Paula Galland, a media specialist at Brunswick High School and a University of Georgia College of Education graduate, has been named Georgia Media Specialist of the Year for 2000.

"Like any teaching position, I am able to have influence over the lives of developing young adults. In a school media center I work with over 100 teachers and 1,800 students on a daily basis. When I do my job well, teachers and students see technology as a friend rather than a foe," said Galland.

Galland, who has been at Brunswick High since 1997, received the honor from the 800-member Georgia Library Media Association and the 500-member Georgia Association for Instructional Technology.

She received her MEd in educational media at UGA in 1973.

"The UGA program was brand news, reflecting the librarian to media specialist certification change in the state," she said. "Dr. Juanita Skelton was the new department chair. She served as a mentor for me until her death several years ago, always encouraging me to be active in my state and national professional associations."

By being one of the first to participate in the educational media master's degree program at UGA, Galland found that she had a real jump on others in the job market. "Schools were crying for media specialists with this new certification," she said. "I never had a problem finding a job."

Galland came to Brunswick High from Glynn County Schools where she served as Media and Technology Coordinator from 1993 to 1997. She was media specialist at Glynn Middle School in Brunswick for five years prior to that. She also served as media specialist for NW New Jersey Educational Improvement Center, and high schools in Newton and Teaneck, N.J.

"Though many would say that the position of school media specialist has changed dramatically over the years, I have found that each new technology that has come along has presented its own set of challenges," she said. "My job has always been to help my users locate, evaluate and use information effectively and responsibly. Changes in technology over the years have simply meant that the information changed formats. I will admit, however, that using Internet search tools to locate information is a far cry from using cards in a catalog drawer."
 

Wednesday, December 13, 2000

Writer: Michael Childs, 706/542-5889, mchilds@coe.uga.edu

Contact: Paula Galland, Galland@glynn.k12.ga.us.