2:45-5:15PM
I worked extended hours again tonight. There was typical traffic tonight: using the laminator, asking basic questions, and checking out the teacher book displays. I did have a teacher come in and ask me extensive questions about online graduate programs and I tried to help her through her questions. I know this is most likely not a typical media specialist question, but I was happy to help in any way I could!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Bradwell Institute
2:50-4:50PM
Today I went to work at Bradwell Institute again. When I got there, D. Clark was so excited to show me the new website that had just been created for the media center. I was just as excited to see it! There were quite a few different links that were added to make it more of a 24-hour library. Check out the site: http://www.liberty.k12.ga.us/BI/library_media_center.htm
Last time I was there, I was asking about different subscriptions and databases that they subscribed to and just as D. Clark went to pull up Webpath Express, she found out the hard way that the subscription had expired! So I asked her about that resource and it had been renewed, so I got a chance to see how that worked!
As I started asking questions about the different spaces within the media center (this will be the media center for my facilities plan in FRIT 7132), I found that there were three different storage spaces that I had not seen the last time I was there. I also found a dinosaur in the media world - a card catalog that still had the cards in it!!
Throughout this visit, I asked what seemed like a thousand questions about the operation of the media center in a high school. It is so completely different than an elementary school that I can't seem to ask enough questions to get all the answers that I want! Next time, I will work on cataloging some materials.
Today I went to work at Bradwell Institute again. When I got there, D. Clark was so excited to show me the new website that had just been created for the media center. I was just as excited to see it! There were quite a few different links that were added to make it more of a 24-hour library. Check out the site: http://www.liberty.k12.ga.us/BI/library_media_center.htm
Last time I was there, I was asking about different subscriptions and databases that they subscribed to and just as D. Clark went to pull up Webpath Express, she found out the hard way that the subscription had expired! So I asked her about that resource and it had been renewed, so I got a chance to see how that worked!
As I started asking questions about the different spaces within the media center (this will be the media center for my facilities plan in FRIT 7132), I found that there were three different storage spaces that I had not seen the last time I was there. I also found a dinosaur in the media world - a card catalog that still had the cards in it!!
Throughout this visit, I asked what seemed like a thousand questions about the operation of the media center in a high school. It is so completely different than an elementary school that I can't seem to ask enough questions to get all the answers that I want! Next time, I will work on cataloging some materials.
Reading Enjoyment Unit
10:30-11:15AM
Today I completed the last mini-lesson in my reading enjoyment unit. I worked with the students on maps of the United States and a map of Virginia. We discussed the geography of the particular area of Virginia where the book "Ghost Cadet" takes place. We reread in the first chapter where it details the topography of the land. We then looked at a map of Virginia and made an educated guess as to where the town was located. I challenged them to find out its exact location over the weekend. Several of the students did try to find its location but had a hard time. A couple got really close!
On the United States map, we discussed where to find Virginia in relation to the rest of the country. We also discussed the states that made up the Union forces and the states that made up the Confederate forces. The students then colored their maps to reflect this discussion. As they worked, a student brought up a question about the border states, so we then took some time to discuss those states and the difficulties they faced.
Today I completed the last mini-lesson in my reading enjoyment unit. I worked with the students on maps of the United States and a map of Virginia. We discussed the geography of the particular area of Virginia where the book "Ghost Cadet" takes place. We reread in the first chapter where it details the topography of the land. We then looked at a map of Virginia and made an educated guess as to where the town was located. I challenged them to find out its exact location over the weekend. Several of the students did try to find its location but had a hard time. A couple got really close!
On the United States map, we discussed where to find Virginia in relation to the rest of the country. We also discussed the states that made up the Union forces and the states that made up the Confederate forces. The students then colored their maps to reflect this discussion. As they worked, a student brought up a question about the border states, so we then took some time to discuss those states and the difficulties they faced.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Richmond Hill Middle School
7:15-3:15PM
Today I went to Richmond Hill Middle School for the day. It was a pretty exciting experience for me. I learned a lot throughout the day about what the two media specialists do on a normal day. I got to see a new system for checking out and returning books (they use Sagebrush and Liberty County uses Destiny). I also got to see how another media center runs the paperwork part of their job. It was different from any other sysytem, but I liked it.
One of the things that I REALLY enjoyed seeing was how they decorated their media center. They have the most exciting displays - definitely something that piqued the interest of the students. One of the reasons it was so interesting is because they are very detailed displays about very obscure topics. For example, did you know that this month is national potato month? One of the displays was all about potatoes. It included facts printed on potato shaped paper, books about the topic, french fries made of wood, and Mr. Potatohead figurines. There were also displays about new books, happy birthday authors, Mexican heritage, pirates, and others. The media specialists change these every month to continue interesting students on different subjects.
Another great idea that I learned was about a book notebook. The media specialist went through the OPAC and searched for specific topics that students ask them about quite often and printed the results page for the topic. For example, the search topic might have been pirates and fiction. There might be a page or two of results that show fiction books about pirates. This printoff, along with others of numerous different topics, was placed in a binder for the media specialists to view and use as a collection reference when a student walked in and asked for a book about a specific topic. Some topics had one page, some had three. It was a very thorough list of topics - and one that I can definitely see the value in creating!
The media center overall is incredibly small. I was told that it met the square footage requirements for a student body of about 400. However, there are over 1200 students that attend RHMS. Their collection is over 20,000 items. They have arranged the media center in such a way that all the books fit, but barely. Some of the shelves were so full that when I went to shelf a book, I had to cram it in as best as I could. They know the shelves are this full, and had actually just gotten a new tall shelf to spread them out a little. However, it was not near enough shelf space to fix the entire problem. There is a new middle school being built that will apparently be much bigger and alleviate some of this problem. The amount of furniture and resources in the media center would make one think that it was overcrowded, but it was organized in a way that allowed movement and traffic flow in very logical ways. The one pitfall I think they ran into, however, was that there was no extra room for computer equipment. Because of this, there were only 3 computers in the media center that were for research and 2 computers used as look-up stations.
Overall, the day was an incredible learning experience. I enjoyed seeing their orientation process, viewing the website, and networking with people that have done what I want to do for a combined 55 years. I look forward to picking their brains about the job even further when I get the opportunity to move into the media center.
Today I went to Richmond Hill Middle School for the day. It was a pretty exciting experience for me. I learned a lot throughout the day about what the two media specialists do on a normal day. I got to see a new system for checking out and returning books (they use Sagebrush and Liberty County uses Destiny). I also got to see how another media center runs the paperwork part of their job. It was different from any other sysytem, but I liked it.
One of the things that I REALLY enjoyed seeing was how they decorated their media center. They have the most exciting displays - definitely something that piqued the interest of the students. One of the reasons it was so interesting is because they are very detailed displays about very obscure topics. For example, did you know that this month is national potato month? One of the displays was all about potatoes. It included facts printed on potato shaped paper, books about the topic, french fries made of wood, and Mr. Potatohead figurines. There were also displays about new books, happy birthday authors, Mexican heritage, pirates, and others. The media specialists change these every month to continue interesting students on different subjects.
Another great idea that I learned was about a book notebook. The media specialist went through the OPAC and searched for specific topics that students ask them about quite often and printed the results page for the topic. For example, the search topic might have been pirates and fiction. There might be a page or two of results that show fiction books about pirates. This printoff, along with others of numerous different topics, was placed in a binder for the media specialists to view and use as a collection reference when a student walked in and asked for a book about a specific topic. Some topics had one page, some had three. It was a very thorough list of topics - and one that I can definitely see the value in creating!
The media center overall is incredibly small. I was told that it met the square footage requirements for a student body of about 400. However, there are over 1200 students that attend RHMS. Their collection is over 20,000 items. They have arranged the media center in such a way that all the books fit, but barely. Some of the shelves were so full that when I went to shelf a book, I had to cram it in as best as I could. They know the shelves are this full, and had actually just gotten a new tall shelf to spread them out a little. However, it was not near enough shelf space to fix the entire problem. There is a new middle school being built that will apparently be much bigger and alleviate some of this problem. The amount of furniture and resources in the media center would make one think that it was overcrowded, but it was organized in a way that allowed movement and traffic flow in very logical ways. The one pitfall I think they ran into, however, was that there was no extra room for computer equipment. Because of this, there were only 3 computers in the media center that were for research and 2 computers used as look-up stations.
Overall, the day was an incredible learning experience. I enjoyed seeing their orientation process, viewing the website, and networking with people that have done what I want to do for a combined 55 years. I look forward to picking their brains about the job even further when I get the opportunity to move into the media center.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Frank Long Elementary
2:45-6:00PM
Today was my extended day in the media center. I think the teachers are getting used to the fact that the center is left open because there were more teachers that took advantage of it being open. I had several questions today about books, which was a first. One teacher came in to ask about "Diary of a Wimpy Kid". I looked it up and found that the media center does not carry this book. I was REALLY surprised about this since these books have been very popular in the past couple years. This wil be something I will bring to my media specialist's attention so hopefully she is able to order these books for the collection.
Several teachers also came in to use the laminator, paper cutters, and ellison machine. I also laminated some materials and cut them out for one teacher who was not able to stay. Hopefully I will be able to assist teachers more as time goes on and they get used to having the doors open longer.
Today was my extended day in the media center. I think the teachers are getting used to the fact that the center is left open because there were more teachers that took advantage of it being open. I had several questions today about books, which was a first. One teacher came in to ask about "Diary of a Wimpy Kid". I looked it up and found that the media center does not carry this book. I was REALLY surprised about this since these books have been very popular in the past couple years. This wil be something I will bring to my media specialist's attention so hopefully she is able to order these books for the collection.
Several teachers also came in to use the laminator, paper cutters, and ellison machine. I also laminated some materials and cut them out for one teacher who was not able to stay. Hopefully I will be able to assist teachers more as time goes on and they get used to having the doors open longer.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Bradwell Institute
2:50-4:35PM
I went and worked at Bradwell Institute today. It was the first time I actually was able to put hours in there for a long time. When I walked in, I got right to work. There are several books and non-print items that need to be cataloged, so I will work on that until they are done. I also got a more thorough tour of the facility, a detailed floor plan, and a run-down of the schedule and other procedures. There were several students that were in the media center at the time working on the computer stations and there was a procedure for that that was explained to me. The students have computer cards that have barcodes that the students need to use and they are also required to sign in and out on a log.
One of the procedures that I am completely perplexed about, being that it is 2009 and a completely technological world, is that the media center still uses library cards to check out their books and other items. When I asked why they did this, she explained that the magnetic stickers were placed under the pockets, so instead of redoing all the books in a different manner, they just decided to continue to use the cards. The barcodes are placed on the cards instead of the actual books. I think this needs to be changed in the future in order to keep up with the technology and the times. However, I somewhat understand her reasoning for it.
The media center at Bradwell is incredibly spacious! That is one benefit to the center. I am going to use this space as my facility plan for FRIT 7132 and can't wait to really explore the space and create a vision for a completely different media center. With as much space as has been given to this center, I look forward to this assignment!
I went and worked at Bradwell Institute today. It was the first time I actually was able to put hours in there for a long time. When I walked in, I got right to work. There are several books and non-print items that need to be cataloged, so I will work on that until they are done. I also got a more thorough tour of the facility, a detailed floor plan, and a run-down of the schedule and other procedures. There were several students that were in the media center at the time working on the computer stations and there was a procedure for that that was explained to me. The students have computer cards that have barcodes that the students need to use and they are also required to sign in and out on a log.
One of the procedures that I am completely perplexed about, being that it is 2009 and a completely technological world, is that the media center still uses library cards to check out their books and other items. When I asked why they did this, she explained that the magnetic stickers were placed under the pockets, so instead of redoing all the books in a different manner, they just decided to continue to use the cards. The barcodes are placed on the cards instead of the actual books. I think this needs to be changed in the future in order to keep up with the technology and the times. However, I somewhat understand her reasoning for it.
The media center at Bradwell is incredibly spacious! That is one benefit to the center. I am going to use this space as my facility plan for FRIT 7132 and can't wait to really explore the space and create a vision for a completely different media center. With as much space as has been given to this center, I look forward to this assignment!
Reading Enjoyment Unit
I worked with the 5th grade class again today on the reading enjoyment unit. Today, I showed a short 15 minute video on the Civil War. Since "Ghost Cadet" is based on a soldier who died in the Civil War, I found this to be an appropriate video. It really seemed to pique the interest of the students. They really enjoyed the video, especially since they are also starting their study of the Civil War in Social Studies as well. This has been a wonderful connection that the students have been able to make and it really seems to be keeping them interesting and involved in the book. The students have also been working on the blog for this book. They really seem to love this assignment and the posts have been very interesting to read. I can't wait to continue on and see what the students have to say next!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Monthly report
Tonight I worked on my monthly report that I could turn in when I have a media job. In order to complete it to the best of my ability, I checked with the media calendar that has been set up for teachers. They use this calendar to sign up for times to visit the computer lab that is housed in the media center. They also state their research subject on the calendar.
I emailed my media specialist to get the information that is needed for this report. As soon as she has given me the information I will post a copy of the report.
I emailed my media specialist to get the information that is needed for this report. As soon as she has given me the information I will post a copy of the report.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Lewis Frasier Middle School
2:50-3:50PM
I worked in the Lewis Frasier Middle School media center this afternoon. I helped with checkout of books, stamping due dates, and shelving books after the students left. I also helped clean up after the students left for the day. Since a lot of my time so far has been after hours or during the summer, it was nice to work with the students. I also enjoyed seeing a different role the media specialist needs to have. There was apparently a mix-up with some technology that needed to be straightened out. The school won a grant for math laptops and then used funds from the budget to purchase more laptops for complete class sets. One of the math resource teachers got one of the laptops as well. However, she was given one of the laptops that was supposed to be a student laptop because of the grant wording. So her laptop had to be traded out for one of the media-purchased laptops. In order to make this all happen, the MS had to go through all the paperwork to determine which one could be given and then take some panel off the back and trade it out. She was quite flustered with this whole process, but the county media representative was there and walked her through it and even took care of the issue for her.
I worked in the Lewis Frasier Middle School media center this afternoon. I helped with checkout of books, stamping due dates, and shelving books after the students left. I also helped clean up after the students left for the day. Since a lot of my time so far has been after hours or during the summer, it was nice to work with the students. I also enjoyed seeing a different role the media specialist needs to have. There was apparently a mix-up with some technology that needed to be straightened out. The school won a grant for math laptops and then used funds from the budget to purchase more laptops for complete class sets. One of the math resource teachers got one of the laptops as well. However, she was given one of the laptops that was supposed to be a student laptop because of the grant wording. So her laptop had to be traded out for one of the media-purchased laptops. In order to make this all happen, the MS had to go through all the paperwork to determine which one could be given and then take some panel off the back and trade it out. She was quite flustered with this whole process, but the county media representative was there and walked her through it and even took care of the issue for her.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Reading Enjoyment Unit
I worked with Mr. Anderson's and Mrs. Wilson's class today on the start of my reading enrichment unit. I completed a book talk on the book "Ghost Cadet". I went into their classroom and discussed the title, overall topic of the Civil War, the main characters, and part of the plot. I then handed out the books and we read chapter 1 together. After we completed reading the chapter, I introduced the blog that will go along with this book. After each chapter, I plan to post questions to the site and have them answer the questions. I showed them the blog and discussed its importance. I also assigned each of them a number to use as their post so that their privacy is respected. I answered any questions that were asked to make sure there was an understanding of my expectations.
The link to the blog is:
http://www.litwithlukk.blogspot.com/
The link to the blog is:
http://www.litwithlukk.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Frank Long Elementary
2:45-7:15PM
Tonight is open house at FLE so I decided to keep the media center, including the book fair, open the entire time after school and help my media specialist with the book fair during open house. After school, there were more teachers that took advantage of the media center being open since most of the teachers stayed after school because of open house. There were teachers who came to the book fair, used the work room, and asked questions about books.
During the open house, the book fair was incredibly busy! I am not sure how the media specialist would have been able to take care of all the business without a helper. I helped answer the parent's questions about different books, checked them out when they were ready to leave, and identified specific books to purchase. It was busy for the entire 1 1/2 hours of the open house and I was glad to help my MS with her job in this regard.
Tonight is open house at FLE so I decided to keep the media center, including the book fair, open the entire time after school and help my media specialist with the book fair during open house. After school, there were more teachers that took advantage of the media center being open since most of the teachers stayed after school because of open house. There were teachers who came to the book fair, used the work room, and asked questions about books.
During the open house, the book fair was incredibly busy! I am not sure how the media specialist would have been able to take care of all the business without a helper. I helped answer the parent's questions about different books, checked them out when they were ready to leave, and identified specific books to purchase. It was busy for the entire 1 1/2 hours of the open house and I was glad to help my MS with her job in this regard.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Frank Long Elementary
2:45-5:15PM
Today was another day with extended hours. It was pretty close to the same as the last couple times. I saw a few teachers come in and use the facitilies, but nothing that was different than the last couple times it was open late. However, I still feel that this is a very good use of my time. I think the teachers appreciate the fact that I keep the center open late. As they get used to having it open every Tuesday evening, they will most likely start using it more often. I am glad that I can offer this service and look forward to seeing more teachers take advantage of it!
Today was another day with extended hours. It was pretty close to the same as the last couple times. I saw a few teachers come in and use the facitilies, but nothing that was different than the last couple times it was open late. However, I still feel that this is a very good use of my time. I think the teachers appreciate the fact that I keep the center open late. As they get used to having it open every Tuesday evening, they will most likely start using it more often. I am glad that I can offer this service and look forward to seeing more teachers take advantage of it!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Richmond Hill High School
7:15-3:15
Today I went to Richmond Hill High School to complete my hours in a high school. I worked with Annie Norton and Paula Wyatt throughout the day. When I arrived, I got a tour of the facility. It is an incredibly small facility for the size of the student body. There are 1600 students and it is smaller than my elementary school facility with only 600 students. It is about 1/3 the size of Bradwell Institute in Liberty County and BI only has about 200 more students. When I asked the two media specialists about this, they agreed that they should have more space and it is possibly in the plans when a new middle school is built. There is a middle school next to RHHS that will eventually be taken in as a part of the high school and another media center will be included in that part of the campus.
There were supposed to be classes come in all day to do research on the Salem Witch Trials, so Mrs. Wyatt had pulled books for this research project. She showed me that she has room on one set of shelves for teacher pulls. However, this teacher did not show up. He was not ready for his class to come in yet. There was another class that came in, though, and completed some independent research. The students took the laptops that were set out and went to their individual tables to look up whatever information they needed. They didn't need any assistance, resources, or extra materials.
Throughout the day, I got to see quite a few different roles that these media specialists play. I saw different teachers who came in and discussed activities with them. I also got to see different versions of teacher/media specialist cooperation. I don't believe I saw true collaboration, but I did see some interaction. I also saw a class that came in to work. The two media specialists don't do anything with check-out, check-in, or shelving as they have a full-time clerk that takes care of all of this. There were several students that came into the MC throughout the day and asked questions, found books, used the computers and printers, and just talked to the MS.
It was very interesting to see the difference between an elementary school that I was used to and a high school. The high school has much less traffic through the media center throughout the day. The traffic it does have seems to be just for socializing and not necessarily for education. However, the classes that came in were so independent. They just grabbed the laptops and got to work. It was pretty amazing to see the difference.
Today I went to Richmond Hill High School to complete my hours in a high school. I worked with Annie Norton and Paula Wyatt throughout the day. When I arrived, I got a tour of the facility. It is an incredibly small facility for the size of the student body. There are 1600 students and it is smaller than my elementary school facility with only 600 students. It is about 1/3 the size of Bradwell Institute in Liberty County and BI only has about 200 more students. When I asked the two media specialists about this, they agreed that they should have more space and it is possibly in the plans when a new middle school is built. There is a middle school next to RHHS that will eventually be taken in as a part of the high school and another media center will be included in that part of the campus.
There were supposed to be classes come in all day to do research on the Salem Witch Trials, so Mrs. Wyatt had pulled books for this research project. She showed me that she has room on one set of shelves for teacher pulls. However, this teacher did not show up. He was not ready for his class to come in yet. There was another class that came in, though, and completed some independent research. The students took the laptops that were set out and went to their individual tables to look up whatever information they needed. They didn't need any assistance, resources, or extra materials.
Throughout the day, I got to see quite a few different roles that these media specialists play. I saw different teachers who came in and discussed activities with them. I also got to see different versions of teacher/media specialist cooperation. I don't believe I saw true collaboration, but I did see some interaction. I also saw a class that came in to work. The two media specialists don't do anything with check-out, check-in, or shelving as they have a full-time clerk that takes care of all of this. There were several students that came into the MC throughout the day and asked questions, found books, used the computers and printers, and just talked to the MS.
It was very interesting to see the difference between an elementary school that I was used to and a high school. The high school has much less traffic through the media center throughout the day. The traffic it does have seems to be just for socializing and not necessarily for education. However, the classes that came in were so independent. They just grabbed the laptops and got to work. It was pretty amazing to see the difference.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Frank Long Elementary
2:45-5:15PM
Today was another day in the media center after hours. I had a few more people show up this time. One of the restrictions on my time in the MC, however, is that I am not allowed to check out equipment. I can only check out books. So one of the questions that came in was about software. The MS locked the back room where this is housed, so I was not able to help her. However, I did have people come in and use the laminator, the paper cutter, and the ellison cutters again.
Today was another day in the media center after hours. I had a few more people show up this time. One of the restrictions on my time in the MC, however, is that I am not allowed to check out equipment. I can only check out books. So one of the questions that came in was about software. The MS locked the back room where this is housed, so I was not able to help her. However, I did have people come in and use the laminator, the paper cutter, and the ellison cutters again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
