Lesson XVIII

ROLES AND FUCTIONS OF AN EDUCATIONAL MEDIA CENTER

     An EMC is a facility designed for  the housing and utilization of all educational media within the school. It is a basic requirement for a school to render quality service. It is not independent of the school.  Rather, like any part of the human body, it is a unit in the school that cooperates with one another  units or departments that help the school fulfill its mission and realize its  vision by living up to the school’s philosophy and aims. It serves a myriad of roles, among which are: 1. Center of resources, 2. Laboratory for learning, 3. Agent of teaching, 4. Service agency, 5. Coordinating agency, 6. Recreational reading center , and 7. A stepping stone to other resources of the community.

     An EMC renders various kinds of services. It services boil down to improving the teaching – learning process by making it more  interactive, collaborative, interesting and authentic.

     What must an EMC have to be a functional EMC?

     The evaluation questions for  a functional EMC (Lucido & Borabo, 1997) give the following elements.
                 The institutional media services

o   Is the administration committed  to a media program?

o   Is the program of media services administered by a media specialist through media center?

o   Is the center operating  at the same level  as other major institutional services of the school?

o   Are they clearly defined policies, procedures, and plans for short, medium and long term coverage?

o   Is the center provided with appropriate facilities, finances (a regular budget) and staff (both technical  and clerical)?

o   Is the center capable of giving media and / or educational media technology advises/assistance to the faculty? 
Media and instruction

o   Are the faculty encouraged to use media as an integral part of instruction?

o   Are classrooms equipped and/or adapted for the best possible use of educational media?

o   Is the media ce nter accessible to all classrooms and lecture/ conference room?

o   Is there educational media technology information dissemination?

o   Is there proper cooperation between faculty and using media for instructions?

o   In particular, are  faculty members assisted by the media center staff in analyzing teaching needs and in designing, selecting and using educational media to meet these needs?

o   Is there an adequate storage, filing and retrieval/borrowing system for instructional hardware and software/materials?

o   Is the center capable of technical operations relating to technical assistance, equipment repair and cleaning continuous upgrading of facilities?

o   Is there a capability for production of graphics, audio visual and other media materials for instruction?

·                                              Classroom facilities

o   Are classroom designed for and provided with essential facilities foe effective use of educational media?

o   Specifically, are classrooms equipped for full light control, electrical outlets, appropriate ventilation and media operations space?

o   Are classrooms equipped with a bulletin board, chalkboard projection screen, maps, rails, etc. for instruction using media?

·                                               Media program

o   Are there clear-cut administration policies on the media program?

o   Is there an adequate source/system of funding?

o   Is there appropriate hiring of media center supervisions, creating and technical personnel ,consultant and clerical staff?