Technology Program Administrator Evaluation

Theresa Abernathy

Spring 2013 FRIT 7738

Table of Contents

Executive Summary Organizational Structure Methods Center Context and Goals Center Activities Evaluation Monthly Report Appendix A Interview Appendix B Resources

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Executive Summary

The Technology Program Administrator analysis was conducted to identify the functionalities of the Chamblee Middle Schools Media Center as a resource for all of the stakeholders within this community. Chamblee Middle School houses resident students, but also the countys premier Magnet School for High Achievers in DeKalb county. The mission of the Media Center is to promote informational literacy and instructional support to achieve the highest academic success for all of Chamblees students. Enrollment for the current year is 854 with almost 43% of students receiving gifted services.

This report will address the methods that I used to gather information to determine the level of satisfaction of the stakeholders of this institution based on services provided and resources utilized within the centers scope of responsibilities. Interviews and observations were the main source of information used to reach viable conclusions. The centers context and goals outlines the major aspects of typical duties and responsibilities of the center. Also discussed is the overall mission of the center and discusses ways that the Chamblee Middle School Media Specialist actively pursues excellence at a high standard. I will also list the centers activities as well as outline the day-to-day operations in the next section of this analysis. The final component of this analysis is the evaluation section where I compile all the data in attempt to reach a conclusion on the level of functionality of this center. It is my deduction that this center not only meets the requirements of the stakeholders and its overall mission, but also exceeds the conditions of the centers purpose.

Organizational Structure

Methods

To gather information and data for this evaluation, I used various methods including interviews with faculty and staff at Chamblee Middle School. The technology specialist that I primarily focused my time with was Chamblee Middle Schools Media Specialist, Dr. Emily Dunsker. I also interviewed other staff members to get a feel for the various ways in which they use their technology resources in the school setting. I also used observations on several different occasions to observe the different roles and settings of the Media Centers resources and computer labs. I spent one afternoon basically shadowing the Media Specialist observing and noting all of her duties and responsibilities. The day that I presented my staff development assignment at Chamblee Middle School also presented me with further opportunity to explore how the Media Center is ran and operated. Because few days are the same in regards to the school environment, each opportunity to witness the happenings of the Media Center afforded new opportunity to learn something more.

Center Context and Goals

Chamblee Middle School was built on its current location in 2005, but previously was housed on Chamblee-Dunwoody road after being built in 1964. Because of its dated facilities and lack of space for the growing student population, a new site was unveiled in the spring of 2002. They opened their doors at the new location in the fall of 2005. Some of the features of the Media Center at Chamblee Middle School include 16 desktop computers, three portable laptop carts containing 12 laptops each, and, of course various audio/visual materials including televisions, DVD players, and other aides for faculty members. There are also 3 computer labs offering 25 desktop computers each, as well as 61 classrooms with various technology resources including desktops and Smartboards. My main focus on this evaluation is the operating analysis of the Media

Center and the responsibilities of its service to the faculty and students.

The mission of the Media Center, in collaboration with the schools overall academic goals, are to provide a quality educational experience which provides instructional support and information resources to be successful. Dr. Dunsker stated that one of the primary goals is to promote informational literacy as outlined by the National Education Technology Standards for Teachers and Students. Another goal is to promote collaboration with teachers and students in the growing field of technology. Because of budgetary cutbacks, Dr. Dunsker is now the only staff for this center. At one point, all school Media Centers in DeKalb County was staffed by two Media Specialists and at least one support staff member. The main stakeholders for this center are the teachers,

who use the Media Center in various ways, including using webquests and other research technologies in their curriculum. The students are also stakeholders. They are the ones actively pursuing their interests in various ways and Chamblees Media Center welcomes them to explore their interests using technology as a tool to guide their research.

Dr. Dunsker has a plethora of duties as the Media Specialist at Chamblee Middle School, but, to try to define and sum it up, she is mainly in charge of the day-to-day activities. She maintains the schools website, the schools literary database, the technology confined with the centers doors, and an abundance of duties that are typical to a Media Specialist in todays schools.

Center Activities

One of the main activities that the center does on a daily basis is serve as a technological resource for students and teachers. Faculty members will provide an overview of their lesson plans to Dr. Dunsker, who then assists in devising a template of various services that the Media Center may be able to provide in the delivering of the lesson plan. Whether it is traditional literary assistance, or the newer application of Galileo and the World Wide Web, the Media Center offers support for the student and teacher alike. The purpose of this activity is to teach students that there are various ways to research with todays technology and to show them that they must also be responsible and accountable in their usage of this growing dependence on technology.

Another activity of this Media Center is to keep resources updated and categorized appropriately. The Media Specialist constantly serves in the role of student

and researcher to keep up with the changing face of technology, but to also research the new materials that are available. At Chamblee Middle School, Dr. Dunsker keeps the schools website maintained and updated. She also must maintain a separate informational site for the Media Center. On the Media Centers site, you can find information for teachers that have posted different web-based assignments, as well as tutorials that she has found to be beneficial for technology-based programs.

Evaluations

Based on the interviews and observations that I conducted, I found that Chamblee Middle Schools Media Center was fully operational and functioning at a high level of performance. I found the staff (even though it was limited) to be highly functional and meeting all the requirements of the mission and goals. Dr. Dunsker is highly trained and takes great pride in making the Media Center a positive learning environment for all the stakeholders at Chamblee Middle School. Even though budget cuts have continued to dominate the landscape of all schools in DeKalb county, it is obvious that faculty members truly believe the center is an exceptional place that is facilitating maximum learning for its students.

My interviews with faculty members, who use the Media Center on a regular basis, stated that their equipment and resources more than met their standards. They also pointed out that the technological support of the centers staff was exemplary. Many praised Dr. Dunsker for her knowledge of various programs and applications, as well as her knowledge of the resources found in the various databases. Her familiarity with Galileo has proven to be a huge asset for the center.

The main recommendations that I have are in regards to budgetary concerns. Over the past five years, the budget has been slashed for the Media Center to purchase new materials and resources. I would recommend limiting budget funds that are earmarked for periodicals and newspapers, as most of this material can now be found online. I would advocate that more money be used to purchase software rights to online search engines and webquests that allow for students to do more of their assignments at home. As far as operations of the center are concerned, my only recommendation for Chamblees Media Center is that the school hire her some support staff. She is too highly trained to be concerned with the typical librarian duties of checking in books and dealing with late book fees. Her talents could be better spent developing curriculum to
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aide students with informational literacy or assisting teachers develop lesson plans utilizing new technology. Her precious time is spent doing mundane tasks, which she did not indicate any animosity for doing, but she offers the center so much more.

Part B: Monthly Report

For this semester, the Media Center has been actively engaged in various activities. The school has been honored for the fourth straight years with the award of excellence in the Helen Ruffin reading bowl. The center sponsors a team every year and the county winner advances to regionals. In the past month, various activities have been conducted in the Media Center, including several teachers hosting CRCT tutorial sessions. These important tests are coming the third week in April, so teachers are using various testing resources, including USA Test Prep to allow students the opportunity to familiarize them with the testing format. The Media Center also hosted a video competition for the National Reflections Contest. The school winner, Will Wright, will also compete at the national level for his video. To view his video, go to the Media Centers website located on Chamblees homepage. Other recent activities to note, are various ongoing projects that demonstrate collaboration from Dr. Dunsker and faculty members who continue to research technological applications that students can use to showcase their creativity, design, and implementation of fantastic presentations.

Another great opportunity for teachers to learn new software and applications has been the centers open door policy to those wishing to share and collaborate on crosscurriculum activities. Once a month, groups of teachers have set aside a portion of the faculty meetings to address new ideas and methods to implement technology. Dr. Dunsker has extended the Media Centers hours to accommodate any faculty member

wishing to demonstrate their expertise with faculty. Some faculty led staff development classes this month were classes relating to Web 2.0 applications and Google Docs.

Appendix A

Interview Questions for Media Specialist/Other Faculty at Media Center

1. Name of Interviewee: 2. Date: 3. Location: 4. Job Title: 5. Organization make-up of center: 6. Typical duties: 7. What resources are available to you? 8. What levels and types of support do you receive from the county level? 9. What are some positives about the job? 10. What are some negatives that you would like to address? 11. Are there some aspects of the job that you would like to change or modify? 12. What do see for the future of the technology center/coordinator?

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Appendix B: Resources http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/chambleems/chamblee.htm http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/www/documents/organizational-chart.pdf https://sites.google.com/site/chambleemiddlemedia/

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