Technology in School Libraries

Steven M. BauleCommunity Unit School

District 201

Technology Consists of?

Facets of Technology� Instructional Technology

� Teaching - general & special education� Staff development

� Hardware & Infrastructure� Software� Facilities� Service & Support� Finance� Leadership � Data Storage & Analysis

Key Issues

� Assessment and accountability� Staff development� Infrastructure development and

maintenance� Technology & information literacy� Curricular integration � Support services

Assessment and accountability

� New desire to tie everything to standards and ratings

� Ratios� Per student� Per classroom� Per teacher, etc.

� Percentage of spaces with Internet access� Total Cost of Ownership� STAR Assessment

Staff Development

� More than 50% of IT managers state that their biggest challenge is end user training

Staff Development

� Set expectations� Stevenson – contract issue� New Trier – voluntary

� Develop an accountable system that tracks progress

� Determine how trainers will stay current

Infrastructure Development

� Continual upgrade� Replacement /rotation

plan� Life expectancies� Video equipment in

the classroom� New technologies,

need to experiment

Technology & information literacy

� Need to develop and integrate life skills

� Technology expectations graduation or exit

� Information literacy� Need to be common

core skills in all areas

Curricular integration

� Provide many examples

� Provide first time assistance

� Get serious, need administrative support

� Model technology use

Support services

� Professional IT staff� Ratio of cpus to repair

staff� Help desk� Training� Reliability is essential

Components of a Technology Plan

� ISBE Requires a 3 Year Technology Plan� Community Involvement� Engaged Learning� Professional Development� Technology Deployment� ISBE and SLC/SLD have other criteria,

but the four above components are the meat of the plan

To Ensure Success

� Staff development

� Access

� Reliability and redundancy

� Method for ongoing revision

� Tie it to NCLB & SIP

Where to get information?

� Information Technology Adviser

� Education Technology Digest

� Regional Service Centers or Hubs

� ISTE/AECTAASL

Recently on an Illinois Listserv

� Question from Supt.:� I have to replace a retiring librarian next year, what

do other districts do regarding extended contracts?� Answer from another Supt.:

� I hired an aide for each building and let the remaining SMLS work between two schools, saved money, no downside.

� County in West Virginia is eliminating all library staff in the schools

� Paraphrased for space

� School Board Members� Administrators� Other Educators� Potential SLMSs� Students� Parents� Community

Succinctly

� Let people know what you are doing!

� Never identify a problem without providing a potential solution as well

� Don’t belabor points or point out issues that are obviously beyond his or her control

� Mention what positive things the administrator has done in the past for you

� Always follow up with a thank you note, even if just for taking time to meet with you

Communicate Considerately

Communicate Professionally

� Avoid folksy styles unless that is the administrator’s style

� Type memos: don’t handwrite notes on the back of the school bulletin

� Always provide enough detail that the administrator can start to consider the issue without having to seek you out simply to clarify the concern or need

Communicate Professionally

� Draft memos about your issues� Don’t ever expect that the administrator will have time

to write a letter for you without providing a draft or at least an outline

� Do not send five page memos to an administrator except for the most important and detailed of issues. In those cases, provide an executive summary

� If you need a letter of support, especially for grants, provide a draft that can be modified or just signed

Communicate Professionally

� Dress in business attire for presentations – P.E. teachers shouldn’t come to Board meetings in sweats and SLMSs should not come to such meetings in I Love Books vests, etc.

� Prepare presentation materials in a professional manner, provide covers, executive summaries, etc.

� Ensure there are no obvious typos, grammatical errors, etc.

Balance Communication

� Don’t continuously complain, ask, or plead, etc.

� Compliment when possible� Unsolicited and justified

compliments will go far towards building a positive relationship

� Preemptively serve your administration as the mind-reading librarian you are

Focus on Their Needs not Yours!

� “I need four new computers for the library catalog system”

� “If we had four more computer workstations in the library, students would be able to …….”

Always Frame your Requests around the School’s Strategic Plan, Technology Plan or SIP

� Quote the plan in all requests

� Focus on the student impact

� Speak in the terms of “student achievement”

Recent Studies

� Let’s not hang our hats entirely on recent studies….� They are correlative, they show a possible

relationship� They do not show causation � Given to an administrative team who knows research

as an “imperative” for stronger SLMPs, they may really backfire

� That doesn’t mean those studies don’t have value, they are a first step

As a professional community

� We need action research that shows causation� You can do this at the system or district level

with potentially significant results� Look to a small part of the Iowa Study that does

show causation in the number of books checked out

� Talk to your library software vendors about software modules of enhancements that can track library usage to test scores, etc.

At the School or District Level

� Ensure that the administrative team knows what you do and what you need

� Send copies of your newsletters to the Board & superintendent

Showcase your program

� Apply for grants� Apply for awards

� Look to DGS as an example

� Nominate others � Communicate

with the PTO/PTA/LSC

Excel at what you do – Merit does have its place

Questions?