presentation on school libraries for dominican university graduate students
TRANSCRIPT
Facets of Technology� Instructional Technology
� Teaching - general & special education� Staff development
� Hardware & Infrastructure� Software� Facilities� Service & Support� Finance� Leadership � Data Storage & Analysis
Key Issues
� Assessment and accountability� Staff development� Infrastructure development and
maintenance� Technology & information literacy� Curricular integration � Support services
Assessment and accountability
� New desire to tie everything to standards and ratings
� Ratios� Per student� Per classroom� Per teacher, etc.
� Percentage of spaces with Internet access� Total Cost of Ownership� STAR Assessment
Staff Development
� More than 50% of IT managers state that their biggest challenge is end user training
Staff Development
� Set expectations� Stevenson – contract issue� New Trier – voluntary
� Develop an accountable system that tracks progress
� Determine how trainers will stay current
Infrastructure Development
� Continual upgrade� Replacement /rotation
plan� Life expectancies� Video equipment in
the classroom� New technologies,
need to experiment
Technology & information literacy
� Need to develop and integrate life skills
� Technology expectations graduation or exit
� Information literacy� Need to be common
core skills in all areas
Curricular integration
� Provide many examples
� Provide first time assistance
� Get serious, need administrative support
� Model technology use
Support services
� Professional IT staff� Ratio of cpus to repair
staff� Help desk� Training� Reliability is essential
Components of a Technology Plan
� ISBE Requires a 3 Year Technology Plan� Community Involvement� Engaged Learning� Professional Development� Technology Deployment� ISBE and SLC/SLD have other criteria,
but the four above components are the meat of the plan
To Ensure Success
� Staff development
� Access
� Reliability and redundancy
� Method for ongoing revision
� Tie it to NCLB & SIP
Where to get information?
� Information Technology Adviser
� Education Technology Digest
� Regional Service Centers or Hubs
� ISTE/AECTAASL
Recently on an Illinois Listserv
� Question from Supt.:� I have to replace a retiring librarian next year, what
do other districts do regarding extended contracts?� Answer from another Supt.:
� I hired an aide for each building and let the remaining SMLS work between two schools, saved money, no downside.
� County in West Virginia is eliminating all library staff in the schools
� Paraphrased for space
� School Board Members� Administrators� Other Educators� Potential SLMSs� Students� Parents� Community
� Never identify a problem without providing a potential solution as well
� Don’t belabor points or point out issues that are obviously beyond his or her control
� Mention what positive things the administrator has done in the past for you
� Always follow up with a thank you note, even if just for taking time to meet with you
Communicate Considerately
Communicate Professionally
� Avoid folksy styles unless that is the administrator’s style
� Type memos: don’t handwrite notes on the back of the school bulletin
� Always provide enough detail that the administrator can start to consider the issue without having to seek you out simply to clarify the concern or need
Communicate Professionally
� Draft memos about your issues� Don’t ever expect that the administrator will have time
to write a letter for you without providing a draft or at least an outline
� Do not send five page memos to an administrator except for the most important and detailed of issues. In those cases, provide an executive summary
� If you need a letter of support, especially for grants, provide a draft that can be modified or just signed
Communicate Professionally
� Dress in business attire for presentations – P.E. teachers shouldn’t come to Board meetings in sweats and SLMSs should not come to such meetings in I Love Books vests, etc.
� Prepare presentation materials in a professional manner, provide covers, executive summaries, etc.
� Ensure there are no obvious typos, grammatical errors, etc.
Balance Communication
� Don’t continuously complain, ask, or plead, etc.
� Compliment when possible� Unsolicited and justified
compliments will go far towards building a positive relationship
� Preemptively serve your administration as the mind-reading librarian you are
Focus on Their Needs not Yours!
� “I need four new computers for the library catalog system”
� “If we had four more computer workstations in the library, students would be able to …….”
Always Frame your Requests around the School’s Strategic Plan, Technology Plan or SIP
� Quote the plan in all requests
� Focus on the student impact
� Speak in the terms of “student achievement”
Recent Studies
� Let’s not hang our hats entirely on recent studies….� They are correlative, they show a possible
relationship� They do not show causation � Given to an administrative team who knows research
as an “imperative” for stronger SLMPs, they may really backfire
� That doesn’t mean those studies don’t have value, they are a first step
As a professional community
� We need action research that shows causation� You can do this at the system or district level
with potentially significant results� Look to a small part of the Iowa Study that does
show causation in the number of books checked out
� Talk to your library software vendors about software modules of enhancements that can track library usage to test scores, etc.
At the School or District Level
� Ensure that the administrative team knows what you do and what you need
� Send copies of your newsletters to the Board & superintendent
Showcase your program
� Apply for grants� Apply for awards
� Look to DGS as an example
� Nominate others � Communicate
with the PTO/PTA/LSC