As I reflect upon my first three weeks as a new media specialist, the words that come to mind are exciting, exhausting, evolving, and educating. It's been a whirlwind to say the least. So much to be done, and yet every aspect of it is enjoyable and fun! A person should not be allowed to have this much fun in the process of coming up to speed as a new media specialist. Perhaps it's my insatiable love for learning, chasing the ever elusive butterfly so to speak.
Destiny is our library management system. It took 2 weeks for the district to finally send someone to add me to the system and give me a 45 minute crash course. It's fairly intuitive, so I'm happy about that, and the more I use it, the better I like it. On a scale of 1-5, I'd say I'm a solid 3 with this one.
Flexible scheduling seams to have a different meaning for anyone asked about it. Teachers have been so used to delivering their charges to the media center and heading off to plan, call parents, grade papers or even go to the bathroom that the thought of working together is new to them. I'm bound and determined to win them over in the process, so suffice it to say that the teachers and I are very patient with one another. That's a good thing.
Inventory is interesting - I need to discover what my predecessor did with this. Books, hardware, software, videos, other media formats, etc. all need to come to order. It's like calling the troops to attention at a morning meeting and obtaining updates and information to get a solid status on things in the media center.
The collection is another fascinating adventure. I need to rally the troops to go from one end to the other to do a shelving check (that's what I'm calling it) to ensure that books are where they are supposed to be. Right now they might be standing up straight BUT I have discovered that they are not in their correct location.
The morning news show - oh yes! This has been the orphan child thus far due to getting a handle on other things. This next week I pledge to pull all the hardware together, check it's working status, and begin organizing this important piece of the media center puzzle.
MAP testing begins this week and I'm involved in this to some degree. I'll learn this as I go along as well.
I think the safest thing to say at this point is that I am learning to take each day in stride, as throughout any given day, life takes interesting twists and turns. There is never a dull moment, there is always something to be done, something to learn, and something to celebrate. I LOVE being a media specialist even if I am as green as the grass in my backyard.
The icing on my cake is that my media center is huge. The entire length (81 feet) has a spectacular view of the Beaufort River and marsh area. It is so relaxing to look out the window and observe the cranes wading in the marsh, watch the boats on the river, and tourists walking past my school.
The sparkly part of my job is the people. The teachers, children, administrators and others working at my school are so friendly that they are beyond user friendly. It's like a huge family under one roof. Isn't that how a school should be? I think so.
Welcome to my world, my life in the media world.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Both Sides of the Fence or Is This a 21st Century Role Model?
What is a fence? According to Wikipedia, "a fence is a freestanding structure designed to restrict or prevent movement across a boundary." Now that we know what a fence is, a physical barrier to keep something in or something out of a defined space, then what is a role? Loosely defined, a role is a set of behaviors ascribed to a position or social level. Can two or more roles be mixed to form a newly defined role?
This leads to the next strand of thinking on my part. Can a defined role function as a fence of sorts? I think so. And that is my dilemma...or maybe not. Media specialist, technology specialist, teacher, instructional technology coach all have defined attributes that take one to the role level. The role's title implies a set of attributes or a job description if you will. This begs the question: What is the role of the 21st century media specialist? It is gradually being formulated over time as we move forward in time. I, for one, plan to push it a bit faster than others care for it to travel.
The 21st century media specialist is a multitasking individual who removes the fences that we heretofore have straddled. It's the technology, right? Uh huh...it's the technology that removes the fences so that we can embrace all there is to enjoy in the world of media, information, communication and collaboration. Perhaps the next job title will be Instructional Media Technology Specialist or perhaps to create an acronym, Technology Instructional Media Educational Specialist (TIMES). I just have to be careful that in the process of breaking down the fences that I don't fracture the sound barrier.
This leads to the next strand of thinking on my part. Can a defined role function as a fence of sorts? I think so. And that is my dilemma...or maybe not. Media specialist, technology specialist, teacher, instructional technology coach all have defined attributes that take one to the role level. The role's title implies a set of attributes or a job description if you will. This begs the question: What is the role of the 21st century media specialist? It is gradually being formulated over time as we move forward in time. I, for one, plan to push it a bit faster than others care for it to travel.
The 21st century media specialist is a multitasking individual who removes the fences that we heretofore have straddled. It's the technology, right? Uh huh...it's the technology that removes the fences so that we can embrace all there is to enjoy in the world of media, information, communication and collaboration. Perhaps the next job title will be Instructional Media Technology Specialist or perhaps to create an acronym, Technology Instructional Media Educational Specialist (TIMES). I just have to be careful that in the process of breaking down the fences that I don't fracture the sound barrier.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Doc and the Techno-Vat
Yes, as the title indicates, I somehow managed to fall into a techno-vat. You might ask, what on earth is a techno-vat? Well, visualize this: 1 large vat steaming with its very hot contents. Add one person [me] and there you have it. I've spent this afternoon exploring sites unknown to me before today, and I felt like I had fallen into a large vat chock full of red hot techno goodies - oops, web sites that are well worth exploring. I won't tell you a thing about them f or now as I want you to enjoy the same experience that I had this afternoon.
Doc's Techno-Vat Contents
Doc's Techno-Vat Contents
- Reading 2.0 - using technology to promote books site a la Joyce Valenza [Remember her name - she's a media specialist's virtual guru/mentor of all things techno-kind for school library media centers.]
http://readingtech.wikispaces.com/ - David Warlick's Son of Citation Machine [Remember David Warlick - similar guru/mentor type like Joyce.]
http://citationmachine.net/ - Where I fell into the techno-vat: Cathy Nelson's site - head end of today's Techno-Vat Adventure [Cathy is a techno guru/mentor who frequents similar venues as David and Joyce.] I started exploring, and the rest just happened! http://technotuesday.edublogs.org/
- LlibraryThing: Virtual Library Catalog site - this one's dangerously fun. Enter at your own risk
http://www.librarything.com/ - VoiceThread: There's more to this one than meets the eye. Plan to hang out here for awhile.
http://voicethread.com/ - EdVoiceThread: Ditto the above but for k-12 kids and teachers that provides a safety net for this venue.
http://ed.voicethread.com/
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Welcome to my blog spot
On a Saturday afternoon in early July, I find myself gearing up for another one of my infamous life's greatest adventures. In a few short weeks I will be working as a school library media-technology specialist. As I begin to imagine what life will be like in this new role, I revisit my experiences with school libraries and media centers.
I have always loved books. In fact, they were and still are my best friends as once engaged with a good book, I can travel anywhere in the universe - for FREE! I grew up in a small borough outside of Philadelphia, PA. Our borough was barely 2 square miles in size, and our library was located in an old store that was about 900 square feet. It was open a few days per week, and whenever I would go, I would check out as many "friends" as I could find to take home and read. Fast forward a few years to when I first started my teaching career. I discovered that the librarians had the best toys - things that plugged and played like 35mm projectors, 16mm projectors, record players, cassette tape recorders, and Systems 80 machines. A few even had a spare tachistoscope collecting dust on a shelf. Uh huh - you guessed it. I gathered up as many of these toys as I could carry and set them up as learning centers in my classroom for my kids. Oh what fun I had! As the technologies advanced, so did my fascination with them. Moving ahead a few more years to the 1980-1994 time frame, and I discovered that librarians were called media specialists. I also learned that they had, in addition to great books, more new "toys" such as VCR's, laserdisc players, and computers!
Now I find myself in the first decade of the twenty-first century pondering what my new media center will look, feel, and sound like. For sure it won't be the quiet library I knew as a child and young adult. I envision it as a place where children come to explore, learn, and become actively engaged in information resources that will be in a variety of formats. They will extract from this plethora of information data sets to create their knowledge in forms that only they will be able to imagine and craft. Things like podcasts, vodcasts, blogs, wikis, virtual libraries, and virtual museums come to mind. Add to this project-based learning activities with children located somewhere else on the planet - Germany, Japan, Alaska, Pennsylvania, or wherever else we can make connections, and you will readily see that my media center, BES Media 2.0, will be center stage for children who will be excited about exploring, learning, communicating, and sharing what they are learning and discovering about the amazing world in which they live.
See you at BES Media 2.0 - where life is taking on a new twist.
I have always loved books. In fact, they were and still are my best friends as once engaged with a good book, I can travel anywhere in the universe - for FREE! I grew up in a small borough outside of Philadelphia, PA. Our borough was barely 2 square miles in size, and our library was located in an old store that was about 900 square feet. It was open a few days per week, and whenever I would go, I would check out as many "friends" as I could find to take home and read. Fast forward a few years to when I first started my teaching career. I discovered that the librarians had the best toys - things that plugged and played like 35mm projectors, 16mm projectors, record players, cassette tape recorders, and Systems 80 machines. A few even had a spare tachistoscope collecting dust on a shelf. Uh huh - you guessed it. I gathered up as many of these toys as I could carry and set them up as learning centers in my classroom for my kids. Oh what fun I had! As the technologies advanced, so did my fascination with them. Moving ahead a few more years to the 1980-1994 time frame, and I discovered that librarians were called media specialists. I also learned that they had, in addition to great books, more new "toys" such as VCR's, laserdisc players, and computers!
Now I find myself in the first decade of the twenty-first century pondering what my new media center will look, feel, and sound like. For sure it won't be the quiet library I knew as a child and young adult. I envision it as a place where children come to explore, learn, and become actively engaged in information resources that will be in a variety of formats. They will extract from this plethora of information data sets to create their knowledge in forms that only they will be able to imagine and craft. Things like podcasts, vodcasts, blogs, wikis, virtual libraries, and virtual museums come to mind. Add to this project-based learning activities with children located somewhere else on the planet - Germany, Japan, Alaska, Pennsylvania, or wherever else we can make connections, and you will readily see that my media center, BES Media 2.0, will be center stage for children who will be excited about exploring, learning, communicating, and sharing what they are learning and discovering about the amazing world in which they live.
See you at BES Media 2.0 - where life is taking on a new twist.
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