Technology takes teamwork

NEA Today, May 1999

Great stuff happens when librarians and teachers team up.

Who:

Elaine Snider, librarian, Waggoner Elementary School, Tempe, Arizona

E-mail:

esnider@ speedchoice.com

Inspiration:

Snider claims she entered the computer age kicking and screaming, but now her library is the school's technology hub-and she regularly teams up with teachers to help make technology an important part of every student's learning experience.

Snider started collaborating with teachers even before technology entered the picture, when she decided that "the library as an isolated class was not very meaningful to kids."

What made sense, she says, was to have students learn library skills while they were involved in a subject. So Snider freed herself from scheduled classes to work with teachers at their request.

Initially, some teachers rebelled at the loss of scheduled library time, but Snider says demand for her services grew by word of mouth. By the time technology was added to the mix, the idea of working as a team with the librarian was familiar to Waggoner's teaching staff.

Lesson:

Once the guardian of print materials, Snider has seen her role change into the keeper of technology. It's a natural evolution, she says.

"The library's role is very different. We can't be traditional anymore-not if we want to help these kids," Snider explains.

"They're using the Internet more and more for research-but they need to learn how to evaluate what they're finding," she continues. "Even as a traditional library, that was a big part ol our job. It's an even bigger part now."

And Snider presides over a bigger space. A room adjacent to the library now houses a production lab, with 29 computers and a host of multimedia equipment.

Once a week, teachers work in the lab with Snider or master technology teacher Jay Wallace, or on their own. The focus of this scheduled time is on meeting the goals of the Kyrene school district's technology curriculum.

Working with teachers, "we come up with an activity to hit the targets," Snider says.

Here's how:

Snider developed a unit, tied to the fourth and fifth grade social studies curriculum, based on the American Girls series. In addition to reading several of the books and participating in classroom activities, students produce plays using American Girls Premiere software and develop Web pages to show what they're learning.

"Boys get into this every bit as much as the girls!" Snider remarks.

In the production lab, fifth grade "experts" create daily PowerPoint presentations-covering the lunch menu and announcements-that are broadcast on the school's TV system.

Students develop electronic portfolios using HyperStudio. They might include their photos, a voice recording that tells "all about me," or a sample of what they like to read. When parents come in for a conference, students lead them through the portfolio.

Click:

"Two heads are better than one," Snider says. "Teachers are the ones who know the kids. But the librarian may be able to take a curriculum item, develop it, and maybe make it more meaningful by using technology."

For More Information

Go to the Kyrene school district Web site at www.kyrene.k12.az.us to access the Waggoner home page. Once there, go to "Classes" to find Snider in the "Resource Center. "

Another place to visit on the Waggoner home page is "Catlinks, " which offers links to fun and educational resources for children and lesson plans for teachers.