Assignment 8:

Professional Learning Plan

Submitted by: Kenyatta Clarke

University of West Georgia

Site Location- High Point Media Center
Media Specialist- Kenyatta Clarke
Third Grade Teacher- Anita Collins

Description of Site, Patrons and Services

High Point Elementary is in Sandy Springs, Georgia and was built in the

early 1960’s. It is one of the oldest standing schools in the northern part of Fulton

County. The current enrollment is approximately 830 students, and the racial

makeup is 40% Hispanic, 30% Caucasian, 20% African American, and 10% Asian

and other. 30% of students are currently reading below grade level.

High Point Elementary participates in reading mentor program called

everybody wins. This program is held twice a week in the library and students

identified as struggling readers are paired with a mentor to share books and

practice reading for pleasure. The children are encouraged to engage and have

positive interaction with a dedicated mentor throughout the school year.

The Media Specialists in Fulton County are called M.E.T.I’S. (Media and

Educational Technology Instructors). This name came about due to the changing

role of the Library Media Specialist in the county. The Fulton County website

states : Mission To serve the students, teachers, and the entire school community

of Fulton County Schools to ensure that they are effective users of ideas and
information. The Meti’s in Fulton County are required to receive training and then

train students in the area of Digital Citizenship. Fulton County has a Commonsense

Media certification that is maintained through the Meti’s teaching a required

number of classes yearly. These classes cover the topics of online safety, online

bullying, copyright, credible sources, and emotional well-being while using

technology. There is an optional program through the county called Vanguard that

provides additional training to teachers and Meti’s on how to incorporate

instructional technology in the classroom and support other educators.

The role of the media specialist in Fulton County schools depends on the

needs of the school determined by the principal. Many schools use the media

specialist as a special area. This means that the media specialist sees a set schedule

of students daily. Grades are not given, but the timeframe is used for planning for

teachers in the building. A smaller number of schools like High Point have a flex

schedule. This means teachers sign up at a time of their choosing when they need

resources or for various lessons offered by the media specialist.

Professional Learning Plan Objectives

Fulton county offers several databases that are accessible for acquiring

information on a variety of topics. This information can be used for activities like

projects and for general classroom use. Previously, teachers were told what options
are available and then given a quick guide to locate these resources. Many teachers

do not utilize the resources due to time constraints and lack of training. During

COVID, students lost the ability to come to the library and use the Destiny

database to search for books. The objective of this Professional Learning Plan is to

facilitate the increased use of digital resources offered in Fulton County through

the media department. As the media specialist, I will be responsible for creating

short modules for student use and conducting specialized training with students on

how to navigate Destiny, and MacinVia. By training students, the task is removed

from the teachers and students have the ability to search for information, view

learning videos, and navigate the e-library section of class link.

Timetable and Work Plan

The timetable to complete the student training covered a 4-week period

starting on October 5th and ending on October 16th. Class meetings were held with

a third grade class led by Mrs. Collins and a fourth grade class led by Mrs.

Saunders. The library no longer has desktop computers for the students to complete

searches. Students in K-5th have devices one to one and for this training, I had

students bring their devices to complete the lessons. First graders in Ms. Sharple’s

class did not have all of their devices at the time of the training and had to be

excluded due to a limited number of extra laptops.

 The students had a 30 minute block to meet, get settled and start with the

lessons. These lessons were designed so that students could follow along and

explore the basics of each platform. The lessons were taught in the following

order:

Learning Objectives: The students will use the classlink platform to navigate a

Destiny search to locate resources in the High Point library and place books on

hold. The students will use Mackinvia to locate reference information using World

Book Encyclopedia, and Encyclopedia Britannica along with related Britannica

Animal Kingdom and World Book’s various platforms (student, kids, early

learning). The students will use classlink to locate e-books on the Comics Plus and

Sora platforms at their interest and reading level and check out and place books on

hold.

1. Destiny Discover Search -Destiny is the database used to search for any

books located in the High Point Library. This platform can be used for

searches, holds, and locating books according to subject and genre. Student

training consisted of a step by step guide that allowed students to interact

with the platform and answer questions at the end of the lesson about the

information covered.

2. E-book Access- Fulton County has access to 3 e-book platforms; Comics

Plus, SORA, and Tumble Books. These platforms allow complete access to
 thousands of books and increase the likelihood of students finding a book

that they will enjoy reading. This lesson was broken up into two sessions.

3. Reference Databases- Students were given step by step instructions on how

to navigate reference platforms and locate specified information based on

topics and interest level.

Each lesson was interactive and the pace was slow so that any students needing

assistance could receive direct assistance as the lesson was being led. Peers were

also encouraged to assist their classmates who were struggling. Each lesson lasted

approximately 30 minutes from the opening to the formative assessment at the end

of the lesson. Duplicate follow up lessons designed as a review were also created

as a follow up and reference guide that teachers have access to in case of confusion

and for clarity. Once all lessons were concluded, a follow up session was held with

an oral class review to ensure information was retained and understood.

Evaluation

Students were given a formative assessment at the end of each training.

Questions were asked that were related to each session. Students were randomly

called on to answer questions about navigation and where to locate specific tabs. A

group consensus taken to answer questions. Students were encouraged to ask

questions that I could answer to clear up any misconceptions and the question
sessions were very engaging and lengthy. A fill- in -the -blank checklist

Summative assessment was given once all sessions were completed as a review

and a guide so that students could have a quick reminder when looking up

information. The students were allowed to complete this checklist in peer groups

and use their laptops to verify their answers. The goal for me was to access

understanding while also allowing students to work together and become

increasingly proficient in using the e-library platform.

Reflection

Time constraints have been a consistent barrier for student engagement at

High Point elementary. Teachers must adhere to their schedules so that students

receive instruction and remedial assistance at a consistent level. Library programs

and resources are often missed by a certain number of students who do not get to

come as frequently as their peers. It is also hard for teachers to teach students to

learn to use all the digital resources available with the weekly expectations on their

plate. These factors provided the framework for my needs assessment and helped

me to craft the survey questions outlined in phase 1. As the media specialist I had

never directly surveyed or asked the teachers what would be best for them. I had

always created documents they could use to find the digital resources and assumed
that was helpful. After Covid, I realized there was a shift causing an increase in

instructional responsibility. The question was asked : Would you prefer to be

trained on how to use the various technology (digital resources/e-library) and use

it with your students in class, or would you prefer the media specialist to train the

students to use the technology during their scheduled visit? The answer was a

unanimous stating the media specialist training the students was preferred. This

allowed me to gear my lessons toward teaching the students to navigate our

accessible platforms and requiring students to bring their laptops to the library to

complete their digital training. This training also aligns with the vision and mission

of Georgia school libraries to provide support that showcases the innovative

practices of the digital school library media center as a result of easy and efficient

access to digital resources (GADOE). Asking the right questions and creating a

plan based on the needs of the teachers improves professional practice and will

help students to get resources and training to enhance their classroom learning.
 References

Library-media-services   // . Curriculum and Instruction. (n.d.). Retrieved October

1, 2022, from https://www.gadoe.org/Curriculum-Instruction-and-

Assessment/Curriculum-and-Instruction/Pages/Library-Media-Services.aspx