"Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs" (AASL, 2009) charges school librarians "to play a leading role in weaving such skills throughout the curriculum so that all members of the school community are effective users of ideas and information" (p. 46). Providing leadership in technology integration for…

Technology has changed the school yard or neighborhood bully. It no longer requires physical intimidation to be a bully. In fact, bullying can be done anonymously, on or off campus, and physical size does not enter into the scenario. Every year headlines identify children who take their own lives as a result of being victims of various forms of…

School librarians need to be proactive in identifying new ways to help students prepare for the world of the future. Students need relevant educational experiences that support emerging demands created by information and service based economies. The economies of Pacific Rim countries such as the USA, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Canada are…

Teachers serving students with disabilities often rely on the school library because of the diversity of resources, its positive association for many students, and the perception that it facilitates individualized attention. Media specialists and educators report that teachers typically send students with disabilities to the school library during…

During the 1890s, the library media specialty was established through "a School Library Section as an integral part of the National Education Association" (Cole 90). In the ensuing decades, this role has expanded and changed; it demands a balancing act between the more traditional roles surrounding books and reading, and the newer expectations and…

The "Educational Media and Technology Yearbook" is dedicated to theoretical, empirical, and practical approaches to educational media development. All chapters are invited and selected based on a variety of strategies to determine current trends and issues in the field. The 2011 edition highlights innovative Trends and Issues in Learning…

The evolution of educational technology has seen a shift from hardware and software to tactics and techniques, as the 2010 edition of the "Educational Media and Technology Yearbook" makes abundantly clear. As in previous years, it offers the reader a snapshot of the moment and a look ahead to issues most likely to shape the immediate…

Describes a program designed to integrate new technology into the junior high school curriculum with emphasis on the role of the media specialist. Five steps are detailed: (1) needs assessment; (2) planning with teacher input how to fill student needs; (3) teacher training; (4) implementation; and (5) evaluation. (9 references) (MES)

One solution to limited school library resources is for media specialists to create networks within the school, the district, and beyond to the Internet. Besides access to resources, networks create links for professional development and cooperation. (SK)

In March 2003, a total of 394 media specialists throughout the state of Kentucky completed an online survey regarding the professional development needs. The public relations subcommittee of the Kentucky School Media Association Board of directors generated the questions and collected data from the three parts of the survey-demographics,…

This monograph looks at the need for distance education technology as a result of demographic and socioeconomic changes and examines the role of the school library media program in facilitating the changes in education resulting from the utilization of distance education technology. The first section presents the mission of the school library…

Argues that current technologies offer unique possibilities for instructional improvement and identifies probable obstacles to exploitation of these opportunities for all students, including female, handicapped, inner-city and rural, minority, disadvantaged, and average learners. A 2-tiered model is presented for the media specialist addressing…

Suggests library media specialists have a responsibility to make educational funding laws work for their children and communities. Discusses the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act; NCLB and libraries, and online resources; Reading First Grants; "VISIONS 2020: Transforming Education and Training through Advanced Technologies" and "Technology in…

Demographic and economic trends indicate that in the future there will be fewer teachers available to teach growing K-12 school enrollments. In addition to this, public education is also experiencing funding shortages. Distance education seems to provide a solution for both of these problems as it offers an equitable way to distribute educational…

Discusses new guidelines for the library media profession developed by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT). Highlights include the standards and behavior indicators at the core of the guidelines; Web page accessibility; and benefits for library media…