Diversity in the Media Center

In my opinion diversity in the media center means providing reading material for all abilities, technology that is readily available and accessible for each student and the media specialists ability to adapt to each learning style. I believe this is important because the media specialist is the first person the classroom teacher will contact for assistance when planning a lesson.

Diversity also means having the knowledge of the commmunity, demographics within the school and being able to accomodate all users of the media center. The media center is the only location in the school where all patrons have one common goal. They are all seeking information in one form or another. This applies to the parents, teachers, staff and the students. The media specialist is expected to be in the position to offer assistance and guidance.

Diversity in the MC ~ Malena

Diversity in schools relates to the cultural background of the students and also their learning styles and abilities. I think that media specialists can support cultural diversity by joining in with world language teachers or social studies and celebrating the various monthly celebrations like Black History, Hispanic Heritage, Native American month, etc. Learning disabilities or special modifications can also be addressed by the media program by providing resources that these students need. For example, the media center could purchase large print books to assist vision impaired students, audiobooks can also be helpful to these students. Text reader programs can also be a great addition to technology in the media center

Technology, Diversity and the media center

Diversity means a couple of things to me. First, diversity can refer to one's cultural or ethnic background. Secondly, diversity can also apply to one's learning style or ability. Both are relevant in regards to considerations in the media center. When I have created assignments for this course that I plan on using in my media center, I try always to think about the diverse learning needs of the students that I serve. As a result, I try to incorporate as many learning styles as possible. Also, I have created assignments that have been differentiated for the various levels. For example, sixth grade students typically need more thorough instructions on how to use OPAC than do the seventh and eighth graders (mostly because the older students have been through the thorough instruction while in sixth grade). Additionally, I try to incorporate various ethnic examples in my instruction. For example, in one recent Powerpoint presentation about the Dewey Decimal Classification System, I used county music and rap music artists, as well as, a Hispanic band to show students where books about music and biographies can be found. When I was teaching from the PPT, I could hear the students whisper to one another in recognition of the artist that they knew and recognized. I think that it made it more relevant and interesting to the students and they knew that I had taken into consideration their diverse backgrounds.
I have not yet created any assignments to teach cultural diversity, but February is coming up soon, and it would be a great opportunity for me to begin thinking about it. Last year, I had a competition in the media center during Black History Month in which students identified famous Black Americans that were pictured on a bulletin board. Even though that competition was not tied to technology, it was still fun for the kids. Unfortunately, we are so tied to teaching for the test and making sure that we cover all the standards, that teaching diversity often falls to the way side. I know that some issues with cultural diversity are included in the standards of Language Arts and Social Studies, I'm just not sure the degree that they are covered.

Tech, Diversity, and Media Center Blogs - Jami

If I have learned only one thing from this course (which I have learned much more…), it is technology is ubiquitous and growing. As such, this is a sheer case of if you can not beat them, join them. Fortunately for me, I have an affinity for technology and anything “new”. It is my opinion “new” means change and change dovetails somewhat seamlessly with diversity. However I must admit, respectfully that is, that being forced to participate in change can often be uncomfortable; almost aggravating. For example it was a long time before I embraced using ATM cards, text messaging, Vista (still do not like it, and most recently blogging. I have the same attitude when it relates to new medications on the market. I am somewhat of a skeptic and reserve the right to analyze, evaluate, and re-evaluate before I “readily” accept.

Do not misunderstand me; I feel technology certainly has its place, particularly in library media programs. Yet, I have a profound appreciation for autonomy and will work to aggressively promote technology in my future library media program, while graciously recognizing diverse learning and educational styles and needs. I do enjoy a good blog every now and then, but am not convinced they are the “wave of the future” or that they will resonate with all. After having completed several of them, I still contend communication can be achieved through other channels more appealing to all; for instance, a simple e-newsletter or webpage. Perhaps my opinion appears jaded by the number of blogs and responses we have had to provide most recently, but I do not think so. I was not necessarily a proponent of blogging before, and my thoughts have not been altered as a result of this course.

What I have learned is there is so much technology available that I was previously unaware of and I am extremely grateful for the exposure. This experience has helped me view diversity from a variety of angles; and this overlaid with technology is in essence, “priceless”!

Digital Storytelling & E-books

I must admit that I was very timid about embracing the digital storytelling assignment. After completing the project I felt much better about the assignment and the results. I still have some issues with it, but overall I am not as apprehensive if asked to help someone. In a nutshell, digital storytelling is very time consuming. It does require some planning and tons of research to complete the project. Once completed this project would be a great tool for teachers and students alike. I believe they would enjoy the outcome despite the time it takes to complete the project. This project could also be used over and over. Each teacher could update the images or text for their project and use this tool as a teaching aid.

Ebooks are wonderful. I would prefer to read a novel in hand, but again if time does not permit an ebook is a great alternative. I have also listened to books on CD/tape and enjoyed it as well. During a long, quiet road trip audio books are hands down the next best thing to a great radio station without trying to locate a signal.

While visiting my mentor I noticed that she had several audio tapes/cd's on hold for students. She stated that there are many students who prefer this method instead of sitting and reading a book. While many media specialists may say that our goal is to increase reading levels, this is a start.

Digital Storytelling~Malena

Two words that come to mind when I think about digital storytelling: Time consuming! There is a lot of editing, searching and selecting that must be done. Having said that, his assignment could not have come at a better for time for me and my department because we are presenting at a conference in 2 weeks and we must bring in podcast/digital stories created by our students. I currently have 4 students creating stories about a typical day in school all in Spanish! It's like a podcast because they are recording their voices and it is a digital story because they are including pictures and clipart to talk about their school day. It is very time consuming for them to work on the stories and create them. We can not use the media center though because none of the computers are capable of burning DVDs. I think that this type of activity is fun to do for the students but the lack of available technology would make many teachers not even want to give it a try.

E books are very convenient especially for those of us who like to read but do not have the time to do so. I however would prefer an audiobook because as I listen to it I can do other things like clean or excercise.

eBooks and digital storytelling

We are currently not using eBooks in the media center, but I plan on ordering some next year. One of the sales reps from Follett told me about it, and also talked to me about the various advantages to owning eBooks. One of my favorite things about eBooks is that they are indestructible, and there is no processing that needs to occur.
I think that media specialists have the role of being teachers to students and faculty when it comes to digital storytelling. No one is using digital storytelling in our school that I am aware of, however, there have been some rumblings and questions here and there that I have heard. I think that students are so technologically tuned that they would love to use digital storytelling, the main deterrent will be teachers. I believe some teachers are reluctant to use new technology unfortunately. I know when I was in the classroom, I barely had time for the bare minimum as far as planning was concerned. Hopefully, I will have more time as a media specialist and can plan and create some lessons for my faculty. Thus far, I've been really busy in my first year, but I expect it to slow down once I learn what I'm doing!