Service Overview: Menu of LMC Attractions

Overview: ThemediaspecialistatGeorgeWashingtonCarverfulfillsfivemajorrolesteacher, instructionalpartner,informationspecialist,programadministrator,leader.The followingisadescriptionofhowshehascompetentlysatisfiedallofthoseroles. MediaSpecialistasProgramAdministrator: ThemediaCenterisopenfrom7:45amto3:30pm.Studentsareallowed cometothemediacenterindependentlyduringthedaytocheckinandoutbooks. Thereisnolimittothenumberofbookstheyortheirparentscancheckout. Students,Parentsandteacherscanalsoreservebooksonlinewithdestiny,which isabrandnewonlinecatalog.Booksthatarereservedthroughdestinyareplaced onashelfandstudents/parentsandteachersarenotifiedbyemailthatthebooks areonthereservesshelfandreadytobecheckedout. Lettersaresenthometoparentsperiodicallyforoverduebooks.Ifthebook islostordamagetheparentmustpaytoreplacethebookbasedonthecatalogs listedcostorbringinthesamebookasareplacement. InadditiontothestackstheteacherscanalsocheckoutDVDs,theclass setofipads,turningpointremotesandunitmaterialslocatedintheresourceroom. Thisroomcontainslessresourcethaninpastyearsbecauseofthechangesin technologymakesiteasiertofindresourceslocatedonline.Themediaspecialist foundthatDiscoveryandyoutubeweremoreuptodatethanmostoftheVHS tapesthatwereavailablesotheschooldecidedtopurchasenewTVfortheschool thaninvestinDVDs. Thelibraryisalsotheareathatisusedforsmallgroup/pulloutinstructionfor specialeducation.Thespecialed.teacherspulloutthestudentstoassistwith projectsandassignmentsandusethetablesinthemediacenteras miniclassrooms.Thesmallgroupsalsohaveasetofcomputersinthelablocated inthemediacenter.Thesecomputersarereservedforthesegroupsandare availablebysignup.

 CarverMediaCenteralsorunstheSchoolStorethatisopendailyfrom 8am3:10pm.Studentsaregiventokenbyteachersortheycanpurchasetokens tospendattheschoolstore.Studentstypicallyvisittheschoolstoreduringtheir recesstimeoraftercompletingtheirwork. MediaSpecialistasInformationTechnologySpecialist InadditiontotheonsiteprintcollectionsandeBooks,themediacentersubscribes toonlineresourcestosupportstaffandstudentresearch.Linkstotheseresourcescanbe accessedviathecountywebsite.(AlsoseeSMP3forafulllistofonlineandcomputerlab resourcesavailable)Themediaspecialistmaintainthislistandcoordinateswiththe technologyspecialist.
Instruction Software Resources

Classworks: K-8; Creation of Individual Learning Paths SLDS: PK-12; State Longitudinal Data System Study Island: 2-5; Individual lessons correlated to CCGPS Moby Max: K-12; Individualized instructional prescription based lesson Sum Dog: 1-5; Multiplayer games designed to improve math fact fluency Prezi: 2-12; Innovative presentation tool Edmodo: 3-12; Teacher led interactive learning environment Google Apps: 3-12; Apps and resources centered on educational objectives Galileo: 4-12; Georgia online library research database

Online Assessments

OAS: Online Assessment System from the State MAP: NWEA Measures of Academic Progress Schoolnet: School-based online test creation and tracking GRASP: Progress Monitoring System

Inanefforttousetechnologyeffectivelyandefficientlytheschoolmadetheebooks andprintmediacollectionsavailableonlinethroughtheuseofDestinyOnlinePublic AccessCatalog(OPAC),aWebbasedunioncatalogandinventorysystemforK12library collections.

 MediaSpecialistasTeacher,LeaderandInstructionalPartner Wholeclassesvisitthemediacenteronafixedscheduleonceaweekfor30 minuteminilessons.Teacherscansignupforextratimesthatareavailableduringthe weekbysendingthemediaspecialistanemail.Theweeklyscheduleispostedonthe schoolcalendarandisaccessibleonthesharesdrive.Duringtheseweeklyvisitsthe mediaspecialistdeliversaminilessononatopictheteachershaverequested.These lessonareusuallybasedonaunitbeingintroducedorcurrentlybeingaddressedbythe classroomteachers.Afixedscheduleworksbestbecauseeachgradelevelteachesthe sameunitsatthesametimesothesamelessonisusedforeachclassinthatgradelevel forthatweeksmediacenterlesson. Classesalsohaveafixedscheduleforthegradelevelcomputerlabs.Eachclass visitsthelab,locatedontheirhallway,onceaweekfora1hourblock.Teachercanalso requestextratimeinthecomputerlablocatedinthemediacenterortheirhallwaywhenitis notinusebyaddingtheirnametothecalendaronthesharesdrive. Themediaspecialistalsoprovidesstaffdevelopmenttoteachersmonthlyby offeringclassesontheeffectiveuseandintegrationof21stcenturytechnologiesand digitaltoolssuchaspodcasting,Web2.0tools,digitalcontent,clouddatabases,and virtualresources,andvideoproduction.Themediaspecialiststartedtheyeargiving teacherstheoptionofdoingdevelopmentclassesonafewtopicsandtoldthemtosend heranemailofanyothertopictheywouldliketolearnmoreaboutbutdonthavethetime toresearchthemselves.Thenthemediaspecialistpreparedthelessonsandoffersthat lessonandanideaofimplementationduringthemonthlylessons.

 Assessment: TheALAlistedtheofcharacteristicsofhighlyeffectiveschoollibraries.(www.ala.org) Afterreviewingthatlistfivecharacteristicstoodout.Thisassessmentfocusesonthose fivemainareas:effectiveness,organization,relevance,availability,collaboration. Thefirstoftheseareas,effectiveness,canbeansweredbylookingatstudent achievement.Themediacenteriseffectiveinpromotinginformationliteracyandin readingliteracybothinthestudentsandtheteachers.Theevidenceofthisisseeninthe lessontheteachersandthemediaspecialistgiveduringtheonceweeklyvisittothe mediacenterandinthecomputerlabs.Alloftheselessonscenteraroundteachingthe students21stcenturyskillscoupledwiththethematicunitforthatweek.Withtheaddition oftheclasssetofipadsandtheopendevicepolicy,theschoolanticipatesincreasingthe numberoflessonsthatcanincorporatemobiledevices.Effectivenesscanalsobe measuredbytheliteracyscoresonstandardizedtesting.Theschoolhasconsistently testedinthe90thandabovepercentileonstandardizedtesting(CRCTandGAPS). Thesecondareaofassessmentisorganizationofmediacenterresourcesand time.Themediaspecialisthaseffectivelyscheduledtimestoencourageallthestudentsin theschooltohavelessonsandactivitiesthatencompassthemediacenter.Onceaweek

studentscanfamiliarizethemselveswiththelocationandlayoutofthebooksandmaterial. Theyarealsoabletointeractwiththemediaspecialistandbegintoseeherasaresource forlearning.Thestacksarealsoorganizedandlabeledinawaythatiseasyforstudents tonavigate. Whilethethemediaspecialisthasconsistentlybeenupdatingthestacksitstill containmanybooksthatmaynotberelevantforthecurrentcurriculum.Sheislackingan assistantandtheweedingprocessissecondarytoherdutiesasacollaboratorwiththe teachers.Shehopestohaveasassistantbytheendoftheyear.Inanefforttocombatthis problemshehaspurchasedebooksandresourcesonlinetosupplementthecurriculum. Shestatedthat23%ofherbookbudgetgoestoebooks.Thetechnologyinuseinthe schoolisuptodateandrelevantfortheageofthestudents.Althoughtheadditionofaflat screenTVfortheweeklylessonswouldbehelpfulbutnotnecessary. Theavailabilityofthemediacenterismeasuredinthenumberofstudentswhoare ableandwillingtoaccesstheresourceonlineandinperson.GeorgeWashingtonCarver Elementarysstudentsallvisitthelibraryandcomputerlabatleastonceaweek.The mediaspecialisthasensuredtheteachersandstudentknowthatsheisavailabletothem toofferhelpandsupport.Thisalsospeakstothecollaborationaspectoftheassessment. Theteacherandthemediaspecialisthavedevelopedarespectforeachothersstrength andusethemtocreatethebestunitspossible.Theavailabilityofresourcesisgoodwhen comparedtootherschoolsinthearea.Thewebsiteneedstobeexpandedtoinclude morecommunityandschoolprojects.TheadditionofDestinythisyearhasmadeebooks anavailableresourceforlearning,butthemediacenterisstilllackinginarealcreative commonsspaceforteachersand/orstudentstocollaborateonline.Theteachershavea folderonthenetworksharesdrive,butithaslimitedspaceandisonlyavailableonsite. Thisisanareathatneedsimprovementinthefuture. Overall,themediacenterissuccessfullysupportingthemissionofGeorge WashingtonCarverElementarySchoolsmediacentertopromotealoveofreadinganda thirstforknowledge.Theservicesandsessionspromoteanatmosphereofexplorationof newideas.Theteachersandstudentsareencouragedtoconstantlylearnandgrowby

readingandexploringtheworldusingtechnologyandprintmedia.Theavailabilityof ebooks,Destiny,andtheipadbroadensthestudentsscopeoflearningandencouragea loveofreadingandathirstforknowledge. References: JournalofResearchonLibrariesandYoungAdults.(2014)[The 21st Century Media Literacy Learning Commons Model Graphic].Retrievedfrom http://www.yalsa.ala.org/jrlya/2012/04/medialiteracyandlearningcommonsinthe digitalagetowardaknowledgemodelforsuccessfulintegrationintothe21stcent uryschoollibrary/ KatieSaratonokle,MediaSpecialistGeorgeWashingtonCarver,March24,2014 DavidShultz,AssistantPrincipal,GeorgeWashingtonCarver,March24,2014 GeorgeWashingtonCarverSchool.(2014)[instructionalresourcesandonline assessments]Retreivedfrom http://gwces.bryan.k12.ga.us/?PageName=%27Library%27 ALAHighlyEffectiveSchoolLIbraries.RetrievedonMarch24,2014. http://www.ala.org/research/librariesmatter/node/314