Proficiency Statement:
I
have demonstrated proficiency in Planning and Assessment by developing
action plans and long-range plans for school library settings.
Description:
This task was given to choose Universal Access equipment for a school
computer lab. At my current employer, Lakeside High School, the
librarians are in charge of maintaining and regulating the computer
labs’ equipment and use. These labs see at least moderate traffic each
day, with heavy traffic surrounding exams, midterm papers, and other
major projects. The labs are also utilized across the curriculum for
mini presentations, background historical research, science/mathematics
practice and applications, and, of course, English papers. It is this
last assignment type that this equipment selection will be focused upon.
706 Tech Plan
The attached assignment summarizes and analyzes The South Carolina Educational Technology Plan
in context of a school librarian. This analysis helps focus the 64-page
document into tangible goals and methods that I perceived and connected
to everyday school librarianship and perceived needs of each plan
initiative.
The attached unit of study is entitled “REVIEW: Extending Knowledge from Novels” and is intended to engage 10th
grade students in topics related to class and independent novels read
in the sophomore English classroom. The focus skills of the unit center
on how to find relevant and reliable information for any search topic
and to prepare for a formal MLA-format research paper using an annotated
bibliography and basic paragraph construction. This unit was written in
collaboration with Mr. Stuart Gay, an education professional of over 30
years, and is intended for use in the Winter term of 2017.
This report analyzes the community in which Ravenel
Elementary, my practicum school, was located. It details information
about the demographics, resources, and needs of the school community.
Various resources were used to collect this data including state and
local government documents, the school's website, and personal
observations and interviews. Analysis:
706 Universal Access Equipment Selection
The Universally Designed computer station should provide access in
three ways: (1) ease of use, (2) literacy tools, and (3) composition
tools. These three categories address the primary objectives of most
English writing assignments, but also computer-based objectives in any
high school subject. This school computer lab will need: furnishings
that can be duplicated to accommodate at least thirty students; adequate
processing for internet searches, word processing, and multimedia
presentation software; and adherence to an economical budget to allow
the purchase of multiple machines on a school’s limited funds. The
process of meeting these requirements and dealing with online vendors
was rather challenging. Especially trying to balance and account for an
unknown universal access "client," I think this process would be much
easier with a clear student in mind to create a usable design.
706 Tech Plan
The experience of analyzing SC's plan was a bit laborious, but
serves to illuminate clear goals for a School Librarin in that role.
Additionally, the ability to interpret the document in terms of a
school's unique needs and resources allows flexibility and adaptability.
If the formatting of this assignment was not predetermined by our
professor, I would probably make more lists that organize concept goals
vs. librarian roles vs. action plan to illuminate specific practices for
the library I serve.
742 Inquiry Learning Unit (Collaborative Unit)
When I spoke to Mr. Gay at the end of this planning, his biggest
feedback was the benefit of thinking about teaching in different ways.
By having a dialogue between the two of us as education professionals,
we both had the opportunity to get “off the rabbit track and out of our
comfort zone” according to Mr. Gay. He highlighted that many of the
concepts in his own classroom mirror the goals of information seeking.
The school library offers a different environment and new resources or
approaches to the same student concepts and challenges. This is
consistent with my expectations coming into this collaborative project: I
hoped to meet MR. Gay at his curriculum needs. I imagine this will be
much more difficult or at least new challenges depending on different
student levels and subject matters. However, this should be the goal of
the school librarian: meet the teacher and students with the resources
they need.
Additionally, Mr. Gay commented that we did not meet every day or even
on a set, regular basis. Instead, we made the best use of time by a few
efficient meetings of about an hour rather than daily or weekly
check-ins. When either of us had a question or suggestion, we did have a
few ten-minute phone calls or quick emails. I like this method of
co-teaching, but it necessarily relies on trusting the other educator to
fulfill their roles. I imagine that this reality would be much harder
during the school year as teachers and librarians both have multiple
responsibilities and goals that must be met simultaneously.
720 Community and School Analysis
The process of creating this report went fairly smoothly. More
resources than I anticipated were necessary to collect all of the data,
but most information was accessible online with little
searching. Even more data was abundantly available which would make
further developments for analysis, grants, or other program building
easy to support.Reflection:
706 Universal Access Equipment Selection
This assignment helped me understand why more school computer labs do
not have this full accessibility that would most benefit all students
under the principles of Universal Design. While these technologies would
indeed help a majority of the student body, even one full system
as I have proposed would obliterate any budget for school
technologies—despite me choosing economical options! Even integrating
these systems slowly would only further outmode machines currently in
place in the school building. This hypothetical model and system would
benefit student writing processes; however, the reality of this
specialized Assistive Technology may be better suited to individual,
personal laptop models rather than large-scale implementations.
706 Tech Plan
School media specialists are valuable assets to learning
communities. Being the “heart” of the school, the media center connects
all participants in the learning process: teachers, administrators,
students, parents, and the local community. In this way, school
libraries serve as the gateway to collaboration that underscores each of
the 2014-2016 South Carolina State Educational Technology Plan’s
goals. Student Learning and Classroom Technology will be advertised and
accessible within the physical and digital walls of the library.
Infrastructure and Security will be maintained, developed, and pursued
by library staff and patrons. Professional Development and Collaboration
Opportunities will fuel the mission of the school library. Together,
with support from the state, district, and school learning communities,
school media centers will become agents of change, striving to realize
these educational technology goals.
742 Inquiry Learning Unit (Collaborative Unit)
I have learned to be clear and precise in my communication with peer
educators by completing this collaborative unit. I think that I will
still need to explore exactly how the flow of co-teaching would be
amidst the challenges and everydays of classroom and student life. I
have high hopes that my Pathfinder and collected resources, as well as
the format of lessons and introduction of naming the research process to
the students will benefit them as the year unfolds.
720 Community and School Analysis
I have learned to be clear and precise in my communication of data
relevant to the school library media program. Even before surveys,
observations, or presence within a school, this data will be integral to
developing a plan and expectations for the SLM program.
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