Technology Program Administrator

Technology Program Administrator Report

Megan Anderson

Georgia Southern University

FRIT 7739
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Executive Summary:
During the duration of this assignment, I was able to analyze and assess my own Media
Center. I am an educator at Glennville Elementary School, and have learned quite a bit about
how it operates. Just like an educator must collected student data, a Media Specialist must
collect circulation and item data. Below you will find an Organizational Chart (Appendix A),
which demonstrates the hierarchy of responsibility within the Tattnall County School District.
You will also find the methods in which I used to collect data for this assignment, the goals in
which I assessed, the center activities I observed, and my final evaluation and recommendation
for the program.
First, I created a chart to demonstrate the overall organization of the technology center. I
discovered that the administrator at the main level should always be contacted first, which is
generally not the case in some scenarios. I also discovered that Lynna Hilliard, at our Board of
Education main office, has several titles and responsibilities: Media Services, Director of
Infrastructure, and Education Technology Coordinator. Lastly, I determined that above all else, if
problems continue the superintendent will be contacted. I feel that there is not a strong
collaborative system within the other schools in our district. Not once, even after being
prompted, did our Media Specialist mention working and calling on the help or advice of other
Media Specialist in our district. I feel like collaboration is a large gap within our Media Centers in
the Tattnall County School District.
Secondly, I began looking at the methods in which I would collect my data for the
technology/media center. I used observations, checklists, and interviews to collect my data from
the Media Specialist, students, and teachers within the school. From my interviews especially, I
found the Media Center not advertised enough within the school. The teachers were not
completely familiar with all of the programs and technology available, and the students were not
aware of the resources they had access to.
Third, I analyzed the Center Context and Goals of the Glennville Elementary School
Media Center. One of my largest problems when analyzing the Media Centers context and
goals was the fact that there were no set goals specifically for the media center. I found it
difficult to determine whether or not the Media Center was performing to its fullest potential or
even meetings its goals, because their were none. The Media Center should take its first step in
the direction of setting its own goals to meet; therefore having some type of goal to aim at to
improve the program.
Next, I provided a brief description of the program activities within a month. I found that
the majority of the activities dealt with the resources that the Media Center had to offer. I would
like to see more activities regarding professional development and technology learning centers.
It is one thing to have the technology and resources, yet quite another when teachers actually
understand the resources and can use them to help reach higher student achievement.
Lastly, I evaluated the entire program to assess the full effectiveness of the Media
Center program at Glennville Elementary School. Overall, I determined that our media center
runs well. However, there are definite adjustments that should be made to successfully increase
student achievement within our school. I would like to see more English Language Arts
resources and assistance, more read aloud and class visits to the media center, and mainly a
set of firm goals in place to strive towards.
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To conclude, I enjoyed completing this assignment. I have never completely understood

how one would assess the entirety of a school Media Program. However, now I understand the
complexity and depth of the program. I also understand how important clearly stated goals for
the Media Center are, in order to successfully reach student achievement and growth. Talking to
the teachers and students about their views of the Media Center was eye-opening as well.

Chart
(Appendix A)

Methods

Several methods were used to obtain information for this project. Observations were conducted
over seven site visits. The results and checklists are provided (Appendix B). An educator, the
Media Specialist, and a student were also interviewed to determine the effectiveness of the
media center (Appendix C). Information was also collected from the Glennville Elementary
School website, mainly the calendar, to determine monthly activities. I had to use verbal
communication to create a log in order to create a one month record of media center activity, as
there was not really any information stating the activities.

Data Summary: September 4th, 2017- September 29th, 2017

Circulation Report: For the entire month of September, approximately 2,950 items were
circulated. The majority of the books that were checked out were between the ranges of
300-699. 154 of the books were fiction, while 593 were determined to be nonfiction
books. 1,331 books called Easy Books were checked out for the younger level grades
reading centers.
Surface Help: There are only four students who are allowed to help within the media
center. They are all children of teachers that work at the school.
Library Attendance: As of right now, there is very little library attendance, besides
Accelerated Reader circulation. Most of the younger grades do not begin story time in
the Media Center until after December, mainly due to maturity levels. Also, there are no
paraprofessionals to assist with circulation duties, while Ellen teaches the story time.
Library Space Reserved: No library space was reserved within the month of September.
More space, especially regarding story time type activities will take place after
Christmas, with additional help from the community and other sources.

Questionnaire Summary:

The Media Center Specialist is responsible for organizing materials, resources,

managing the budget, and distributing library resources. The Media Specialist is
responsible for meeting the needs of students, teachers, and staff. She also leads the
Media Technology Committee. She stated that she would like to see more circulation of
students within the library, especially in the upper grades. Currently, the Media Specialist
is most proud of her newly renovated Media Center. The walls were repainted and new
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shelves were brought in. The responsibility that utilized the most of her time is the
technology part of her position. She feels as if she is constantly adding children into
RenLearn or providing google accounts for our school system. The Fall Festival takes up
the most time regarding activities.
The teachers are satisfied with the new renovated library, although they do feel it needs
decoration of some kind on the walls, not just a blank gray wall. They do not utilize the
resources located in the Media Center, mostly because they are unaware of what
resources are present for their use. The teachers would like more training on technology
uses inside their classroom, and would also like suggestions to be given to them on how
to improve Accelerated Reader circulation among their students.
The students are happy with the Media Center for the most part. Not all students are
aware of the many technologies and resources that are available to them. The student
that I interviewed had no idea that there was a Media Center website, even though the
website is only a Symbaloo curation.

Center Context and Goals

Technology Vision: Educating and Nurturing Tomorrows Leaders.
GES Media Center Philosophy: The Media Center should serve as an extension of the
classroom. It should be open at all times for individuals, small groups, and large groups. A
media center has many varied responsibilities in its extension role. The media center should be
a resource area housing materials of all types of media and its necessary equipment. The
media center should include materials that:
Are up to date and relevant to todays world.
Will be used by both faculty and students in an individual or group setting.
Support and supplement the curriculum. Materials included should expand the interests
of the student in different areas of the curriculum.
Are appropriate for various reading, age, and interest levels.
Include the various types of media, both print and nonprint, for the students use.
Make independent study easy.
Provide for recreational reading, viewing, and listening. Materials should help instill the
joy of reading in into every child.
Take into account the variou religious, social, ethnic, and political backgrounds.
Materials should present these various types with as little bias as possible.
Broaden students horizons to the world they have not, or perhaps never will, encounter.
Aid children in discovering their abilities, in improving their lives, and in preparing for
their future.

School Mission: The Tattnall County School System is committed to doing whatever it takes to
ensure a quality education that affirms ALL students' value and worth and will lead to high
school graduation and productive citizenship.
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School Vision: The Tattnall County School District will utilize innovative strategies to ensure ALL
students will be successful today and prepared for tomorrow.

School Motto: Whatever It Takes!

Beliefs: Beliefs In Tattnall County Schools, we believe:

Schools should maintain a safe, secure, and supportive learning environment;
Education is the shared responsibility of the school, home, and community;
Schools should provide a rigorous and relevant curriculum;
Each student should meet or exceed educational standards in order to reach his/her
highest potential;
Instructional decisions should be driven by accurate and relevant data;
All students are unique learners and should be provided differentiated instruction;
The use of technology should be seamlessly incorporated into the standards based
curriculum;
The system should employ and retain highly qualified personnel;
All individuals have worth and value;
Schools should promote sound character and national pride in all students;
Schools should continually and systematically evaluate and revise programs to meet the
changing needs of learners;
Stakeholder involvement is essential to the success of students and the school system.

Demographics: Glennville Elementary School is located in Tattnall County, GA. Glennville is a

rural area, with a diverse population. The small town is approximately 45 miles away from the
largest military base on the east coast of our country, so military enrollment is high. There are
approximately 900 students enrolled at our school, with a student/teacher ratio of 16:1. The
entire school population receives Title 1 free lunch. The approximate racial makeup of the
school consists of 54% white, 31% African American, and 15% Hispanic. The Glennville
Elementary School Media Center has plenty of space for collaborative planning for teachers,
students, and classrooms. There are a variety of technology tools offered for teachers and
students.

Policies: The school media center is open for teachers from 7:30 am. To 3:30 pm. For students,
the media center is open 8:00 am to 2:30 pm. Passes or agendas are required to access library
materials. Students are only allowed use the library during the instructional day, during recess,
and during lunch. The media center also has circulation procedures for students, return policies,
computer and laminating policies, and ellison machine policies.

Stakeholders: The staff, students, and the community are the stakeholders.

Key Personnel:
Media Center Specialist: The Media Center Specialist is responsible for all Media Center
paperwork. The Media Specialist is responsible for the media center website and
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updating all the resources. The Media Specialist works with teachers, students, and staff
to support the curriculum and the classroom. She also manages the Media Center
budget, and Instructional Technology budget. She has a Masters Degree in School
Library Specialist and Instructional Technology from Georgia Southern University.
IT Support Personnel: There is only one technology support individual for the entire
Tattnall County School system. He is at the Glennville Elementary School every
Thursday, helping with technology problems and troubleshooting in the classroom.

Center Activities/Resources
Open Lunch: Students are allowed to access the media center during their lunch time,
approximately 20 minutes. The students are not allowed, however, to spend their entire
lunch period in the library. They are only allowed to exchange library books or take an
Accelerated Reader test.
Treehouse Area: There are no focus rooms or privacy rooms in the media center,
however there is a treehouse. The treehouse is an area where students can read and
complete work individually. This area is aimed mostly for grades K-2, which take whole
class trips to the library to exchange books and take tests.
Technology Training for teachers: The Media Specialist trains teacher on technology
resources, such as eChalk.
Written/Video Resources: The Media Specialist provides fiction books, nonfiction,
graphic novels, reference books, and biographies for students and staff. The Media
Center also provides videos and movies to use as classroom resources. Lastly, the
Media Specialists ensures that all textbooks and old novels, that are not currently being
used in the classrooms, are stored for later possible use.
Lamination Machine: The laminating machine is available to teachers throughout the
instructional day, and is done by Mrs. Kingery. There are strict guidelines as to what
types of work can be laminated. The machine is located in the Media Center, and the
film is bought with the Media Center Budget.
Ellison Machine: The ellison machine is available for teacher use. It is stored in the
teacher workroom in the back of the Media Center.
Student Mobile Lab: Chromebook carts are dispersed to each teacher within the 3rd-5th
grade range. Two carts are given to 1st and 2nd grade to share.

Evaluation

The Glennville Elementary School Media Center provides a large amount of written and
technology resources. The Media Specialists does seem very knowledgable about the activities
that are done throughout the school. There is not, however, active communication with all of the
teachers in the school. There are a few teachers who are actively present in the media center,
searching for resources and advice, however the majority of the teachers rarely use the
resources or are knowledgeable of all the resources available to them. The Media Specialist
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could definitely provide more support to the teachers and collaborate with them. There is a
definite need for collaboration, but there is a slight hinderance concerning English Language
Arts. The Tattnall County school district has adopted a new reading program called
Comprehensive Reading Solutions. The entire program is scripted and on a strict daily
schedule, not allowing for extra resources or time for other mini lessons.

Recommendations
The Media Center has all of the media resources available to be an excellent additional support
system. The chromebook carts that are given to each classroom to use are an astounding
resource. However, there needs to be more collaboration and interaction between the Media
Specialist and teachers. The Media Specialist has voiced her concern that there are not enough
patrons visiting the library, and especially not enough circulation of books. The teacher I
interviewed voiced her concern about not being confident in using all of the resources that are
available to teachers. The Media Specialist should attend Grade Level Meetings at least once or
twice a month to ensure collaboration and state new resources that are available to the
teachers. Training should also be present for new items during collaborative planning, which
would allow teacher to upload the documentation onto their TKES platform as well. During
Grade Level Meetings, the Media Specialist should also vocalize her concerns of student
participation and discuss activities and resources that are available to the students. When
interviewed, the student stated that he was not aware of anything offered in the media center
other than a library book for him to read and take a test on.

I would recommend that the following lessons be taught to students:

Research
Basic Technology usage
Using Google Applications

I would recommend that the following lessons be taught to teachers:

Google Applications
PowerSchool updates
Technology Resources
Presentation of new technology to teachers

Glennville Elementary School could possibly be a collaborative, hard-driven seeker of student

achievement. The motto for Glennville Elementary School is Whatever It Takes. I believe that
the Media Specialist and staff should be doing whatever it takes to ensure that the Media Center
is operating at the highest efficiency possible to achieve their goals.
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Appendix A
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Appendix B

1 Focus areas are used by students and staff. Observed

2 Students used the Media Center resources such as Observed

computers, printers, written resources, and online (no printers or online
catalog. catalog for students
use)

3 Teachers used Media Center area (such as group space, Observed

written materials, and technology resources). (Not regularly)

4 Students checked out and returned books. Observed

5 Teachers received technology assistance from the Observed

Media Center.
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6 Students received help with technology Observed

7 Staff members checked out written materials. No

8 Staff members checked out technology materials. No

(computer labs/carts)

9 The Media Specialist assisted the students with No

research.

10 The Media Specialist provided remedial instruction or No

worked with students.

11 The physical space accommodates students and staff. Yes

12 The Media Center hours accommodate students and Yes

staff.

13 The Media Center had high traffic during the open times Yes
(before school, after school, lunchtime).

Appendix C

Questionnaire for the Media Specialist:

1. What is your mission for the Media Center? What are your goals?
2. What are your main responsibilities within the Media Center?
3. Which responsibility utilizes most of your time?
4. What are some yearly activities that usually take up a lot of your time?
5. What type of programs or activities do you host inside the Media Center?
6. What are you most proud of within your Media Center?
7. What are some improvements that you would like to occur within the Media Center?

Questionnaire for Teacher:

1. How often do you utilize the Media Center location for your classroom?
2. How often do you utilize technology within the Media Center for your classroom?
3. How often do you seek technology or professional support from the Media Center?
4. What is your favorite technology, resource, or location within the Media Center?
5. How would you like to see the Media Center improved within the next few years?
6. In your opinion, what can the Media Specialist do to increase student traffic?
7. In your opinion, what can the Media Specialist do to increase teacher traffic?
8. Do you feel like you are aware of all of the resources that the Media Center has to offer?
9. How are some ways that the Media Center can support you within your classroom?

Questionnaire for Student:

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1. How often do you visit the library?

2. Why do you visit the library?
3. Have you ever visited the Media Center website?
4. Do you know about the online resources that are on the Media Center website?
5. Do you think that the Media Center is a place where students w
ant to come?
6. Do your teachers talk about the Media Center or suggest that you should go there?
7. What could take place inside the Media Center that would make you want to go more
often?

Resources:

Glennville Elementary School Media Center homepage:

http://ges.tattnallschools.org/media_center

Glennville Elementary School webpage:http://ges.tattnallschools.org/

Tattnall County District Homepage: http://tattnall-county-schools.echalksites.com/district_news

School Digger: https://www.schooldigger.com/go/GA/schools/0477002437/school.aspx