School TV News

While school news is something my principal is interested in having at some point in the future, we do not have it currently.  So for this assignment I spoke with Ginny Walker, the media specialist at a local elementary school.  Mrs. Walker daid a news broadcast is aired daily.  Fourth and fifth graders are involved in the broadcast.  The students are selected based on teacher recommendation and tryout.  The students anchor the live broadcast on a rotation schedule.  They use a powerpoint as the script which is updated daily.  At times the powerpoint is shown and not the anchors.  The students do special interviews and spotlights on teachers and students. The show commericals that have been pre-recorded or a CD for a fund-raiser.  Daily features include a joke of the day, character education, school song, lunch menu, class perfect attendance, regular announcements and special announcements.

The broadcast sponsors are non-homeroom teachers, who teach extension and discovery.  They rotate also with the students.

Social Networking

According to a news release from the American Library Association

(

http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pressreleases2008/june2008/AASLsurvey.cfm)

"The data is a powerful indicator that social networking tools are becoming more and more vital in a student's education," said AASL President Sara Kelly Johns. "Group collaboration and discussion are becoming more evident in the learning process. These processes create a community of learners where a student can help lead the educational process."

The data mentioned here is in the news release; it indicated that media specialists and schools in general are leaning towards using social networking as a part of the educational process.

I think that social networking is something needs to be encouraged and monitored by the school system. If we can teach students how to use the social networking sites properly and safely maybe we could guard against things like cyber bullying. Part of our job as media specialists should be to teach the students how to properly network online. It is one of the new ways to communicate and share information - it is an important tool to learn.

My school uses the Follett Destiny system, which does allow for some monitored social networking - students can share book reviews and book suggestions with one another and can "friend" each other on the system. If schools can find other safe ways to social network like this, we could help our students learn how to collaborate appropriately on the internet.

Social networking to any extend could be useful in the school system - I know that some school systems have emails and calendars available for the students and teachers to communicate easily. This seems like a good way to begin social networking as a school - the idea is to share information easily with each other. It would be so much easier to be able to send an email or message to my students to communicate ideas, then to have to wait till when I see them later. The other important use of social networking is that students would be leading their own education. I think that many of us could witness, through experiencing our online classes, that we do take a large role in how our classmates receive and perceive information. If our students could have that experience outside of the classroom, the possibilities could be endless!

As media specialists and instructional technologists, I think we will see more and more about social networking in the coming years. We will be expected to incorporate it into our standards - it certainly helps meet the 21st Century standards through collaboration. We may as well jump on the bandwagon and find a safe and secure way to allow social networking at our schools!

Media Center Websites

I think the best thing about a media center webpage is that you really can’t do something wrong on the page! A media center webpage is all about giving information and providing ways to obtain information. Whether your page simply gives the basics about your MC or gives resources for every grade level and subject level, you need to concentrate on trying to help your students, parents, and teachers find the information they need.

The things that I like to see on Media Center pages include links to resources, information about upcoming events, pictures of the media center, and policies and guides specific to the students and the media center. One of the sample pages we looked at, Milton Middle School: http://www.milton.k12.wi.us/schools/mms/website/library/MMS_LMC/Welcome.html did a particularly good job of appealing to the age group of students – it looked like something a middle schooler would want to look at and use. The website included many links and guides that would be helpful in class and outside of class. I could see students using this website as the first stop for research. It also had a good section for teachers to use. The only problems I encountered on this site were broken links; I was reminded that it is a tough job to continually keep webpages updated because the internet can change daily. We have to make sure we maintain all of our links.

On the other LMC webpages, I saw a little less information, but saw things that made me think about we can use webpages. The media center webpage at North Elementary School (http://www.nobl.k12.in.us/North/NorthMedia/index.htm) had some awesome links to various blogs that students and teachers were utilizing. I thought this was a great way to link both a webpage and an interactive site. When checking out the website for Creekside High School (https://sites.google.com/site/theunquietlibrary/), I was impressed by the research that had obviously been done concerning making the media center a technological hub. I was very interested in their program goals that were available on the website. It was a true example of the way the media center should be moving in.

I enjoyed looking at the information concerning the different media center webpages; there are so many different things that can be done on a webpage for the students – it all depends on the effort you are willing to put forth. The only rule I would impose is to keep the information organized and make sure the website is accessible and easy to use!

Wonderful Wikis

What are your thoughts about using Wikis in the Media Center? How can they be used most effectively? Are there drawbacks to Wikis?

As you perused the Wikis in this week's Course Notes, did you find uses you thought particularly strong? Particularly weak?

While Wikis are touted as collaborative tools, many seem to be passive "storage cabinets." What elements need to be present to move them toward being active spaces for collaboration?

I can see a lot of use for a wiki in a middle and especially high school setting. I think that, at the elementary level, a wiki could be helpful for teachers, but not as much for the students. As with other technology, I think it is best to see the students using the technology to improve learning more than the teachers using it as a delivery tool. At a high school level, a class could work to add projects to a wiki similar to the way we do for our class. I loved the some of the examples listed on the Wiki in a K-12 Classroom site. I especially loved the idea of creating student portfolios! I know that we are really pushing self-efficacy in my county right now and I think this is a perfect way to do that. I also enjoyed the 7 Things You Should Know about Wikis article. I think that because my knowledge of wikis is so limited, I was drawn to the articles that laid out what a wiki was and how it could best be used. I personally thought that the way Decatur High was using a wiki was a little weak. for the most part, it looked and acted just like a website and did not come across as very interactive. In order for a wiki to be a collaborative tool, I would suggest a lot of introduction and instruction. As we all know, a wiki can be a little overwhelming if you are not exactly sure how it works. Chances are, whether you are using the wiki as a staff or with students, most will be new to wikis. As the media specialist, it is our job to make sure all feel somewhat comfortable with the editing process. If someone does not feel confident, they are less likely to use to tool. 

Podcasting

The rise of podcasting in schools has been a grassroots occurence. Depending on what school you look at, podcasting -- if present at all -- may be introduced by teachers, administrators, students, media specialists, or technology specialists. At Willowdale Elementary in Omaha, Nebraska, the technology specialist Tony Vincent introduced podcasting and has taken upon himself much of the work of spreading the innovation and guiding the quality of the podcasts produced. At Beverly Elementary School in Birmingham, MI, the media specialist Kristin Fontichiaro podcasts (herself) and hosts a Podcasting Club for 4th graders. The podcast is disseminated through a blog. At other schools, no one is podcasting. So, imagine a teacher approaches you and asks you if you can help him to start up a podcast for his class (something like Radio WilloWeb). In truth, you may know little about podcasting. So, how do you respond to the teacher? Do you tell him farewell and good luck? Do you tell him you don't know much, but you're willing to find out? What is your role? What are the reasons behind how you choose to respond to this teacher?

As a media specialist, I would be thrilled that there were teachers (or at least a teacher) who were interested in letting students use technology in such an open way! I certainly wouldn't send him away. In fact, I would offer collaboration and assistance any way I could. As a first step, I would ask him what his goals were with using podcasting. Is he wanting them to be done as a performance assessment at the end of units? Hopefully, if he is using WilloWeb as a model, he wants the students to be in full control of the podcast. I would encourage him to have a clear idea of what is being measured or assessed before the production begins. I would work with him to develop a rubric and list of must-haves for students. I think having all this information laid out and well planned would make a presentation to the principal much easier. I think the next step would be researching the hosting and determining the best value for the money. Then, we should go visit the principal to figure out where that money would come from. If the teacher wanted media money, I would suggest making a podcasting club to open it to other grade levels. As far as actually making the podcasts, I would suggest Audacity because it is software already provided to us by the county. I would send him to the Audacity Tutorial for Podcasters from the information we got from Dr. Cooper. I think this is a helpful tool for someone who doesn't know much about the software or podcasting in general (I would have to watch the tutorial videos with him). I might suggest a media lesson incorporating the use of Audicity and creating podcasts. By doing this, it leaves more time for him to focus on the content of the presentations in the classroom. I would also offer to come to the classroom or computer lab to provide assistance when students are creating the podcasts. I can only imagine how overwhelming it would be for both him and the students the first time around. I would encourage students in the class and in other classes to use the podcasts as learning tools. The students could use the Podcast Evaluation form or another version of it to help the teacher and I guide our next steps. Why would I respond with so much enthusiasm  and support? Well, it's easy... First, I love the use of technology in the classroom. I think that it is a wonderful that the teacher is willing to take the time and effort to involve the students rather than just using technology to present to them, which is what is seen most often at the elementary level. Second, from all I've seen, read, and heard from media specialists you have to jump on any opportunity to collaborate that you can! If a teacher comes to me for help and collaboration, I want to do all I can to foster that relationship and build on it for future activities.