Posts Tagged ‘MediaSpecialists’
A lot of false authority; none of the power
Posted by: Mary Alice Anderson on: November 25, 2009
” And, I’m sick of democracy.” A colleague who is not a media specialist, but a G.A.T.E. coordinator whose job success is dependant on factors much like a media specialists’,* shared his lament today. No, he’s not anti-democracy, just frustrated with indecision, the slow speed of change, and lack of excitement about technology. [...]
Active, engaged learning . . . always
Posted by: Mary Alice Anderson on: November 8, 2009
A photo of middle school age students wearing headphones, viewing action on a small screen and looking like they are having fun was haunting me. I had to find it. I did! I also found a photo of four students sitting at a media center table working with books and notebooks; in the background are [...]
Being a guru in the “old days” was easier than today. . . .
Posted by: Mary Alice Anderson on: November 1, 2009
A tech savvy, energetic student in the Innovations and Opportunities for Media Specialists class is frustrated with the pace of implementing web 2.0 tools in the curriculum. It looks like she is doing quite a lot already. I’ve been thinking about this myself, too. Why are so few teachers are adapting 2.0 tools or rushing [...]
Have you ever been a coach? You always have such upbeat suggestions. . . .
Posted by: Mary Alice Anderson on: October 23, 2009
Someone asked me that today. I have never been a coach. Like many media specialists these days, it’s easy to whine now and then. We get frustrated with policies, declining budgets, limited time, NCLB, and a multitude of daily challenges.
There’s been a fair amount of discussion (and whining) lately about the Valenza/Johnson article Things [...]
Still thinking about those transferable skills
Posted by: Mary Alice Anderson on: October 13, 2009
I am no longer providing any direct instruction to elementary or middle school students; I miss those opportunities to remind them how they can easily how to use new computer applications just by remembering how they used the same skill in another application. A speaker at a conference listed skills she expects studentes to learn, [...]
What are you doing? What do people see you doing?
Posted by: Mary Alice Anderson on: September 18, 2009
No, I’m not sending a tweet. Many years ago a school superintendent spoke at our state media conference. A few words stuck with me:
When people see you checking out books and doing clerical tasks they think that’s what a media specialist does.
Today’s version: An administrator asked a media specialist this question:
How will you use your [...]
Your media center’s web site. An essential tool for advocacy and visbility
Posted by: Mary Alice Anderson on: August 23, 2009
How’s “your’ media center web site doing these days? Is it a “Let’s stop here first” shopping center for information? Is it current? Or, has it been left behind as you move forward with nings, Twitter, blogs, wikis or other web 2.0 tools are there for us to use? Or, [...]
The class was what I needed to help me get focused for school!
Posted by: Mary Alice Anderson on: August 17, 2009
Primary Sources, Where have you been? Why have I never used primary sources? I didn’t use them because I didn’t know where to find the resources. I never considered all of the possibilities.
Primary sources are all around us and accessible to all of us through vast digital collections. Each time I engage with students [...]
Show me the Numbers
Posted by: Mary Alice Anderson on: July 24, 2009
Show me the Numbers (PDF)
Data Gathering, Why you Needs the Numbers and How to get them | Data Gathering, Part 2. Developing your Spreadsheet, Multimedia and Internet@Schools “Media Center” columns.
You gotta have the data. Administrators and school boards understand data. The presentation and articles address examples of successful data gathering and using data to advocate for [...]
Get recharged! Innovations and Opportunities for Media Specialists
Posted by: Mary Alice Anderson on: July 22, 2009
In The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote “Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” With the beginning of each new school year, media specialists have a chance to start fresh.
Innovations and Opportunities for Media Specialists is your opportunity to get recharged and energized to deliver a media program that [...]
