Page 38 - Technology plan fy2023-27

In January of 2015, Beth Holland, Instructor and Communications Coordinator at EdTech
Teacher, wrote:

“The libraries of the 21st century provide a welcoming common space that
encourages exploration, creation, and collaboration between students, teachers,
and a broader community. They bring together the best of the physical and digital
to create learning hubs. Ultimately, libraries will continue to inspire students to
construct new knowledge and meaning from the world around them.”

To meet the challenge of Future Ready Librarians, we must leverage the assets of people,
place, and platform. Our library media centers must be remade into collaborative
technology-rich spaces and be staffed by well-trained librarians and skilled paraprofessionals.
The redesign of the media center into a true Learning Commons will not only create the learning
hub described by Holland and will be the central support for the Future Ready student.

To achieve the Learning Commons model, we will need to continually update our platform by
increasing digital collections and creating strong, up-to-date print collections. Our physical
spaces need to be remodeled to align with collaborative and personalized learning pedagogy.
Designs should include highly mobile and flexible furnishings and robust infrastructure to
support technology use. Finally, we must match our physical space and updated platform with
certified educators prepared to manage resources and lead their school in technology
integration. Investing in unified technology training for all media specialists will be the most
important step forward. By developing all three assets of excellent school libraries, the district
will have built library programs that will play a lead role in students meeting the Best Standards
and the ISTE Standards, and the AASL Standards Frameworks for Learners. We can bridge the
two with the AASL, ISTE Standards crosswalk
Actionable beginning steps for the district include:

● Use the five prototype media centers (three high schools, one middle school, and one
elementary school) as a blueprint to transform and modernize all district libraries.
● Form a collaborative workgroup of school library stakeholders to develop a prototype for
media center technologies for each school level based on trends from professional
literature.
● Design and implement professional development specifically to build the technology
integration skills of media specialists.
● Provide an opportunity for media centers to acquire adequate most up-to-date
technology to facilitate student ISTE Standards.

STEM and Coding

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education and Computer Science
programming (coding) have become topics of national importance as the district strives to
develop college and career-ready students. To create a robust STEM education system,
educators must integrate and infuse an interdisciplinary approach to learning, teach academic
concepts through real-world applications, and seek to impart skills such as critical thinking,
problem-solving, and soft skills into their daily instruction. STEM education continues to evolve
and transcend the fields of study beyond just a combination of the four disciplines to include the
arts and humanities.

STEM-related occupations are increasing throughout the world. Federal and State governments
continue to emphasize the importance of providing high-quality STEM education throughout an
individual's lifetime. Technology, computing, and robotics are shifting every part of our lives,

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