Coaching Technology

I have had the pleasure of working in media centers at all three levels in my current school system.  Through my experiences I have seen media centers ran in a variety of different ways and their focuses were not always the same.   Some of the older media specialist shy away from technology.  They did not push the students to use technology to look up their own books and see if they were in the media center.  Then you have teachers who are scared to use technology in the classroom because they are not comfortable with implementing technology.  The school system I work for makes an honest attempt to provide the latest technology.  We have document cameras, projectors, laptops, chromebooks, iPods, turning point kits, teacher sites, Edmodo, infinite campus and allow live streaming from a select few websites, however greater progress can be made.

            In my particular school the teachers and students want to utilize technology every chance they get, however my school is not equipped with enough individual devices such as desktops, laptops or chromebooks to keep up with the demands of the teachers. My school has about 380 laptops, chromebooks, and desktops in two computer labs to support a school of 1400 students. All of the chromebook carts and laptop carts stay checked out to a teacher everyday.  We have to make the teachers sign up for the carts ahead of time, but we do have a few teachers who come to us at the last minute thinking we might have a cart available. 

The ISTE standards for Coaches lays out the duty of a media specialist. The media specialist I work with is new to the field. She also has not used any of the current technology available for teachers in the classroom, therefore can not provide the teachers with the professional development needed to integrate technology in their classroom.   I have been trained on and used a majority of the technology while completing long term subbing assignments for 3^rd and 4^th grades.  If a teacher in my school needs technology help they come to me, the media paraprofessional, or a teacher who has attended previous PD on the technology device which is sometime provided by the county.  I can say the county goes to great lengths to educate its staff on technology, just not everyone views it as important s others and choose not to attend.

As an inspiring media specialist I would go to great lengths to assist teachers in using technology in their class to actively engage their students. I would do so by having a set day of the week to stay late to coach any teacher who is in need of training.  I would also great screencast on the most popular devices used by the teachers and email the screencast when I and unavailable to show them personally how to use the technology in question.  Technology has advanced vastly.  For teachers, technology has made presenting information more appealing to all students and it make is easier for teachers to assess for mastery of a discipline.  For students, technology has made it easier for them to grasp content and turn in assignments with Edmodo.  I enjoy coaching teachers in using technology and look forward to such a rewarding profession as a media specialist.