Kimberly ExleyFacilities Plan

FRIT 7132 Fall, 2008

Dr. Repman

Contents

» The School

» Current Facility Floor Plan

» Media Center Policies

» Changes/Updates to Policies

» Media Center Issues

» Student / Teacher Survey Results

» Media Center Photos and Explanations (four slides)

» Revised Floor Plan

» New Furnishings

» Media Center Accessibility

The School

• Effingham County High School is one of two high schools in Effingham County. It is situated in Springfield, GA. The current school building was completed in 1989 and is a modern facility.

• Student Population: Approximately 1,750

• Grade levels: 9-12 ( A freshman academy was implemented during the previous school year.

Current Facility Floor Plan

Media Center Policies

The ECHS media center operates on a flexible schedule. • Students may visit the media center during school hours (8:00 – 3:30). They may come

with a teacher as a class or in groups of four or less without a teacher. • Students may use the computers in the media center after school as long as a faculty

member is present. • The media center will accommodate up to three classes at a time: one in the computer

lab, one at the computers in the media center, and one to check out books or work at the tables.

• Students may check out two books for three weeks at a time. There is a two day return grace period. Fines are five cents per day. Report cards are held for fines of $1.00 or more.

• College/career books can only be checked out for a period of three days. • Teachers must sign out periodicals/magazines on the sign out sheet. • Teachers must leave items to be laminated on the work table and the media clerk will

laminate them each afternoon. • Teachers schedule time to use the computers and computer labs online.

Changes/Updates to Policies

The ECHS media center has received both cosmetic and technological updates over the past two years.

• Spring, 2006 – media center receives mobile computer lab with thirty laptop computers and mobile printer. When teachers use the mobile lab, the media specialist helps with setup and access to the Internet.

• Summer, 2007 – media center receives new carpet, bookshelves, books, refurbished computers. The book collection was “weeded” and 3,000 outdated books were donated, leaving the current collection at approximately 17,000 books.

• Summer, 2008 – ECHS was awarded a twenty-first century classroom grant, allowing several classrooms to be outfitted with LCD projectors and smart board technology.

Current Media Center Issues

• The media center is located at the front of the school adjacent to the front office. The main entrance consists of a set of double doors. This is the entrance that students use. There are two other access doors to the media center. The first is an exit door in the rear and the other is a door in the computer lab.

• The media center has a large front exterior wall consisting of full length windows. These create extreme heat in the warm months and leave the media center with quite a chill in the winter months.

• The media center is furnished with wooden tables and chairs and a blend of wooden and metal bookshelves. None of the furnishings look inviting or comfortable. There are fifty-eight computers, two printers, and one copier for student use in the media center and the computer lab. Most of the computers are refurbished units. The media center also has a mobile computer lab, several overhead projectors, and several TV/VCR/DVD units, which the teachers can borrow for classroom use.

Survey Results

• Students• I interviewed approximately 25-30 students in

grades 10-12 about their use of the school media center. Of course, there were positive and negative responses.

• The positives: • Most students use the media center for both

classroom and personal reasons. • Most students have checked out a book from the

media center this school year. • Most students feel comfortable in the media center

and with the technology offered there. • The negatives: • Students would like to have a voice in deciding

which new books, magazines, etc. the media center orders.

• Students would like a more accessible place to return books. (perhaps an external book drop)

• Students would like to have laptops in the media center and a quiet place to use them.

• Students would like to have reading corners in the media center.

• Students were unaware of various resources available to them in the media center such as periodicals, GALILEO, etc.

• Staff• I attempted to interview various staff members,

including teachers who teach different subjects, those who teach special education, and even an administrator. Overall, the response to the media center was not very favorable. Teachers, in general, would like to see the following changes:

• More interaction/collaboration between MS and teacher.

• More interaction between MS and students.• Special Ed. Teachers expressed an interest in digital

resources for their students. • English and history teachers expressed an interest in

research resources / skills for their students. • All teachers want their students to have a better

working knowledge of the resources available to them in the media center.

• Teachers would like for media specialists to visit their classrooms for collaboration such as book talks, software presentations, etc.

• Teachers would like to see student friendly improvements in the media center – bright colors, posters, comfortable furniture, incentives for reading, etc.

Media Center Photos

• Below – The circulation desk is situated in the front/center of the media center. The media specialists’ offices are located immediately behind the desk with a series of large glass panels like the ones shown in the picture so that they can see into the media center from their desks.

• Bottom right – these are the current work tables for students. (Boring, hard furniture.)

• Upper right – this is the media center’s print reference section.

Media Center Photos

Media Center collections:Below – Bookshelves containing fiction and non-fiction booksUpper right – New books (fiction)Lower right – Periodicals room (many students do not even know this room exists or how to find information here)

Media Center Photos

Computers in the media center:Below – this is the 25-computer lab located adjacent to the media center. It includes flat screen monitors and a printer for student use. Upper and lower right – these computers are located in the media center. The lower picture shows a group of computers that allow for student seating in front of the circulation desk while the upper picture shows computers that overlook the main hallway between the media center and the front office. (Can you say distraction?)

Media Center Photos

Storage and work areas – (the worst)Below – This is another view of the periodicals room. Notice how homeless items just get “dumped” in here.Upper right – This is the room where the laminator and letter cutter are kept. There is also a telephone here for staff use. This room also houses the video/DVD library for classroom use.Lower right – I’m not sure what is in all of these cabinets, but several overhead projectorsare parked in this room and there’s a microwave and small refrigerator for MS use.

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BookshelvesFiction/Nonfiction

Reference section

Tables

Main Entrance

Book drop

Special interest books

New books

Book drop

Table

Circ. desk

Comp.station

ExitTo MSoffice

To computerLab #1

To computerLab #2

To storage/workroom

To meeting/Distance learning room

Comfy reading area

Newbooks

Revised Floor Plan

New Furnishings

Brodart Fusion Lounge Tables and Chairs

               Sled Base Chairs

Brodart Classic Benches

Ideal for lounge or lobby areashttp://www.shopbrodart.com/shop

                                                                                                   

               

TekStar™ Dual Drop™ Building-Mounted Book/AV Return

                                                                                                          

  

                    DuraLight™ Under-

Counter Cushion-Drop Cart

Bubbles© Carpet

Media Center Accessibility

• Students with learning disabilities or visual/hearing impairments and students who have limited mobility or who are wheelchair bound would benefit from the following media center modifications:

• Word prediction software• Reading support software• Screen readers (shown here)• Presentation software• Student writing tools• Text scanners• Large-print books (fiction, non-fiction, & reference)• Large screen monitors (shown here)• Talking word processors• Trackballs (for students who have difficulty with mouse

functions) (also shown here)• Adjustable tables• Padded wrist rests

• Making Media Center Resources Accessiable to ALL Students

• All images on this page: http://images.google.com/

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