Technology and the School Library: A Comprehensive Guide for Media Specialists and Other Educators

Technology and the School Library

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The book contains the first time that guidelines mention access to Introduction xi information outside of the physical library through the searching of online databases. These guidelines can be found in school libraries and library science classrooms around the country. The Information Power focuses on three main themes as a foundation for our field: Technology has moved from being nonexistent, or at a minimum not recognized, to being a small part of our jobs, to being the core of who we are and what we do. Most recently, the AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner focuses on technology skills as crucial for future employment needs.

Technology is threaded through all four areas: Reaching out to the classroom teachers can include basic library skills instruction, teaching information literacy, providing resources, and developing instructional lessons and units that tie into the curriculum. It also includes helping teachers in the use of technology and in integrating technology into their classes and lessons. The school librarian is in the ideal position to interact with school personnel at just about every level. While most school librarians certainly have to deal with the day-to-day tasks of troubleshooting and maintaining equipment and the actual responsibilities will vary from school to school, time and energy should be focused on higherlevel activities.

This book also includes information on how the school librarian interacts and works with the technology, providing a detailed picture of how a school librarian can build a technology-rich library. How technology use in the library impacts teachers and students throughout the school and how the school librarian can use technology to improve student learning are part of this discussion.

The technology continues to change so rapidly that books become out of date very quickly. There are many other excellent resources that school librarians have and can refer to. This book provides a foundation on which to build. I hope that school librarians and others in education will remain diligent in staying on top of changes by reading current journal articles, blogs, websites, tweets, and other means of communication. The audience for this book consists of practicing school librarians, library science graduate students, and library support staff.

A secondary set of interested readers includes school administrators, technology coordinators, and teachers. While readers may proceed through the book cover to cover, some may choose to skip around to specific chapters that interest them or that contain needed information. The book is separated into five parts.

The first part provides a basic overview of the information tools that make up the building blocks of a school library. The hardware and software choices, desktop computers, networks, and productivity software, while common in many other settings and environments, set the stage for library-specific activities and additional libraryrelated needs.

The second part discusses information resources in the school library. These chapters cover the different varieties of educational software available, resources available via the Web, and the importance of creating your own school library website. Introduction xiii The third part moves from the library to other parts of the school. These chapters talk about the tools that you can use in the classroom and how you can get involved with students outside of the library.

The fourth part is technology administration. This includes automation, filters and security on student computers, library security systems, and the creation of technology plans in order to look to the future. The final part of this book covers technology and specific teaching aspects in order to make use of the school library throughout the curriculum. This includes a chapter on in-services and continuing education for teachers, as well as a chapter on the production of handouts and other materials for students and teachers.

It concludes with a new chapter for this second edition by wrapping up with an overview of Web 2. My hope is that by the end, the reader will have a stronger sense of the types of technology in use in school libraries. Building Partnerships for Learning Chicago: American Library Association, , Department of Education , vii. Seels and Rita C. Association for Educational Communications and Technology, , 1. Oxford University Press, , 3— Oak Knoll Press, , 2—4.

June Lester and Kathy H. Historical Issues and Perspectives, ed. Libraries Unlimited, , 1— American Library Association, , ix—xvi. American Library Association, , 1. This includes underlying structural components like hardware, software, and the network architecture found in your libraries and schools. It provides the background and the basis for much of the more detailed and library-specific technologies that follow. This chapter covers computers and the most common peripherals: It provides the details you need to better understand the choices that must be made and to speak more comfortably about library technology needs with administrators, teachers, and other tech people in your schools.

The computer is probably the single most common piece of technology. Alone, the computer is merely a basic tool waiting for a purpose. Much of what we discuss later in the book relies on this first piece of technology. Knowledge about computer specifications is needed to understand current uses for computers that you already have. You need to determine if a particular computer is capable of running software you want to purchase, if the computer is nearing the end of its useful life, and what to look for when 3 4 Chapter 1 buying new computers.

Although specifications and requirements change continually, this overview will help. This chapter focuses on the personal computer PC as opposed to the Mac or other options. Before we talk about the components of the computer, we need to understand that advances in technology have made computer purchases more complicated and simultaneously worry free, an interesting dichotomy. Everyone is aware of running jokes about buying technology only to have it outdated by newer models at lower prices the very next day.

The Case The guts of the computer are enclosed in the main case; everything else is connected to this with cables or wires, or the connection is made wirelessly. Each has led in market share only to have the other come out with a new processor and then take over the lead.

The top-of-theline and most expensive processors are only really needed by people working with above-average requirements. You may need a little more power for video editing, for instance, but typical Web browsing does not require anything special. Processor Processor speed is often referred to in terms of clock speed. For instance, a 1-GHz processor performs 1 billion operations per second. G giga is a prefix indicating 1 billion, and Hz hertz refers to cycles or operations. Typical processors today can run up to 3 GHz although between 1 to 2 GHz is more prevalent. However, clock speed is not the only factor.

Proces- Hardware 5 sor speed overall also depends on the processor cache, a storage area for frequently accessed data, and the frontside bus, the physical connection between the processor and memory. The bus is the speed at which data flows between the processor and the memory.

Therefore, you want as fast a bus as you can get to eliminate those bottlenecks. Because these various components determine the actual speed of processing power, Intel and AMD have shifted away from focusing on one overall number and have been using naming schemes that reflect how their processors differ from each other. However, a race to increase the number of cores available on each chip has increased competition again, allowing computers with multiple cores to perform multiple tasks at the same time, as long as the software running has been specifically optimized for such work.

This is not always the case. The Pentium, Celeron, and Core lines include a multitude of varieties by Intel for desktops and laptops. Slightly slower yet requiring less energy are the Atom lines, ideal for netbooks. If you buy the fastest computer available, you will pay a premium. Buy the cheapest you can get and it will be outdated a bit faster than average. So shoot for that middle ground. Frankly, any chip you buy today is going to be in the gigahertz range and should meet most of your basic needs.

Hard Drive The hard drive, where all of your programs and files are stored, is probably the next important component of the case to consider. This one area has far exceeded other areas of computer development. The typical hard drive in the to GB range offers more storage than most need for all of their programs. The newest and largest hard drives offer up to 1 TB of storage, which most schools will never need, especially because storage space of that size may simply reside on the network. The only time that you might need more than average would be if you were doing a great deal of video editing or storing downloaded video files.

Other activities, such as working with still images, accessing the Web, and using educational software programs, tend to take up relatively little space. A rpm revolutions per minute hard drive with an 8-MB buffer is ideal. Generally, you want to leave about 20 percent of the hard drive free. If you start filling it up beyond that, you might run into problems. As programs are running, temporary files are constantly being written to the hard drive, so extra space must be left for that processing to continue.

Before buying additional RAM, check the specifications for that computer. There are many different types of RAM and using the wrong type in your computer will at best, not work, and at worst, permanently damage the computer. RAM is the working memory of the computer. Increasing the amount of RAM effectively increases the speed of the computer. To determine the amount of RAM that you require, check the specifications from all of the different programs that you run on that computer.

As a side note, students who play a lot of intensive video games at home may have up to 4 GB of RAM because of the complex graphical functions. If your school cannot afford new library computers, then adding RAM is a way to upgrade so that the older computers are still usable. These are the theoretical limits because the number of slots available for RAM varies by make and model. Furthermore, these amounts are overkill on desktop and laptop Hardware 7 PCs and are more important for high-use servers that handle a great deal of traffic.

Other Components In addition to these components, be sure that the computer has a decent sound card. Though sound cards are standard, verify that one is included. If not, network cards are easily replaced and upgraded. Ease of replacement is also true of the power supply and fans. Although hard drives do crash occasionally and RAM can go bad, they and the rest of the internal components are extremely resilient nowadays.

Fans are important to lower the temperature because processors create a large amount of heat. If the fan malfunctions, then the computer will get too hot and shut down. This also reduces the chance that the monitor will die before the new computer, and it makes warranty issues easier to resolve. Flat-screen liquid crystal display LCD monitors are now the norm compared to the larger cathode-ray tubes CRTs , which dominated until just a few short years ago.

CRTs work like the older standard TV. A beam of electrons is shot at phosphor dots on the inside of a glass tube. This produces dots of red, green, or blue light. These monitors come in a variety of resolutions and give the best look to full-motion video. However, they take up the most desk space and are the heaviest to physically pick up and move. In the screen of an LCD monitor, each pixel is produced by a tiny cell that contains a thin layer of liquid crystals.

The main benefits are thinner and lighter displays and decreased use of electricity. A refresh rate of 75 Hz is the minimum you would want. Furthermore, some LCDs are difficult to view from an angle, making it hard for 8 Chapter 1 multiple students to look at the screen simultaneously. However, these problems are improving with each new generation of LCDs.

Dot pitch refers to the distance between the dots on the screen; the smaller the distance, the sharper the image. Today, the standard dot pitch is at or less than 0. Monitor sizes of 17 inches have become the new standard, with inch monitors selling less and less. Unless you have stations for video editing, publishing software for something like a school newspaper, or students with vision problems who need a larger screen for larger fonts, then a 17inch monitor should do just fine.

Drives In order for boxed software to be installed on your computers and for students to save files that they want to take home with them, storage media drives have to be included. There are two main types: Magnetic drives work by having the drive head come in contact with a slowly spinning flexible disk. These disks are prone to damage and wear and tear, but they are a mature technology that everyone is aware of. It can hold a small word-processed file and a few small images. Other magnetic drives that work on the same principles but contain more storage space include the Zip disk by Iomega.

Although they are physically larger than the floppy disk and therefore not compatible, they come in , , or MB versions. Current trends in file transfer and storage are dominated by the USB flash drive. With no moving parts but still working on a magnetic principle, these small devices have continued to drop in price and increase in storage size on an almost weekly basis. Inexpensive devices can be purchased for only a few dollars, making them ideal for children to pick up like any other school supplies at the start of the year. On a related note, small laptops and netbooks are now sometimes offered with flash memory in place of a hard drive.

Although still more expensive, there is a benefit in terms of power savings and size. Hardware 9 Optical drives work on the principles of lasers reading microscopic pits burned into the inner layers of the disk. The disk is covered with clear plastic to protect the data. The CD is a standard optical drive and should be included in any computer you purchase today.

CD-Rs recordable are disks that you can write to a single time for backup and storage purposes. The disks are extremely cheap, have write speeds 32 times faster than earlier models, and make for quick burning recording. Instead of creating an actual pit as the traditional CD burner, these drives work by the use of a special laser that interacts with a photosensitive dye.

The laser alters the dye to create a series of light and dark dots that effectively create a similar series of on and off sections for the data to be recorded to. CD-RW rewritable disks use a different chemical that can be changed back and forth repeatedly, effectively making them reusable for thousands of times.

DVDs work on the same principles as the CD except that it uses a finer laser to read smaller pits that are closer together. A single-layer DVD can hold 4. Otherwise, a standard DVD drive should be just fine. There are a plethora of newer technologies. By using a smaller wavelength, the burner can pack more information onto the same size disk—up to 23 GB of data.

A Comprehensive Guide for Media Specialists and Other Educators, Third Edition

This is ideal for either high-definition video or for greater standard video capacity. Sound Devices As the applications that students use and multimedia on the Web becomes more and more prevalent, library and classroom computers need to have sound devices. Output devices, such as speakers and headphones, should be acquired if not packaged with the computer. Headphones, on the other hand, allow a student to work 10 Chapter 1 privately and closely listen to audio that may disturb others. A combination of the two is ideal, depending on the setup.

Additionally, an input device such as a microphone is important if there are specific programs or projects wherein students need to record their own voices. These decisions are usually made for you since such standard devices are included with all computers. As an upgrade or a later add-on, you can purchase keyboards that are designed for ergonomics and keyboards that are wireless.

However, a standard and inexpensive keyboard is all you need. As for the mouse, an optical mouse without a track ball is ideal. Students in the past would sometimes remove the track ball as a prank, and the track balls can also get jammed with dirt and dust. Optical mice are slightly more expensive but have become the standard. USB ports are standard on computers today. There are usually a couple in the back for connecting printers and other items and a couple in the front for use with digital cameras, USB flash drives, and other portable devices.

While almost nonexistent, dot matrix printers can still be found at a few circulation desks. Otherwise, laser printers and color ink jet printers are much more common in school libraries. Dot Matrix Dot matrix printers are based on typewriter technology in which a series of pins strike an ink ribbon transferring the dots of ink to paper. These printers can range from 9 to 24 pins; the higher the number of pins, the sharper the final image.

However, with the newer Web- and Windows-based circulation systems now in place, even dot matrix printers are quickly disappearing. Hardware 11 Laser Printers Monochrome laser printers are common. They work on the same electrostatic principle that photocopies are based on. Toner is relatively inexpensive, print outs are fast, and images are sharp. They work best on text and simple graphics, although they have a difficult time with printing photographic images because black and white prints of color images do not translate perfectly. However, laser printers have come down in price and are the standard printer in libraries.

Color Color inkjet printers have populated the home office, but the high cost of printing cartridges and their slower speed has not made them as practical in the library. They work by spraying a fine series of dots in a combination of cyan, magenta, and yellow to create all of the colors in the image. Slightly higher-end printers will also have a separate black cartridge. The drawback is that these printers are extremely slow and use a lot of expensive ink. Some color inkjet printers can be outfitted with tubing to connect large economy-size ink bottles external to the printer.

By purchasing in bulk, the ink is much less expensive and refilling is required less often. A library might want to have a color printer as an option for someone who really needs an occasional color printout. Color laser printers are the newest technology. They produce must faster printouts and are much higher quality. Although initially more expensive, the color laser saves money in the long run with less-expensive toner. In the library, uses may include digitizing older pictures from film, student handmade artwork, historical print documents, etc.

These images may be incorporated into the library website or for use in student projects. The two main types of scanners are flatbed and handheld. The flatbed scanner allows the user to place the sheet of paper on the glass of the scanner and then close the lid to keep it in place and to provide a neutral background so that only the image gets picked up. Similar to a photocopy 12 Chapter 1 machine in handling the paper, the scanning process is simple to initiate and is ideal for standard-sized paper.

The handheld scanner, on the other hand, is a small device that the user can manipulate across the paper. Scanners work by use of a charge-coupled device that transfers the image of the object into a digital form. Quality of images is measured in terms of bit depth. The minimum you would want is bit depth, meaning that each pixel provides eight bits of information for each of the three colors: This translates to about 16 million colors providing photographic quality.

In terms of optical resolution, you would want dpi dots per inch minimum for clarity of the image on the computer screen and for quality of the printed image. Scanners usually come with their own basic software packages to handle simple manipulation of images. Since , the TWAIN standard for communication between software and hardware has been in place across the industry. Additional software can provide more flexibility and uses. One type of software is optical character recognition OCR , which converts text images to a text file that can be edited and manipulated in a word processor.

One of the more popular software packages is Adobe Acrobat. Acrobat turns full-page images into portable document format PDF files. Anyone can download the free PDF viewer to view your scanned images exactly as the originals appear, regardless of the software that was used to originally create the document. Scanners today usually connect to computers via USB cables. If you have an older computer, you might have problems using newer scanners because of this USB connection mode and because scanners are memory intensive.

Older scanners were difficult to use, but modern scanners and computers are much easier. This is why little scanning is done in general, and large collections are digitizing only when many people have a lot of time. However, this is a good place to train students or to get volunteers involved. Determining the number of computers needed will naturally vary from school to school. Ideally, you want a circulation computer and a separate computer for the librarian.

In a perfect world, you would have one computer per student for general use, based upon the expected number of students you might have in the library at one time. As more computers are placed in the classrooms, you might find that student visits to the library decrease because they can access library materials from their classrooms. If located close together, they could share a networked laser printer.

An additional color printer would also be nice for producing colorful handouts and displays. For students, a heavy-duty laser printer with an extra paper tray could cover an entire computer classroom and another could cover the rest of the library. A single flatbed scanner would be a good start. Anything more than that would only be necessary if some of the teachers in your school have specific units and projects that require all of the students in a class to do a lot of scanning.

Larger schools probably have dedicated tech people who handle installation and maintenance. However, the school librarian is in the ideal place to help teachers and students in the use of technology and in basic troubleshooting. Especially in the smaller schools, the librarian can take on more of these technical issues. Regardless of who else is involved with the technology, be sure that you always have the option of working with your own equipment.

Librarians should be given administrator rights to download, install, and maintain their own equipment—even if tech people are hired to do this. Therefore, proper handling of older equipment means recycling or selling what is no longer needed. These companies take entire pallets of equipment at a time and either recycle the parts or sell them to other interested parties. Basic productivity suites, antivirus software, graphics software, and Web browsers are usually installed on most, if not all, library computers.

These programs make up what we consider a base install. Therefore, these decisions must be made initially. Nonetheless, with technology especially software , nothing lasts forever. Furthermore, keep in mind that some of these decisions are handled differently from school to school. Some of you may have complete control over these options and some of you may not have any. Regardless, you need to be aware of the options, and you need to talk with the people involved in the decision making. This requires that you work closely with everyone involved. This underlying structure allows the user to interact with the computer and vice versa.

The operating system you choose impacts decisions about other software that you can use on that computer. You should already know what operating system is on your computers because the name appears every time you turn the computer on. The user interface is clearly an important factor because students have to interact with the computer via the interface you provide. Your choice of operating system might not be in your control.

The majority of schools and businesses today use a Microsoft Windows operating system. In terms of functionality, all of the following choices have their own unique benefits and drawbacks and are surprisingly similar in terms of functionality. However, there may be differences in terms of cost, software that can be used, and the comfort level of those using and maintaining the computer. The assumption is that any new computer comes with Microsoft Windows. This is why Microsoft has such a large base Software 17 and why people are naturally hesitant to change.

The computers in the library should be part of a technology plan based on long-range goals. Microsoft Windows Most people use Microsoft Windows. Not always regarded as the very best operating system available, Windows has improved and just about everyone is familiar with it. Not surprisingly, a lot of people are still using older versions of Windows, whether that be Windows 95, 98, ME, or With a tight budget, it can be hard to justify the time and expense to upgrade, and computers in school tend to be used as long as possible.

Furthermore, Windows XP has been stable for so long and Vista has had numerous problems, so most schools are completely skipping Vista and keeping XP running until its necessary to move to Windows 7. These patches come in three main categories: However, you can still do this manually by visiting the Microsoft Windows Update website if you prefer having more direct control. You must consider myriad options as you set up the library computers. Do students have to log in, or will a generic student account be set as the default? Apple While Macs have historically had a strong influence in education, graphics, and a few other niches, they have quite a small market share compared to Microsoft.

Mac enthusiasts swear by the quality of these machines, their speed, and their ease of use. On the other hand, they tend to be more expensive, which is difficult to justify when budgets are tight. Linux Apple sales have been minimal because the hardware is tied to its operating system. Linux, on the other hand, is a separate operating system that will work on any PC that currently has Windows. In fact, this open-source solution can be run on slower and older machines than the bloated Windows systems require.

As an open-source environment in which the development and use of the software is free for you to manipulate, the Linux software can be downloaded at no cost. However, many companies have jumped into the market providing their own additions to the Linux operating system along with manuals and support. The cost savings is one of the main reasons that people are making the switch to Linux.

Additionally, some people feel that Linux systems are Software 19 more stable than Windows, meaning fewer crashes and technical problems. Furthermore, some specific Linux options are available for the K—12 environment. Other companies, such as the DiscoverStation, have stepped into the fray. This includes a word processor, a spreadsheet, and a presentation product. It could include database, drawing, or other software, but the basics will allow students to type papers, manipulate numbers and data, and present information to teachers and each other.

Options here are plentiful also. Microsoft Office Microsoft Office is by the far the most popular product in use today and has made the transition to a newer XML-based product. Librarians also have to decide what their students need; an elementary school may not need the full Microsoft Office suite, but a high school might justify its use in preparation for college and the work force.

StarOffice and OpenOffice If you really want to save some money, then open source is again the way to go. Just as Linux has been the open-source alternative for operating systems, OpenOffice is the productivity suite option. This product has made remarkable technical advances and is very similar in most respects 20 Chapter 2 to Microsoft Office. Ninety-eight percent of the features in Microsoft Office are never used and are therefore overkill. This is a great option for schools or individuals wanting to save money by not buying Microsoft Office while still getting the manuals, support, and compatibility with other products.

WordPerfect and Others There are, of course, many other options available. WordPerfect was once the leader in productivity suites until Microsoft came along and skillfully dominated the market. Some argue that WordPerfect still creates an equal if not better product. It might, however, take some shopping around to find the best prices and the best features for your needs. Whether or not you allow students to access e-mail, there are still other ways that viruses can be contracted.

You can become infected from visiting websites or by simply being connected to the Internet and not doing anything. Any time that you have an Internet connection or are transferring files via a removable device like a USB flash drive, you run the threat of a virus getting through.

Either product will do a fine job, and many other options are available. Spyware is technically not a virus but instead opens up the computer to Software 21 tracking and sending statistics to another computer, initiating pop-up advertising, or, worse, allowing a remote computer access to your passwords and other important information. Often little harm is done, but the effects of spyware can add up and slow down the computer or make it completely inoperable. The antivirus makers now include separate software that protects against spyware, or you can get stand-alone spyware tools.

Technology and the School Library

Because the use of digital cameras and scanners has become so prevalent and more slideshow presentations are being done by students, they will need a way to manipulate images. Adobe Photoshop is clearly the premier software package available, but it can be quite pricey. Jasc Paint Shop Pro is a less-expensive alternative that can handle many basic tasks. Finally, an excellent free open-source alternative is GIMP. Almost any current browser will be satisfactory, but there are many differences of opinions and strong feelings about one or another.

While Mosaic, the first Web browser, and many others have come and gone, there are still several options. Once again, Microsoft has dominated the field with Internet Explorer. This is largely because it is preinstalled or bundled with Microsoft Windows. However, Microsoft has been continually hit with a variety of viruses and security attacks, thereby making alternative browsers more attractive.

Internet Explorer has also been criticized for not staying in the forefront of technical development. Netscape Navigator, once a leader in the browser war, has seen its market share disappear over the years because of Microsoft bundling. The browser wars, once thought to be over, are revving up again. There are, of course, numerous other Web browsers that you can purchase. This includes an entire set of browsers specifically designed for people with disabilities.

While the cost of Web browsers is not that expensive, the open-source products will, in the long run, most likely dominate the future.

Technology and the School Library

Could a Linux Solution Save Us? With the types of functionality that you want a computer to handle, most computers will fill more than a single role. This is especially true for teachers in their classrooms who want to send a quick e-mail to parents when they have a free moment. Furthermore, it makes it easier for updating and maintaining software.

While this chapter only covers the basics—you really need an entire book to talk about networks—it provides you with a simple understanding of how all of this works, as well as resources for additional information. Therefore, the first step in planning is simply to talk with other people. This is a coordinated, expensive, and time-consuming effort. Clear lines of responsibility are also important to ensure that repairs, maintenance, and troubleshooting are provided. There should be districtlevel tech people and a building-level tech person.

Most likely there may be some shared responsibilities between these people. The important point is that problems, whether resolved at the building level or not, should be shared with those at the district level so that a coordinated effort can be made. Another major step is funding. What you want to do and what you can do might not be compatible. Will the school have the money to support the technology plan? Or will outside funding in the form of grants and donations from local businesses also be required? Major sources of revenue include district funds, fund raising, school-business partnerships, and government grants.

Finally, as always with technology, the target is constantly moving. The future could hold more than just a simple network of computers; it could be an entirely wireless network, thin clients, advanced Web-based services, and the continuation of smaller, faster, cheaper components. In the simplest terms, a network is merely a group of connected computers. This may be developed in many forms based on need and size.

The most familiar is probably the local area network LAN , which would consist of computers in your building. In a traditional wired network, the limiting factor is the length of cables that can be run. A wide area network WAN would cover a multibuilding facility, an even larger campus network would cover a college or university, and a metropolitan network would cover much of a city. On a smaller scale, many of you may already have a simpler home network.

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Networks 27 In terms of equipment required to set up a network, the basics include a server the computer managing the network , cabling for a wired network , workstations the computers that students, faculty, and staff will be using , and network software special software that the server uses to make all of these connections work. Additionally, when a single point of contact controls so much, an uninterruptible power supply for the server is a good choice. An uninterruptible power supply is basically a battery backup so that if the main power is out, even for a few moments, the computers will continue to run.

Finally, each workstation needs a network card. Ethernet, or wired, computers must have a network interface card, which allows the Ethernet cable to be plugged into the computer. Wireless networks require their own wireless network cards. A network also requires a server, a main computer that controls functions between all of the other computers on the network. Be sure to get a larger hard drive, as much memory as you can afford, a leading processor, and a powerful watt or more power supply. A server must be robust to handle all of the computers connecting to it.

A centralized network would require different software for the thin client model, which we will look at later. Wired, the most common, has been around longer and is less expensive. Referred to as an Ethernet, it consists of physically connecting the server and computers with, most likely, long cables.

The topology of a wired network can come in many forms. The most common is called a star in which each workstation, known as a node, directly connects to a common hub see figure 3. Thus, each workstation is independent of the others and, therefore, is more fault tolerant because a problem with one does not affect another.

However, it can take a lot of cabling to connect every workstation. The larger the network—and, hence, the farther away from one another they have to be placed—the more cabling is required. Other topologies include the bus and the ring. With a bus, a single cable acts as a backbone and all the computers attach to it, and with the ring, workstations are daisy-chained in a circular loop. If 28 Chapter 3 Figure 3. Common Topologies one computer fails, the entire network is disabled.

A Comprehensive Guide for Media Specialists and Other Educators, Revised Edition

Similarly, in a bus topology, a single break in the line will disrupt the entire network. The benefit of this more mature wired technology is the speed. The protocol for the standard Ethernet is speeds up to 10 Mbps megabits per second. Fast Ethernet Base-T is up to Mbps. Beyond that is Gigabit Ethernet with up to 1, Mbps. Most schools use the standard Ethernet protocol. The architecture of the network includes the type of cabling that you will be using. The most common type of cable is Category 5, which has a maximum range of meters and can transfer data at rates up to Mbps.

On the other hand, wireless technology is improving and is becoming much more competitive. In that case, the library will truly become the classroom and the classroom will become the library in terms of technology access. Several different specifications make up the Therefore, fewer access points are required to be placed around the school. Instead, it would be ideal for a small home. The up-and-coming WiMax This could potentially allow rural users to have broadband Internet access even if they are too remote for cable or DSL.

One of the concerns with networks is security. With wired networks, you still have to be concerned with firewalls, but wireless networks are even more difficult to control because the radio waves are traveling freely through the air. To circumvent others from tapping into that transmitted data, three elements are required for a wireless network: Some users have also migrated to a more efficient Temporal Key Integrity Protocol and work is in progress to develop the next generation Advanced Encryption Standard. Most rated distances for proper transmission of data only occur with a direct line of sight.

Radio waves can be weakened by attenuation damping , dispersion, reflection, and absorption. Be prepared to add or move wireless ports to keep everything connected. Wired is faster, cheaper, and more secure. However, wireless is more adaptable, improving, and coming down in price every day. That may very well be the case, but sometimes we want to go back. There are advantages to creating a thin network environment in your library media center and schools, which might sound strangely cyclical. Very large and very expensive mainframes handled all the processing, and users interacted with the system through dumb terminals, which were not much more than a monitor and keyboard.

With the PC came circulation systems, online catalogs, e-mail, databases, websites, WebQuests, and much, much more. PC prices dropped, and what once required a large computer could be reproduced at a local level many times over: With programs and resources shared on the network, some of the burden could be lifted off the individual PCs. The next logical step in this age of interconnectedness was to let the server perform not just some but all of the work and replace the PCs with thin clients. One of the main advantages of using thin clients is the cost savings.

However, you then need a very robust server with a lot of RAM random-access memory , and there are licensing costs, so the final cost savings may not be as great as once expected. As PC prices Networks 31 continue to drop, the savings will be sliced even further. PCs require a lot more maintenance, and this really does make them more expensive when employee time is factored in.

You only have one computer to touch instead of many, and this saves a lot of time and money. Thin clients work best where patrons do most of their work via a browser. For example, many of you may have recently upgraded your antivirus software on your home computers by paying online for another year of service updates and then downloading the latest virus definitions. When you have something so complex in place already, people are naturally reluctant to make radical changes.

People also worry about having a single computer server responsible for so many others. Furthermore, during thin-client infancy there were problems with sharing CD-ROMs and also with printing. NCs include a processor, memory, monitor, mouse, and keyboard. Programs from the server are sent to the terminal and run locally and then saved to the server. WT networks, on the other hand, just send keystrokes. All of the work is done on the server. Citrix uses a more efficient Independent Computing Architecture. Citrix is considered a bit more robust but is also more expensive.

With increased processing power of computers there are simple plug-in devices that can use a single 32 Chapter 3 PC with connections for multiple monitors, keyboards, and mice, thereby allowing multiple simultaneous users. This reduces the total number of PCs that have to be purchased. Furthermore, as wireless networks become more common and laptop prices drop, the future may be a one-computer-perchild environment. This seems to be the most likely scenario, as netbooks, laptops with 7- to inch screens, have become smaller, cheaper, lighter, and more powerful.

What is a network?: Greenwood, , 90— Gilbert Held, Ethernet Networks: Wiley, , Joseph Davies, Deploying Secure Microsoft, , Repelling the Wily Hacker Boston: Addison-Wesley, , 39— Wiley, , 29— This includes educational software, the Web in general, and the creation and maintenance of your own school library website. No longer are books and journals the only way of finding, sharing, and learning information.

Information is now stored on a variety of media, both linear in nature and not, all of which can greatly supplement other library and classroom resources. Computer software has evolved into a myriad of options, and because of evolving hardware these options have become more and more complex. Librarians are the experts to whom teachers, parents, and students look for help in accessing these resources, especially educational software.

Some of these products may be housed in the library or a computer lab, strewn throughout the school, located on a server, accessed via the Web, or stored on home computers. Librarians, because of their skill in evaluating materials, knowledge of the curriculum throughout the entire school, and technical expertise, are naturals at providing resources for finding and evaluating software, passing on reviews, and determining if the purchase would be a good fit for the students. Information literacy, by its very nature today, is tied to related concepts in computer literacy.

On one hand, experience with computers and technology is an end in itself for students. It builds skills to be used throughout 37 38 Chapter 4 their lives and increases their comfort level in using these tools, which will lead to more complex activities as they progress. Teachers see educational software as a way to save time and pass some of the learning into another medium so that they can better distribute their own time, possibly with students who need additional one-on-one or small-group support.

The software can also be viewed as a reward, something for students to strive for. Finally, the software provides the educational support that might not be found in other resources and, due to the nature of the program, has benefits that serve the needs of various learning styles.

The names by which we call this software are varied. This is largely a matter of preference; in reality, the terminology used makes little difference. The different names do have different connotations, but everyday use has eliminated much of that distinction. As the technology has improved, so too has the complexity of the software.

There are still vast differences between the products you can buy, so you have to keep the purpose in mind. Or sometimes you really do want the complex immersive program that could take the place of an entire teaching unit. This means that hardware needs to be kept up-to-date in order to run these programs.

You need to look at the product specifications to see if it includes a license for a single user or an entire site license for the school. Can students access the program from home or are you limited to the school site, a single lab, or that single computer?

School libraries and technology book « IFLA School Libraries Blog

Support for classroom technology may not end there because teachers might need help in installing, troubleshooting, and learning the software. They might also need advice on how to incorporate the software into their own units and how best to work the students into using the programs. Advice may also be provided regarding additional or related library resources to supplement the software program. Parents might also want to know more.

Some students might need additional help on a specific area, and parents may ask for recommendations on what they can do. For instance, a parent might want to use a tutoring program at home to learn keyboarding skills. It could be something as simple as a math program for drilling the Educational Software 39 basics or as complex as a more immersive simulation.

Educational software continues to evolve and mirror education in general. Just as the classroom was first seen from more of a behaviorist perspective, so, too, were the early software programs. Learning in this view is an active, constructive process which is based on existing knowledge and past experience. From the earliest tools to the most complicated technology available, people have worried about changing how things have always been done in the past. The basic concept behind educational software is that the computer takes the role of teacher. This can be a difficult concept for some to accept, and some will worry that use of computers means an inferior educational experience or one in which teachers are completely replaced.

However, most of us realize that extremes are always dangerous. Librarians can help to support this role. With the glitzy quality of some of these programs, some worry that any increases in student learning and motivation are only temporary as the novelty effect will wear off.

Kids today are being bombarded by faster action, more special effects, and increased technology and graphics everywhere they turn. The bar keeps getting raised higher. In addition, some programs tend to focus on relatively simple functions, such as drill and practice. Though these negatives exist, educational software—and software in general—has improved with the increase in memory and processor speed. This improvement is leading to new ways of using computers in the classroom.

Computers are consistently being asked to do more and more. One of their key abilities is to tailor themselves to the individual. With large classrooms, it can be difficult for a teacher to provide that level of individualization, but a software program can adapt to user needs. Because of the multimedia graphics and sounds in much educational software, different learning styles can be met.

However, computer programs can instantly tell students if they were correct or not and then provide an explanation of what they may have missed. Finally, well-designed educational software is neutral. Chapter 05 The Internet. Chapter 06 School Library Websites. Chapter 10 Student Computers. Chapter 11 Security Systems. Chapter 12 Technology Plans. Chapter 13 Professional Development. Chapter 14 Instructional Handouts and Materials. Chapter 15 Web Chapter 08 Classroom Support. A Comprehensive Guide for Media Jurkowski is associate professor at University of Central Missouri, where he coordinates the Educational Technology Program and chairs the Department of Career and Technology.

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