Foreword
Welcome to the revised edition of IMPACT: Guidelines for School Library Media and Instructional Technology Programs!
IMPACT continues to be a part of the overall vision of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. It recognizes that an effective school library media and technology program is the infrastructure that supports both teaching and learning. This program is the key to making education relevant to a knowledge-based society and its economy. IMPACT is aligned to Information Power: Building Partnerships for Learning, the national standards for media and technology programs, the ISTE National Educational Technology Standards, and a growing body of school library media and instructional technology research. Also reflecting the recommendations of the 2005-2009 North Carolina Educational Technology Plan, IMPACT acknowledges the importance of staffing each school in North Carolina with both a school library media coordinator and a technology facilitator. It also reflects a commitment to provide a roadmap for an integrated media and technology program once these positions are in place. It offers assessment instruments to assist in the evaluation of the media and technology program designed to move us toward the State Board of Education goals of rigor, relevance, and relationships, the foundation of a 21st Century educational and economic environment.
The revision of IMPACT reflects the reality that the media and technology program and its resources are not static. In fact, they are constantly evolving, mandating on-going update and revision. Thus, while there is a one-time print edition of this document, it is also a Web-based publication <www.ncwiseowl.org/impact.htm>. The online version of IMPACT will be updated regularly, new resources created, further links added. It will always be a work in progress.
IMPACT is also a publication for many audiences. Media and technology personnel can no longer publish a document simply for themselves.IMPACT for Administrators and <http://www.ncwiseowl.org/Impact/Admin/AdminImpact.htm> IMPACT for Classroom Teachers <http://www.ncwiseowl.org/kscope/impact/ >are targeted at those whom our program directly affects: students, teachers, administrators, parents, and the community. Also available are videos that allow everyone to see and expand their understanding of how an IMPACT Model School functions on a day-to-day basis. <http://video.dpi.state.nc.us/eforums/impact_videos/>. Only when everyone concerned with the education of our children understands the integral part that the media and technology program plays in high student achievement will the commitment to fund these resources be made. Thus, it is imperative that we use IMPACT to inform all citizens in North Carolina of the importance of our role in education.
Media and technology professionals live in exciting times. The public is beginning to understand the link between our programs and services and a high quality education. We dare not squander this opportunity. IMPACT is a tool that will help media and technology personnel at both the state and local levels work together to plan and build effective, comprehensive teaching and learning environments for the 21st Century. We look forward to the challenge!
Frances Bryant Bradburn, Director
Division of Instructional Technologies
