Library, Media and E
Teaching and
Summar Summary
This
document is designed to address the mission and vision of the LMC of SPHS, the
roles of the Director, library media specialist and technology coordinator to
enable the use of current research on use of information technology as an
instructional tool to bolster student academic achievement. This drives our
mission and provides the capability to enable the utilization for the
information systems infrastructure of the new building as the essential element
in the achievement of this vision.
A
three-year operational plan is included that is structured to provide a
sequence of staff development activities for the current librarian and
technology coordinator, and the inclusion of new services for students. It
addresses the professional development of staff at
One
of the most important goals of
What
has changed significantly over the years however, are the strategies needed to
prepare students to achieve these goals. Some of these have been in place since
the inception of Science High and have been model strategies implemented
successfully long before they became the suggested approach based upon current
educational research. These include more that 20 years of partnerships with the
NJIT and
Our
Commissioner of Education has now suggested this type of option for students in
high school to combat “senioritis” and to make the last year of high school a
transition to college. We have participated in many programs which enable our
students to conduct research and to work with mentors at the college or university level include partnerships with UMDNJ Pre Med
honors and Mini Med, Neuroscience program and a pilot program for online course
in Anatomy and Physiology. Our students also participate in the
Governor’s school for the sciences the ACS's Project SEED Summer research, PHRI
Summer Research program and the Newark Museum Explorers Post .
Our
science curricula has been revised to include the use of Problem Based
Learning, multimedia presentations, case studies in biology computer
simulations, CBLs and modeling in addition to short and long term projects
which require the use of information technology as a tool for gathering and
interpreting data. We have aligned elective courses to potential career
interests which include Organic chemistry, Image Processing, and Robotics The
inclusion of a certification program in Geographic Information Systems is now
in place as well.
Our
students’ achievement is evident in their HSPA scores which are highest in the
city and the percentage of students (above 95%) who attend four year colleges,
the millions of dollars in scholarship money they receive each year and our
position as one of the top 75 high schools in the state from 1996 to the
present as reported by NJ Monthly Magazine.
However,
when we review the skills needed for 21st century we can see that as
educators we still have many challenges to address, especially and our need to improve performance on
standardized measures of academic achievement such as SAT scores. The SPHS and
its LMC can provide the resources for us to address these needs.
The
potential to expand the programs currently offered and to use the resources of
the LMC to make even more strides in curriculum revision is directly related to
the resources of the new facility and to the changing role of our teachers and
the delivery of instruction. Our goal, to develop students who are self
directed, scientifically literate, life long learners can be achieved through
the alignment and expansion of our curricular offerings within and beyond the
walls of the school. Enhanced access to information technology makes this
possible and is projected within the operational plan. We have begun the
process of preparing for the challenges of the 21st century but
continued success is dependent upon fully developing the role of the LMC's as
the centerpiece of our new facility and strategy for change.
The Library Media and E Teaching and
The
Media center will serve as the focus of learning that will extend well beyond
its walls. Learning and mentoring online, communicating with students and
professionals around the world
Researching
databases for projects in all the disciplines, the development of electronic
portfolios and digital collections will all be a part of this vision.
This vision of a library media center in SPHS which will truly
prepare students for the experience of college in the 21st century
is founded also upon research from the Boyer Commission in its report on The
Ten ways to Change Undergraduate Education, which states” research universities
have a special responsibility to develop educational technology that offers
students unique opportunities for learning.”
We hope to do this before
our students become members of the university community.
Purpose
We must address the role of the library media specialist as well
as the role of the Director of the LM (E-T&LRC) for the delivery of
e-services fully utilizing the using the IT resources of Science Park High
School to realize the vision. We must
plan at a variety of levels for the opening of
Objectives
In this document
we will outline a process to address the following:
- The operational plan
(designed to achieve our vision) beginning in the ‘04-05 school year and
extending until September 06.to include The role
of the Director of the LM (E-T&LRC) The
role of the Library Media Specialist: as a resource for technology
and as a teacher, collaborator and a resource for staff development. (AALS
,School libraries.org)
- The types of
information technology services that the LMC will provide. (Internet2 K 20 Initiative, AASL Information
Power Literacy standards & ISTE standards)
- The proposed partnerships with the CHEN
institutions that will enable the LMC to deliver services that are
generally not available to pre college students.
- The projected types of collections including
texts, digital collections, reference material and subscriptions to
databases. (AALS, ERIC, Digital Libraries .org)
We will begin
with the role of the Library media specialist
The changing role
of the teacher- librarian i.e. The Media Specialist
A
21st century library media center can be the heart of the school
because it is a high tech learning laboratory staffed by a high powered
learning and technology consultant, the school library media specialist. (Champlin & Loertscher ’03)
The
traditional role of the teacher librarian has now shifted from “ school
centered bibliographic instruction to global electronic information retrieval.
The instructional role of the librarian not only includes student patrons, but
also faculty and parents at the school site as well as colleagues from remote,
even international sites.” ( Craver 94)
The
role of the librarian as technologist includes not only a knowledge of
resources but also a basic knowledge of hardware, networks and technological
trends.
When
these two roles are merged together with the role of teacher, the librarian
becomes an essential partner in the professional development of staff.
“School librarians expand
their areas of influence to include the classroom when they collaborate with
classroom teachers to meet the information needs of students. Moving beyond the
“warehouse” concept of traditional libraries, librarians strike out into
classrooms, /departments to consult with classroom teachers” (ERIC Digest)
“Librarians
assist teachers and students to search out their information needs, critically
evaluate materials they locate, and use technological means to synthesize their
new findings (Brown ‘90)
The media specialist also
serves as a member of the School Based Management team and within this role he
/she
- Works cooperatively with and understands the
needs of many groups teachers, students parents and community members.
- Views the schools’ curriculum with a broad
perspective
- Works with students at all ability and grade
levels across all curricular areas
- Understands technology and uses it in teaching
and learning
- Designs the Library media facility in relationship
to the space needs of the total school program. (AASL position paper
‘00-03)
This information provides the
job description for the Library Media specialist in the 21st
Century. This is the same role that forms the vision of the LMC for
The Director of the LMC
serves in a similar capacity to the library media specialist but they function
as administrators, communicators, teachers, facilitators and leaders.
The director administers
policies related to materials selection, budget, district procedures, the
development of job descriptions and hiring of personnel, coordinator of the
library skills program, and the promotion of library media programs throughout
the school or district. (AASL
The position paper issued
by the AASL (4/91) forms the basis for the overall recommendations for staffing
the media center: “All students, teachers and administrators must have access
to the Library Media program provided by one or more certified library media
specialists working full time. Each school must employ at least one full time
technical assistant or clerk for the LMC More than one support member may be
required for specific programs.
A
reasonable ratio of students, teachers and staff to the number of library media
specialists is required in order to provide the levels of service and library
media program development described in Information Power: Guidelines for School
Library Media Programs(appendix)
All
districts must employ a district library media director to provide leadership
and direction to the overall library media program.”
The role of technology in the LMC&
Traits of Information Literate
Schools
An analysis of the learning environment in the
They envision Learning
environments of the future as student structured, interactive and dynamic,
enabling group work on real world problems, enabling students to determine
their own routes to learning and emphasizing competencies such as
information literacy to support life long learning.
To be information literate a person must be able to recognize what
information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate and use
effectively the information needed… Ultimately information literate people are
those who have learned how to learn. (AALS 89)
Information literacy in telecommunications is achieved when
learners know when to use on line resources, how to access information
competently, how to evaluate information for accuracy and significance, and how
to use this information to communicate effectively.
Learners who are able to do this have life long skills to meet the
challenges of the information age. ( Doyle, Holloway& Lindsay, Instructional
Interventions for Information Use)
Because information literacy is interwoven with critical thinking
and information literacy requires the use of critical thinking skills, the role
for the school library media specialist is much greater. (Woolls) The author
also believes the information literacy is a subset of the concept of critical
thinking.
We know that lifelong learning is more than a lofty ideal; it is
the outcome of an information literate society (Education technology Journal
Information Literacy: A Clarification L.
Langford)
The traits of an Information Literate school are those that should
be evident throughout SPHS as we move to implement our vision. As categorized by The Educational Technology
Journal (abstract 1999 J. Mc.Kenzie)
these are:
Trait
|
The Traits of an Description |
|
Invention |
Much of the school program is dedicated to problem solving,
decision- making, exploration and the creation of new ideas. |
|
Fluency |
Teachers are becoming comfortable with the need to move back and
forth between an array of instructional roles and strategies |
|
Support |
The school provides rich and frequent support for all learners to
develop thinking and information skills |
|
Navigation |
Learners use navigation skills to find their way through the new
information landscape (as well as the old) with little lost time |
|
Searching |
Learners apply Boolean Logic. They search with appropriate
syntax. They employ powerful search engines features to locate pertinent information. |
|
Selection |
Learners know how to separate the reliable from the unreliable
source. They recognize propaganda, bias and distortion. |
|
Questioning |
Learners know how and when to employ dozens of different types of
questions in the search for understanding and meaning |
|
Planning |
Learners possess planning and organizational skills. They sort,
sift and store findings to enhance later questioning. They make wise choices
forma toolkit of research strategies and resources. |
|
Interpretation |
Learners convert primary sources and raw data into information,
and then they proceed further (beyond information) to insight. They
translate, infer and apply what they have gathered to the issue at hand |
|
Deep Thinking |
Learners combine deep thinking and reading with a wide-ranging
search for relevant information. This quest for information is but the
prelude to the more important work, solving a problem, creating a new idea,
inventing a product or composing a symphony. |
|
Commitment |
All curriculum documents include clear statements regarding the
information literacy expectations that are developmentally appropriate for
each grade level. The school community persists with literacy goal over time |
To become an Information Literate school with these traits it is
necessary for the LMC to become a focal point for the professional development
of staff and to transform itself into a true library of the future
This means that the library media specialist and staff will need to
address the following areas:
- Digital libraries and
digital learning environments,
- Digital portfolios
- Information literacy
- Collaborative course
design
- The
relationship between the physical and virtual learning environment.
Using this as a guide in support of the academic mission of
- Participation in the
Internet 2 K-20 Initiative (this includes SEGP Sponsored Education Group
Participants Connectivity, which brings innovators in the K12 community
together with those in colleges, universities and libraries and museums
into appropriate regional national and international advanced networking.
(Internet K20), access to NLANR
Clearinghouse to search databases, Grant opportunities, access to the
Commons which fosters collaboration throughout the research and education
community, videoconferencing, access to Pacific lighthouse ( a project to test the utility of digital
repository of primary source media ) the Middleware Initiative, multicasting and Virtual museums
- Digital collections
- VLE (Virtual Learning
Environments) with links to resources both licensed and free
- An internal web page
with links to databases and metadata bases reference materials guidelines
for research and writing, Internet ethics,
etc.
- Electronic card
catalogue and bar coding system
- On line/web based
courses with CHEN institutions and Internationally recognized universities
or organizations
- Digital portfolios of
student work
- Self publishing
opportunities for staff and students
- Implementation
of the I Search research model
- Multimedia training;
presentation hardware and software
- Electronic bulletin
boards, email accounts for all staff and students,
- Archives of live
lessons
- Streaming video
- Collaborative document
creation and editing
- Wired/wireless
connectivity to the World Wide Web
- Access to Professional
Journals, Abstracts , On line subscriptions, News banks
- Software for modeling
and Scientific visualization
- Remotely controlled
mosaics
- NCSA (
- National Science
Foundation Digital Library, NSDL
- Collaborative course
design (technology experts & academic professionals combine their
expertise to design courses of study which can be offered on the World
Guide Web or through a particular institution
- Groupware
Collections: General
Collections
The
determination of collections for the LMC will be a part of the Operational
plan. It will take time and research along with assistance from our CHEN
partners to establish a collection of texts, data bases, journals,
clearinghouses, subscriptions and digital items that fit the mission of LMC
with respect to the essential role it plays in the delivery of instruction.
We
will begin with a review of the research principles for establishing digital
collections from the Library Forum of IMLS (
We
will also explore the National Science Digital Library collections for
inclusion as well as the Metadata bases selected by the United Kingdom Office
of Library and Information Networking as nationally recognized and the
Registered Data providers as noted in the Open Archives Repository
(openarchives.org)
A. Digital collections/Media resources
As we prepare to establish digital collections we will use
guidelines set forth by the Association of College and Research Libraries which
include the following areas :
- Media resources will be collected in all
formats
- All media resources
will be catalogued in accordance with current national standards
- All academic libraries
will provide funding for media services
- The principles of
collection management that apply to print and other library media
resources will also apply to media resources
- The principles of
preservation of collections which apply to print and other library
collections will a apply to media collections
- Library services
should include reference and instruction programs for media collections
using appropriate resources.
Implications
- There is a need to
develop a mission statement for the media resources program
- There may be a
separate media resources unit within a library or an individual library
media specialist assigned to this collection
- The librarian in
charge of media collections shall be proactive and work with peers and
other media related programs within an institution.
- The librarian
responsible for media collections should have a graduate degree in an
- Support staff for the
media resource programs should have specialized media training
- The media resources
mission statement should form the basis for funding from the annual for
the LMC based upon a percentage of the total budget for acquisitions or on
a formula related to circulations statistics . Funding should also support
the exploration of new media resources.
- Ample funding must be
allocated for the maintenance and repair of media equipment and this
should be based upon a written plan.
- Specialized services
need to be provided including a centralized distribution system,
group-viewing facilities, media booking off-satellite videotaping
teleconference down linking etc.
- Media accessibility includes resource
sharing; in the case of the LMC at
- Specialized media
related references services are necessary to assist the students and staff
in meeting instructional informational and research needed.
- Equipment necessary to
access media resources needs to be available on site.
- Obsolete materials
need to be remove systematically
- The media resource
librarian should provide assistance to educators in the inclusion of media
and digital collections into coursework.
- Special collections
require specialized storage and procedures for archiving, conservation and
preservation.
B. Distance Learning
The ACRL
guidelines for Distance learning in Post secondary education will serve as the
basis for best practice in the LMC at Science Park HS.
As defined, the distance learning community covers all those
individuals agencies or institutions directly connected with academic programs
or extension services offered away from a traditional academic campus or in the
absence of a traditional academic campus .(ACRL)
The philosophy behind distance learning is based upon the following precepts.
- Access to adequate
library services and resources is essential to the attainment of student
academic skills regardless of where students are; members of the distance
learning community are entitled to library services and resources
equivalent to those provided in a traditional campus setting.
- The instilling of life
long learning skills through general bibliographic and information
literacy are of equal necessity for the distance learning community
- Traditional on- campus
library services themselves cannot be stretched to meet the needs of the
distance learner therefore special funding arrangements and proactive
plans are necessary to deliver equivalent library services and to achieve
equivalent teaching and learning and to maintain quality in distance
learning.
- The LMC is responsible
for funding and appropriately meeting the information needs of its
distance programs. This should be founded separately within the LMC
budget.
- The LMC must ensure
that is Distance Learning program meets or exceeds national and regional
accreditation standards.
- The library media
specialist has the responsibility of identifying, coordinating, developing
and assessing the value and effectiveness of the resources and services
designed to meet not only the standard but also the unique informational and skills development
needs of the distance community.
The delivery of library services in the Distance Learning Program will
be evaluated using the following documentation:
- Printed user guides
- Statements of mission,
purpose, policies, regulations and procedures
- Statistics on library
use
- Statistics on
collections
- Facilities assessment
measures
- Collection assessment
measures
- Needs and outcomes
assessment measures
- Data on staff and work
assignments
- Institutional and
organizational charts
- Comprehensive budget
- Professional personnel
vitae
- Position description
for all personnel
- Formal, written
agreements
- Automation statistics
- Guides to computing
services
- Library evaluation
documents
- Library and
instructional materials and schedules
- Evidence of
involvement in curriculum planning and development
Proposed partnerships with CHEN Institutions
Support for the LMC
Faculty
at the CHEN institutions, particularly the library media specialists and
reference librarians can assist the staff of the LMC in providing models of the
types of services offered by university libraries. They can assist in the
development of the school library web site and provide links to their
libraries. They can assist in the selection of specialized collections, sharing
access to extensive meta databases whose subscription cost is prohibitive for
the high school,. They can provide staff development for faculty and media
specialists particularly in the area of new technologies and the publishing of
research works to post on the web.
Together
with our CHEN partners we would work towards the goals of the Internet 2
Initiative which is to develop and sustain partnerships between the SEGP
(Sponsored Education Group Participant) and, the colleges and universities as
well as community partners such as museums so “that all partners can be brought
into appropriate regional, national and international advanced networking
efforts”.(Internet 2 K20)
Online coursework
Consistent
with our mission is the ability to provide our students with access to on- line
coursework. This is an essential element of the expansion of our curriculum
which can only be provided by the resources of the SPHS facility and the LMC.
In
addition to the selection of courses currently offered online through colleges
and universities outside our state there must be the establishment of on-line
course offerings with our CHEN partners.
The
LMC staff can coordinate this course selection together with faculty and
department heads at the high school
since the library media specialist will be actively involved in
curriculum development across the disciplines The collaborative course design
mentioned as a part of the use of information technology could be included with
faculty from the college or university assisting SPHS staff in the design of
these courses for potential inclusion as on line coursework..
The
specific parameters which may be established for these courses can be
administered by the Library Media Specialist including protocols, passwords
etc.
Partnerships on site and through the LMC
The
partnerships we have established with the CHEN institutions over the past 20
years have provided our students with the opportunity to experience the college
environment and engage in college coursework while enrolled in high school.
Such partnerships provide options for high school students particularly seniors
that would be unavailable to them otherwise prior to graduation.
Our partnerships with NJIT and
The
LMC could serve as the conduit for these courses offerings. The library website
could host the posting of specific assignments, maintain an E board for
students enrolled in these courses, communicate with the instructors at the
college site and make available to those students enrolled the specific
resource materials necessary for course work.
Some
suggested partnerships include:
21&62:160
101-102 World Of Chemistry
21&62:160
115-116 General chemistry
21&62
750 109 Astronomy and Cosmology
21&62
750 202 Physics as a liberal art
21&62
750 203,204 General Physics I&II
21:
120; 101-102 General Biology
62:120:104
Human Health &Disease
21&62
120 109 Basic Plant Science
62:120:203 Plant Biology
New
Jersey Institute of Technology
Physics 102 &102 A General Physics
Physics 103 General Physics
II
Phys 202 Introductory Astronomy & Cosmology
Phys202A Astronomy and Cosmology Laboratory
Phys 203 The Earth in Space
Chem 105 Applied Chemical
Principles
Chem 121 Fundamentals of
Chemistry
NJIT (con’t)
General Chemistry 125&126***** Current partnership
21&26: 160227 Organic Biochemistry
IT 101 Introduction to
Information Technology
IT201 Information design
Techniques
IT202 Internet and
Applications
IT220 Wireless networks
IT230 Computer and network
security
IT310 E Commerce Technology
BME 102 Survey of Human
Physiology
BME 469 Introduction to Human
Physiolog
Essex County
College
Bio 101 College Biology Bio 102 College Biology ***** Current partnership
Bio 117 Fundamentals of Anatomy and Physiology I
Bio121 Anatomy & Physiology I Bio 122 Anatomy
&Physiology II
Bio 211 Microbiology
Bio 241 Pathophysiology
Geo 101 Geology I
Geo 102 Geology II
CSC 100 Fundamentals of
Computer Science
CSC 121 Computer science I
CSC 122 Computer science II
CSC 221 Computer Systems and
Architecture
ENR 100 Introduction to
Engineering Technologies and Science
ENR103 Engineering Graphics
ENR 106 Intermediate Computer
Aided Design
PHY103 General physics
PHY104 General Physics II
In
addition, the Hypermedia center of the LMC can serve as an area for the
archiving of lessons given by college or university faculty, and the
presentation of these or live lessons to selected classes through the use of
streaming video.
Teleconferencing
is another format particularly as an extension of on- line course work or as
part of the mentoring process in which partners in the higher education
community will serve as mentors for students at the high school who are engaged
in research projects.
The LMC could host or send
to university via digital presentation faculty the presentations of student who
are expected to engage in a senior year exhibition. This project which is the culmination of students’
work in various disciplines and is a requirement of the senior year.
CHEN
faculty along with faculty at SPHS could critique and grade the student’s work.
A collaborative rubric could be developed for this purpose
|
Library Media E
Teaching and
TWO Year Operational Plan |
|
Projected Activity |
Projected starting date |
Projected date for
completion |
Budgetary cost |
|
Staff
development:
|
Spring 2005 Winter 2004 Spring 2005 Fall 2005 Fall of 2005 Fall 2005 |
May-June 2005 Spring 2005 Fall 2005 Spring 2006 |
$1300 In house On line(no cost) No cost No cost No cost |
|
Library Media E
Teaching and
Two Year
Operational Plan |
|
Projected Activity |
Projected starting date |
Projected date for
completion |
Budgetary cost |
services Acquisition of Collections
Fixed Furniture and
Expenses (ordering)
|
Inclusion in budgetary
request for 2005-2006 SY Fall 2005 Spring 2005 Fall 2005 Fall 2005 |
To be hired by September
2005 Spring 2005 Acquisition to be completed
by Spring 2006 To be received by Spring
2006 To be received by Spring
2006 |
NPS budgetAvg. Salary quote $2000 $100,000 $50,000 $100,000 |