​Media and Technology Specialist

The ​Media and Technology Specialist ​is responsible for providing access to media and technology for students and staff and supporting and encouraging the learning process. This requires flexibility and organization in order to meet the distinct, but often related, demands of both a media specialist and technology integrationist.

Essential Functions
Function 1:​ ​Leader
As a leader the ​Media and Technology Specialist​ fosters an environment of creativity, innovation, and openness to new ideas, welcoming and encouraging input from others. The ​Media and Technology Specialist​ is a visible and active leader within the school community. This leadership is visible by:

• Serving on committees as needed

• Taking an active role in accreditation activities

• Sharing with the learning community policies concerning such issues as materials selection, circulation, reconsideration of materials, copyright, privacy, and acceptable use

• Encouraging and implementing the use of instructional technology to engage students and to improve learning

• Allocating the school media and technology budgets appropriately

• Effectively communicating with parents and colleagues on a daily basis, creating partnerships and fostering relationships that model the “San Jose Way”

• Recruiting, training, managing and effectively utilizing volunteers in the Media Center

Function 2: Instructional Resource

As an instructional resource the ​Media and Technology Specialist​ works with faculty to build and strengthen connections between student information and research needs, curricular content, learning outcomes, and information resources. This role in the instructional process is demonstrated by:

• Remaining current in professional practices, information technologies, and educational research applicable to school library and media center programs

• Maintaining and developing a rich collection of materials and tools for the entire learning community

• Collaborating with faculty to implement lessons and units of instruction

• Empowering students to be enthusiastic readers, skillful researchers, and ethical users of information and to instill a love of learning and reading in all students

• Participating in the curriculum development process to ensure that the curricula include the full range of literacy skills (information, media, visual, digital, and technological literacy)

• Creating and maintaining in the media center a teaching and learning environment that is inviting, safe, flexible, and conducive to student learning

• Establishing processes and procedures for selection, acquisition, circulation, resource sharing, etc. that assure appropriate resources are available when needed

• Selecting and using effective technological applications for management purposes

• Setting up new technology, maintaining software, managing technology help desk tickets, serving on technology committee, maintaining network printers and schoolwide technology

• Arranging for flexible scheduling of the media center to provide student accessibility to staff and resources at point of need

• Demonstrating success in creating a supportive and challenging environment for a wide range of learners through differentiated instruction, effective classroom management practices, creative problem solving, and partnerships with colleagues and families

Qualifications

• Possesses a passion for learning and a growth mindset

• Previous teaching experience desired

• Recent experience and a strong library-media/information technology background with the ability to use online subscription databases and web resources

• Expertise in educational technology, including computer operation, productivity software, and network knowledge

• Ability to provide technology support and manage tech inventory

• Knowledge of instructional methods, strategies, and pedagogy