10 Things Every Teacher Should Know About Technology

My "10 Things Every Teacher Should Know About Technology" list was created back in January as I began LBS850, Emerging Technologies For Libraries. I knew I had so much to learn and couldn't have imagined just how right I was. I opened my list this week and after reading it with a slight feeling of nostalgia along with a great feeling of relief at realizing I've made it through. I want to be the kind of teacher who lives by these suggestions; an educator who puts the needs of the students first and foremost. This means putting aside any fears that I may have about not knowing as much as my students in using new technology. They have grown up with this and also have the time that I would cherish to experiment and learn about each new application. I need to remember that the whole purpose is to learn and to continue to learn, even if that means alongside the students. So with this in mind:

1. Be adventurous. Technology is new to all at first. Keep an open mind and don’t be afraid to try something new even if you and your students learn it together. Shelving a new technology until time allows you to learn it prior to introducing it to your students may result in a dusty shelf worn application that you'll never use and your students will miss out on.

2. Be informed. Something new is always in the wings. Learn about what technologies are available and how they can fit into your lesson plans.

3. Be prepared. Do a trial run to work out any problems and still be ready with an alternate lesson in case the lesson doesn’t go as planned. In fact, be ready with a Plan C as well.

4. Be humble. Admit it when you’re overwhelmed and don’t be afraid or too embarrassed to ask for help.

5. Be cautious. Before giving free rein to your students, help them to become responsible internet users by teaching safe internet use.

6. Be patient. You won’t learn it all as quickly as you would like. Take technology one step at a time.

7. Be thorough. Don’t incorporate technology into your lesson for its own sake without keeping in mind the pedagogy behind it.

8. Be creative. When utilizing PowerPoint, Publisher, or other programs to create a presentation, don’t stop at its creation. Develop the students’ art of presenting their work, as well as their art of creating it.

9. Be curious. Open yourself up to whatever is new in technology and be as curious as a child when trying out something new. Look for opportunities to join others who are learning new technology through workshops or PD.

10. Be persuasive. It will become your job to convince even the most skeptical staff and teachers of the benefits of using available technologies to improve the learning environment of the students and prepare them for their future as lifelong 21st Century learners. Invite them to see how you have incorporated a certain technology into your lessons and offer them your help to do the same in their classrooms.

There Is Light at the End of the Tunnel

All I can say is "Whew!" I feel like I do when I come to the end of a heart pumping, pulse racing roller coaster ride. We've just reached the end of the course and I can finally take that deep sigh of relief. It's been a fabulous ride. I haven't regreted any minute of it. Well, maybe there were a few moments-those desperate "How will I ever get this done?" or "Where do I begin?" or "What was I thinking?" moments when it all became so overwhelming. Luckily, those moments were brief and usually as I was feeling insecure about not understanding some point or how to begin a project, one of my classmates or my professor jumped in to help before I would get to the screaming stage. My sons and husband are very appreciative about that. This has been my most favorite course so far. Granted, I've only taken four but I don't expect too many future ones to come close.
There were the many online applications that we were encouraged to become familiar with, some I had used, some I hadn't. But in "playing" with many of them, I realized what each was capable of and if and how it could be introduced into my library lessons. The students are always receptive to new technology and now the fun will continue as I attempt to incorporate what I have learned into my library. If it enhances the lessons, it should become a part of the plan.
One of my favorites is Animoto which makes it easy for students to use a video to showcase information they have learned about a topic. After attempting my first video using my Songbirds as a subject, I began to think of a number of ways that my students can get creative in presenting their information besides a PowerPoint.
The cataloging module was the most helpful one to me. I have been cataloging since I began my role as LMS in elementary school but without much formal training. It was a necessary part of the job and I did my best to keep up with its demands. The information I gained from the readings and discussions helped to connect the dots for me and fill in many of the blanks left empty due to lack of any formal training. I learned about many of the features of the OPAC used in my school and I am planning to learn more about what it can and cannot do for our students.
This course may be coming to a close but its influences will live on in the heart of my teaching as I strive to become an effective and passionate instructor of 21st-Century students.

Choosing the Right OPAC

In an ideal situation, we as Library Media Specialists would be able to sift through the many OPACs available to libraries and regardless of cost, choose the right one for the individual school. With budget cuts and lack of funding, schools need to choose wisely and sometimes adapt to the OPAC that is available for their use. My school uses InfoCentre, and this was the OPAC in place when I came to the school four years ago.Are there better, more advanced ones for our school? Certainly. Is there a chance that we may change to another with more advanced features that will move our students forward into the 21st-Century? Realistically, I would have to say no. Our district, like many others in Massachusetts are experiencing major budget cuts in all areas. The likelihood of changing over to any new technology at the present time is slim.Until that changes, we as LMS need to utilize our present OPAC to the absolute best of our and its abilities for the benefit of our learners. It is our responsibility to our students to know the system we are using and all of its features. Then we need to ensure that our students know how to use the system to get the most information to help them access the resources they are searching for. Working together, students and LMS, to get the most out of the OPAC can compensate at least in part for the lack of an updated version or a new more advanced one.

Interviewing LMS on Library Automation Systems

One thing that all school libraries have in common is their need for a library automation system. Not only useful as an organizational tool for librarians and a “Table of Contents” for patrons searching for informational and recreational materials, a good system will serve as a portal for students allowing them access to resources beyond their library’s four walls, their district schools, and into the world wide web. The needs of each individual school are different as are the needs of their student population. Certain criteria should be considered when choosing a library automation system for your school. Comparing systems and accepting feedback from product sales representatives along with customers currently using the system will help you make an informed decision that will benefit school staff as well as students.

Interview One- Sirsi/Dynix User

Gary Metzenbacher
Library Media Specialist
East High School
Columbus, OH

Question: What system do you use?
Answer: SIRSI/Dynix

Question: What is the support like? How available and helpful are they?
Answer: Fairly helpful. Our downtime is very short and outages are few and far between.

Question: Do you have one server between many schools?
Answer: "Our" server actually takes care of numerous school systems. We don't actually own a server for library automation but we utilize SIRSI which is a major provider. Our IT people could not possibly handle library automation. That requires some background in library services and it's much better for our district to simply contract with someone who knows what they're doing for that. The downside is that when the main server is down everyone in the state on SIRSI is down. Downtime, however is very, very seldom and very, very short.

Question: Can you search other libraries?
Answer: We can search the libraries of all the Ohio schools using SIRSI so that gives us all of Columbus City Schools (140+ buildings) and Southwestern City Schools (20+ buildings) and quite a few school districts and private schools around the state.

Question: Is the search easy (ours need to be exact titles, or search comes up empty)
Answer: Easy search: keyword search, title search, author search, subject search. The default is keyword and you can specify a particular building/library as well if you want. It is fairly user intuitive and simple to use.

Question: How about updates and upgrades?
Answer: Updates and upgrades are all done at the main SIRSI Ohio center in Lima. The main hiccups would be with our own district IT people who aren't always on top of their game if you get my meaning. For the most part, updates are transparent and seldom affect users EXCEPT for major revisions which require us to have new training, which is provided by SIRSI. We've had 2 major revisions in the 6 or 7 years we've been using the system. Not bad for such a big setup.

Question: Do you have any other comments, positive or negative?
Answer: As to negatives; since SIRSI was originally designed as a public library system there are a few quirks that you have to work-around as a school library. They are willing to accommodate SOME requests to adjust the setup for your building/district but they take a while before they actually grant such accommodations and requests. Inventory could be a lot simpler than the multi-step process they designed but I've managed to get my inventory done by eliminating some of those steps but you have to pay careful attention when you do that or you could miss something and not be able to figure out where you did.

Question: Do you think this is the right system for your school?
Answer: I'm not sure I would say our system is the best one for our school but every system has its positive aspects as well as its faults. It really depends on what the users are comfortable with and what the costs over the long term will be. Costs are not always monetary and one needs to make sure they consider the user frustration or acceptance as a very real cost to any system you implement or consider. Additionally you need to consider long-term customer support. Is the system reliable and will there be technical support over time or will it get orphaned and leave you with problems? We use our system and like some things about it but dislike some things as well. I don't care for the inventory module because it is too labor intensive. It was easier (and quicker) with the shelflist cards and a box. I do like, however, that I can search all of our buildings and some others as well. The interlibrary loan module still relies on our personal contacts via phone or email but it works for us. It would be more convenient to make the request electronically but we're not there yet.


Interview Two- InfoCentre User

Deborah Caudill
Library Media Specialist
FallBrook Elementary School
Leominster, MA 01453

Question: What system do you use?
Answer: InfoCentre

Question: What is the support like? How available and helpful are they?
Answer: When Infocentre was first introduced into our district schools, it was a product of Winnebago, a company later bought by Sagebrush. As far as support, I cannot give an honest report because I was not using the system during that time. Since then, Sagebrush has been bought by Follett and so Infocentre support comes from them. Follett has stated that they will continue to support InfoCentre users and keep them updated with the latest improvements, updates, and upgrades. Our library has been a customer of Follett in the past and we have been extremely satisfied with their support and speed at responding to our questions or concerns. I have no reason to believe that their support of InfoCentre and our district as a client would be any different or of any lesser quality.

Question: Do you have one server between many schools?
Answer: We have one server to support all the schools in our district. The server is housed at one of our middle schools and is serviced by our district’s IT staff that was trained by Sagebrush to manage the system. When our server is down, it affects all schools but because it’s within our district, downtime is limited.

Question: Can you search other libraries?
Answer: Besides our own catalog, we can search those of all other schools within our district. This can be done from our library computers, all classroom and teacher computers, and from students’ homes. This is a great feature in that parents can also access our library catalog to search for books for student projects or personal interest.

Question: Is the search easy?
Answer: The simple search can be done by keyword, title, author, or subject and Infocentre also offers an advanced search which makes it easier to do a Bibliography list for teachers or students searching for books on a specific subject. Another great feature is the visual search allowing younger, slow readers and also the many ELL students in our school to search by topic pictures instead of words.

Question: How about updates and upgrades?
Answer: Because updates and all upgrades are performed from Follett’s host website, they are fast and easy and ensure the most advanced technology for our library. When we are ready to upgrade, Follett’s InfoCentre 2.0, a newer version, is available for download from their site.

Question: Do you have any other comments, positive or negative?
Answer: There are a lot of positives. For instance, InfoCentre includes features previously considered add-ons such as: an integrated Z39.50 server; the Visual Search interface; the WebServer component to deliver the Web Catalog interface; multiuser licensing; the ability to load user data into InfoCentre from other databases. The search interface can be configured to display results from one or more libraries in the district. This makes it a good fit for our schools.

Question: So it sonds like you wouldn't replace InfoCentre?
Answer: With budget cuts and frozen spending, an upgrade is not in the immediate future. With a system that works for us and a company like Follett backing us and ready to support upgrades when we are ready, InfoCentre would be my choice for our library’s OPAC.

Moving Our School Library Forward

In my opinion, The OPAC assignment was one of the most useful to me as a current, albeit novice, LMS. I began the unit questioning its worth as compared to some of the others and wondered if I would value the experience with its time and energy demands. This doubt coupled with the confusion of where to begin led me to drag my feet a bit at the thought of beginning my quest. After my first attempt at making some sense out of the Breeding site offered, I wasn't feeling too much better. Then two things happened. The first was that reality slapped me in the face screaming "You have to do this so get over the whining and get to work!" This reality check was the impetus of the second. In researching other library OPAC systems and paying closer attention to my own and what it has to offer, I concluded that I don't know very much about the system I've been using for the past four years except for the applications that I had become familiar with. Because I came into the position as a permanent LMS sub, a role that lasted for two years, I was expected to function as best I could without guidance from a mentor or the tech support. After being offered the position as a permanent LMS teacher, things began to change and I was assigned a mentor. I was able to catch up and fill in the blanks through the help and support of her and others. Still I became comfortable with what applications I needed I continued on through my blissful ignorance believing that this was enough and that I was doing the best I could under the circumstances.
With the help of Marshall Breeding's site and after my eye-opening experience of researching other school library automation systems and my own in more depth,I have come to the conclusion that this assignment has been so beneficial to me by making me aware of the importance of knowing the system you are3 utilizing so that your students benefit fully from its use.
I interviewed myself as an LMS using Follett's Infocentre. In additio, I interviewed Gary Metzenbacher, a Library Media Specialist in East High School, Columbus, OH. Mr Metzenbacher uses Sirsi/Dynix. I had heard from colleagues that this system would be one worth looking into as a possible replacement for InfoCentre. Mr. Metzenbacher answered questions and gave his opinions as a current user as to the positive and the negative points of Sirsi/Dynix. In comparing the two systems using criteria such as tech support and user friendliness, I have decided to prepare an argument to keep Infocentre in our district schools. One thing that Mr. Metzenbarger said that holds true when choosing an automation system for your school library: "Costs are not always monetary and one needs to make sure they consider the user frustration or acceptance as a very real cost to any system you implement or consider." Metzenbarger also stressed tech support as an important component:
"Additionally you need to consider long-term customer support.Is the system reliable and will there be technical support over time or will it get orphaned and leave you with problems?"
I found it advantageous to talk to a "live" LMS. In discussing the advantages of any system with someone who has been using it in his library, I was given a picture of the system in action within a school library environment with a firsthand source of positive and negative points. On the other hand, if I had discussed the same only with the system's sales representative, there would always be the feeling that the main goal of the discussion was to sell the system. The only sure proof of an automation system's success is in its initiation wihin the school library and observance of daily student and teacher use.