Running head: TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM ADMINISTRATOR 1

Technology Program Administrator

Hayley Bragdon

FRIT 7739
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Executive Summary

Fairmount Elementary School’s media center is used by students in pre-

kindergarten to fifth grade. It is also used by teachers, support staff, and community

members. The media center is used for several activities from STEAM lessons to

professional development trainings for the faculty. One media specialist is in charge of

managing the center. The media specialist has many responsibilities. Her duties range

from teaching lessons to troubleshooting technology. Observations and interviews with

the media specialist indicated that the media specialist is a welcoming place for students.

The data also showed that the media center is working towards updating resources for

student use such as updating to iMacs. Overall, the media center is making gains towards

their goals to promote student engagement and creativity.

Organizational Chart
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Methods

I collected data in a variety of ways. I conducted many observations in the media center. I

observed many different activites. I also conducted interviews of staff members. I interviewed

the media specialist, Katy Waters on various occasions. I also interviewed three staff members at

Fairmount Elementary School. The grades taught by the staff members were kindergarten, third,

and fifth grade.

Center Context and Goals

Fairmount Elementary School opened in 1920. It originally housed students that were in

kindergarten to twelfth grade. In 1990, Fairmount became soley an elementary school for

students kindergarten to fifth grade. Fairmount Elementary school is a Title I in the Gordon

County school system. In Fall 2019, the media center was updated with iMac computers.

Currently, Katy Waters is the media specialist. Katy Waters has been the media specialist at

Fairmount Elementary School since August 2019.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Fairmount Elementary School media center is to create a warm,

inviting, flexible environment where students can comfortably explore, create, collaborate,

inquire, and think critically about any subject.

Goals

 Create a welcoming environment for studens by providing more flexible seating

options and adding murals and bright colored paint to certain walls
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 Update resources in the media center with newer technology and books, as well

as weeding out old resources

 Adding activities that encourage hands on learning

Stakeholders

The media center supports 409 students from pre-kindergarten to fifth grade. Katy Waters

is the media speciliast at Farimount Elementary School. She is responsible for troubleshooting

technology, teaching STEAM/STEM lessons, checking out books for students, managing the

media budget, and keeping the system with new technology. The media center is also a resource

to two administrators, two academic coaches, one guidance counselor, 32 teachers, and seven

support staff. The media center is also open for parents and members of the Fairmount

community.

Center Activities

 On a typical day, Katy Waters, the media specialist, teaches 5 classes to students

who are in pre-kindergarten to fifth grade in the media center. A majority of the

lessons are STEAM or STEM lessons.

 Staff professional development is held in the media center. Staff development

sessions are normally put on by administrators or academic coaches. They use the

Apple TV and smartboard during their sessions.

 Book Fairs are held in the media center. Each year, the media center has one book

fair in the fall and one in the spring. Each of book fairs last a week. During their

specials time, students are allowed to attend the book fair.

 Character breakfasts for award winners are put on in the media center. Every

month, some students are rewarded with a breakfast for displaying the character

word of the month. Their parents join them for breakfast.

 TOME club meets weekly in the media center. Students meet and read books, as

well as completing activities. Katy Water is in charge of TOME club.

 The Local School Goverance Team meets monthly in the media center. The team

consists of one administrator, three parent representatives, and two teacher

representatives. At their meetings, they discuss recommendations and reports for

Fairmount Elementary School.

Evaluation

Fairmount Elementary School’s media center is opened to all students ranging

from pre-kindergarten to fifth grade. Each student attends the media center at least once a

week during their specials time. The media center’s mission statement is to create a a

warm, inviting, flexible environment where students can comfortably explore, create,

collaborate, inquire, and think critically about any subject. From mulitple observations,

the media center is a place where students look forward to coming. They are actively

engaged in the lesson and activities when they are in the media center. During an

observation, Katy Waters, had a guest speaker come and put on a Johnny Appleseed

program. The man dressed, spoke, and acted like Johnny Appleseed. Another day that I

observed, students were working on a team building actvivity. They worked in pairs to

promote collaboration to see which group could build the tallest tower out of index cards.

After observations, it is aparent that the media center is following their mission
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statement. The media center is a place where students are eager to come. Katy Waters has

created a positive learning environemtn in the media center.

One of the goals of the media center was to update resources. Katy Waters

became the media specialist in August 2019. During an interview with her, she informed

me that the media center had not been purged of old technology in ten years. She was

currently working on getting rid of outdated books. Any book that was published before

1994, she took off the shelves. The media center also just got rid of their old dell desktop

computers. Currently, they have installed five iMac computers for student and staff use.

She also plans to get rid of her smartboard and replace it with a flat screen TV. Based on

these observations and interviews, it is evident that goals are being work towards to

update the media center.

One suggestion I have for the media center is to add a paraprofessional.

Frequently, the media center has volunteers, but, unfortauntely, this is not daily. Because

the media center has not been updated or purged of resources in ten years, there is a lot to

be done. It is a very large job for just one person to do. A paraprofessional in the media

center could help shelve books, help students check out books, and support the media

specialist in other tasks. This would give the media specialist more time to focus on

lessons and technology.

My second suggestion is to add more iMacs to the media center. The media center

serves 409 students and has five iMacs. Adding more computers would let students

become more familiar with navigating an iMac and using it as an instructional resource.
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Interview Questions for Media Specialist

1. How long have you been the media specialist at FES?

2. What is the mission statement of the media center?

3. How many classes do you teach per day?

4. In what areas could the media center improve?

5. What are the strengths of the media center?

6. How do you plan STEAM lessons?

7. What are your job responsbilities?

Interview Questions for Teachers

1. How often do your students use the media center?

2. How is the media center used at Fairmount Elementary?

3. Do your students enjoy coming to the media center? If so, what do they enjoy

in the media center?

4. Do you bring your class to media center outside of their specials time?

5. What activities and events are held in the media center?