details, keywords,
etc. We give students research sheets. Pre-search is usually through
the students' textbooks looking for the keywords that will help them
find the info in nonfiction books, in our virtual library (through the
state we have lots of databases such as biography, magazine, and SIRS)
I have enough computers so that almost all students can work with one,
although we used to double up when we had fewer.
Students continue their research in the computer lab, using the online
encyclopedia and websites that we have chosen. When research is
completed, and it works differently depending on the class, one of us
works with the students in the synthesis piece, be it for a report in
word, a powerpoint, or timeliner. Then the tech teacher teaches the
skill and the students make presentations in library class. I give
grades to 5th graders based on the rubric we have set up for different
types of presentations.
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