IMPACT: Guidelines for North Carolina Media and Technology Programs

SYSTEM-LEVEL GUIDELINES

This chapter, designed expressly for the system-level media and technology professional, reflects those responsibilities that are best carried out by a central office advocate, one who is certified in school library media and technology and whose daily tasks are not divided among other curriculum areas. These system-level responsibilities, however, are based on building-level practice, and reflect the support, nurturing, and decision-making that move individual program excellence to over-all LEA program excellence.

IMPACT is organized to assist the system-level professional in this quest for excellence. By referring to the other chapters, as well as to this one alone, central office staff will broaden their knowledge of and support for building-level programs so that they mirror best practice and expand the services needed to make possible information and technology literate students for the 21st Century.

SYSTEM-LEVEL LEADERSHIP

It is imperative that schools graduate students who can collaborate; solve problems; think critically; function at higher literacy levels; adapt readily to change; and create, synthesize, and apply information. A system-level advocate for the appropriate role of media and technology in the learning process can be a catalyst for developing an environment that meets individual learning needs and provides students with survival skills for the 21st Century.

System-level programs, functioning under the direction of licensed school library media directors and/or technology directors, offer a broad range of services to individual schools and system-level personnel. Through the use of media and technology, these services improve, enhance, and support learning and teacher performance. System-level leadership of media and technology programs increases the opportunities for equitable and effective programs at each school within a school system.

To develop equitable and effective media and technology programs, system-level leaders should be actively involved in teaching and learning at all levels, in developing workable and useful information access and delivery strategies, and in managing an evolving complexity of programs. In implementing these three roles, the system-level leader provides vision and demonstrates an understanding of the value and uses of collaboration through flexible access in developing media and technology programs.

top

TEACHING AND LEARNING

Being an active participant in teaching and learning should be the system-level leader’s role and professional passion. To become active participants, leaders must model the process of collaboration among disciplines, across grade levels, and within the community.

Using the collaborative model, the system-level leader participates in curriculum development in a variety of ways, such as being a contributing member of curriculum committees, a designer and promoter of literacy and computer skills continuums, and in assessing, encouraging, and consulting on staff development.

To stay abreast of contemporary developments, the system-level technology and media leaders are active researchers, consultants, and disseminators of appropriate information that will assist building-level staff in improving student achievement.

COLLABORATING TO ACHIEVE GOALS

“Collaborating with the full range of school personnel to identify and solve information problems presents a model of the approach that students and others must take to thrive in the information age”  (AASL and AECT 1998, 51).

COLLABORATING TO ACHIEVE GOALS MEANS:

• Participating in curriculum decision-making at all levels;
• Participating in curriculum, budget, grade-level, subject area specialists’, and principals’ meetings;
  
  For additional information, see North Carolina Standard Course of Study matrix: <http://www.ncpublicschools.org/curriculum/>

• Maintaining liaison with other system-level curriculum/program directors and school-based administrators;
  
  
  • Disseminating best practices through a variety of means–print, non-print, and electronic;
  • Working with business, civic, and community groups to give these organizations the opportunity to provide resources for instruction.

top

BEING INVOLVED WITH THE CURRICULUM

BEING INVOLVED WITH THE CURRICULUM MEANS:

• Promoting the integration of media and technology across all curriculum areas;
• Participating, as a member of the system-level instructional team, in the development and implementation of the statewide curriculum, alternative teaching/learning strategies, and in the use of appropriate media and technology resources;
• Consulting with building-level administrative and instructional staff to ensure that carefully selected, high quality, and appropriate resources are purchased to enhance the curriculum;
• Designing and promoting–in collaboration with system and building-level media and technology professionals, administrators, and teachers–sequential information skills and computer/technology skills continuums to be integrated with classroom instruction in all curriculum areas.

PROVIDING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

PROVIDING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MEANS:

• Ensuring that professional development supports the integration of media and technology programs across all curriculum areas;
• Establishing and maintaining on-going assessment of professional development needs for media and technology professionals and paraprofessionals;
• Planning, providing, and evaluating follow-up support for professional development through workshops, one-on-one training, online training, and distance learning;
• Ensuring that media and technology staff at the system and building levels have opportunities to participate in subject-area professional development;
• Planning and delivering professional development that is based on the International Society for Technology in Education National Educational Technology Standards (ISTE NETS);
• Encouraging building-level media and technology staff to assess needs and to provide media and technology professional development for teachers and administrators;
• Consulting with building-level administrators, media and technology staff, and instructional staff to ensure that appropriate professional development opportunities are provided for all educators.

top

PLANNING, RESEARCH, AND DEVELOPMENT

PLANNING, RESEARCH, AND DEVELOPMENT MEANS:

• Promoting media and technology programs as central to the educational process as shown in the research literature;
• Consulting with building-level administrators and site-based management teams to facilitate school improvement planning and delivery;
• Researching and evaluating resources and instructional strategies that assist teachers in raising student achievement;
• Disseminating information on new developments in media and technology program research and on instructional strategies for building-level administrators and instructional staff;
• Interpreting national, state, regional, and local research, standards, and guidelines.

INFORMATION ACCESS AND DELIVERY

The challenge of dealing with information access and delivery for the system-level leader means working with two requirements that seem diametrically opposed. On the one hand, collections of media and technology equipment and resources must be individualized to meet the unique needs of each school’s teaching and learning program. On the other hand, fully achieving the effective use of many resources, especially digital formats, depends on an infrastructure and standardization that provide comprehensive, cost-effective, and equitable access by all students and teachers.

The demands to individualize and standardize require system-level participation in all aspects of the planning and design of both new and renovated media and technology facilities.

top

ESTABLISHING INFRASTRUCTURE AND CONNECTIVITY

ESTABLISHING INFRASTRUCTURE AND CONNECTIVITY MEANS:

• Providing leadership in the development of system- and building-level networks;
• Identifying, reviewing, and negotiating a variety of system- and building-level agreements for the lease or purchase of hardware and resources for all schools within the system;
• Evaluating, monitoring, and maintaining licensing agreements and compliance policies;
• Providing leadership in developing and implementing system- and building-level deployment procedures to make available up-to-date resources;
• Providing leadership in developing and implementing system- and building-level security policies and procedures to safe-guard available resources.

STANDARDIZING RESOURCES AND EQUIPMENT

STANDARDIZING RESOURCES AND EQUIPMENT MEANS:

• Providing leadership in developing, evaluating, and monitoring system- and building-level technology plans;
• Promoting the standardization of resources (including hardware and equipment) as specified in the long-range technology plan;
• Promoting the acquisition of high-quality, building-level resources that reflect the diverse nature of the individual school’s community;
• Providing high quality, system-level resources that support media and technology faculty and staff in the teaching and learning process;
• Providing leadership in developing and implementing system- and building-level policies and procedures to assure equitable access to available resources.

“Access to information, information technologies, and library facilities must not be a major barrier to teachers and students lest the collaborative process be squelched. (Loertscher 1999, 16)

top

PLANNING FOR NEW AND RENOVATED FACILITIES

PLANNING FOR NEW AND RENOVATED FACILITIES MEANS:

• Assessing needs for new and renovated facilities by gathering input from all stakeholders;
• Developing, in collaboration with the planning committee, educational specifications that describe the functions and requirements of each space in new and renovated facilities for architects, designers, and/or engineers;
• Providing leadership in the planning of new and renovated facilities by working closely with the superintendent (or his/her designee), site-based planning committees, engineers, and architects to ensure the construction of adequate media and technology facilities. (See Information Access and Delivery)

top

ENSURING EQUITY

ENSURING EQUITY MEANS:

• Working cooperatively with building-level administrators to assure equitable provision of resources and facilities to meet the learning needs of each school’s student population
• Facilitating resource-sharing among schools and between schools and other libraries and community agencies to provide equitable access to ideas and information;
• Providing leadership in developing and implementing system- and building-level policies and procedures to ensure equitable distribution of available resources.

MANAGING RESOURCES

MANAGING RESOURCES MEANS:

• Promoting the establishment and maintenance of system-level technology training labs as a resource to demonstrate emerging technologies;
• Developing and maintaining an up-to-date professional resource collection at the system-level;
• Establishing a circulation system to share expensive, rarely used equipment and specialized materials housed in a central location;
• Promoting consideration of resource management options such as help desk or work order tracking software, centralized processing, union catalogs, and system-level tracking of fixed-asset inventory.

top

PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION

Technological developments, increased pressures for funding options, and the reality of more community interest and involvement in the development of school programs are bringing changes to the function of program administration.

Public relations means interpreting programs to the entire community. Budgeting means finding supplementary funding as well as projecting needs through the regular budgeting process. Collection development to provide individualized resource collections means encouraging current policies and procedures to ensure that all learners will have access to meaningful and useful information and up-to-date technology.

In an environment that is supportive of school reform, the evaluation of personnel, resources, and programs takes on new meaning and requires system-level personnel to have an intimate knowledge of evaluation techniques.

STRENGTHENING COMMUNICATION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS

STRENGTHENING COMMUNICATION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS MEANS:

• Establishing and maintaining communication and collaboration with public and academic libraries;
• Participating in community/civic organizations;
• Providing programs to interpret media and technology goals and needs for community, civic, and parent groups;
• Involving community/civic groups in technology and media needs assessment and in planning through surveys, questionnaires, and focus groups;
• Collaborating with other school systems to create user groups, resources, and support in a changing technology environment.

ESTABLISHING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

ESTABLISHING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES MEANS:

• Providing leadership in developing system-level and building-level policies and procedures to ensure that quality teaching and learning are reflected in the selection, acquisition, and maintenance of instructional materials and equipment;
• Establishing deployment policies and procedures to ensure compatibility between hardware infrastructure and resources;
• Assuring equitable access to media and technology resources to the entire school community;
• Establishing security policies and procedures for a safe technology environment;
• Consulting with building-level media and technology personnel in developing procedures for program management at the building level; consulting with building-level media and technology and instructional staff to establish policies and procedures for the maintenance of attractive, adequate, up-to-date collections of resources.

“Community resources, including public libraries, museums, colleges and universities, and local businesses and civic groups, are natural allies in fostering learning.” (AASL and AECT 1998, 127)

top

RECRUITING, SELECTING, AND RETAINING PERSONNEL

RECRUITING, SELECTING, AND RETAINING PERSONNEL MEANS:

• Evaluating and adopting State Board-approved job descriptions for media and technology personnel;
• Communicating LEA media and technology personnel needs to higher education preparation programs throughout the state;
• Promoting the development of plans that include stipends, supplements, and other incentives to recruit and retain media and technology personnel;
• Ensuring that building-level, initially licensed media and technology personnel have appropriate mentors;
• Ensuring that building-level media and technology personnel have a support structure for professional growth and development in alignment with the State Board-approved professional development standards;
• Promoting awareness of State Board-approved evaluation instruments for building-level media and technology personnel;
• Consulting with building-level administrators as requested in the evaluation of building-level media and technology staff;
• Providing professional development to building-level administrators in the use of appropriate, State-Board-approved evaluation instruments.

ATTENDING TO BUDGET BASICS

ATTENDING TO BUDGET BASICS MEANS:

• Providing leadership in the development of a budget at the system- and building-levels that addresses total cost of ownership (TCO). This helps ensure equitable and appropriate funding for the media and technology programs including licensing, maintenance, repair, replacement, contracts, consultants, and professional development;
• Promoting the concept of consolidation of funds at the system-level to address total cost of ownership (TCO) issues, including cost effective acquisition of resources to meet student needs;
• Securing supplementary funding sources for media and technology programs such as federal, state, and private grants, business partnerships, and endowments;
• Creating an annual operational budget to sustain the system- and building-level media and technology programs.

top

DEVELOPING COLLECTIONS

DEVELOPING COLLECTIONS MEANS:

• Consulting with building-level media and technology and instructional staff to develop accessible collections of print, nonprint, and digital resources that will meet the curricular, developmental, and personal needs within the individual schools;
• Consulting with building-level media and technology and instructional staff to maintain attractive, adequate, up-to-date collections of resources;
• Consulting with building-level media and technology staff to develop a system-level accessible collection of print, non-print, and digital resources that will meet their needs;
• Providing opportunities for review and evaluation of new media and technology resources;
• Developing procedures for requesting and evaluating resources to ensure their compatibility with system network configurations;
• Disseminating information on evaluation criteria for selection of resources.

EVALUATING PROGRAMS

EVALUATING PROGRAMS MEANS:

• Providing leadership and vision for evaluating the overall effectiveness of media and technology programs;
• Facilitating formative and summative evaluation as a vital component in teaching and learning, information access and delivery, and program administration;
• Aggregating evaluation data to use in planning and advocacy for media and technology programs;
• Assisting building-level media and technology staff in evaluating their interactions with teachers, students, administrators, and parents.

top

WORKS CITED

American Association of School Librarians and the Association of Education Communications and Technology. Information Power: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs. Chicago: American Library Association, 1988.

American Association of School Librarians and the Association of Education Communications and Technology. Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning. Chicago, IL: American Library Association, 1998.

“Curriculum Matrix, 2000.” Public Schools of North Carolina. 3 May 2000 <http://www.ncpublicschools.org/curriculum/>.

Loertscher, David V. Reinvent Your School’s Library in the Age of Technology: A Guide for Principals and Superintendents. San Jose, CA: Hi Willow Research and Publishing, 1999.

Previous | Next | Legal Notices| Contact Us | Instructional Technology Division, NC DPI ©2006