eJournal Entry 2

This past week I put a lot of thought into Design Analysis, Needs Assessment and Analyzing Context.  Many times I felt one area running into another so in order to correct this I research what other people had to say about the components of each section.  By Friday, I felt I understood what was needed and the project seem to have a natural flow.

Design Analysis - An instructional website to address the library skills needed of seventh and eighth grade junior high students.  This would include lessons using the card catalog system Destiny, locating books in the library and correctly using the research resources we have available.  

Needs Assessment - I was inspired to create this program after my own observations of a lack of knowledge about the Dewey System, the card catalog and a discussion with the District Librarian about the number of students who come to the high school and do not use the resources we have for research.  These are skills students the help they need to be successful in the junior high, in high school and later in college.  This training on Dewey, Destiny, the card catalog and the location of books in the library would be offered online at the beginning of the year by reading teachers and the Ebsco training could be offered later in the year before the English teachers begin research projects.  The lessons could be completed in the library on an individual basis or the computer lab as a class I would teach.  All of these students understand how to use a computers therefore setting up a tutorial they could use first as a lesson and later as a guide would be beneficial to all students.

Analyzing Context - Our library, built in 1996, is located in Mt. Pleasant, Tx.  The overall tone of the library is very inviting.  The colors used are aqua and purple with muted yellow walls for accent.  These colors were recommended for the entire building the school and are agreed upon by Margaret Bush in her journal article “Library Facilities for Children”.  She stated, “In general, the library media center should be a warm, welcoming color”.  Children tend to check out more books in these color tones unlike libraries that are painted bright reds and yellows.  There are two small reading sections for students to read quietly alone, internet accessed computers and tables for classes that visit.  The books are located around the walls of the library in well marked sections to help students.  Our district and school leaders believes that the library is a place where students can learn to love books and reading.  They want these students to have access to knowledge and information that will enrich their lives and the world around them.  This meets with the district's mission: Every child has every chance to learn.

Our school administrators are very concerned with the low reading levels of these students. The majority of our students are from homes that are economically disadvantaged, eighty-five percent, in addition to thirty-five percent that are limited English proficient. These  administrators also recognize the social factors from this area that play a role in these problems.  Many students come from families that suffer from unemployment, discrimination, poor skills, low income, single parent families and poor housing.  Even though the majority of these students were born in the United States many come from families that moved from Mexico in hopes of creating a better life for themselves.  However these life situations our students face still have an effect on their outlook of school.  So many do not think it will be relevant to their lives later or they do not know the services schools have that could help them.  The majority are factual or procedural learners who have difficulties making connections between concepts. To help students, extra programs and tutoring programs have been set up to give these students the help they need in reading comprehension and math to succeed in their classes.   

This Instructional Design would be a set of tutorials, videos and instructions that would benefit students using the resources in the library.  This would include needed skills to locate needed materials. This website would be available from any computer with an internet connection, however the best location would be to access the tutorial from the library. Students would probably be able to make better connections between the lesson taught and the materials in the library. I would also be able to answer any questions they may have as a soon to be certified librarian.