FRIT 7739: Spring 2016

Robin Skelley

Program Evaluation
Executive Summary
Norcross Elementary School is a Title I school located in a diverse suburban area of metro
Atlanta. The media center at Norcross Elementary has been part of the school since the early
1970s. In that time, it has been remodeled and retrofitted several times to include new
technology. It has been recently been updated again to include new laptop computers, projectors,
and a wireless speaker system. The media center is run by the Media Specialist, who is assisted
by the Media Clerk. Both staff members have different roles and responsibilities that ensure that
the media center runs smoothly. The county has input into the running of the center, as does the
administrative staff of the school. The stakeholders in this technology center are the parents and
students, as well as the schools business partners, community partners and taxpayers.
The media center has several goals that help direct how the center is run. The first goal is to
encourage teachers to use technology in their classrooms. The second goal is to guide teachers to
be flexible when they use technology and to have teachers use technology in a student centered
way. The last goal is to teach students information literacy skills by using technology.
During a typical school day, the technology in the media center is used for morning
announcements from the broadcast room, a morning tutoring session, and teacher directed
computer use. The computers sessions are always full, with many of the classes working on a
website called Imagine Learning. The media center also hosts a variety of activities before the
official school day starts, including faculty meetings and before-school tutoring sessions. The
Media Specialist, Ms. May, uses the available technology in her lessons. Every other week she
teaches lessons on a variety of topics in literature and technology.
Though the staff of the technology center are doing their best, some of the equipment available
for teacher use remains under-utilized. There are several pieces of equipment that rarely see any
use, including a class set of clickers. It has also been noticed that the time spent on the class set
of laptops is spent mostly on educational games, not on student centered learning. The center
might improve this by offering professional development opportunities on how the available
technology could be used in a student centered way. The administration could encourage teachers
to use student centered technology in their classrooms. To help set out guidelines for teacher and
student technology use, the administration could create a school wide technology plan. This
would allow schools staff, as well as other stakeholders, to understand what the vision for
technology use is at Norcross Elementary School.

FRIT 7739: Spring 2016

Robin Skelley

Organizational Chart

County Officials

School Principal and Assistant Principals

Ms. May
Media Specialist
- lessons
- book orders
- broadcast studio
- maintaining small equipment

Ms. Drake
Media Clerk
-day to day running
-processing materials
- troubleshooting minor tech issues
- scheduling laptop use
(Media Center & laptop cart)

Methods
To develop this report, several methods were used to gather information. The first method was
conducting an interview with Ms. May, the Media Specialist. In this interview, she answered
questions about the technology centers history and how technology is being used in the school.
The procedure and questions asked in the interview can be found in Appendix A.
The second method used was observation. During the school day, the technology center was
observed and the activities of the center were recorded on an observation record (Appendix B).
These results provided a picture of how technology was being used. The observations showed
that the class set of laptops was almost always in use. However, it also showed that most of the
time on the laptops was spent on educational games or Imagine Learning.

FRIT 7739: Spring 2016

Robin Skelley

The final method used to find information for this report was to review available documents on
the center. A list of documents used can be found in Appendix C. The review of these documents
showed many links to websites and other educational resources students could use. However,
there was little to no information found about a vision for technology use or a school technology
plan.
Center Context and Goals
The media center has been around since about 1972. Ms. May has been at Norcross Elementary
for ten years and during that time the media center has been remodeled and upgraded several
times. Seven years ago the library portion was remodeled with new shelving. In 2011, when the
new three story building was being constructed, the media center was stripped and completely
redone. It was expanded and given new computers. Earlier this year, as part of a SPLOST funded
upgrade, the media center received new laptop computers (to replace the old desktops), as well
as projectors and a wireless speaker system. The county made sure that the whole school had
access to wireless internet. The broadcast studio was upgraded with new equipment.
At the media center, the first goal is to get teachers to use the technology that is available to
them. The hope is that if some teachers begin to use the technology, other teachers will follow.
Another goal is to guide teachers to be more flexible in their use of technology and have learning
become more student centered. The last goal is to teach the students information literacy skills
through the use of technology. The stakeholders in the success of these goals are the taxpayers,
the county, and local business and community partners, as well as the students and parents.
The two positions in the media center are the Media Specialist, Ms. May, and the Media Clerk,
Ms. Drake. The Media Clerk is in charge of the day to day running of the media center which
includes processing books and new technology equipment. She is in charge of scheduling classes
for computer time in the media center, as well as the use of the mobile laptop cart. She also helps
with minor technology issues. The Media Specialist teaches lessons on library and technology
subjects, runs the broadcast studio, and handles the small technology equipment (CD players,
Mimeos, document cameras) as well as other library related duties. There are rules and
procedures put in place at the county level. The school principal and assistant principals also
have input into the running of the technology center.
Right now, Ms. May believes that the media center is in good shape. She is pleased with the new
technology that they have received. She has developed a good rapport with teachers. Most bring
their classes for lessons every other week. They also feel comfortable asking for help with
technology issues and she has taught several private lessons on Microsoft products, databases,
and the use of the small equipment.

FRIT 7739: Spring 2016

Robin Skelley

Center Activities
1) Morning Activities- The media center hosts a variety of activities that vary from day to day.
These activities include morning tutoring sessions, faculty meetings, and local school technology
meetings.
2) Morning News Show- Every morning, members of a class of 5th grade students produce a
morning news show, with the guidance of Ms. May. The students act as directors, camera
operators, sound crew, and anchors. After two weeks, a new group of students takes over. The
purpose of having students run the news show is to allow them to become familiar with how
broadcast equipment works and to teach them how to work together to accomplish a goal.
3) Response to Intervention (RTI) - Each morning, Mr. Fortenbery, the Parent Center Coordinator,
uses the media center laptops to conduct a Response to Intervention (RTI) session with a select
group of 4th grade students. It is the same group of students every morning. The students use a
program called Classworks to practice their math and reading skills. Students are rewarded for
completing different levels of the program. They earn shields that have been created by Mr.
Fortenbery. This program works to improve the students math and reading scores.
4) Computer Use- There are 30 ThinkPad laptops with headsets available for classes to use. There
are fifteen half an hour slots throughout the school day that teachers can sign up for. Most
teachers have their students work on a website called Imagine Learning. Occasionally some
come to have students conduct research using the computers. By giving students time on the
computer, the students are developing a basic understanding on how to use a computer. This is
important since many students do not have access to a computer at home.
5) Lessons with Ms. May- Every other week, Ms. May teaches lessons on a variety of topics. Some
have to do with literature and some have to do with technology topics, such as the research
process and using databases. These lessons are available to any grade level and are tailored to
enhance that grade levels curriculum. Teachers sign up for lesson slots at the beginning of the
school year.
Evaluation
Considering all the information, I feel that the media center is doing its best to meet its goals.
The computer sessions are always booked full. However, most teachers have students use the
computers for visiting educational game sites or completing the required time on Imagine
Learning. Rarely do the teacher have the students do research or create student centered work
using this set computers.
I also find that the some of the equipment that can be borrowed from the technology center is
under-utilized. There are pieces of equipment, like the classroom set of clickers that are rarely
used.

FRIT 7739: Spring 2016

Robin Skelley

To improve the operations of the center, the administration and media center staff should
encourage teachers to use the technology for more student centered learning. This could be done
by having more professional development sessions on the technology available from the media
center and how it can be used. Workshops could be offered on Web 2.0 technologies that have
been approved by the school and how they could be used to encourage student learning.
The administration should also encourage teachers to use the available technology equipment in
their classrooms. Professional development sessions could be created to demonstrate the
technology and provide examples of how it could be used in the classroom.
Having teachers use technology in their classrooms and encouraging more student centered
learning is a goal the Media Specialist and I have talked about several times. As stated in the
center goals, the hope is if one teacher uses new technology that others will follow. Because of
redistricting, the school in getting many new teachers and faculty members, along with a new
Principal and Assistant Principal, in the fall. The hope is the new administration will encourage
more student centered technology use.
It is also important that the school develops a school wide vision about how technology should
be used. With a school wide vision, teachers would have guidelines about how technology should
be used in their classrooms. The school should develop a technology plan and make it available
to parents, community members, and other stakeholders.

Appendix A: Interview Procedure and Questions

FRIT 7739: Spring 2016

Robin Skelley

To conduct this interview the questioner reviewed the information needed and then developed
questions to ask the media specialist. These questions were asked during a break during on one
of the school visits. The answers were recorded by hand.
Interviewee: Debbie May (Media Specialist)
Note: From previous discussion interviewer had already known that the technology center/media
center had been remodeled several times.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

When was the first remodel?

What is the goal of the technology center?
What is the mission of the technology center?
Who are the stakeholders?
What is the current status of the technology center?

FRIT 7739: Spring 2016

Robin Skelley

Appendix B: Observation Record Sheet

Time

Activities Observed (computer use, lessons)

8:30
9:00
9:30
10:00
10:30
11:00
11:30
12:00
12:30
1:00
1:30
2:00
2:30
Notes:

Appendix C: Documents Used

FRIT 7739: Spring 2016

Robin Skelley

1) Norcross Elementary School Media Center websitehttp://norcrossesmedia.weebly.com/cool-websites.html

This website provides information about Norcross Elementary Schools Media Center. This site
provides basic information about the Media Center, as well as links to appropriate research sites.
2) Norcross Elementary School websitehttp://www.norcrosselementaryschool.org/home.html
This is the website for Norcross Elementary school and provides information on school policies
and other important information.