Interview A Technology Coordinator/Media Specialist:

1. Name of technology coordinator being interviewed.

The person interviewed was Lotunja Wright. She works for Jonesboro Middle School in
Clayton County.
2. What is your title?
Mrs. Wright is the Media Specialist at Jonesboro Middle School in Clayton County.
3. What type of degree is required for your position?
The degree needed for Mrs. Wright’s position is a master’s degree.
4. What are your job responsibilities?
Mrs. Wright’s job responsibilities are to ensure that students have reading material and
technology. She has to make sure that the students have access to reading materials
during our virtual setting. She makes sure that the students are able to sign into their
classrooms. In the building, she tries to make sure she gives her students a safe
environment for the students if they need a break from their teachers.
5. How are you meeting the remote learning needs of students and parents?
Mrs. Wright is meeting the needs of her students and parents by making sure the students
are able to log into their classrooms and claim their accounts on RapidIdentity. She
makes sure to answer any questions from the students and parents by email or phone. Due
to the pandemic, she created a Google Classroom that has information/resources for the
students to look at as well as an interactive Bitmoji Classroom. She also created a Book
Club for students so that they could discuss different books during the pandemic.
6. What are typical daily activities for your job?
Mrs. Wright makes sure to contact parents to let them know that students’ laptops are
ready to be picked up from the school if they have laptop issues. She also makes sure she
goes into classrooms to teach lessons and how to use different resources and websites. In
the building, Mrs. Wright gets her news crew started in the morning. She will make sure
to help students by checking out books and helping students with any research project.
She makes sure that answers any calls that the Media Center receives. She makes sure to
host her classes in the Media Center. She also makes sure that she checks on the
Computer Lab and keeps the technology up and running.
7. Do you have a budget that you control? How do you make decisions on selecting
resources for your stakeholders?
Mrs. Wright does control a budget that comes from the county. With the county budget,
the pay for the software needed for technology. The media specialists are then able to
figure out any office supplies and books needed for the Media Center. To figure out what
she needs for the Media Center, she sends out an email to teachers and staff to see what
they would like to have. For students, she had a board in the Media Center and students
would be able to write on the board and make requests for books. She also looks at book
reviews and purchases all the Georgia book awards that have been nominated. She would
also make sure to purchase bookmarks for her students. She said she noticed that students
 enjoyed picking them up if they had a scent or how they looked, so she always makes
sure she has enough.
8. Have you had an opportunity to impact technology implementation throughout
your school? Would you describe a specific example?
Mrs. Wright informed me this year she has not had an impact on technology
implementation because the county takes care of making sure all schools have the same
technology. Over the years she has by picking out the different technology she believed
her school would need and should have in the building. She informed me she was the one
who would have to order laptops and desktops.
9. Does your school have a technology committee?
Mrs. Wright does not have a technology committee at Jonesboro Middle School. Most
concerns and needs for technology go to the Leadership Team. She does have a Media
Center Committee.
10. How are technology decisions made?
The principal makes the needs about technology, but the Leadership Team is able to go to
the principal if there are any concerns.
11. What is the best part of your job?
The best part of Mrs. Wright’s job is the students. She loves to see the students fall in
love with reading and not think it’s only for school. She informed me that it is important
to read the books so that I can recommend a book to my students.
12. What do you find to be the most challenging part of your job?
The most challenging part of Mrs. Wright’s job is getting the students to read. She said it
feels like you have to do backflips to get them to read. Also, another challenge is that
everything falls on her in the Media Center, she was used to having a paraprofessional,
but now she is by herself.
13. How many years have you been a media specialist?
Mrs. Wright has been a media specialist for 14 years at Jonesboro Middle School.
14. When we return back to school how will the Media Center look different?
When returning back to school, there will not be much movement in the Media Center.
She will allow the students to place books on hold and she will go class to class to deliver
the books. She said it will be a challenge for a whole class to come to the Media Center
since all the students will not be able to check out and properly social distance. She said
she will have plexiglass to protect her and the students.
15. Do you think we will return back face to face this year or return back next year?
Mrs. Wright said she honestly doesn’t know, but it would be best for everyone to return
back in the Fall of 21.