Bi-Weekly+Postings

====** Practicum students are expected to post every two weeks to this wiki. Here students will have an opportunity to share activities, ask questions, develop and critique lessons, and address any topic related to a Library Media Specialist. You may wish to review the four roles of an LMS as you write your postings. Students are encouraged to respond to postings with additional questions, related resources, personal experiences, etc. **====

Role 1 - As ** teacher **, the lms collaborates with students and other members of the learning community to analyze learning and information needs, to locate and use resources that will meet those needs, and to understand and communicate the information the resources provide. An effective instructor of students, the lms is knowledgeable about current research on teaching and learning and skilled in applying its findings to a variety of situation - particularly those that call upon students to access, evaluate, and use information from multiple sources in order to learn, to think, and to create and apply new knowledge. A curricular leader and a full participant on the instructional team, the library media specialist constantly updates personal skills and knowledge in order to work effectively with teachers, administrators, and other staff - both to expand their general understanding of information issues and to provide them with specific opportunities to develop sophisticated skills in information literacy, including the uses of information technology.

Role 2 - As ** instructional partner **, the LMS joins with teachers and others to identify links across student information needs, curricular content, learning outcomes, and a wide variety of print, non-print, and electronic information resources. Working with the entire school community, the lms takes a leading role in developing policies, practices, and curricula that guide students to develop the full range of information and communication abilities. Committed to the process of collaboration, the LMS works closely with individual teachers in the critical areas of designing authentic learning tasks and assessments and integrating the information and communication abilities required to meet subject matter standards.

Role 3 - As ** information specialist **, the LMS provides leadership and expertise in acquiring and evaluating information resources in all formats; in bringing an awareness of information issues into collaborative relationships with teachers, administrators, students, and others; and in modeling for students and others strategies for locating, accessing, and evaluating information within and beyond the library media center. Working in an environment that has been profoundly affected by technology, the LMS both masters sophisticated electronic resources and maintains a constant focus on the nature, quality, and ethical use of information available in these and in more traditional tools.

Role 4 - As ** program administrator **, the LMS works collaboratively with members of the learning community to definte the policies of the library media program and to guide and direct all activities related to it. Confident of the importance of the effective use of information and information technology to students' personal and economic success in their future lives, the LMS is an advocate for the library media program and provides the knowledge, vision, and leadership to steer it creatively and energetically in the twenty-first century. Proficient in the management of staff, budgets, equipment, and facilities, the LMS plans, executes, and evaluates the program to ensure its quality both at a general level and on a day-to-day basis.