We Have No Cable
This past year we received a change in our TV system. Before,
we were able to access basic cable and a selection of channels. Unfortunately,
I think some of the channels were abused so all of the channels have been
removed except for the Weather channel. We have a channel that shows scrolling
announcements, and teachers are instructed to keep this on during advisement so
students can see pertinent announcements. We also have a channel for local
school news broadcast on Fridays. Other than that, we do not receive anything
else. We do use a digital system to transmit TV content over the data network.
I believe this is partly for budget, and also I believe some were watching
local TV stations during planning or instructional time. The media committee
does have input into the distribution system; however, this decision is
primarily left to the district level office instead of the local schools.
Since our county is a large county, it does have its own
separate broadcast available on the local television station outside of the
school. Here, there are a variety of programs available not only for students
but for teachers, parents, and the local community. Although I have not heard
of many watching it, the intention is positive: to get everyone involved in the
local classrooms and provide as much support as necessary for the students. It can also be streamed online which is a
beneficial tool.
In terms of Georgia Public Broadcasting Resources, I wish this resource
was used more often. Each week, the media specialist sends out a list of
programs that will be running and asks for requests to record. I know I have
personally asked for recordings of author visits and author talks. I do not
think this resource is used as much as it should be, and I think a mini staff
development or lunch and learn would be helpful to introduce this resource to
teachers.
Specifically, I think teachers would benefit from the teachers
resource section, common core, and Discovery Education. As we incorporate
Common Core into our instruction, I think this would be a great resource to
provide additional resources and supplemental material to our teachers.
In addition, Discover Education is another fantastic resource to enhance
instruction and embrace digital learning. I have personally used this to spice
up a novel unit such as Of Mice and Men and
The Great Gatsby. It is the same
issue as the other resources. They offer a lot, but I do think there is a lack
of awareness. Teachers can select resources based on grade level and content.
Resources include clip art, homework help, lesson plans, work sheets, and other
different types of media material. With the emphasis on digital learning, these
are perfect gems to incorporate into a teacher’s website. They could ask
students to look at the painting or read the article for homework from their
computer, and then they could come in the next day ready to discuss. There is
also an opportunity for online staff development with this website. Learning
new ways to differentiate instruction from the comfort of a computer screen is
way more appealing than sitting in a classroom after a long day of teaching.
Like many other items in the media center, I think there are
a lot of unused resources due to a lack of awareness and time. When testing
dominates the instructional focus, it can be challenging to allocate time and
resources for supplemental material that is not test pre. This is where the
media specialist comes in! Whether it is through a breakfast reception Open
House or a lunch and learn or a one on one appointment, it is our job to
educate our teachers and students about these resources. Adding a digital resource
here or there could help enhance the unit nicely and appeal to a student’s
digital interest. It could also help incorporate digital literacy and
information literacy, which is the ultimate goal of any media specialist. It is
our job to sort through the resources and present the best ones to our teachers
and students so we can all create an environment conducive to higher level
learning.
Written by Lorraine
Villasenor
Its funny that you mention your school system no longer having all of the channels for cable. In my school system we originally had all of the channels but about 5 years ago we were told that our school system wouldn't pay the cable bill so we no longer had service. At my school we do a live broadcast each morning and it is ran through our tv circuits by way of the cable wires. We had a very bad storm once and I had to call out a cable technician. He told me we were not supposed to still have the connection but since it had been there so long he wouldn't bother it. At another school in my district the Media Specialist pre-records her students doing the morning announcements and saves it to their school's youtube account. She sends out the link to all of the teachers each morning and when they give the signal everyone downloads and watches at the same time. Parents can also download and watch their children as well.
ReplyDeleteLorraine, thanks for a great post. Our experiences with both of these resources sound very similar. There was a time where our cable stations were taken away completely also. Now we have the basic cable channels, like news and weather. In the past, we have run into trouble with long lag times if a lot of classrooms are trying to stream video at the same time. That can make it frustrating to use. Also, thanks for the reminder about the programs that can be recorded. You said, “…I think there are a lot of unused resources due to a lack of awareness and time. When testing dominates the instructional focus, it can be challenging to allocate time and resources for supplemental material that is not test prep.” I completely agree with you. I do use GPB Discovery Education in my Social Studies class. It is a great resource for bringing another element to a unit. Sometimes there are lesson plans with a teacher’s guide and student worksheets or quizzes with the videos. These are especially helpful so that teachers have a resource at their fingertips.
ReplyDeleteLorraine (Team 4),
ReplyDeleteI think that it is really cool that your county has their own broadcast channel on television. I also think that it is unfortunate that not a lot of people actually watch it. I wonder what your county could do to get more participation in watching the channel. Maybe you all could put trivia questions or have competitions that involve stakeholders having to watch the channel to get the necessary information to win. I mean everyone loves a good competition and competition brings out the best in some students!
I am going to have to agree with you in that there are lots of resources that are introduced to teachers that they end up not using. This is what it sounds like has happened at your school as well. While this resource that you speak of seems relevant to many different areas, teachers still aren’t using it and I think I know why. I know that at our school, there is always something new and great that is introduced to us and then forgotten about. Teachers are like students in that we need to see something more than once as well to really take interest in it. I think that if schools would pick one or two things to focus on for the year and keep on using them and training on them over and over then they would have better results in terms of teachers actually using the resources I their classrooms with fidelity. As a new media specialist in the future, this makes me think about going through resources that are currently in the media center to see what can be revamped and reintroduced before just going out and spending more money of things that would just sit there as well.
It’s amazing how we've come to depend on cable not only in our personal lives, but in the schools. The district that I’m in has also cut back on the amount of channels we’re allowed to view. It does however; keep an informational channel available for emergencies and pertinent information. Out local cable company carries an educational channel owned and operated by the district to supply information to the students, parents and community as well. It’s good to be able to go here and find out what’s going on at other schools. This channel also list jobs, self-help videos and ways to help improve communication with your students. There are things listed there for the parents to also improve the study skills as well. I love Discover Education and glad you mentioned it in your blog. Nowadays we need every tool possible to get our students involved in reading. Using technology definitely excites me more when I can use it to benefit my mission.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who is new to teaching standards and the extent to how teachers and media specialist can find information this was very insightful. I agree that as media specialist we should help the teachers and I love the idea of recording material that can work for their classes. This really gives students more ways to learn than listening to lectures and taking notes. I agree that hosting lunch and learns or even before or after school events to inform staff and parents what is available and how we as media specialists can help them is important. Of course if you are going to do staff only advertising that you will have chocolate helps entice them a little. I also think if we really express that we are there to help take some of the load off of the teachers they will embrace the concept a little more. I just had a conversation with a middle school LMS who said she had a hard time getting teachers to utilize her when she first came to that school, but it only took one teacher who liked what was presented to spread the word and now she is the "go to" person for information. It really helps if we can get the word out to the staff, by the staff.
ReplyDeleteI thought that it was pretty interesting that at one time your school had access to basic channels. I did some observation and student teaching in a county when getting my bachelor’s degree that had basic cable. I remember during planning and teacher workdays watching The Price Is Right and The Young and the Restless. I’m sure this isn’t what the televisions were meant to be used for in the classroom. At our primary/elementary school, we don’t have wiring for any type of video distribution system. I was quite shocked to discover this because it could be a widely valuable source of information for teachers to use. The middle school does have a video distribution system that is used for Channel 1 and TMTV (a student created program) and I’m assuming that the new in progress high school does but the media specialist couldn’t talk with me about this.
ReplyDeleteAs for United Streaming, it is a widely used video source at our primary/elementary school. In my grade, we are constantly looking up videos to show that help to introduce, close, or reinforce skills that are taught. If we find a good video, we share during planning meetings on Thursday. As for middle school, it is used mainly by science and social studies teachers. Some of us were recently trained on the new resources offered by united streaming, but I feel that another session on this would greatly benefit us. I feel like PLC’s would be a great time for this, since you’re in a small group where you’d have more one on one and computer access instead of sharing or watching a video. They are now offering so much for teachers but most aren’t aware that it’s there or how to access it.
I asked my librarian if she had the time what is one thing that she would want to be able to do at our school. Her response was to create folders for teachers on resources from united streaming that would help support the CCGPS standards. That way they wouldn’t have to worry about searching for information because the resources would be there in a convenient location that they could add to.
You are so right about unused resources and lack of time for teachers. As a media specialist we should make it a priority to spread the word about tools like Discovery Education and GPB. Teachers just don't have the time to browse through these websites and find lesson helps BUT if we can find one or two useful things that might open the door for them. I love your idea of lunch and learn. Teachers will do anything if free food is involved. While it might take a little effort on our parts, we could set up a lunch in the media center and share these resources. Teachers need continuing education credits and this might also be a good way to earn credits while learning something they can use.
ReplyDeleteThat is odd that your school system completely nixed the cable. It seems like they should have the ability to pick the channels they want to keep and put a block on all the rest. I mean it is the 21st century! I have never heard of GCPS TV, but I will definitely look into it. It sounds like a great way to spice up the classroom. The same goes for Discovery Education. Thanks for the great insight and new (to me at least!) tools! -MC
ReplyDelete