 TEACHING AND LEARNING 00 ACCESS TO INFORMATION RESOURCES AND SERVICES IN THE TEACHING/LEARNING PROCESS The media and technology program provides intellectual and physical access to a full range of information and services for a community of learners and serves as a model for responsible and creative information use. The school library media coordinator and the technology facilitator collaborate with the school community to play an even more important role as the quantity of information continues to grow. They guide and promote a student-centered program; provide flexible and equitable access to information for learning; and use the North Carolina Standard Course of Study to help all students "construct meaning from the sources they encounter and to create products that shape and communicate that meaning effectively" (NC Information Skills Curriculum Philosophy, 0000). It is critical for students to have the ability to process and create understanding from all types of media in our exploding world of information. Real research and questioning can become lifelong tools to encourage independent thinking and to guide classroom inquiry at any time students are engaged in reading, viewing, or listening activities. ENSURING EQUITABLE ACCESS TO INFORMATION MEANS: Providing accurate, up-to-date, and developmentally appropriate print, non-print, and technology resources that meet the curriculum-related and data-driven needs of students and teachers; Providing meaningful instruction in the full range of information concepts and strategies that students need to interact effectively with all information resources; Supporting intellectual freedom and students' right to read. Providing flexible access to media and technology resources, staff, and facilities throughout the day; Providing adequate staffing for the media center and computer labs before, during, and after school for use by students, teachers, and members of the community; Providing technologies (such as laptops, portable text devices, and digital cameras) for individual, small group, classroom, and offsite use; Purchasing software and assistive/adaptive hardware (such as speech synthesis software, voice input technologies, and touch screens) that provide access to all media and technology for students and teachers with special needs; Providing large screen monitors or data/video projection devices for whole class instruction. 00 IMPACT: Guidelines for North Carolina Media and Technology Programs " ""FLEXIBLE, EQUITABLE, AND FAR-REACHING ACCESS . . . IS ESSENTIAL TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A VIBRANT, ACTIVE LEARNING COMMUNITY" (AASL and AECT, 0000). COLLABORATION FOR ASSESSMENT, RESEARCH, AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT Effective collaboration, clear instructional goals, the use of data, and continual feedback impact achievement in a powerful way. The school library media coordinator and the technology facilitator collaborate with teachers in the assessment of student performance in many ways. Grade-level or subject area teams of teachers, along with the school library media coordinator and the technology facilitator, meet routinely to identify instructional strengths and weaknesses, analyze scores and other assessments, and develop strategies to address the instructional needs of students. This process is ongoing and involves continual examination of teaching practices and learning opportunities as a means of becoming more effective. In this context, assessment can be seen as part of the teaching and learning process as opposed to being a separate task. Collaboration to assess student learning should be evident in all areas of the school environment, with the school library media coordinator and the technology facilitator working closely with teachers, administrators, students, and support personnel. All must be involved in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of an instructional program integrated with media and technology. School library media coordinators and technology facilitators are knowledgeable about research and best practices and skilled in applying the findings to a variety of situations. Media and technology programs can have a tremendous impact on student achievement if they follow the direction provided by research and best practice, and then apply it to ongoing assessment. In short, effective media and technology programs routinely consult the research, see where it fits and how it applies, and then study the effects so that necessary adjustments to the teaching and learning process can be made. REFLECTION Reflection is an important part of the educational process. Taking time to revisit daily practice by asking the following questions allows educators the opportunity to collaboratively and systematically assess teaching and learning practices, extract the best strategies, and make refinements that ultimately lead to higher student achievement. How did the use of technology influence student achievement and increase motivation? How many opportunities were offered for critical thinking and problem solving? Did students use technology to solve real-life problems? Did students engage in meaningful, relevant conversation? Did students learn with one another through collaborative work and group problem solving? Did students have time to form opinions, debate, persuade, discover new concepts, and make decisions? Did students exercise choice at any point in the activity? Did students engage in reflective debriefing and answer questions such as, "What happened?" "What made you think that?" "What would you change?" TEACHING AND LEARNING 00 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Quality professional development provides educators with the knowledge and skills to build powerful collaborative teams and provide the interpersonal support and synergy necessary for creatively addressing complex teaching and learning issues. According to the North Carolina Office of Professional Development, professional devel-opment leaders "must: 0. Provide time for collaboration in the school day and school year. 0. Identify critical questions to guide the work of collaborative teams. 0. Ask teams to create products as a result of their collaboration. 0. Insist that teams identify and pursue specific student achievement goals. 0. Provide teams with relevant data and information" ("Designing Powerful Professional Development," 0000). The school library media coordinator and technology facilitator play an important role in the planning and implementation of professional development that helps define and achieve standards of excellence to ensure the success of every student. Teachers need the skills, knowledge, time, and autonomy to decide what professional development they need. The media coordinator and technology facilitator must work with building- and system-level administrators to ensure that the professional development provided in their school is based on needs assessment and data collection. Media and technology personnel need to have an understanding of the school culture to build a learning community within the school that encourages continuous learning. Teachers should be rewarded for and encouraged to take risks, and be given the opportu-nity to learn and share together. Effective professional development experiences provide opportunities for teachers to build their knowledge and skills and broaden their teaching approaches, so they can create better learning opportunities for students. Media coordi-nators and technology facilitators acquire a school-wide perspective of professional devel-opment needs as they plan collaboratively with teachers. This school-wide perspective enables them to make decisions about appropriate data-driven professional development and to acquire the resources to design it. Media and technology professionals must encourage a data-driven process to determine what professional development to provide, implement their process, and evaluate its impact on student learning. This will ensure that teachers receive the quality professional development they need so that all students can be successful. In order to be effective, professional development must be assessed on a regular basis so that improvements can be made. This will help to guarantee a positive impact on teach-er effectiveness and student learning. Evaluation to determine the overall effectiveness of a professional development program must be built in during the initial planning stage. The collection of formative and summative assessment data should occur across the pro-fessional development program. Formative assessments are conducted throughout the professional development program, and summative evaluation occurs at the conclusion of the program. Summative evaluation "should be collected at three levels: educator prac-tices, organizational changes, and student outcomes" ("Designing Powerful Professional Development," 0000). 00 IMPACT: Guidelines for North Carolina Media and Technology Programs PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS The school library media coordinator and the technology facilitator are aware of the need for appropriate professional development. They expect to continue learning throughout their teaching career and to be able to improve their practice significantly through a vari-ety of learning opportunities. Professional development must be provided for media and technology personnel through local, state, and national opportunities. Professional devel-opment not only benefits the individual in shaping his or her profession, but also helps to ensure that best practice is everyday practice and that the most effective approaches are used. ASSESSING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NEEDS MEANS: Using formal assessment tools to determine professional development needs. Prioritizing professional development opportunities based on needs assessment. Evaluating the effectiveness of professional development efforts at regular intervals. Using student test data in determining professional development. Effective professional development is based on theory, research, and proven practice. No Child Left Behind calls for professional development that: is sustained, intensive, and classroom-focused, is grounded on scientifically-based research, is aligned with state content standards and assessments, gives teachers of limited English proficient (LEP) students the knowledge and skills necessary to teach them, provides preparation in the appropriate use of curricula and assessments, instructs in methods of teaching children with special needs, is developed with extensive participation of teachers and principals, and is regularly evaluated for impact on increased teacher effectiveness and improved student academic achievement (NSDC Standards for Staff Development, 0000). PLANNING HIGH QUALITY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MEANS: Participating in regularly scheduled system-level, regional, and state meetings, and sharing information with school staff; Attending state, regional, and national conferences to report back on professional development initiatives and trends; Serving on professional development committees at the school and system levels. Involving principals, teachers, and paraprofessionals in the planning of professional development; Assessing needs of administrators, teachers, and paraprofessionals for targeted professional development; Reflecting licensure requirements, ABC goals and objectives, and school improvement goals in the school professional development plan - 