The role of Media Specialist requires service two distinct but very interconnected clients within the school setting. Both are of equal importance. The library services both students and staff. As a Media Specialist I work with both clients. In working with staff I am actually servicing both. As I work to maximize staff information literacy and increase their expertise as information seekers and users I know that they in turn use these skills to impact the students they are charged to educate. Towards that end for this capstone review of the first third of 21 Things I will focus primarily on how I will use what I have learned to assist classroom teachers in my building/district.
I am looking forward to sharing what I have learned with the teaching staff in my building. I have already shared information about Moodle and Jing with staff members. The model for this role out is one of selecting key staff members who are actively seeking new tools to infuse into their daily practices. A more wide spread introduction and training will follow. The model that works best in my experience is to identify specific needs of individual staff members and then to work with them one on one to meet those needs. There tends to be a disconnect from information released widely with little follow up individually. Mass demonstrations tend to be viewed by many classroom teachers as just so much noise.
In reviewing Marzano and the NETS standards I feel the strongest message I can bring to my staff is one focusing on diversified learning and reaching students with multiple strategies. With this also is information on how they can maximize their efforts in course material management/access and achieve diversified assessments. As I have already presented to many of them Google Docs and seen some adoption of that tool I can expect that where they will best respond will be to the tools that they can master quickly and apply ASAP.
One of the key obstacles to overcome will be to test the new tools and see whether or not they are compatible with the district’s operational technology. There will be some campaigning needed to get clearance from OPTECH to allow for some of these tools to be accessed and utilized. Then I will have to work with individual teachers training them and brainstorming where they can best apply these new tools.
The tool I have the most hope for in the first seven 21 things module is Jing. The video capture element will be very helpful to teachers who have subjects where student have a high level need for constant assistance on individualized projects. I have already the media production teacher ready to try Jing. Also there is some interest in the foreign language department for use in reinforcement learning exercises – most likely as a quick reference on pronunciation and usage. This aligns with Marzano’s point on the use of technology as a homework and practice aid for students. Learning going on outside of the classroom 24/7 is enhanced for the student using tools such as Jing.
Another program that I hope to share with teachers is Read-Write-Think. The need for quality lesson plans involving writing prompts is an ongoing dialogue I have with English teachers. We are in agreement that students master writing as a way of learning to think critically and expansively. Tying the active writing skills with enhances the skill of organizing their thinking. Marzano stresses reinforcement of paired skills like writing and organizing thoughts through the use of various programs that require both. Towards that end I would like to see what graphic organizers are being used with students a prewriting tool and explore with staff how to locate and utilize the best available online tools for that practice.
Classroom application
I am planning to use Google docs with in conjunction with a teacher to have student complete a group assignment. We have many teachers who have a research assignment that requires a group produce either a written document or presentation/debate. We will set up the students in group and require as part of their assessment that they submit a work via Google docs. Tracking of participation and assessing individual contributions by tracking who added what and when. This aligns with Michigan Curriculum Standard English Strand 1. Specifically strands 1.1, 1.4 and 1.5. Fostering the writing process, inquiry and research and finished products.
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