School-Based Work Study

Every afternoon I would report to the library in a local junior high for two hours.  The library had one small section that became my area to manage.  I was in charge of the AV resources.  I would check out 9 mm film loops to students. When the film loops returned, I would check them in, rewind when necessary, and reshelve.

Some days film loops would already be waiting in a RETURNED bin to be processed and returned to the shelves.  Other days might find business to be slow with few checkouts or returns. That allowed me to have time to “read the shelves” and check that the film loops were in numerical order.

Either way, organizing and placing the film loops in their correct places enabled users to quickly find them for check out purposes. Some teachers asked students to watch a video during their library study hall. Other students watched the film loop to “make up” instruction that they had missed. Video resources that were “in addition to” classroom instruction and prior to computers for student use.

Was this a precursor to “online” and personalized instruction? 

Did every student have access?

Was this technology “innovative”?  

Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for this daily forum in March. Check out the writers and readers here.