| Home About GaDOE Office of Standards, Instruction and Assessment Curriculum and Instructional Services Library Media Services » FAQ for Media Specialists |
Implementing the Georgia Performance Standards. |
||
|
FAQ for Media Specialists
Where can I find the budget information for my school?
The Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) provides information on system level budgets. If you want specific information about your school’s budget, check with your local system.
To see your system’s budget follow these steps:
Note: on both QBE001 and QBE003, Media is near the bottom of page 1. What are the GaDOE rules for media centers?
Look at these links for the three GaDOE rules that apply to media programs and media centers.
Where can I find the SACS Standards that apply to media centers and media programs?
K-12 Library Media Services
You can find the SACS standards on their site at: Use the word search feature and type in "media."What exactly is Flexible Scheduling? Flexible Scheduling is addressed in the GaDOE rule IFBD 160-4-4-.01. A Georgia school library media program must include a plan for flexibly scheduled media center access for students and teachers in groups or as individuals simultaneously throughout each instructional day. Accessibility shall refer to the facility, the staff, and the resources and shall be based on instructional need. Flexible scheduling is maintained by allowing full participation of teachers and the library media specialist in collaborative planning and allowing students to come to the library media center at any time. Flexible Scheduling is any schedule that is controlled by the library media specialist in collaboration with the classroom teachers to meet the needs of the students at the students' point of need. A schedule that is mandated and/or controlled by the school administration is not flexible. The media program is not to be used as a means to provide planning time for teachers. Flexible scheduling is not having a sign up sheet available and allowing teachers to sign up for the media center. A flexible schedule works in partnership with collaboration. The media program shall be a collaborative effort between the classroom teacher and the library media specialist. Collaboration is essential to a quality K-12 media center instructional program. Flexible scheduling is essential to an effective K-12 media center program that recognizes the importance of collaboration. One cannot exist without the other. Flexible scheduling is not having a sign up sheet available and allowing teachers to sign up for the media center. A flexible schedule works in partnership with collaboration. The media program shall be a collaborative effort between the classroom teacher and the library media specialist. Collaboration is essential to a quality K-12 media center instructional program. Flexible scheduling is essential to an effective K-12 media center program that recognizes the importance of collaboration. One cannot exist without the other. The American Library Association and the American Association of School Librarians position statement is that schools must adopt the educational philosophy that the library media program is fully integrated into the educational program. This integration strengthens the teaching/learning process so that students can develop the vital skills necessary to locate, analyze, evaluate, interpret, and communicate information and ideas. When the library media program is fully integrated into the instructional program of the school, students, teachers, and library media specialists become partners in learning. The library program is an extension of the classroom. Information skills are taught and learned within the context of the classroom curriculum. The wide range of resources, technologies, and services needed to meet students learning and information needs are readily available in a cost-effective manner. The integrated library media program philosophy requires that an open schedule must be maintained. Classes cannot be scheduled in the library media center to provide teacher release or preparation time. Students and teachers must be able to come to the center throughout the day to use information sources, to read for pleasure, and to meet and work with other students and teachers. Planning between the library media specialist and the classroom teacher, which encourages both scheduled and informal visits, is the catalyst that makes this integrated library program work. The teacher brings to the planning process a knowledge of subject content and student needs. The library media specialist contributes a broad knowledge of resources and technology, an understanding of teaching methods, and a wide range of strategies that may be employed to help students learn information skills. Cooperative planning by the teacher and library media specialist integrates information skills and materials into the classroom curriculum and results in the development of assignments that encourage open inquiry. The responsibility for flexibly scheduled library media programs must be shared by the entire school community.
The Local Board Of Education
The District Administration
The Principal
The Teacher
The Library Media Specialist
What is the GaDOE definition of media materials? Where is it located on the GaDOE website?
You can access the definition of media materials at Media Material Definitions
See:
How do I subscribe to the GaDOE Media List Service? How often will I receive e-mails?
What other list services area appropriate for Media Specialists?
How do I share my Unit plans with other library media specialists? It is very easy to use the Unit Design Builder on the GeorgiaStandards.org (GSO) site. GSO features an online tool that is used to create your unit, which includes the ability to add from the assessment development, teaching activity, performance task and learning activity templates. Use the Builder and submit it to GSO for review and its eventual posting. You may want to collaborate with other library media specialists and post a unit as a group. To access the Unit Design Builder go to: GeorgiaStandards.org. Choose Unit Design Builder . If you are a new user, create a MyGaDOE login. The Unit Design Template will help you through the process. By writing and sharing unit plans, Georgia library media specialists can again let people know what a valuable service we provide and that we know student achievement is the bottom line! What is GALILEO and How do we get the GALILEO passwords? GALILEO stands for GeorgiA LIbrary LEarning Online, an initiative of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. A World Wide Web-based virtual library, GALILEO provides access to multiple information resources, including secured access to licensed products. Participating institutions may access over 100 databases indexing thousands of periodicals and scholarly journals. Over 2000 journal titles are provided in full-text. Other resources include encyclopedias, business directories, and government publications. You can access GALILEO at: https://www.galileo.usg.edu. You will need a password that is e-mailed/mailed to the library media coordinator in your system. If you do not receive the password in a timely manner, go to the GALILEO website and choose "Help" or "Contact Us." For K-12 schools, password changes occur on or around these dates:
The GALILEO Kids' Page is available at https://kids.galileo.usg.edu. This page is a result of a development and testing process involving the GALILEO staff, several participating institutions, and students from seven to 15 years old. The goal of the GALILEO Kids' Page is to simplify GALILEO by limiting the number of choices to only a few of the best sources specifically designed for younger users. The intended audience for the GALILEO Kids' Page is students in third grade to middle school. What is Georgia's Exemplary Media Program? This program, begun in 2002, was established to honor three outstanding school Library Media programs on the elementary, middle, and high school level. The selection process for the State Board Recognition Program is an initiative of the Educational Technology & Media Unit. A scoring rubric has been developed and is based on citations in law, policy, and standards from the Georgia legislature, the State Board of Education, and the American Association of School Librarians. The rubric has 19 target indicators and a media program in order to qualify for the recognition must be proficient in all 19 areas and exemplary in at least 14 areas. The school administrator will write a one-page nomination about the school’s media program, the library media specialist and the library media committee will compose a six-page narrative that must address the 19 criteria. All application information including the directions, rubric, and past winners can be found on the SIA section of the GaDOE Web site. The narrative portion of the document is due in February each year and the three recipients are honored at the August State Board of Education meeting. What do I need to know about the certification requirements for School Library Media Specialists? 505-2-.03 CLEAR RENEWABLE CERTIFICATE -Effective March 15, 2004
Effective March 15, 2004 505-2-.06 NON-RENEWABLE PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE Note: Non-Renewable Professional certificates may not be renewed or extended. However, they may be converted to Clear Renewable status by fulfilling the applicable requirements. See the online document for details. Are there alternative forms of certification / licensure available? Although the state does allow for temporary certification for library media specialists, there are no alternative forms of certification. Who should a person contact to check on transferring credentials from another state? Contact the Georgia Professional Standards Commission at gapsc.com. Another possible source of information could be the certification officer from one of the approved library media programs in Georgia. Where can a person get the appropriate degree and/or credential /licensure in the state? There are several universities in Georgia that offer programs leading to initial certification for library media specialists: See https://www.gapsc.com/ApprovedPrograms/EducationProgram.asp
Georgia State University
Georgia College and State University
Georgia Southern University
State University of West Georgia
Valdosta State University
University of Georgia Are there any local, regional, or state scholarships available for library media specialists?
Students can apply for education scholarships. At this time, school library media specialists are not eligible to receive the HOPE scholarship in Georgia. What is the salary range for a certified school library media specialist in the state? Library media specialists receive the same pay as teachers who have the same level of certification. Certification can be at the master’s level (initial certification or S-5), the specialist level (S-6), or the doctoral level (S-7). Does the GaDOE offer any professional development for library media specialists? The Institute for New Media Specialists was Webcast throughout the state from June 2003 to April 2004. Neither the GaDOE nor Georgia Public Broadcasting will provide Professional Learning Units, but your system or school may use these modules and offer credit. Originally, this project was designed for the library media specialist with five years or less experience, but veteran library media specialists may benefit from the information. This yearlong project was developed by GPB Education (PeachStar) in collaboration with the Georgia Department of Education. These lessons were prepared and presented by library media specialists, university professors, and system coordinators and can provide online group or individual professional learning opportunities. This package contains 20 modules. Each Webcast module contains the video presentation with accompanying slides. Several modules also include supplemental resources such as questions, polls, and downloadable documents. You may need to download or install certain software to view the modules. Check with your system’s computer technicians for more information. To access the modules go to: What does my administrator use as an evaluation instrument? It is a local decision as to what form a principal or administrator uses to evaluate library media specialists. It is highly recommended that administrators evaluate their library media specialists with an appropriate document and not a teacher evaluation form. While library media specialists are teachers, the duties and responsibilities differ from classroom teachers and the teacher evaluation instrument is not suitable for library media specialists.
There are several examples of alternate evaluation instruments located here: The GMSEP and the evaluation instrument on the Clayton County Web site are also two of the recommended forms for evaluating library media specialists. What resources are available for locating school library media positions in the state? Try this website: https://www.teachgeorgia.org/ or check the website of the local system.
What resources does the GaDOE have for library media specialists?
What are Lexiles?
Read More about Lexiles here: |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(404) 657-9800
(404) 656-5744