Mediascapes:
Collaborative
work
Environments
Ashley Sherman
ITEC 7445
Summer 2015
What is a Mediascape?
 This
is a collaborative area that allows
many users to use devices at one time,
and some areas even allow multiple
devices to be connected at once.
 There are typically one or multiple screens
for easy viewing and multiple connections
for a variety of devices.
What does a Mediascape
look like?
 Below
is an example from The University of
Washington Libraries (n.d.):
Vision


A mediascape in our learning commons will
support the Cobb County Technology Plan
(2011) and vision by ensuring that “ students
will use technology to connect and
collaborate with classmates, educators, and
experts around the world” (p.3).
With the purchase of a mediascape and
appropriate sitting, entire classes could make
use of the technology to videoconference or
connect with other classes in Cobb county
and around the world.
Vision cont’d


The addition of a mediascape will also
support the Frey Elementary Strategic Plan
(2014) by helping to “develop, implement,
and support new plans and/or programs that
focus on student-centered learning, higherorder thinking, and problem solving in the
classroom.”
Students will have the opportunity to work
through authentic issues and situations
collaboratively to promote higher-order
thinking skills and promote problem solving.
Planning and Diffusion


The first mediascape would be in the newly
renovated learning commons in classroom
area/teaching area two.
The mediascape can be requested for
classroom teacher use as well as media
specialist use for instruction on the learning
commons sign-up.


When not in use by whole-class instruction,
students can use the area for small group work,
collaboration, or presentations.
The use of the mediascape will be
documented in the monthly usage data for
the learning commons.
Planning and Diffusion cont’d
 All
students will receive appropriate
training and work time with the
mediascape space during learning
commons orientation.
 Teachers will also receive training in
addition to the area TTIS and local tech.
Funding


Frey Elementary’s Foundation supports the
STEM program as well as the addition and
maintenance of other school technology. The
foundation would be the first source of
funding.
Media center funds can also be used to
purchase the technology as well as other
equipment as needed (VGA cables, AC
adapters, etc.) because these items would
remain in the media center/learning
commons area.

A certain percentage of the media center
budget can also purchase flexible seating as
needed.
Funding cont’d
 For
the mediascape screens and
installation, the school instructional funds
could be used for this purchase in
addition to any local funds the school
may have, such as money from book fairs.
Content Standards

Based on the new Georgia Standards of
Excellence (2015), the mediascape would
support the following content standards by
allowing students locate and work
collaborate with digital resources.


ELAGSEW6: With guidance and support from
adults, use a variety of tools to produce and
publish writing, including digital tools in
collaboration with peers.
ELAGSEW8: Recall information from experience
or gather information from print or digital
resources; take notes, categorize information,
and provide a list of sources.
Technology Standards
 The
possibilities for the use of the
mediascape in the learning commons are
limitless, but the focus would be on the
possibility of forms of collaboration. The
ISTE (2014) standard for communication
and collaboration states:

Students use digital media and
environments to communicate and work
collaboratively, including at a distance, to
support individual learning and contribute
to the learning of others.
Learner-Centered Strategies

Strategies for using the mediascape in
classroom and media center instruction are
limitless. However, the technology and it’s
uses allow for the highest level of small and
whole group instruction and collaboration
for students. According to Coastal Carolina
University (2015), “ the technology
[mediascape] that enables interactivity
also allows users to seamlessly switch
between feeds, taking away many of the
barriers to collaborative work.”
Learner-Centered Strategies
cont’d
 Specific
include:




examples of collaboration
Blogs (creation, responses, or global
responses)
Website/wiki creation by multiple users
Collaborative multi-genre research projects
Audio and video elements to projects
completed simultaneously
Authentic Learning

The use of the mediascape allows for students and
teachers to use the area to best meet their needs
and for truly authentic learning experiences.
Specific examples may include:


If students are working as small group and are
created a webpage, wiki, or blog, they can all
work on a device at the same time and see edits
on the larger screen of what classmates are doing.
If being used by a whole class and the teacher
uses lync or skype or talk with a class in another
state or country, the students can view the feed
and have other questions posted to another
screen for discussion later.
Higher Order Thinking Skills


By using the mediascape and collaborative
resources, students will be achieving the
highest level of Bloom’s Taxonomy by
analyzing, evaluating, and creating products.
Examples of students demonstrating higher
order thinking skills in the mediascape
environment could include:


Presenting opposing sides of an argument
simultaneously for a comparison/contrast
discussion
Identifying alternative endings for a text that
allow for discussion and questioning
Differentiation


In addition to collaboration, the mediascape
allows students the opportunity to have
access to resources and devices that
appropriate for their specific learning needs.
This technology and working space allows for
differentiation, whether it be through using
different resources to complete one
culminating project or access to different
interactive tools, and aligns with Frey’s (2014)
goal to “differentiate resources for students
based on needs.”
Instructional Design
 Frey
Elementary serves students in grade
K-5
 All classes and grades have access to the
laptops, computer labs, and ipad carts as
well as the media center/learning
commons technology.
 All students would receive orientation on
the mediascape and it’s uses during their
learning commons orientation.
Instructional Design cont’d
 While
the primary grades (K-2) may not be
using the mediascape for small group
work, teachers can demonstrate and use
the area for instructional purposes
(presentations, video conferencing, etc.),
and primary students would see the area
in use.
 Upper grade students (3-5) would use the
area for both whole group instruction and
small group work and collaboration.
Collaborative Learning


Again, the mediascape allows for varied
opportunities for student and even teacher
collaboration. This space and technology
would even allow for the opportunity for
students to collaborate across disciplines and
content while still meeting the technology
standards.
According to Educause (2011), this “will
promote greater levels of collaboration in the
learning commons. New services will emerge,
expanding the opportunities for new, highly
effective learning activities”(p. 2).
Equipment/Software

The equipment needed for a fully functioning
mediascape is below along with vendors. No
software is needed as a connection would be
established through a wire or adapter.





Mediascape screens X 2 (Steelcase) and
installation
VGA cables X 2 (amazon)
Apple VGA adapter X 2 (amazon)
Headphones (Supplied by media center as
needed)
Flexible/mobile sitting: optional
2 puzzle tables (steelcase)
 8-10 chairs (steelcase)

Technical Support
 The
technology for the mediascape
space would be purchased from the
Cobb county approved bid list, and these
vendors provide technical support and
tutorials.
 The local tech, area TTIS and media
specialist would be responsible for
overseeing installation, receiving initial
training, and providing teachers and
students with tutorials and continued
technical support.
Limitations


The specific area envisioned for a
mediascape would make it a stationary
technology that could only be used in one
area of the learning commons. A mobile
device where teachers could use it in their
classrooms would be ideal.
Frey isn’t a 1:1 device school, so students and
teachers would be responsible for having a
device from the school in order use the
mediascape. All students may not have their
own device to connect to the mediascape.
Limitations cont’d
 Because
of the cost of this technology,
multiple mediascape areas may not be a
viable option. All teachers may not have
equitable access to the area because of
the limited number of instructional slots
per week the area could accommodate.
Cost
 Costs
below with vendors are
approximate estimates:




Mediascape screens X 2 (Steelcase) and
installation, $8,099.00
VGA cables X 2 (amazon), $15.95
Apple VGA adapter X 2 (amazon), $29.00
Headphones (Supplied by media center as
needed-already in media center inventory)
Research

The mediascape area in the learning commons
provides a flexible space for learning where
students can interact in small and whole groups
settings. According to Partnership for 21st Century
Skills (n.d.), “the flexible spaces that enable
productive learning and shared work/play
opportunities, the creative uses of time that
promote continuous learning, the extensible
technologies that support collaboration among
the school community and the outside world—all
these systems are valuable…” The mediascape
technology is the model for flexible, innovative,
and global learning.
Communication

The communication possibilities using the
mediascape technology can address
communication forms with multiple
stakeholders (examples below):



Student to student/peers: blog/edmodo
responses, presentations
Student to parents: creation of digital products
and presentations accessible through various
platforms at school and home, posting of
digitally created materials to class blog or
school website
Student to larger community: video
conferencing capabilities, debates or
discussions across classrooms
Safe, Healthy, Legal, and
Ethical Issues

All Cobb county students/parents must sign
an Internet user agreement in addition to a
video/photo release agreement. (All forms
and agreements are signed at the beginning
of the year or when the student registers, and
they can be found on the CCSD website as
well). This would allow students to use the
mediascape for videoconferencing in a
whole class setting and use internet-based
digital tools as needed.
Safe, Healthy, Legal, and
Ethical Issues cont’d
 All
students receive a lesson on Internet
safety from the media specialist or the
technology teacher, and Cobb county
schools also has Internet filters in place as
well as blocks inappropriate websites.
 Students in grade 2-5 also receive a
media center lesson on copyright and
plagiarism in order to understand how to
put ideas into your own words or give the
author credit of their ideas.
Diversity
 The
diverse needs of students will be met
through the addition of a mediaspace
area because this technology allows for
individual, small group, and whole group
instruction.
 Additionally, students will have access to
the devices provided through the school,
included headphones, laptop, and ipads,
in order to use the mediaspace to best
meet their needs.
Professional Learning



The local tech, area TTIS, and media specialist will
train teachers about how to best use the
mediascape for whole class instruction, and how
to ask students to use it for small group work and
collaboration.
On-going professional development can be
conducted by the media specialist as needed in
order for teachers to integrate best practices with
the mediascape. These professional development
sessions can be a session at the monthly teacher
professional development training as needed.
Teachers can also use the mediascape when PD
sessions are held in the learning commons to
develop their mediascape knowledge.
Continuous Learning

While a mediascape in an elementary media
center/learning commons environment is a
fairly new concept, the options and
possibilities are continuing to grow. The
mediascape takes student assignments,
presentations, debates, and discussions to
another level because of the collaborative,
interactive possibilities. Technology and
applications to consider in conjunction with a
mediascape or in the future would be Apple
TV and Periscope for instructional uses. These
resources could even jumpstart other
possibilities for the mediascape work area
and technology.
Reflection cont’d
 Additionally,
this space and technology
can allow students to truly see
collaboration and interaction on a
school-wide, county, and possibly global
level. Also, the mediascape promotes
learning and inspires creativty, which
aligns with Frey Elementary’s mission
statement.
Reflection
 While
researching information about
mediascapes and flexible learning
environments for media centers/learning
commons, I realized how vital these areas
are for student engagement during
instruction with the media specialist and
classroom teachers. A flexible
environment that can be altered to meet
the student needs on an individual, small
group, and whole class level is very
important for meeting the diverse needs
of a 21st century learner.
References




Coastal Carolina Univerisity. (2015). Technology in
the Library and Commons. Retrieved from
www.coastal.edu/library/commons/tools.html
Cobb County School District. (2011). Three Year
Technology Plan. Retrieved from
http://www.cobbk12.org/centraloffice/Instruction
alTechnology/TechPlan/2012_2015_CCSD_District_
Technology_Plan.pdf.
Educause. (2011). 7 Things You Should Know
About...The Modern Learning Commons. Retrieved
from
https://net.educause.edu/ir/librarypdf/ELI7071.pdf
Frey Elementary School. (2014). School Strategic
Plan-Elementary. Retrieved from from
http://www.cobbk12.org/frey/SSP2014.pdf
References cont’d




Georgia Department of Education. (2015). Georgia
Standards of Excellence. Retrieved from
https://www.georgiastandards.org/GeorgiaStandards/Documents/ELA-Standards-Grades-K-5.pdf
ISTE. (2014). ISTE Standards: Students. Retrieved from
https://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/20-14_ISTE_StandardsS_PDF.pdf.
Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (n.d.). @1st Century
Learning Environments. Retrieved from
www.p21.org/storage/documents/le_white_paper-1.pdf
University of Washington. (n.d.). Media Scape image.
Retrieved
http://commons.lib.washington.edu/resources/mediascape.