MATCH MADE IN EDUCATION HEAVEN?

For many years, media specialists were the go-to resource for all things technology in schools. TVs, VCRs, overhead projectors, slide reels, and eventually even computers and handheld devices. But as technology evolved, so did a school’s need for technology support. Instructional technology specialists began popping up and are now considered commonplace in school systems. Some are fortunate enough to have one IT specialist per school. Larger systems often have one specialist who covers several schools. Schools now have technology support through both the media specialist and the IT specialist—a match made in heaven, everything runs smoothly, and life is just hunky dory, right? Well, things may not always run smoothly, and in many instances, a relationship between media specialists and IT specialists may not even exist. As a teacher, I thought of our school’s IT specialist as the one to complain to about my slow computer or my projector bulb not being bright enough. As an English teacher, I worshipped our media specialist for the research knowledge that she could provide for my students, as well as her all-knowing ways of navigating our state online database system (GALILEO). Now that I am a media specialist, I understand each job title and role a little better, but I also see how the two positions should be a match made in heaven, but it does not always work out that way.

Both positions ultimately have the same goal: Effectively integrate technology into our schools. IT specialists focus on strategies to get technology into the classroom through training teachers, providing technology resources, and solving technical issues (Sugar and Holloman 66–7). Our IT specialist, who is assigned solely to our school, works with teachers in small group training sessions during planning blocks, Lunch and Learns, and on teacher workdays. He has coordinated initiatives at our school, such as our school’s five-year-plan to go 1:1 with Chromebooks, acquiring and deploying the necessary technology.

Though media specialists still have physical collections of print material, technology runs our media centers. Catalogs are online. We engage students through e-books. We teach teachers and students how to safely navigate online and do research. Media specialists collaborate with teachers in the use of media and technology in the classroom. This instruction is driven by the AASL standards and the standards of the classroom teachers (ISTE). Technology and media departments utilize technology across the entire school, but there has remained a divide between who did what and whose resources were whose. How do we reach the altar in a technology match made in heaven?

BARRIERS

One of the first barriers that Levi Sybert, our school’s IT specialist, and I realized existed were egos! Although I do not know as much about troubleshooting computers as Levi does, I am a quick learner, and he was willing to be a patient teacher. I needed help in certain areas, such as learning how to install and operate AppleTVs. Levi had to be willing to let go of some of his duties as we became a team. I have been able to get him to understand the importance of our media collection (he is not a bookworm—gasp!) and that we do still need to buy books and not just computers and new devices. Communication about our expectations for our collaboration was key. We both have busy schedules. Making the time to talk, sometimes for only five minutes, has kept us both abreast of our work. Occasionally, we have had to actually carve out an hour to nail down bigger projects, like an upcoming teacher training, but our smaller sessions have helped us continue to learn from each other and overcome the “ego” barrier.

Threat to job security is a second barrier we struggled with. Relinquishing duties or having someone else learn how to handle your role can make you look replaceable if the two roles seem to be handled by one person. Instead of having less to do, Levi admits, “I am able to focus on tasks now that I did not have time for before merging the media and technology programs at our school. The quality of my work has also improved because of the additional time that I have. I know Robin can handle many of the tasks that I saw as ‘menial’ (installing new computers, hardware, and software), tasks that kept me from being able to plan for teacher training sessions or working on our 1:1 Chromebook initiative.” From my perspective, I have a whole new set of skills that makes me more marketable and more in tune with creating 21st century learners. Our flexibility in working with one another has allowed us to see that.

“I feel like we are from two different planets!” Those were some of the first words that spewed out of me when I had to consider working with Levi. It wasn’t personal, but I am more of a free spirit, cluttered desk, lots of ideas started but not all finished kind of person. Thank goodness, he is the much more organized, focused, non-procrastinating member of our team, or things may never get done! Competing personalities are barriers to any relationship. Learning to accept personality differences and diverse work ethics is essential.

As a media specialist, I admit that I am very territorial—“my” books, “my” computers, “my” budget. The battle over resources can be a huge barrier to the media specialist/IT specialist relationship. Though we maintain two separate budgets, we have been good about sharing resources. When Levi ordered new teacher computers to replace dated ones from the technology budget, the media center was allowed to use the old ones as extras. We also assist each other through support and troubleshooting for all of the technological needs in our school. Once the essential relationship between the IT specialist and the media specialist was established, Levi and I were given the task of designing and creating for the future of our school. This adventure was going to be the true test of our new relationship, and it would see us either high-fiving our way to many happy years to come or heading straight to the couches of Dr. Phil, or worse, divorce court!

OUR SITUATION

Richmond Hill High School (Georgia) is unique in that our enrollment has increased almost 400 percent in my seventeen years here. The graduating class of 1998 had seventy-eight students. The class of 2014 graduated 378! To say that our media center became cramped is an understatement. Visiting groups (i.e., accreditation) would point out how small our media center was for such a large enrollment. But we p32 had no room to expand. We also had to look at the needs of our media center. We had recently completed a very thorough weeding and were replenishing our shelves, both physically and digitally (with the addition of FollettShelf and OverDrive).Our students were reading ferociously—a 125 percent increase in circulation from 2012–2014—but we really needed more space for large classes, and small group learning, and technology to serve our growing enrollment; not just another computer lab, but space that allowed true teacher and media specialist collaboration and small group learning and production. A technology hub. A learning commons.

A new middle school was built in 2012. So our high school, located behind the old middle school, took over the remaining middle school space. With the former middle school media center space empty, we now had space to add tools that would help us link education and technology; thus the LiNK, our school’s learning commons, was created. Levi coined the term LiNK and intentionally kept the “i” lowercase as an emphasis on information. Working as a team for the first time on a major project, Levi and I put together our talents to envision, tear out, redesign, and create a 21st century space for collaboration and blended learning.

Where do you start with creating a learning commons from scratch? Levi and I had different approaches. Levi knew that the layout of the space was key. He had heard about the GaDOE’s Center for Classroom Innovation (www.gadoe.org/technology-services/instructional-technology/pages/center-for-classroom-innovation.aspx) and took inspiration from that project. He created a 3D layout, using SketchUp, and considered the following elements in the layout and functionality: large group presentation area with screen, projector, document camera, and AppleTV; small group presentation area with an interactive flat panel computer and AppleTV; collaborative areas; desktop walk-in area, and two studio spaces with green screens. I then took his layout and thought about how the LiNK and media center would work together, despite being in separate facilities. Infographics quickly became one of my favorite ways to communicate. On paper, this is how I saw our school’s media center and the LiNK working together for our media program. I used Piktochart to create an infographic that showcased what both facilities have to offer. Though some of the facts have changed since the LiNK opened in January 2012, this visualization helped me convince our school board, school administration, and all stakeholders that the LiNK would help our media program achieve its goal of creating 21st century learners.

In designing the LiNK, I had “modern” on the brain! I wanted to create a space that I knew the students and teachers would be proud of and that was very different from anything in our school. Chrome, stainless steel, shades of gray (four, not 50!), and pops of orange and bright green make the LiNK a jaw-dropper when people first see it.

Did our relationship survive this redesign? Yes! Through blood (I broke a couple of fingernails), sweat (the physical labor of dismantling and installing much of the furniture ourselves), and tears (of joy when it was all done!), Levi and I overcame the barriers to a media specialist/ instructional technologist relationship and created an amazing new place to learn for our school.

CURRENTLY

I maintain the LiNK, with Levi’s office close-by, and work with teachers to build lessons that incorporate app-based learning in the iPad lab, Google-based lessons in the Chromebook lab, and/ or interactive lessons on our interactive flat screen computer. Our original media center continues to house our book collection as well as a class set of iPads, laptops, and numerous desktop computers. The LiNK works to incorporate the technology aspect in creating 21st century learners. Yes, in a perfect world, the two spaces would be together, but we are adjusting and getting teachers and students to see how valuable both spaces are.

Having survived the renovation and installation of the LiNK, I am even more convinced that the relationship between a media specialist and instructional technologist is essential. Yes, there are barriers to overcome, and aspects that we continue to work on daily, but it truly can be a match made in education heaven that will have a school’s technology and media program working together to create and support 21st century learners.Former middle school library before the redesignThe LiNK, redesigned with mobile furniture and cooperative learning spaces