Instructional Materials Services (IMS)
 Programs,
Services, and Benefits to Schools
Listed below are the major programs
and services provided by the Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit IMS to
benefit school district teachers, administrators, and students:
Instructional
Media - The IMS maintains a circulating collection of over 12,000
titles of media for instructional use with students. The media collection
includes a wide variety of instructional media and includes all subject
areas and all instructional levels. All media within the collection have
public performance rights and content designed specifically for schools.
The IMS media collection provides a cost effective and convenient program
for educators to obtain high-quality instructional aids delivered to their
doorstep. All instructional staff can electronically search a large collection
of media titles, using Medianet,
in every curriculum area and across all instructional levels from anywhere
at anytime via the Internet.
Media types include videotape, laserdisc,
CD-ROM, DVD and instructional kits. This collection is enhanced each year
to include newly produced titles to keep the collection contemporary and
useful in all curriculum areas. The IMS purchases in high volume from
the best video producers in the world and, as a result, can use high-volume
purchasing power to receive good discount pricing.
New
Instructional Technology - The IMS will be the source for delivery
of digital video information directly to the classroom in the very near
future.
Media
for Staff Development Uses - The IMS maintains a large collection
of media for use in teacher and administrator staff development. Many
of these individual programs and series are very costly. Since the materials
can be shared by many school districts, a broad-based collection can be
available via the IMS rather than individual copies being needed in each
district at a very high cost (and having the media go unused during most
of the year).
Media
Duplication - The IMS has hardware capable of simultaneously producing
multiple videotape copies from multiple master sources. The following
source formats can be duplicated: DVD, DV Mini tape, 1/2 inch VHS and
S-VHS and 3/4 inch videocassettes. The IMS also has special hardware that
enables non-US standard video formats,such as PAL and SECAM, to be converted
to US format so that videotape shot in foreign formats may be viewed and
played back for use in schools in the United States. This has been useful
in converting media brought to schools here from foreign exchange students
also.
 Specialized
Systems - The IMS has four of the popular Starlab portable planetarium
systems. The systems circulate among schools to be used in elementary
science, language arts and other curriculum areas. IU 13 holds basic and
advanced training for educators in the use of these highly motivating
systems.
Hardware
Loans - Schools occasionally need hardware systems that exceed local
inventory for use in special projects or events. The IMS provides short-
or long-term loans of equipment for school districts. Laser disc players,
video projectors, digital cameras, projectors for use with computer systems,
etc. are examples of the equipment available to schools from the IMS.
Courier
Services - The IMS operates delivery trucks that visit each school
district five times per week. This courier service delivers instructional
media to schools, picks up hardware to be repaired by the IU and returns
repaired equipment to the district, and is available to assist in transporting
large items among school building or school districts. These courier vans
also are used to provide an inter-district letter and parcel delivery
service eliminating the need for postage and delivery services company
charges for these inter-district exchanges.
Interlibrary
Delivery Service (IDS) - School districts can request to borrow books
from any other school district in Pennsylvania. When schools in Lancaster
and Lebanon counties are finished with the materials, they are sent to
the IMS and the IMS ships the materials back to the originating schools
via UPS. The IMS also provides all the nylon, zippered shipping bags used
by IU 13 area schools for this IDS program.
Media
Consultation - The IMS professional staff can provide districts with
consultation regarding use and selection of media. Workshops and other
presentations are available on the following subjects: Medianet: The Resource
Selection Tool for Teachers, Using Digital Video in the Classroom, and
Using Palm Handheld Computers.
Staff Development
and Idea Interchange Meetings - Meetings are held on a quarterly basis
at IU 13 and facilitated by the IMS for school district media coordinators.
These meetings provide a valuable forum for learning and information exchange
among these district staff. Valuable demonstrations and hands-on training
are conducted by the IMS to meet the information needs of school district
media coordinators regarding emerging technology and media uses in education.
Discussions are held that assist districts develop policies and procedures
regarding uses of technology and media in the schools.
 Distance
Learning -The IMS purchases the rights to downlink numerous teleconferences
each year. Dozens of other satellite-delivered staff development and curricular
use programs are also downlinked by the two IMS satellite dishes. The
IMS hardware has been configured to access all programs available on the
new digital access only systems. Most school districts do not have this
capability, and the IMS meets these downlink needs via IMS systems. Satellite
programs are downlinked for live district participation at the IMS and/or
are taped for circulation or duplication to meet school needs. Subscriptions
to distance learning programming services have been secured by the IMS
for district uses. The IMS also provides districts with technical assistance
in satellite receiver configuration and use regarding district-owned equipment.
Special
Events -The IMS develops programs to meet districts' needs for specialized
information or training. For example, copyright legislation is a fast-changing
topic with great implication for school districts. The IMS developed a
full-day workshop on this topic and contracted with a national copyright
expert to conduct the copyright program attended by a large audience of
school district staff. As a follow-up service, the IMS secured the rights
to duplicate an outstanding copyright reference book for hundreds of librarians,
media coordinators, technology specialists, etc.
Video and other digital hardware
systems features and benefits change rapidly. The IMS organizes vendor
presentations regarding new technology and media systems. The IMS has
also conducted hardware comparison demonstrations to enable district staff
to view firsthand the features and quality of various competing products.
 Specialized
Media/Technology Reference Materials and Memberships - The IMS
subscribes to a variety of media and technology journals, and these materials
are available at IU 13 for educator review and use. IMS organization memberships
benefit districts by information gained and distributed via print and
electronic methods by the IMS regarding developments and activities in
the media and technology fields. Special programs and materials discounts
are afforded via some of these memberships. Participation in organizations
such as the Pennsylvania Association for Educational Communications and
Technology, the National Association of Media and Technology Centers and
the PA Distance Education Consortium also provide a voice regarding shaping
policy that will affect schools.
Sign Making
- The IMS produces custom-made nameplates and identifying signs for use
by individual staff and throughout school buildings. Various colors and
designs are available.
For additional information regarding
any IU 13 IMS program or service contact:
Janet Dubble
(717) 606-1664 (voice)
(717) 606-1990 (fax)
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