Independent School Educators' List (ISED-L): FW: Library vs. Technology Staff Roles

Sunday, March 21, 2010

FW: Library vs. Technology Staff Roles

From: Dorcas Hand
Sent: Sun 3/21/2010 10:49 AM
To: A forum for independent school educators; ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: RE: Library vs. Technology Staff Roles

Many librarians are extremely tech savvy and have been leading the =
technology charge on their campuses since computers entered the picture, =
and before that with AV. We selected online resources, both =
subscription based and free internet sites, and we work to collaborate =
with teachers every day in every department to be sure the students have =
exactly what is needed for upcoming assignments. We truly appreciate =
our tech and ed tech counterparts who help us build a strong team to =
integrate technology into all classrooms as a tool in support of better =
learning and teaching.
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At AOS in Houston, we have several active tech related committees:=20
-Tech Leadership Committee, which includes the librarian, the computer =
lab teachers, the ed tech coordinator, tech support, and division =
administrators, the business manager and a board member.
-Technology Committee: librarian, computer teachers, Ed Tech, and Tech =
Support to work thru common issues as a team: policies and procedures to =
ease our own jobs and the full faculty
-Tech Literacy and Responsibility: the librarian, computer teachers, and =
ed tech coordinator to work onj beringing the tech curriculuym in the =
labs and in the classrooms to a place that truly supports integration =
across the curriculum.
No system is perfect, but this one works pretty well.
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And now to your questions:
Who teaches? Library staff teaches info literacy skills; computer =
teachers take applications and keyboarding.
Who works with teachers? Librarians at all levels in support of =
projects. LS Computer teacher also supports classrooms with computer =
time to broaden project access to online resources and produciton =
applicatons (ppt, paint, etc). MS Computer does not see all students =
all year, so integration is more challenging. The class focuses on =
applications mastery, and braoder understanding of technology.
Who makes decisions on software? Librarian selects subscription =
databases. Computer teachers review and select useful classroom =
applications, with input from interested teachers. Tech support selects =
overall applications and decides about big updates, filtering software, =
etc.
Budgets? Library budget pays for subscription databases. Tech budget, =
overseen by support, controls all purchased software - but our team =
approach keeps everybody pretty happy.
Who trains? Librarian works to train teachers and staff on subscription =
dbss; Ed Tech trains on website and SMART applications, and anything =
else needed.
Are we physically near? Mostly all in one building, but on three =
different floors. Phone email, and frequent meetings keep us on mostly =
the same page.
Who purchasesd equipment? If it is on a rolling cart, the Library =
purchases, circulates and supports it - with help from Tech Support if =
it is only used by connection to a computer. If it is a PC workstation =
or a wall-mounted piece of equipment (projector, SMARTboard, etc), Tech =
Support manages it - with Library supplying temporary backup when =
needed.
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There will be a book out in June, Independent School Libraries: =
Perspective in Excellence (Libraries Unlimited) which has several essays =
concerning the effect of technology on current library practice. =
http://lu.com/showbook.cfm?isbn=3D9781591588030
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I hope this is all helpful, and look forward to a compilation of your =
results.
Dorcas Hand
Annunciation Orthodox School
Houston TX
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