Management+Strategies

Media Center Management Strategies
The official unveiling and introduction of the new 21st Century Media Center will take place during Orientation Week. Teachers and staff can visit the Center throughout the day and get a feel for it and learn the concepts behind creating such a center. During this time the Technology Coordinator will explain the goal of the center (providing students and teachers ubiquitous access to technology and the tools necessary to be creators, collaborators and researchers in the 21st century), expectations of the administration. The Technology Coordinator and the Library Media Specialists will be circulating around the Center and showcasing the different pieces of equipment and rooms of the center. There will also be a time for questions, concerns and suggestions.

Rules of the Media Center

 * 1) No eating or drinking in the Media Center.
 * 2) All equipment is to be used for Educational purposes (class assignments and/or individual projects to learn more about the media and the Center in general or just to learn more about technology).
 * 3) No unauthorized downloads.
 * 4) No social networks (Facebook, My Space, etc.) are to be accessed in the Center without prior written permission. Blogging is permitted on authorized sites and for authorized projects.
 * 5) No music downloading.
 * 6) All equipment must be properly signed out before being taken out of the Media Center.
 * 7) All removable equipment available for loan will be bar coded and checked out through the library system computer (a 1 week maximum, with one renewal will be allowed unless special permission is granted).
 * 8) Abuse of the equipment is cause for suspension of privileges from the facility (two strikes and you are out, the first is a warning and the second is immediate suspension from the facility)
 * 9) Users must respect the fact that the Center can be reserved and closed to the “public” at certain times when prior reservations have been made.
 * 10) Teachers or Faculty must request reservation of the Center at least one week in advance to give adequate warning to all users of the facility.
 * 11) Staff must fill in seating plan prior to taking class inside the center. Seating plans are stored in each room and are available for reference. Pupils always sit at the same place. Any faults reported can be traced back to the perpetrators! Misuse must be sanctioned.
 * 12) Red and blue cards are available at each computer. Pupils place these on top of computer if they need help: red = technical assistance needed; blue = teacher assistance needed
 * 13) Supply of yellow post-it labels is available for sticking on faulty computers, so that incoming staff and pupils know where there are faults, and do not have to report faults a second time.
 * 14) Have fun and learn different uses for emerging technology.

The rules of the center will be posted on the door and in each room throughout the center. All users must sign an electronic acknowledgement of the rules upon entering the center for the first time. This acknowledgement will be housed on the school’s website.

Training
The Technology Coordinator will create the training manuals for the Center. He will also perform a majority of the initial training. He will work closely with the Library Media Specialists throughout the Design process using their input and suggestions. Additional training will be performed by the Library Media Specialists after the initial campaign of introductory training is complete. Library Media Specialists will be available during center hours to help with self paced training and additional training created to address future needs and interests from teacher and student suggestions.

The training manuals will be developed in a step by step format created in an animated Power Point format. There will be a training session geared toward an overview of the center. This training will focus on showing users around the center. It will showcase all of the equipment in the center and give a brief overview on it. It will also go over the procedures on checking the equipment out of the center. The main focus (after the equipment overview) will be on the operation of the SMART Board. This training will be presented to the staff, teachers and administrators. Training will be set up in a large group format. Ten participants will sit at the tables near the SMART Board. Each “student” will have a good view of the board and seated at a desk with a desktop computer. Users can follow along with the PowerPoint that will be available on their computer. In the spirit of a 21st Century Center and also keep Green conscious, training manuals will not be printed off for the users. If the user wants a copy of the training material, they can request it from the Technology Coordinator or go to the School website where links to all training manuals are available to print. Training for the staff will be performed during half day sessions in which substitute teachers will cover classroom responsibilities.

Students can sign up to take classes during their Study Halls. After the opening of the Center, dedicated times will be scheduled and reserved for student training. Students will first take the introductory class. After they have completed the overview class, they can opt to come into the Center for additional training.

Every piece of equipment will have its own self paced, step by step training created by the Technology Coordinator. Animated PPTs will show the functionality of each piece of equipment, step by step use and also exercises in using the equipment. The student will use the laptops in the center to access the training PPTs. Again, the training manuals will only be printed upon request. The Technology Coordinator or a Library Media Specialists will be available for questions during the self paced training.

Teachers will be able to sign up for the Self paced training during In Service days throughout the year to learn more about the equipment in the center. Users can also submit a training request if they have additional questions that were not addressed in the initial training.

Additional advanced classroom training will become available after all staff have received the overview training. Staff can also put in requests for training they would like to see performed. Training will also eventually focus on ways teachers can use technology to foster a wider range of learning opportunities: interaction, collaboration and communication.

Adaptations for students with Disabilities
The center will be designed to be ergonomically appropriate for high school students and the center will also be wheelchair assessable. In addition, software will be provided for students with other disabilities. The following software has been purchased to address these needs.


 * Skippy -** [] Skippy is a word prediction program designed for use by individuals with use of only one hand, limited hand function, or dyslexia. This typing assistant can be used in text-based Windows applications, including word processors, email and chat software, Web browsers, databases, and spreadsheets. Whenever the beginning of a word is typed, the software presents a list of words that begin with the already typed character(s). Every time an additional character is typed, the list of words is updated. Words are placed in the word prediction list based on their frequency of occurrence in the texts the program has learned. With one keystroke, the user selects a word to insert into the text from the list of suggestions. Once a word has been chosen, the program automatically adds a space to the inserted word and predicts the next word based on its knowledge of word pairs (sequences of two words).


 * Braillesurf-** [] BrailleSurf 4 is a Web browser designed for use by individuals who are blind or have low vision. It provides a simplified text reading of the information available on the Internet, which can be presented on a Braille display or spoken by a speech synthesizer. The text can also be presented on the screen in enlarged format for individuals with low vision. This program can also be used for a fast review of the accessibility level of a website for visually impaired people. The Technology Coordinator will ensure that the Librarians are properly trained to use the equipment and on how to train students with disabilities on how to use the specialized equipment, A Library Media Specialists will be on duty at all times and can help with this equipment. Teachers will also be able to sign up for classes that will train them on the specialized equipment.