Course Requirements for Field Experience in School Library Media
The purpose of the practicum is to apply the skills learned throughout your program of study in the Instructional Technology program in a real world setting. This course has less week-to-week structure than others in your graduate program and requires you to be motivated, organized, and self-directed in completing the requirements.
A thorough description with performance expectations has been provided for each activity. Please note that the performance activities described in these documents are NOT assignments that you must submit for grading. These activities will be evaluated during your final portfolio review using the performance expectations guidelines provided using the links at the bottom of this page. You should provide appropriate documentation and reflections about each of the performance activities in your blog/journal and in your e-portfolio. The Practicum is your time to demonstrate your learning. While we know that you have to work under the constraints of different schools, your goal should be to exemplify how you can develop resources and instruction that address the needs of 21st century learners. Creative use of appropriate technologies as part of each of your requirements is expected. Your overall performance (practicum, e-portfolio and capstone presentation) will be evaluated using the Key Assessment #4 Rubric.
Course Grading Procedures
FRIT 7734 and FRIT 7765 are evaluated on an S/U scale. All course requirements must be completed at a satisfactory level by the specified due dates in order to pass the course. Students who do not complete the course requirements by designated due dates will receive a “U” in the course and will need to repeat the course by registering for it again in a later semester. Because the course requires placement in school environments and working with teachers and students, the practicum is only offered in the Fall and Spring semesters. The practicum may not be completed during a Summer semester.
REQUIRED PRACTICUM ACTIVITIES
We have done our best to make sure the website and the course syllabus align, however, if you find discrepancies, please refer to the Course Syllabus for the updated requirements for Spring 2023.
Tasks
Task 1 Face to Face Reading Collaborative Unit:
Working in collaboration with a teacher at your assigned school, plan and teach an online reading enrichment/enjoyment unit for a class. The purpose of this task is for you to encourage the joy of reading, so try to make the lessons fun and creative and interactive. You will take the role of the media specialist in this unit. You may consult with your school library media specialist. for help in performing this task. This unit should be composed of no more than 3 lessons organized around a theme (dinosaurs or contemporary science fiction, for example). One segment should consist of a book talk or storytime. Use technology such as a blog, wiki, or other Web 2.0 resource to support the reading enrichment unit activities. The lessons should include opportunities for students to use technology to respond or create something.
Your portfolio artifact must include the formal lesson plan and supplemental materials that you used during the delivery of the unit. In your lesson plan clearly indicate when the teacher or media specialist is leading the activity. You will also include photos or scans of student work and a brief reflection on the lesson. Specify the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) or Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE) and the National School Library Standards for Learners in your collaborative lesson plan.
Task 2 Online Staff Development Workshop:
You will use the Morrison, Ross, and Kemp Model of Instructional Design to design, deliver, and evaluate a technology professional development experience for school faculty. You need to design a complete unit of instruction. You will be creating the workshop to be delivered completely online.
Complete a needs assessment to determine the technology needs of a school. The focus of the workshop must be technology integration in instruction. A “how to” workshop which is limited to teaching a tool like Google Classroom, Edmodo, Google Sites, etc. is not acceptable. You need to teach how to integrate the selected tool(s) into the curriculum.
Based on the results of the needs assessment, identify goals and objectives for your staff development and submit them by the date on the syllabus.
You will have a minimum of 15 faculty members who participate and complete your online staff development workshop. You need to collect data from all the participants and use the data to report the final results of your staff development.
Your portfolio artifact will consist of a formal lesson plan, the narrated lesson presentation, interactive online activities, and evaluation results of the staff development.
Task 3 Grant Application:
Identify one potential source of grant funds for your media center and prepare a draft of the grant application form. Note that your focus should be on whatever is required for the rationale for the grant and a rough draft of a budget. You do not actually have to submit the grant itself so don’t worry about deadlines. The Library Grants Blog has a list to start with. IMPORTANT: Crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter or Donors Choose are NOT acceptable for this assignment.
Task 4 Program Evaluation Rubric:
Evaluate the operation of the media center using the GA DOE 2016 Library Media Program Evaluation Rubric which can be found in the Course Resources section in the GoView course. The evaluation must be done in collaboration with the school media specialist. Your final report should include the following items: 1) summary of the results in the form of a memo to submit to the principal and site based management team; 2) action steps to address any areas identified as basic; 3) select at least one area rated as proficient and develop an action plan to move the area to exemplary AND 4) include the completed rubric NOTE: You do not have to really submit this report to the school administration!
Task 5 Interviews:
You will conduct Video Calls with School Library Media Specialists at all 3 levels: elementary, middle, and high school. You will need to obtain permission from the school library media specialists to record the video chats. Assure them that the videos will remain private and will be shared only with your instructor; however, screenshots from the video call may be posted publicly to your portfolio website. (Their face can be obscured if they desire). These video interviews will focus on school library operations with particular emphasis on the transition to an online format during COVID-19.
Your portfolio artifact will consist of the interview narrative and screenshots. The video of the interviews will be submitted privately with the instructor.
Working in collaboration with a teacher at your assigned school, plan and teach an online reading enrichment/enjoyment unit for a class. The purpose of this task is for you to encourage the joy of reading, so try to make the lessons fun and creative and interactive. You will take the role of the media specialist in this unit. You may consult with your school library media specialist. for help in performing this task. This unit should be composed of no more than 3 lessons organized around a theme (dinosaurs or contemporary science fiction, for example). One segment should consist of a book talk or storytime. Use technology such as a blog, wiki, or other Web 2.0 resource to support the reading enrichment unit activities. The lessons should include opportunities for students to use technology to respond or create something.
Your portfolio artifact must include the formal lesson plan and supplemental materials that you used during the delivery of the unit. In your lesson plan clearly indicate when the teacher or media specialist is leading the activity. You will also include photos or scans of student work and a brief reflection on the lesson. Specify the Georgia Performance Standards (GPS) or Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE) and the National School Library Standards for Learners in your collaborative lesson plan.
Task 2 Online Staff Development Workshop:
You will use the Morrison, Ross, and Kemp Model of Instructional Design to design, deliver, and evaluate a technology professional development experience for school faculty. You need to design a complete unit of instruction. You will be creating the workshop to be delivered completely online.
Complete a needs assessment to determine the technology needs of a school. The focus of the workshop must be technology integration in instruction. A “how to” workshop which is limited to teaching a tool like Google Classroom, Edmodo, Google Sites, etc. is not acceptable. You need to teach how to integrate the selected tool(s) into the curriculum.
Based on the results of the needs assessment, identify goals and objectives for your staff development and submit them by the date on the syllabus.
You will have a minimum of 15 faculty members who participate and complete your online staff development workshop. You need to collect data from all the participants and use the data to report the final results of your staff development.
Your portfolio artifact will consist of a formal lesson plan, the narrated lesson presentation, interactive online activities, and evaluation results of the staff development.
Task 3 Grant Application:
Identify one potential source of grant funds for your media center and prepare a draft of the grant application form. Note that your focus should be on whatever is required for the rationale for the grant and a rough draft of a budget. You do not actually have to submit the grant itself so don’t worry about deadlines. The Library Grants Blog has a list to start with. IMPORTANT: Crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter or Donors Choose are NOT acceptable for this assignment.
Task 4 Program Evaluation Rubric:
Evaluate the operation of the media center using the GA DOE 2016 Library Media Program Evaluation Rubric which can be found in the Course Resources section in the GoView course. The evaluation must be done in collaboration with the school media specialist. Your final report should include the following items: 1) summary of the results in the form of a memo to submit to the principal and site based management team; 2) action steps to address any areas identified as basic; 3) select at least one area rated as proficient and develop an action plan to move the area to exemplary AND 4) include the completed rubric NOTE: You do not have to really submit this report to the school administration!
Task 5 Interviews:
You will conduct Video Calls with School Library Media Specialists at all 3 levels: elementary, middle, and high school. You will need to obtain permission from the school library media specialists to record the video chats. Assure them that the videos will remain private and will be shared only with your instructor; however, screenshots from the video call may be posted publicly to your portfolio website. (Their face can be obscured if they desire). These video interviews will focus on school library operations with particular emphasis on the transition to an online format during COVID-19.
Your portfolio artifact will consist of the interview narrative and screenshots. The video of the interviews will be submitted privately with the instructor.
Practicum Blog/Journal
Maintain a weekly blog/journal of your activities related to the hours that you spend in the field.
This blog/journal should include a tally of when and where your hours were spent and photographs of the activities you completed.
Include posts for each of the checklist items described below. In those sections, briefly describe how you completed the required practicum activity. You should embed copies of artifacts created to meet the requirements. The blog posts should include photos of yourself performing a variety of library activities.
Link your practicum blog/journal to your e-portfolio.
This blog/journal should include a tally of when and where your hours were spent and photographs of the activities you completed.
Include posts for each of the checklist items described below. In those sections, briefly describe how you completed the required practicum activity. You should embed copies of artifacts created to meet the requirements. The blog posts should include photos of yourself performing a variety of library activities.
Link your practicum blog/journal to your e-portfolio.
BLOG CHECKLIST ITEMS
Checklist Item 1 Cataloging: Completely process 5-7 items, including original cataloging as needed and the entry of materials into the automated system. Document your cataloging process on your practicum blog. Please note that a written description is NOT sufficient documentation.
Checklist Item 2 Activities Report: Prepare a monthly report for administration outlining the activities of the library media center. While your report can include some information in a narrative format your focus should be on using graphics, visuals and media to tell your story. Waggener High School Library Annual Report is another great example. Jennifer LaGarde’s Library Girl blog provides links to multiple examples of annual reports which you can just scale down to a monthly format. Embed your report on your practicum blog. Please note that a written description is NOT sufficient documentation.
Checklist Item 3 Membership: Document membership in a library/educational technology-related professional organization in your practicum blog.
Checklist Item 4 Webinar Attendance: You will attend 3 predetermined webinars and describe what you gained from each one. Include certificates of attendance if available or screenshots in your blog posts.
Checklist Item 5 PLN: Provide a link to your Personal Learning Network developed during other courses and extended here. Your PLN needs to include a minimum of 2-3 of each: a) blogs, b) social networking, c) podcasts, d) video or video series (open access only!), e) websites, f) training materials, g) professional articles. Resources should be current!
Twitter: Post your Twitter Handle to the appropriate sign up sheet in the course (sign up if you do not already have an account.) Begin following your classmates, your instructors, and other school library media specialists. Twitter can be an excellent tool to build an online PLC. Post a minimum of once a week about your journey in the practicum as well as topics concerning school library media.
Twitter: Post your Twitter Handle to the appropriate sign up sheet in the course (sign up if you do not already have an account.) Begin following your classmates, your instructors, and other school library media specialists. Twitter can be an excellent tool to build an online PLC. Post a minimum of once a week about your journey in the practicum as well as topics concerning school library media.
Professional Portfolio
Complete a professional electronic portfolio documenting mastery of all relevant instructional technology standards.
The electronic portfolio must include reflections and artifacts.
Please go to the Professional Portfolio and the Portfolio Examples pages to learn more about this practicum requirement.
The electronic portfolio must include reflections and artifacts.
Please go to the Professional Portfolio and the Portfolio Examples pages to learn more about this practicum requirement.
Capstone
Participate in the final capstone experience to present your portfolio to Instructional Technology faculty and your classmates.
Professional Dispositions
Your field supervisor and University practicum instructor will complete a School Library Media Field Experience Professional Dispositions Assessment to assess your performance in the field.
GACE
If you are seeking Georgia PSC certification for School Library Media, you will need to take the GACE. Information can be located at the GACE website.