FRIT 7739: Spring 2016

Robin Skelley

Program Evaluation
Executive Summary
The media center at Norcross Elementary has been part of the school since the early 1970s. In
that time it has been remodeled and retrofitted several times to include new technology. It has
been recently been updated again to include new laptop computers, projectors, and a wireless
speaker system. The goal of this technology center is to encourage teachers to use it and other
available small technology equipment in a flexible and student centered manner.
During a typical school day, the technology in the media center is used for morning
announcements from the broadcast room, morning tutoring sessions, and teacher directed
computer use. The media specialist, Ms. May, uses the available technology in her lessons.
Though the staff of the technology center are doing their best, some of the equipment available
for teacher use remains under utilized. It has also been noticed that the time spent on the class
set of laptops is spent mostly on educational games, not on student centered learning. The
center might improve this by offering professional development opportunities on how the
available technology could be used in a student centered way.
Organizational Chart

County Officials

School Principal and Assistant Principals

Ms. May
Media Specialist
lessons
book orders
broadcast studio
maintaining small equipment
Ms. Drake
Media Clerk
-day to day running
-processing materials
- trouble shooting minor tech issues
- scheduling laptop use
(in Media Center & laptop cart)
Methods

FRIT 7739: Spring 2016

Robin Skelley

To develop this report, several methods were used to gather information. The first method was
conducting an interview with Ms. May, the Media Specialist. In this interview, she answered
questions about the technology centers history and how technology is being used in the school.
The procedure and questions asked in the interview can be found in Appendix A.
The second method used was observation. During the school day, the technology center was
observed and the activities of the center were recorded on an observation record (Appendix B).
These results provided a picture of how technology was being used. The observations showed
that the class set of laptops was almost alway in use. However, it also showed that most of the
time on the laptops was spent on educational games or Imagine Learning.
The final method used to find information for this report was to review available documents on
the center. A list of documents used can be found in Appendix C. The review of these
documents showed many links to websites and other educational resources students could use.
However, there was little to no information found about a vision for technology use or a school
technology plan.
Center Context and Goals
The media center has been around since about 1972. Ms. May has been at Norcross
Elementary for ten years and during that time the media center has been remodeled and
upgraded several times. Seven years ago the library portion was remodeled with new shelving.
In 2011, when the new three story building was being constructed, the media center was
stripped and completely redone. It was expanded and given new computers. Earlier this year, as
part of a SPLOST funded upgrade, the media center received new laptop computers (to replace
the old desktops), as well as projectors and a wireless speaker system. The county made sure
that the whole school had access to wireless internet. The broadcast studio was upgraded with
new equipment.
At the media center, the first goal is to get teachers to use the technology that is available to
them. The hope is that if some teachers begin to use the technology, other teachers will follow.
The other goal is to guide teachers to be more flexible in their use of technology and have
learning become more student centered. The last goal is to teach the students information
literacy skills through the use of technology. The stakeholders in the success of these goals are
the taxpayers, the county, and local business partners, as well as the students and parents.
The two positions in the media center are the Media Specialist, Ms. May, and the Media Clerk,
Ms. Drake. The Media Clerk is in charge of the day to day running of the media center which
includes processing books and new technology equipment. She is in charge of scheduling
classes for computer time in the media center, as well as the use of the mobile laptop cart. She
also helps with minor technology issues. The Media Specialist teaches lessons on library and
technology subjects, runs the broadcast studio, and handles the small technology equipment
(CD players, Mimos, document cameras) as well as other library related duties. There are rules
and procedures put in place at the county level. The school principal and assistant principals
also have input into the running of the technology center.

FRIT 7739: Spring 2016

Robin Skelley

Right now Ms. May believes that the media center is in good shape. She is pleased with the
new technology that they have received. She has developed a good rapport with teachers. Most
bring their classes for lesson every other week. They also feel comfortable asking for help with
technology issues and she has taught several private lessons on Microsoft products, databases,
and the use of the small equipment.
Center Activities
1) Morning Activities- The media center hosts a variety of activities that vary from day to day.
These activities include morning tutoring sessions, faculty meetings, and local school
technology meetings.
2) Morning News Show- Every morning, members of a class of 5th grade students produce a
morning news show, with the guidance of Ms. May. The student act as directors, camera
operators, sound crew, and anchors. After two weeks, a new group of students takes over. The
purpose of having students run the news show is to allow them to become familiar with how
broadcast equipment works and to teach them how to work together to accomplish a goal.
3) Response to Intervention (RTI)- Each morning, Mr. Fortenbery, the Parent Center Coordinator,
uses the media center laptops to conduct a Response to Intervention (RTI) session with a select
group of 4th grade students. It is the same group of students every morning. The student use a
program called Classworks to practice their math and reading skills. Students are rewarded for
completing different levels of the program. They earn shields that have been created by Mr.
Fortenbery. This program works to improve the students math and reading scores.
4) Computer Use- There are 30 ThinkPad laptops with headsets available for classes to use.
There are fifteen half an hour slots throughout the school day that teachers can sign up for.
Most teachers have their students work on a website called Imagine Learning. Occasionally
some come to have students conduct research using the computers. By giving students time on
the computer, the students are developing a basic understanding on how to use a computer.
This is important since many students do not have access to a computer at home.
5) Lessons with Ms. May- Every other week, Ms. May teaches lessons on a variety of topics.
Some have to do with literature and some have to do with technology topics, such as the
research process and using databases. These lessons are available to any grade level and are
tailored to enhance that grade levels curriculum. Teacher sign up for lesson slots at the
beginning of the school year.
Evaluation
Considering all the information, I feel that the media center is doing its best to meet its goals.
The computer sessions are always booked full. However, most teachers have students use the
computers for visiting educational game sites or completing the require time on Imagine
Learning. Rarely do the teacher have the students do research or create student centered work
using the this set computers.

FRIT 7739: Spring 2016

Robin Skelley

I also find that the some of the equipment that can be borrowed from the technology center is
under utilized. There are pieces of equipment, like the classroom set of clickers, that are rarely
used.
To improve the operations of the center, the administration and media center staff should
encourage teachers to use the technology for more student centered learning. This could be
done by having more professional development sessions on the technology available from the
media center and how it can be used. Workshops could be offered on Web 2.0 technologies that
have been approved by the school and how they could be used to encourage student learning.
The administration should also encourage teachers to use the available technology equipment
in their classrooms. Professional development sessions could be created to demonstrate the
technology and provide examples of how it could be used in the classroom.
Having teacher use technology in their classrooms and encouraging more student centered
learning is a goal the Media Specialist and I have talked about several times. As stated in the
center goals, the hope is if one teacher uses new technology that others will follow. Because of
redistricting, the school in getting many new teachers and faculty members, along with a new
Principal and Assistant Principal, in the fall. The hope is the new administration will encourage
more student centered technology use.
It is also important that the school develops a school wide vision about how technology. With a
school wide vision, teachers would have guidelines about how technology should be used. The
school should develop a technology plan and make it available to parents, community members,
and other stakeholders.

Appendix A: Interview Procedure and Questions

FRIT 7739: Spring 2016

Robin Skelley

To conduct this interview the questioner reviewed the information needed and then developed
questions to ask the media specialist. These questions were asked during a break during on
one of the school visits. The answers were recorded by hand.
Interviewee: Debbie May (Media Specialist)
Note: From previous discussion interviewer had already known that the technology
center/media center had been remodeled several times.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

When was the first remodel?

Appendix B: Observation Record Sheet

Activities Observed (computer use, lessons)

FRIT 7739: Spring 2016

Robin Skelley

8:30
9:00
9:30
10:00
10:30
11:00
11:30
12:00
12:30
1:00
1:30
2:00
2:30
Notes:

Appendix C: Documents Used

FRIT 7739: Spring 2016

Robin Skelley

This website provides information about Norcross Elementary Schools Media Center. This site
provides basic information about the Media Center, as well as links to appropriate research
sites.
2) Norcross Elementary School websitehttp://www.norcrosselementaryschool.org/home.html
This is the website for Norcross Elementary school and provides information on school policies
and other important information.