Collaboration, Assessment and Pathfinders... Oh my!

Many things have happened in the past week that have opened my eyes more to the complexities of the responsibilities of a media specialist. During my service learning, I saw how "Media Specialist" is translated to filling what ever technology or media base need arises in the school. I enjoyed one of the points the article "Inquiry-based learning is Equal Parts Process and Partnering". Many teachers say that they do not have time to meet and coordinate with the Media specialist when in all reality a Media Specialist makes a teacher's job easier. The purpose of the Media Specialist is to use all of their available resources to work within the teacher's time frame. One thing that I read in the same article is about Path-finders. This is one resources I have noticed teachers often using when they are in the media lab or doing internet based research products! It is very convenient to have a list of sites and resources for the students to use. This also a way for the Media Specialist to be in two places at once. The article on assessment was a good refresher. From my experience Assessment is the big bad terrible bane to the education system. It was refreshing to have an article simply say "Hey Assessment is here to stay, so make the best of it". Under the different circles surrounding Learning to Technology, one says "Deep Understanding". This is one thing in this article that I have trouble putting a lot of stock in. The use of technology as a resources is extremely beneficial for providing information but deeper understanding needs to be from hands on learning, not from an instant gratification resource.