Technology, Diversity and the Media Center

“Let’s Make it Great for Everyone”

 The media center should stimulate the students and make them aware of their diversity in a positive way. Programs and activities should be designed to appeal to and serve the needs of the entire student population. This certainly will require the need to have several specific activities during the school year targeting specific groups of the student populations.

The media center can help support diversity among the student population by providing literature as well as multimedia resources to promote the variety of interest and abilities commonly found in an academic setting.

Different types of diversity exist within the school population. It is important to recognize and celebrate each one in some unique way. Schwartz and Karge have identified the following types of differences: racial and ethnic diversity; gender and sexual orientation; religious diversity; physical, learning, and intellectual differences; linguistic differences; and behavior and personality diversity. Schwartz and Karge (1996)

The school media specialist is in charge of providing instructional and informational resources for the diverse population. The collection should represent different views, including the ones the media specialist might find offensive. Students should have access to a variety of perspectives in order to make inform choices.

Diversity among people and cultures should have a strong presence within the collection and should be seen throughout the media center in the form of music, displays, posters, bulletin boards and etc...  

The students that we serve in the media center differ greatly from one another in various forms; however, technological advances make it possible to use a variety of technology assistive devices to meet each of these needs.

Technology for supporting diversity in the media center did not jump right at me as I entered the media center at my school. However, I did discover that technology is being used to support diversity.  Students with hearing difficulties can use head phones to listen to books on tapes. The media center provides different shapes and types of computer mice for computer navigation. Students are also given the opportunity to use a computer program to help improve fluency, the students are also offered head phones with an attached microphone. Using the software, they read the words out loud into the mike, and the computer then read and repeats what was just said, thereby letting the student know if a word is being pronounced correctly.

In addition, I have seen tables that can be raised and lowered to adjust the height by touching a button. Some of my students with visual impairments use a software based screen magnifier which enlarges text and graphics seen on the computer screen. It also provides contract and color enhancements that make it easy for visually impaired students to read.

Ashley’s story was really great to read. The support she received for her teacher and mother really helped to accomplish her goal.  I am sure she knew that she was different from the other students. Ashley wanted to be given the opportunity to be herself and be viewed as a student - not in a separate category.  If not given the opportunity to audition, the school would have missed out on her contribution to the school’s culture. I have found that most students with disabilities take great pride in their work --- like Ashley!