Summary

Reflecting on all that was covered and discussed in this class I would have to say I really enjoyed the class, even though it was more work than I had anticipated. The class not only allowed me to learn new things it also made me think about things I had not really thought about before.

Module 2 - Advocacy made me see that we have to continually promote the Library Media Center and all that we do because no one else will do it for us. I have done some advocacy for the program but I can now see how I can do more.

In Module 3 - Outreach I felt I was doing something to reach out to administration, parents, students, staff and the community by writing my monthly newsletter articles. I am not sure how many people actually read my articles but I have had a few students tell me that their parents have kept the article and put it next to their computer at home.

Module 4 - Technology/Technology Leadership Skills made me take a look at all that I do in relationship to technology.  I knew I was heavily involved with technology but until I really thought about it I saw how it was sometimes hard for me to distinguish if I was doing the technology because I was a Library Media Specialist or a Building Computer Coordinator. I figured that maybe this isn't a black and white issue but an all gray issue?

Module 5 - Staff Development made me take a look at why I wasn't more involved with the technology staff development. The main reasons were I wasn't on the Staff Development Committee (only one person from each building) plus I was never asked to do anything other than the training of Frontpage with my department. This year we were to take this online survey of what things we wanted to see offered in the way of staff development. This was fine but there was only one question that asked about technology related staff development and it was open ended. The question was - What technology staff development would you like to see offered?  My feeling is teachers know a lot about teaching in their area of expertise but for the most part technology isn't at the top of the list. For that reason they may not know what they are missing and so how do they know what they would like to see offered? 

For Module 6 - Collaboration I decided to do an Annual Report. I have worked with four different administrators in my eleven years as a Library Media Specialist and I have never been asked for an Annual Report. I have always kept yearly information such as usage totals, checkout totals, lost materials, and other statistical information but I had never went to the next step to put all the information together in one document. By writing an Annual Report for this year (up to March 4, 2005 or 2/3 of the school year) it made me look at other things that are not necessarily statistical in nature plus it made me look at the statistics I do keep in a more meaningful way. An example would be which department actually use the computer lab not just general totals.

Overall, I would have to say that I was glad I took the class but maybe next time I will not take another class during the school year, especially, in spring which is usually the busiest time of year for me.

Portfolio     Module 2     Module 3     Module 4     Module 5     Module 6