Encouraging and supporting diversity through the media center can mean a lot of things. It can mean that the media center is inclusive by having material, books, and resources related to a myriad of topics that include race, culture, gender, religion, and special needs. The media center should be accessible and useable by all students and teachers regardless of handicaps, disabilities, and language barriers. Technology can make this possible in many ways. For instance, my school has a large population of students with hearing disabilities. Teachers of these students use sound enhancing devices during instruction that consists of microphone and speakers so students who have limited hearing can hear better.
Although we do not have any children at my school with vision impairments, there are types of technology that can assist them. Computer software can translate what is said to writing and writing to speech for these students. There is also similar software that can translate documents to other languages. Technology can also assist students with vision impairments by creating larger images to display information.
Media centers can also be a place of familiarity and refuge for students who do not represent the majority in their schools. Books, magazines, maps, etc. could help students from other countries learn more about their homes as well as be a tool for the rest of the student population to learn more about different cultures. The resources can help increase students’ tolerance and respect for people, customs, and religions that are different from your own. I have seen media centers acknowledge cultural holidays and observe special months like Hispanic Heritage month and Black History month by creating bulletin boards and displays of books and resources related to those topics.
A supportive and encouraging media center can be a valuable asset to school’s and communities by providing stakeholders with technology and resources to make sure all of their needs are met in a safe and engaging environment.
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I like how your post focused on how various formats can meet the diverse needs of learners in a school. When I orinally viewed our blog topic, I thought of only multicultural books. Diversity in the media center does mean so much more. I liked how you included examples of materials that could enhance instruction for minority students or students with disabilities. Microphones and speakers for students with hearing disabilities is a great example of how media specialists can purchase equipment that meets the needs of diverse populations of learners.
ReplyDeleteAll of our students need to feel welcome and feel that we have something to offer them when they come through the doors. You hit some important areas in your blog, mentioning not only special needs students and how technology enables many of them to utilize our resources, but also ways to reach out to different cultures and ethnic groups. Last year, my exchange student was pleased to find titles by Russian authors in our library, but most of them were older copyrights. While there is some attempt at purchasing books written by international authors and about other cultures and groups, we have so little money that sometimes those areas get neglected. But,if we count all those Manga titles qualifying as Japanese culture... then maybe...
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