T his is the story of Jan Jensen, a Colorado educator in the Jefferson County Public Schools-- once a li- brary media specialist at Arvada High School and

now an assistant principal--who, in 1990, was selected as the first "National Library Media Specialist of the Year" by 3M and the Association for Educational Com- munications and Technology (AECT). Jensen is a 26- year expert in library media who pioneered her school's media center and is convincing educators around her to visualize revolutionary classroom environments using high-tech programs that inspire new ways of learning.

As the national winner chosen from a field of more than 30 state competitors, Jensen received an all-ex- pense paid trip to Orlando, Florida, where she received her award during the AECT National Convention and IN- FOCOMM International ~M Exposition. She also re- ceived a 3M brand series 900 overhead projector, a 3M LCD projection panel, 3M presentation software plus an ample supply of 3M brand overhead transparency films.

Her Vision for the Future "Schools are merely preparing young people to

cope with the 21st Century. Rather, they should be pre- paring young people to create the 21st Century. The award just reaffirmed the technical vision I have for Ar- vada High School," said Jensen. "It [the award] gives me the credibility I need to offer opinions and give con- sultation. And it's clear that 3M has had a strong pres- ence in instructional technology markets. There are just certain standards for programs that we come to expect," she said.

"We're trying to work smarter!" says Jan, who at- tends meetings with a laptop computer because "it's a waste of time to transpose information if you don't have to." Further, sharing technology resources in education calls for entrepreneurial library media specialists with a "marketplace of ideas" for new learning experiences. These specialists are needed more today because school teachers and administrators have limited time and re- sources to turn new, instructional technologies into real projects and tools.

lensen Uses Technology for Learning One of Jensen's most aggressive contributions is

the creation of a fax network between the 16 schools in the district, plus the Colorado School of Mines and Red Rocks Community College. This project, which allows students to access magazine and newspaper articles

Jan Jensen holds the plaque she received from 3M and AECT for being named 1990 National School Library Media Specialist of the Year.

within minutes, has set a precedence for further telecom- munications planning by the Colorado State Library.

Jensen also coordinated a workshop for Colorado media specialists with a focus on planning for technol- ogy implementation, including: "Information Skills Im- plementation," "A Look At Future Technologies," and "High Tech Tools for Teachers."

Jensen has revolutionized a way to conduct commu- nity meetings and carry on classroom sessions to maxim- ize the participation of more than 60 viewers in one sit- ting. She combines one of her award prizes, the 3M brand series 900 overhead projector, with a liquid crys- tal display (LCD) panel, which is similar in concept to an electronic overhead transparency. By using presenta- tional software, electronic databases and a modem, she gives a "live, interactive" presentation--integrating infor- mation, images and sound--to audiences ranging from the school board to the ninth grade science class.

What's Happening in Her Media Center?

Among its innovations at Arvada High School, the library media center offers current and meaningful infor- mation to students. Jensen says the center has helped al- leviate trapped thinking by faculty--such as focusing too heavily on graduation requirements--rather than imagining new and unique opportunities.

The kinds of programs that meet her colleagues' ap- proval and enthusiasm allow students to participate inter- actively while the instructor can ask the class to brain-

Volume 37/Number 6/1992 31

storm topics and dis- cuss research strategies and current issues. Jan has incorporated her prize package from 3M into the instructional program. Students and faculty are using these innovative learning tools every day. As Jan says, using the LCD panel for visual presen- tations provides applica- tions that are "better than chalk." Here are some specific examples.

Simulated Lab. A network using software based on CD ROM helps a science teacher in a class on mitosis. With the aid of high resolution graphics, the group conducts experi- ments using a computer and LCD panel. This integrated learning sys- tem helps the instructor tailor test questions and students generate com-

Arvada High School students and Jan Jensen get together in the Media Center to brainstorm ideas.

puter reports in class--while during that t ime--the in- structor logs the actions of all students.

Faculty and Community Meetings. Quality man- agement meetings with faculty and community members take time to prepare interesting and convincing con- cepts. Jensen uses a presentational tool projected through the LCD panel to a large audience. She uses a "mouse" to prompt diagrams, icons and text to convey her messages with colorful appeal. She says presenta- tions must be done in the quickest possible way without wasting time and money on thick paper handouts to be filed or tossed.

"You use the tools when it makes sense--not just to be impressive. If you can give a graphic or chart to show a benefit, versus the 'old-school' way of thinking-- typing up a one-page argument to justify the cost--then you gain more credibility," she says.

Computer Training. Special software for the com- puter training instructor can help demonstrate how to op- erate a computer and all types of software packages. The LCD panel demystifies the task of knowing which buttons to push on the keyboard, because students make the connection from their own keyboard to the instructor's computer screen projected in front of the class.

Reading Comprehension. By using databases ei- ther on disk or on-line, a civics instructor can capture photos, videos and text about news topics and conduct impromptu discussions. With this kind of accessible re- search at full view by the entire class at one time, the learning material is more meaningful than reading a chapter in a textbook on the same subject written possi- bly as long as five or ten years ago.

When Jensen spoke to the American Association of School Librarians on technology in education in 1991,

she said, "The spread of these tools in the classroom and media centers has an impact on the popularity and interactivity of multi- media- based CD- ROM products."

Market Re- search. A class con- ducts a market re- search session using an on-line demograph- ics database and an LCD panel. Students study the interests of Colorado residents in ski resort towns during the off-season such as Vail, Keystone, Dill and Copper Mountain. Together they con- clude--through numer- ous data inquiries and with pondering discus- sion--that these towns offer lucrative busi- ness opportunities for restaurants, mountain bikes and in-line

skates. Product Designing. Jensen envisions a program

whereby marketing students design products by webbing text, video and other images. They invent product con- cepts that could be beamed on a satellite to corporations anywhere in the world. The idea is to go beyond the typewritten report and bring imagination and enterpris- ing ideas through to the most complete sense of reality, or as Jensen calls it--"virtual reality."

The Unexplored Profession Jan Jensen believes that with the technology boom

there is an information marketplace large enough for any library media specialist or teacher who wants to define their own niche in instructional technology.

"Schools looking at educational technology, commu- nity resources, school environments, professional devel- opment, curriculum and assessment, governance and shared decision-making could use a library media profes- sional in a leadership role for each of their quality cir- cles," says Jensen.

When she was a library media specialist at Arvada High School with a population of 1,500---on a given day, she came into contact with as many as 300 stu- dents. In fact, in a 37-day period, there were 157 classes working in the library media center, ranging over seven disciplines.

Making an impression on that many students in a li- brary setting hasn't always been easy during the last few decades, according to Jensen. "The role of library media work has never been treated like that of school teachers and administrators. Unfortunately, the position descrip- tion suffered from stereotyping during a time of explo- sion of technology."

32 Tech Trends

Jensen speaks of a common stereotype that library media specialists' talents have been limited to merely as- sisting teachers when audio-visual equipment is needed in the classroom.

"I sometimes wonder how many library media spe- cialists across the country really consider their own needs, as instructional technology leaders, as much as they serve the teachers around them?"

"Library media specialists can no longer queue up at the budget table to plea for dollars with the conven- tional rationales--inflationary costs of materials--but rather, what return can be generated from each invested dollar? We have to pull back on traditional notions," she suggests.

Curriculum spending is traditionally planned in terms of supplies and books. Imagine spending the same amount on instructional technology as is spent on text- books. When the average price of a history, science, lit- erature or mathematics textbook totals just under $40 each--the economies of supplying 1000 pupils with texts for each of their required five subjects mounts rap- idly into an expensive proposition. Computed across de- partments in a given school, the fiscal need to provide texts pushes upward of $200,000. Since textbook shelflife must routinely stretch way beyond the changes in the world, ie. the former Soviet Union, breakthroughs in biotechnology, and expanding information in every field of knowledge, teachers seek other solutions.

Equip every classroom with a microcomputer, datal- ine, modem, LCD projection panel and various software for the same amount of money and give teachers the chance to provide "up to the moment" curriculum. Schools can get added value when the same equipped classroom is used during two or three class periods by other instructors. "And in communities where cable com- panies provide drops in classrooms, schools network their computers, and teachers manage their recordkeep- ing electronically--well, the potential expands," claims Jensen.

In a nutshell, "Whining for more money must be re- placed with strategic plans indicating school-wide bene- fits for multiple departments, and the trick is a trained teacher with the help of a library media specialist," says Jensen.

As Jefferson County Public Schools have realized the benefits of Jensen's enterprising learning programs, they recently made her assistant principal at Evergreen Senior High in charge of school restructuring, instruc- tional technology and student activities. A Ph.D. candi- date at the University of Denver, she is preparing a doc- toral dissertation in Curriculum Leadership and School Administration, beyond her Masters of Arts degree in Li- brary Media at the University.

Not surprisingly, Jensen was recognized in 1990 by the Colorado Educational Media Association (CEMA) for providing an "Exemplary Library Media Program." That same year, she was asked to join the Colorado Telecommunications Committee, a task force created by the state governor.

While Jensen knows that change is hard, she also knows the demands facing the nation. She states, "It isn't enough to exist in a '50s building with a '60s cur- riculum, using tools from the '80s with dreams of the '90s. We have to prepare for the 21st Century." �9

Preview of DSMS Sessions AECT National Convention New Orleans, LA �9 January 13-17

Wednesday, January 13

8:00 a.m.-12:00 noon DSMS Current Board Meet- ing, Burton Brooks, Chair.

9:30 a.m.-10:45 a.m. Library Media Centers Open Gateways to Learning Through Restructuring and Re- form, Session Chairs: Betsy Simmons and Jan Aillet-Cro- chet, Sponsors: DSMS and RTD, New Orleans Conven- tion Center.

12:45 p.m.-2:00 p.m. Games With a Message, Ses- sion Chairs: Burton Brooks and Roberta Altenbern, Sponsor: DSMS, New Orleans Convention Center.

2:15 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Reaching Teachers with Inter- active Technology: Computers, Videodisc and CD-ROM, Session Chairs: Phyllis Joseph and Ruth E. Herbert, Sponsors: DSMS and DISC, New Orleans Convention Center.

Thursday, January 14

8:00 a.m.-11:45 a.m Workshop W-I 1: Electronic Information for the 21st Century. Additional Fee: $50.

8:00 a.m.-9:15 a.m. A Practical Framework for Linking Media Literacy to School Restructuring and Re- form, Session Chairs: Carla Thomas and Lucille Watt, Sponsor: DSMS, New Orleans Convention Center

12:45 p.m.-2:00 p.m. Staff Development for Videodisc Technology, Session Chairs: Sandra McMichael and James L. Smith, Sponsor: DSMS, New Orleans Convention Center.

2:15 p.m.-3:30 p.m. DSMS Membership Meeting, Burton Brooks, Chair.

Friday, January 15

8:00 a.m.-9:15 a.m. Harnessing the Power of Your Library Media Center Technology, Session Chairs: Nancy Graf and Elaine Twogood, Sponsors: DSMS and DEMM, New Orleans Convention Center.

9:30 a.m.-10:45 a.m DSMS Committee Chairs and Committee, Planning Session, Burton Brooks and Mary Mock Miller, Chairs.

11:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m. The Library Media Center, the Computer Lab, and Flexible Scheduling: Greater Than the Sum of the Parts, Session Chairs: Pam Wil- liams and Catherine Logan-Rooth, Sponsors: DSMS and DEMM, New Orleans Convention Center.

6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. DSMS Reception, Cathy McLeod, Chair, Sponsor: Follett Software Company.

Saturday, January 16 7:00 a.m.-8:30 a.m. DSMS Author Breakfast with

Norma Fox Mazer, Gloria Donatto, Chair, autograph ses- sion following.

8:00 a.m.-9:15 a.m. Teaching Teachers Technol- ogy: Two Perspectives, Session Chairs: Dr. Jasuant Singh and Jim Bennett, Sponsors: DSMS, DEMM and MDPD, New Orleans Convention Center.

11:00 a.m.- 12:15 p.m. Yes, We Can See and Hear Them Now, Session Chairs: Sherry Freiberg and Gail Griffin, Sponsor: DSMS, New Orleans Convention Cen- ter.

Volume 37/Number 6/1992 33

12:45 p.m.-2:00 p.m. The Technology Challenge: Strategic Planning for Using CD-ROM Technology in the K-12 Setting, Session Chairs: Katherine Hawes and Jane James Sponsor: DSMS.

Sunday, January 17

7:00 a.m.-9:00 a.m. DSMS New Board Meeting, Mary Mock Miller, Chair.

8:00 a.m.-9:15 a.m. Leadership and Lobbying for Tomorrow's Education, Session Chairs: Susan Holland and Dr. Steven Cox, Sponsors: DSMS and DEMM, Sheraton New Orleans. 9:30 a.m.-

10:45 a.m. Educational Access for K-12: A Gate- way to the Community, Session Chairs: Bernice Lamkin and W. Ruth Catalano, Sponsors: DSMS and DOT, Sheraton New Orleans.

11:00 a.m.- 12:15 p.m. Surviving the Technology Storm, Session Chairs: Anne Harris and Mary Mock Miller, Sponsors: DSMS and DISC, Sheraton New Or- leans.

DSMS Author Breakfast

Saturday, January 16 7:00 a.m. -8:30 a.m.

Getting up at 6:15 a.m. on a Saturday morning will be well worth the effort for DSMS members attending the AECT National Convention in New Orleans this win- ter. Whether or not you enjoy breakfast that early, you will enjoy tentatively scheduled speaker, Norma Fox Mazer, author of numerous books for children and young adults.

Norma Fox Mazer's books include After the Rain, a Newbery Honor Book, an ALA Notable Book, and the recipient of the ALA Best Book for Young Adults and SLJ Best Book of the Year awards. Another of Mazer's books Taking Terri Mueller received the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Juvenille Mystery.

Be sure to purchase a ticket ($21) to the DSMS Au- thor Breakfast when you pre-register for AECT'93--seat- ing is limited. Don't miss your opportunity to spend some time with this award-winning author! �9

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34 Tech Trends