Blog 6 Technology

Technology
Our current faculty technology skills range from the very beginner (use of internet only and no knowledge of how to make folders, files, or find/create anything) to very advanced (creating their own websites, blogs, troubleshooting, videos, online assignments, and more).   I've assisted a variety of teachers in all areas except those that are advanced.  I've had to show basics like how to save and print a Word document and walk others through step by step a required online staff development module.  Their frustration level is almost painful and I've tried hard to assure them and alleviate their embarrassment.  I've also seen reluctance in staff members (particularly of a certain age;  not to be ageist, just an observationist) to embrace tools for daily use.  As we advance though, it's not always an option, but a requirement.  However, this is a very small group now.  While we have a technology department, most of the time is spent on the "technical" aspects of ordering, setting up, maintaining, and repairing the programs and equipment.  Any instructional lessons for faculty and students are usually completed by someone outside the tech department (whether in-house staff or outside consultant).  I've determined this is primarily because the tech staff is hired more for their skills in security, hardware, and technical repairs as such and are not equipped to teach.  The barriers to staff development are 1. time and 2. money.  Like anything else, it needs to have a greater priority because we are guilty of buying and implementing programs without any advance training.  We are a Mac school with iPads, Chromebooks, and Promethean boards in every classroom.  Teachers that are not utilizing technology tools are becoming more apparent and seen as less competent (regardless of reality).  We use online modules to complete staff development, Google forms and Drive on a daily basis, in addition to the many instructional and student data programs implemented every day.  I've been a big fan of Jing and Screencast to provide short videos for staff development.  I've had one teacher share that she has a disability and the videos help her tremendously to have a visual instead of written information.  All of our Media Specialists are also the web masters for our schools, so we are expected to learn and grow in this area.  In summary, we should BE the model technology user we want to see in our students and staff (to paraphrase "Be the change you want to see in the world"). 
ISTE
After reading the ISTE assignment, I felt like some of the information was a little wordy and redundant.  Overall, Media Specialists should contribute to the vision and advocate for policies, procedures, programs and funding for technology and tools.  While our budget is limited, I have used some of my funding to enhance learning in tools for Makerspaces and books that support technology (nonfiction support materials).  We are the models for implementation and should coach teachers in learning, instruction, and  assessment for students and to collaborate, research and assist in producing final products.  We should be using the tools and resources that we want them to use and be ready to help select, evaluate and facilitate their usage of new programs and tools.  We could also help troubleshoot hardware, software, and connectivity issues.  I have done this by learning from our school's technology specialist and found that a few of the other Media Specialists have done the same.  We all have a role to play in teaching digital citizenship with accountability.  This is a responsibility shared by all since not only do we supervise student use, but we use technology every day as well.  It's a journey not a destination as nothing stays the same in the technology field.

Copyright & Multimedia - Stacie Thompson

I will be perfectly honest, understanding copyright and fair use can be quite confusing to most educators including myself! The increase in technology has only added to the confusion and fear of using material without permission. My rule of thumb has been if it is available in the media center and a resource that was purchased with school funds you are safe! However, after reading the article “Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education” guidelines for using material for instructional purposes must be approved and follow appropriate rules and mandates of the Copyright Act. I gathered that most copyright concerns are handled case by case. There is not a “one size fits all” policy for using material. It is imperative that print-images, websites, and other types of media are used for educational purposes and this permits a bit of leniency for using hard or digital copies of materials. It still doesn’t provide full permission to quote or copy material but the resources can be used for instructional purposes.  

Although, it is not the easiest to understand, as a media specialist or teacher there is no way of avoiding the importance of Copyright. When I began my teaching career 14 years ago, I remember viewing books that were labeled in large print DO NOT COPY! It is not that simple anymore because there is an increase in the amount and type of material that is available to enhance instruction.  We now have numerous websites, print-images, sound media, and so much more that we must have permission to use. The article was very helpful and informative on what the current guidelines are and how to avoid copyright infringement.

The article listed quite a few myths, but the one that addressed fair use and a possible lawsuit reminded me of Mrs. Taylor, my high school media specialist who constantly threatened us that this would be the case if we copied material.  This definitely instilled fear in me and I have always avoided copying material or text from published works because of her consistent spills on copyright! Although it is possible, the author stated that many will prefer to ask one to “cease and desist” to avoid any further legal action. Fortunately, my school district does a really good job of ensuring that material and media have the appropriate licenses and that teachers are aware that resources must be approved before they can be utilized in the classroom.   

School TV News or School Intercom News? & Video Distribution Systems & GPB Education Resources



School TV News or School Intercom News?

The news at my school is presented daily over the intercom around 8:00am. It is organized by the Media Specialist; she also trains the anchors. The anchors present the information in the same sequence every day beginning with 40 seconds of silent reflection. They then ask the students to stand as they recite the Pledge of Allegiance and the school’s pledge. Next the students give a report on the weather that is followed by the lunch menu and the character education word of the week. At the conclusion of the news, the Principal will deliver his important announcements.

I have worked at several schools that actually had a live broadcast of the school news and I found this to be more effective for the staff and students. It was more engaging as it allowed the viewers to make a visual connection with the information being delivered. The anchors made the broadcast humors and interesting. They included video clips informing the students of current events locally and globally and to promote clubs, fundraisers, and other happenings at the school. The broadcasts were also published to youtube for the staff, students, and parents to reference if needed. The members of the newscast were the Gifted Teacher, School Librarian and a rotation of students from every grade-level. The resource used to create the broadcasts was iMovie. The news being presented in this way helped bridge the gap between all stakeholders of the school. This would be an ideal way to deliver the news at my current school; however, the classrooms do not have televisions. I honestly didn’t even think about that until completing this assignment. We have all of the latest and innovative technology devices and resources, but we don’t have access to a single television in the building. We have a $5,000 poster maker, but no way of viewing anything internally or externally unless it’s through youtube or another form of live streaming and even with that, it isn’t used consistently or school-wide.

Video Distribution Systems & GPB Education Resources

 

CCES Elementary does not have a video distribution or closed circuit cable system, as stated in the previous post; we don’t even have televisions in the classroom. We have one floor model big screen from the 80’s that is located in the library and is liable to give out at any moment. My school does not use a digital system that transmits TV content over the data network and I am not familiar with how these systems work. I am familiar with and have used a closed circuit cable system when I worked in Clayton County. We had about four of five channels that were mostly internal, but if I remember correctly, one channel was external and showed the local news. The internal channels were used to display and view school news broadcasts, watch instructional movies, and view pre-approved movies that were used as incentives. I read on another post that “Currently, the teachers utilized the digitalized classroom to view instructional videos and the school news. Clayton County Public Schools are digitalized classrooms, which allow teachers to access the digital system with the wireless network via Clayton County laptop or desktop”. This is a prime example of how fast technology is trending and evolving because 6 years ago, such was not the case in that district.  It is my belief that even though teachers have access to a plethora of online resources, a video distribution system of some sort is necessary and beneficial. Online resources are not always reliable as many others may be trying to use them simultaneously or there may be technological glitches that occur.  
         Formerly known as United Streaming, Discovery Education is the most commonly used GPB resource in schools and school libraries. My school or district doesn’t have a universal GPB resource that we are expected to use collectively. Teachers also use resources such as youtube and teachertube on an individual basis. This assignment has allowed me insight and access to a variety of other GPB resources including PBS Learning Media and Fast Forward Launchpad. I will be sharing the GPB site with my librarian and colleagues.

 

*I accidently did the wrong topic initially so I posted them both. This is the blog post for group 1 J

Social Media: Do or Don't by Katie Jones

When thinking of social media and networking and a media center, my first reaction is a definite DON'T. I can only see students glued to social media catching up with friends and posting statuses instead of any use that might be beneficial from an educational standpoint. I believe there are way too many risks to a student's safety and security for social media to have any place inside of a school setting. Having teenage siblings, I barely can get them off of their smartphones from being addicted to social networking websites to even eat dinner so I can imagine trying to teach a student while they are on such a website. I also shudder to think of the harm that social networking websites can bring to students as well. As a parent, the safety of my child is number one and I believe that social networking can hinder that feeling of safety with so many child predators out there. I know that isn't always the case, but it is a worry always in the back of my mind when my sister adds someone she doesn't know or I see another child joining a social networking discussion with people they do not know in person. I know there are always dangers out there but that is not something I would want to invite in my child's life or one of my students. I believe using social networking requires a lot of boundaries set forth by the school to ensure safety as well as teaching students about the dangers of sharing personal information. In some cases, I believe the risks outweigh the benefits in the end.   

After reading the findings from AASL, my view on social networking media floundered a bit. In my mind, you say social networking or media and I immediately think of Twitter and Facebook. I did not think about blogging and other online tools which are by all means a way to social network which is the basis of social media. I guess my original viewpoint was a little narrow minded. I believe blogs have a big place in the classroom and can be a great collaborative activity for students such as what we are participating in this class. I also see the merit in social bookmarking websites like Diigo within an education atmosphere as well. Diigo and like apps are a great way to bookmark important websites and categorize them for later. I use it a lot when writing papers and performing research which I believe students could easily find it beneficial as well. Social networking inside of the media center opens the doors to a whole new level of collaboration. Imagine all of your students having the option to discuss an important event or something they just learned freely in an organized fashion while also learning how to utilize web tools. Students would be learning how to express their own thoughts and feelings in a productive way while also furthering their knowledge on a specific subject matter. 

As far as social networking is concerned, I can see the benefits of networking tools, blogs, and media such as podcasts in a safe zone such as behind the school's intranet or firewall. If the safety parameters are set in place and it is monitored to make sure it does not get out of hand, I believe the opportunities are endless! On the flipside, I believe social networking and media websites such as Facebook and Twitter belong outside of the classroom. I am thankful for this assignment since it opened my eyes to a whole new viewpoint on social networking instead of my original standpoint. 

The Wonderful World of Wikis - Kristy Adams

The Wonderful World of Wikis
Wikis are wacky, wild, and worthy with the willpower to wow!  How's that for a little alliteration?  As defined in Wikipedia (the most popular and well known wiki site):  "A wiki (ⁱ/ˈwɪki/ WIK-ee) is a website which allows collaborative modification of its content and structure directly from the web browser."  Wikis can be edited without waiting for a review or approval to post.  It's quick, easy and instant (real time online).  Wikis have been around for awhile.  I remember PBwiki (now PBworks) and using that almost ten years ago.  It was named after a peanut butter (PB) sandwich because it claimed to be as easy as making one.  I used it for a personal site that I shared with friends regarding some forms I created for myself that I wanted to share and collaborate with (nerdy things like a packing list, grocery list, and more) to make life easier.  I was in nerd heaven.  It was like my own pocket protector filled with ideas, forms, photos and more.  Wikis have been criticized as being used as a storage compartment instead of a collaboration tool, but if that's what is needed then why not?  At least you know where to find your forms from any computer. 
Wikis were back before the days of Google Drive, which provides a similar concept.  However, wikis are more involved and provide a much broader box of tools within the database.  Google Drive is a great way to edit and share documents, but not on the larger scale of organization and collaboration. In looking at the Apalachee High School Media Center's website, I was not too impressed.  There are ways to make a site more user friendly without so many distractions.  I don't like to see mass sites thrown up on a page for me to click and sort through.  One of the best books I've read applying to website design (which could apply here of course) is Steve Krug's Don't Make Me Think Revisited.  The book is an easy read and full of common sense.  I highly recommend for anyone with a website (wiki or otherwise).  Vanderbilt University's article on Wikis contains a succinct description and an acronym of STOLEN to keep clear expectations with a Specific objective, Timely use, Ownership, Localized, Engagement, and Navigation. Go to http://www.a6training.co.uk/resources_Social_Software.php to print off a copy of the STOLEN Principles Tick List by Dave Foord for future use. 
There is a downside (maybe even a serious dark side for us control freaks) and that could be the risk of someone modifying or erasing work that is time consuming to correct or impossible to recreate. This can be devastating and send control freaks like me into the fetal position.  However, there could be some structures put into place limiting members which can modify, but as the article, "7 things you should know about Wikis" said, "A wiki is essentially a database created by a group rather than an individual."  Therefore, in the spirit of collaboration, there should be few limitations within the freedom of a group.  Another drawback the article pointed out is that it could have a collaborative bias over time.  Yet I still believe one only has to look to Wikipedia for it's phenomenal success.
As for the Media Center, I see Wikis as a big plus.  The possibilities are endless for staff and student collaboration on unlimited topics or research.  I could see it also being the storage cabinet (in a positive way) to house ever changing and updated informational site for subjects, such as the Civil War, that could showcase all the research and resources within the library or easily accessible elsewhere.  Can you say "Pathfinder" anyone?  The greatest joy of wikis to me would be the easy access and open sharing across the world for topics that may need no alterations, just there waiting to be put to good use.  As the article, "A Wiki Gives a Worthy Book New Life" asks, "Why do some books have related online resources for the classroom teacher while others do not?".  If everyone created one wiki, on one book, could you imagine the possibilities?  Each one teach one.  It would truly be a wonderful world of Wikis found wanted and worthy of its widespread wisdom.