At the end of my Masters course, it was with great trepidation that I began looking for and applying for positions in school libraries. I was very worried that it would take some time before I was offered a job, but somehow the gods were smiling and I landed a very good post as a TL in a good school.
It is also not that far away!!!!
First term was tough as I had to learn so much about the new school, the staff, the students, the administration as well as how all aspects of the library worked.
Now that it is second term and I am able to help students and staff, have started teaching Information Literacy classes and can understand and operate some of the technical devices, I am feeling a little more comfortable about achieving things independently. One of the things I am vey grateful for is that the library staff are happy to teach me, to allow me to make mistakes, and ask lots of questions.
At the same time, they encourage independence and are open to new ideas.
I can't believe how lucky I am to be in a position where I can put into practice all the skills, knowledge and theories of education I learned on my course. And now it is all starting to make sense.!!
Thursday, 2 May 2013
Saturday, 22 December 2012
Last Blog for 2012
This will be my last blog for the year. 2012 has been a good year for completing
things. The first and most important
thing to have completed was my Master of Education, Teacher Librarianship, a
course I started in July, 2011. I can’t
believe has taken me 18 months to complete.
It was tough at the time, but in retrospect, I learned so
much and am happy to say achieved my ultimate goal of a change of career into
Teacher Librarianship. At my recent
graduation ceremony at Charles Sturt University at Wagga Wagga campus, I was
proud to say that I had secured a new position in my newly chosen field as a TL
at Brighton Grammar School.
The challenges await me at this school will be many, but
some I anticipate are coping with full-time work in a library, dealing with
boys only after working in co-educational settings for over ten years, and all
the new information I will need to acquire as I come to understand the workings
of a new educational environment.
I have started to read books that I believe young adult boys
would be reading, and to understand the new National curriculum and its
assessment system. In my new role as a
TL in a senior boys’ school library, I hope that I will use all the knowledge
and skills I have acquired over the last eighteen months, as I learn many, many
more and keep up to date with new technologies and methodologies in a stimulating
educational atmosphere.
Tuesday, 20 November 2012
Reflection on Finishing Masters in Education (Teacher Librarianship)
It was with great relief that I learned of my final marks and that I had successfully completed the last two subjects in my Master of Education in Teacher Librarianship.
It had been a struggle as I found a number of the subjects introducing me to completely new material and I had to learn new technology skills. These were a challenge in themselves and writing to a recipe was a further challenge.
Fortunately, I have been able to find a really good library in which to volunteer one day a week in order to help me get some experience in a library. I am learning how to weed rigorously according to the particular needs of the users and to make decisions regarding cataloguing of resources. I am also being given responsibility to create fiction lists for History subject teachers while learning how the circulation process operates using Amlib.
The librarians are incredibly patient and generous in teaching me how their library operates and allowing me to gain invaluable experience which is mutually beneficial. I quite enjoy shelving as well.
I am loving being a Teacher Librarian.
It had been a struggle as I found a number of the subjects introducing me to completely new material and I had to learn new technology skills. These were a challenge in themselves and writing to a recipe was a further challenge.
Fortunately, I have been able to find a really good library in which to volunteer one day a week in order to help me get some experience in a library. I am learning how to weed rigorously according to the particular needs of the users and to make decisions regarding cataloguing of resources. I am also being given responsibility to create fiction lists for History subject teachers while learning how the circulation process operates using Amlib.
The librarians are incredibly patient and generous in teaching me how their library operates and allowing me to gain invaluable experience which is mutually beneficial. I quite enjoy shelving as well.
I am loving being a Teacher Librarian.
What am I going to love about being a Teacher Librarian?
Collaborating with literature, students and teachers. Designing learning programs and finding appropriate resources with which to teach them. Discovering new ways for technology to integrate with literature and curriculum. Witnessing the waysthat technology can be managed as a learning tool and that resources are only as good as the skills of the people who realise them.
Collaborating with literature, students and teachers. Designing learning programs and finding appropriate resources with which to teach them. Discovering new ways for technology to integrate with literature and curriculum. Witnessing the waysthat technology can be managed as a learning tool and that resources are only as good as the skills of the people who realise them.
Monday, 19 November 2012
What I learned in ETL402
I loved this subject. It allowed me read and learn and discover new ways of reading and learning, as well as new ways of teaching. I learned that Teacher Librarians need to be knowledgeable about lots of reading resources, and to be flexible, innovative and adaptable to new teaching and learning strategies.
I learned how important it is for Teacher Librarians to be up to date with curriculum, and to be aware of the possibilities for collaboration and integration of literature, in all forms, across all subject areas. It was exciting reading young adult fiction and realising that stories continue to be one of the most powerful mediums for teaching and learning.
Everyone loves a good story, and if it is well told, able to immerse the reader in the moment, and help them to focus in order to understand, appreciate and derive pleasure from their experience of the story, then it will be remembered and the act of reading will have been productive.
I now know how important it is to read young adult literature and to be able to recommend titles to young readers, to be able to discuss storyline, plot, character, setting and genre with them.
Most of all, I loved reading and writing about something I have always loved--reading.
I loved this subject. It allowed me read and learn and discover new ways of reading and learning, as well as new ways of teaching. I learned that Teacher Librarians need to be knowledgeable about lots of reading resources, and to be flexible, innovative and adaptable to new teaching and learning strategies.
I learned how important it is for Teacher Librarians to be up to date with curriculum, and to be aware of the possibilities for collaboration and integration of literature, in all forms, across all subject areas. It was exciting reading young adult fiction and realising that stories continue to be one of the most powerful mediums for teaching and learning.
Everyone loves a good story, and if it is well told, able to immerse the reader in the moment, and help them to focus in order to understand, appreciate and derive pleasure from their experience of the story, then it will be remembered and the act of reading will have been productive.
I now know how important it is to read young adult literature and to be able to recommend titles to young readers, to be able to discuss storyline, plot, character, setting and genre with them.
Most of all, I loved reading and writing about something I have always loved--reading.
ETL402
What I learned in Children's Literature in Education ETL 402
I learned that fiction has an essential role in enhancing the curriculum through literary learning. I presented a case for using fiction in Year 7 History in the Australian National Curriculum using supporting evidence from current literary research on the principles of reader-response, cognitive, transactional and developmental literary learning theories. Incorporating current examples of children’s fiction and teaching strategies, including on-line tools, my paper emphasisesdthe important role of the Teacher Librarian whose knowledge of educational pedagogy and collection development, communicative and collaborative skills, and their understanding of the needs and vision of their school, in creating a reading culture across the whole school community.
What I learned in Children's Literature in Education ETL 402
I learned that fiction has an essential role in enhancing the curriculum through literary learning. I presented a case for using fiction in Year 7 History in the Australian National Curriculum using supporting evidence from current literary research on the principles of reader-response, cognitive, transactional and developmental literary learning theories. Incorporating current examples of children’s fiction and teaching strategies, including on-line tools, my paper emphasisesdthe important role of the Teacher Librarian whose knowledge of educational pedagogy and collection development, communicative and collaborative skills, and their understanding of the needs and vision of their school, in creating a reading culture across the whole school community.
Reflection
on ETL505 Bibliographic Standards in Education.
What I learned from studying ETL505, Bibliogrpahic Standards in Education
ETL
505, Bibliographic Standards in Education was a really challenging subject. We
learned to define bibliographic description and describe its importance in
providing access to information. As information
agencies, school libraries need to consider how they can be an effective,
integral part of the school’s educational programs. To enable information literacy, cooperative
planning, teaching and involvement in curriculum development, Teacher Librarians
need to focus on the easy recovery of resources. The increasing availability in electronic
form of information generally and of new kinds of information particularly
created the need for a redefinition and integration of the different categories
of "information" organisations (Rayward, 1998, p. 207). This has prompted a shift towards
bibliographic description that emphasises the intellectual content and
substance of the work itself (Hider, 2008, p. 303), as well as a more
consistent and powerful way to facilitate resource access (Copeland, 2010, p.
14). As school library collections include an increasing variety of resources,
an important aspect of the TL’s role is keeping up to date with appropriate and
efficient means of meeting users’ needs in retrieving the information held
within the print, audiovisual, digital and other sources. Therefore, clear,
flexible frameworks, consistent guidelines and internationally accepted
standards that enable more independent student search, selection and retrieval
of resources will be welcomed by TLs whose time and expertise can be utilised
elsewhere.
Cataloguing and assigning Webdewey numbers to resources, then
truncating them against SCIS guidelines was a challenging task. It taught me the value in effective bibliographic
organisation, the importance of knowing the resources in your collection, and
of the need for make accessibility easy for those who seek the information
(Hider, 2008), p. X).
Tuesday, 19 June 2012
Reflection on ETL504
There were many things I learned from ETL504. These include the CBAM change process model, styles of leadership, vision statements and the notion of the library as an iCentre (Lyn Hay) where technology, teaching and information leaders in the school come together.
I had never heard of change process models before and it makes so much sense to embed an understanding of the emotional responses people have when asked to learn new methods using new technology. I had never identified the different styles of leadership before either, nor thought about how to work with these styles and continue to be effective in my profession. It was also interesting to learn that it was possible to be objective and separate the issue from the leader delivering the issue.
Being asked to create a vision statement and thinking about its practical application was another interesting exercise, as it forced me to think about the essence of the library profession. This not only reinforced the central role of the library within a school, but provided an opportunity to articulate that role in a meaningful way.
ETL504 had great relevance for the classroom and library environment.
I had never heard of change process models before and it makes so much sense to embed an understanding of the emotional responses people have when asked to learn new methods using new technology. I had never identified the different styles of leadership before either, nor thought about how to work with these styles and continue to be effective in my profession. It was also interesting to learn that it was possible to be objective and separate the issue from the leader delivering the issue.
Being asked to create a vision statement and thinking about its practical application was another interesting exercise, as it forced me to think about the essence of the library profession. This not only reinforced the central role of the library within a school, but provided an opportunity to articulate that role in a meaningful way.
ETL504 had great relevance for the classroom and library environment.
Wednesday, 6 June 2012
ETL507 Study Visits
I have just completed Study Visits in Melbourne for my Professional Practice course for th MEd (TL). Having been to the Victorian State Library, SWETS Services, NGV Library, CAVAL and the La Trobe Library, Public Records Office and the Melbourne City Library, it was really meaningful to see libraries with a new understanding of their value as a service to the community, their high level of commitment to their patrons, their professionalism, generosity of spirit as well as their concerns.
Overall, I learned that there is a far greater variety of
librarianship skills and range of library services than I had previously
imagined. I learned that librarians are
passionate, highly skilled and generous in their willingness to showcase their
facilities and services, to share their knowledge and to be adaptable and
innovative in maximising technology for the purpose of making access to
information easy for users. Most of all,
people involved in information management services care about their customers;
about the quality of service they provide, pay great attention to detail and
are very focused on the specific purposes of their organisation. It was so inspiring to see so many people
enjoying their work, engaging with people, getting great satisfaction from
providing access to information and using their skills to problem-solve despite
constant budget and space restraints.
Thursday, 1 March 2012
TLs as team leader
TLs form alliances in schools by being visible and demonstrating their purpose. They are the "information managers" in the context of the school. By identifying the training and development needs of their colleagues, TLs can provide help and support where it is needed. Law and Glover (2000) discuss the importance of teams having a "common task" and of recognizing the "complementary contributions" members make to shared goals (p. 4). TLs who manage their time in order to allow time for training and supporting their colleagues (p. 6), who build relationships and demonstrate understanding and cooperation (p. 14) are better able to lead teams.
I agree that the personal qualities of empathy, warmth, and good communication skills enable TLs to build effective teams. Law and Glover (2000) also mention genuineness and concreteness and the importance of sharing the school ethos (p. 15) as necessary ingredients in building effective teams.
Reference: Law, S. & Glover, D. (2000). Leading Effective Teams. In Educational Leadership and learning: practice, policy and research (pp. 71-86). Buckingham, England: Open University Press
I agree that the personal qualities of empathy, warmth, and good communication skills enable TLs to build effective teams. Law and Glover (2000) also mention genuineness and concreteness and the importance of sharing the school ethos (p. 15) as necessary ingredients in building effective teams.
Reference: Law, S. & Glover, D. (2000). Leading Effective Teams. In Educational Leadership and learning: practice, policy and research (pp. 71-86). Buckingham, England: Open University Press
Wednesday, 29 February 2012
ETL503 Final Reflection
Part C Reflection
Writing a collection management policy has been one of the most pertinent activities for me in learning about the role of the Teacher Librarian (TL). In writing this document, I have learnt about the decisions that TLs make in managing a library collection and how those decisions affect the teaching and learning community they serve.
I learnt that TLs need to be accountable for the decisions they make (Kennedy, 2006, p. 11) in every aspect regarding the collection in their library. In making those decisions they are required to show professionalism (Kennedy, p. 17) in terms of their understanding of the needs of their teaching and learning community (Hughes-Hassall & Mancall, 2008, p. 33; Wall & Ryan, 2010, p. 9, to have knowledge of the curriculum, be willing to collaborate with other staff members, and have clear goals on the nature of the collection and the purposes and aims it will achieve. Writing this policy document made me think more deeply about the TL’s commitment to education in the broadest sense.
There are four aspects of being a TL that I have learnt from creating this policy document. Firstly, a Library must be a learner-centred environment where the resources match the user’s needs and learning styles (Wall & Ryan, 2010, p. 9) and that there are professional tools to help TLs become familiar with those needs (Hart, 2003, pp.88-91; Bishop, 2007, pp. 19-24).
Secondly, I learnt of the need to use professional tools in selecting resources and to use professional judgement in managing all areas of the collection; in acquiring, budgeting, weeding, accepting (or refusing) donations and gifts, evaluating, as well as in dealing with challenges to materials in the collection (Kennedy, 2006, pp. 17-20; Wall & Ryan, 2010, p. 11; Hughes-Hassell & Mancall, 2008, p. 33-36). There are many aspects to the professionalism required by a TL.
Thirdly, by writing this collection policy document, I learnt that TLs need to be collaborators who draw on a range of knowledge including information about the specific context of the collection, and the wide range of choices in selecting resources in terms of type and format (Kennedy, 2006, pp. 20-21; Wall & Ryan, 2010, pp.11-12). TLs not only need to be aware of current available resources, but also be able to anticipate the future needs of their clientele. This means being ahead of their users!
Finally, TLs need to be flexible. They need to accept that the library collection is constantly developing and never “complete” and is the reason some (American Library Association, 1983, 1996 in Kennedy, 2006, p. 4) prefer the term Collection Development to the term Collection Management.
As a specialization, collection management- and writing a policy document- demands not only professional knowledge of the processes of selecting and acquiring, but diplomatic skills in weeding, budgeting, evaluating and dealing with challenges to the collection. This taught me that TLs need to be leaders (Wall & Ryan, 2010, p. 12) as well as learners, a resource guide as well as an agent of change. They need to have knowledge of educational theory and practice and be in tune with their community of usersReferences
Bishop, K. (2007). Community analysis and needs assessment. In The Collection programin schools: concepts, practices and information sources (4th ed.)(pp.19-24). Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited.
Hart, A. (2003). Collection analysis: powerful ways to collect, analyze and present your data. In C. Andronik (Ed.), School Library Management (5th ed.). (pp. 88-91). Worthington, Ohio: Linworth.
Kennedy, J. (2006). Collection Management: A concise introduction (rev. ed.). Wagga Wagga, NSW. CSU
Hughes-Hassell, S. & Mancall, J.C. (2005). Selecting resources for learning. In Collection management for youth: responding to the needs of learners (pp. 33-51). Chicago: American Library Association
Wall, J. & Ryan, S. (2010). Resourcing for curriculum innovation, Melbourne, ACER Press
Tuesday, 20 December 2011
Reflection on ETL503
It was somewhat ambitious, I now realise, to have enrolled in a Summer Semester at CSU in ETL503 and EER500. To have to contend with all the end of year celebrations with my two children's schools, all my work break ups (three different workplaces), husband's work dos, family get togethers, friend gatherings, Christmas shopping and setting up the Christmas tree and lights was all too much to fit in together with having to research and write two 2,500 word assignments due within a week of each other. The toughest thing was finding the discipline not to drink too much in order to maintain a clear head for reading and writing something coherent.
ETL503 has taught me a lot about the really hard work of a librarian. It was also one of the most interesting tasks to source worthwhile resources. I was lucky to teach at an institution where there is a very wise and experienced librarian who told me to "choose an area you are interested in and find resources for that. Start at the Reference shelf". So I did. With a degree in Fine Art (Painting) the choice was easy. Finding one 1970 edition Encyclopaedia of Art, I was on my way to the Art Department where they were talking about introducing a new subject for which new resources were imperative. I loved looking through book catalogues, reading about DVDs CD-ROMs and discovering online databases and catalogues for schools with reviews of resources. Studio Art for Year 10s is going to be a great subject. I was lucky to go an excursion to the Ian Potter Gallery on one of my teaching jobs and have a tour by a very helpful guide who helped suggest a tool for resources I had never thought of : University Courses and Lecturers' booklists and catalogues and resources they had created themselves.
The thing that is most memorable is having to keep in mind relevance, suitablitity and outcomes. It emphasised the importance of teacher librarians knowing the curriculum and so knowing what teachers and students need.
I learnt a lot from EER500 as well. It was really interesting to look into educational research questions, and the discipline of framing questions within a framework of established methods. The research out there is fascinating. Again, choosing something I was interested in - reading and ESL students - really helped, so the focus for my reading and that of the other students' - study habits and social networking - was quite enjoyable to write on.
Waiting for results is almost as hard as writing the papers. But at least I can have a drink now! Well for a week anyway before staring the next two assignments.
ETL503 has taught me a lot about the really hard work of a librarian. It was also one of the most interesting tasks to source worthwhile resources. I was lucky to teach at an institution where there is a very wise and experienced librarian who told me to "choose an area you are interested in and find resources for that. Start at the Reference shelf". So I did. With a degree in Fine Art (Painting) the choice was easy. Finding one 1970 edition Encyclopaedia of Art, I was on my way to the Art Department where they were talking about introducing a new subject for which new resources were imperative. I loved looking through book catalogues, reading about DVDs CD-ROMs and discovering online databases and catalogues for schools with reviews of resources. Studio Art for Year 10s is going to be a great subject. I was lucky to go an excursion to the Ian Potter Gallery on one of my teaching jobs and have a tour by a very helpful guide who helped suggest a tool for resources I had never thought of : University Courses and Lecturers' booklists and catalogues and resources they had created themselves.
The thing that is most memorable is having to keep in mind relevance, suitablitity and outcomes. It emphasised the importance of teacher librarians knowing the curriculum and so knowing what teachers and students need.
I learnt a lot from EER500 as well. It was really interesting to look into educational research questions, and the discipline of framing questions within a framework of established methods. The research out there is fascinating. Again, choosing something I was interested in - reading and ESL students - really helped, so the focus for my reading and that of the other students' - study habits and social networking - was quite enjoyable to write on.
Waiting for results is almost as hard as writing the papers. But at least I can have a drink now! Well for a week anyway before staring the next two assignments.
ETL503 and EER500
It was very ambitious to have enrolled in both EER500 and ETL503 over the Summer Semester at CSU. With trying to fit in Christmas break ups for three work places, as well as my husband's, all the end of year celebrations for the children's schools, family gatherings, friends get togethers, ordering school books for next year and getting the Christmas tree and lights up while completing two 2,500 word assignments was, in retrospect, mad.
I learned a lot from the ETL503 assignment about the importance for teacher librarians of knowing the curriculum. The librarian at one of my schools wisely suggested starting with an area of interest, so I looked at the art book collection on the shelves, and decided to visit the art teacher. He was trying to write a study guide for a new year 10 subject, Studio Art, and need to think about resources. So I offered to help.
It was a little off centre looking for art resources, because they were hard to find on the usual selection tools like ebscohost and SCIS, so I turned to the National Library and to University selection catalogues. A fortuitously timed excursion to the Ian Potter Gallery gave me the opportunity to source items from the art gallery catalogue and online teaching tools they create for schools and teachers.
EER500 was also really interesting. Discovering the framework around methods for research and the wide range of educational research that is being conducted was quite a journey. Choosing something I am interested in - reading and ESL students - as well as finding the research done by another student into study habits and social networking sites was enjoyable.
Now that the assignments have been submitted, there is only worry about the grades.
Now to the next module reading and assignments!
Merry Christmas!
Lisa Tabone
I learned a lot from the ETL503 assignment about the importance for teacher librarians of knowing the curriculum. The librarian at one of my schools wisely suggested starting with an area of interest, so I looked at the art book collection on the shelves, and decided to visit the art teacher. He was trying to write a study guide for a new year 10 subject, Studio Art, and need to think about resources. So I offered to help.
It was a little off centre looking for art resources, because they were hard to find on the usual selection tools like ebscohost and SCIS, so I turned to the National Library and to University selection catalogues. A fortuitously timed excursion to the Ian Potter Gallery gave me the opportunity to source items from the art gallery catalogue and online teaching tools they create for schools and teachers.
EER500 was also really interesting. Discovering the framework around methods for research and the wide range of educational research that is being conducted was quite a journey. Choosing something I am interested in - reading and ESL students - as well as finding the research done by another student into study habits and social networking sites was enjoyable.
Now that the assignments have been submitted, there is only worry about the grades.
Now to the next module reading and assignments!
Merry Christmas!
Lisa Tabone
Sunday, 2 October 2011
ETL401 Portfolio Task C
Task C: A critical synthesis of your reflection on how your view of the role of the teacher librarian may have changed during this subject. This should include examples captured from your personal blog and from participation in the ETL401 Forum (about 750 words)
My view on the role of the Teacher Librarian (TL) has changed in two main ways. Firstly, in terms of the breadth of tasks they perform, and secondly, in terms of the perceived “change” in their role. While the tools TLs use have changed, and are constantly changing, the central role of creating an environment for the whole school community to become effective and ethical users of information (Johnson, 2002, p.4) and technology to meet their academic and life-long needs has not.
Teacher librarians are multi-taskers. As well as managing staff (if they are lucky), organizing the physical library space, creating booklists, cataloguing and issuing books and resources, conducting reference interviews to assist staff and students in research, providing technical support with the vast array of materials, acquiring materials, balancing budgets, providing usage data that ensures the ongoing accreditation of the entire school, TLs are, above all, professional researchers. (http://singinglibrarian.wordpress.com/2011/04/29/what-does-a-librarian-do-all-day-)
TLs are proactive advocates of their profession and to do this, they must have credibility (Haycock, 2007, p.28) within the whole school. In order to gain the support of the principal as well as the wider school community (Oberg, 2006, p. 13), TLs actively promote their profession by demonstrating their knowledge of new technology, providing on-going staff development and are committed to helping teachers incorporate learning resources into the curriculum (Purcell, 2010, p.32). TLs energetically build relationships by collaborating with teachers in designing authentic learning tasks, and helping teachers and students locate resources (Herring, 2007, p.32). Therefore, TLs are effective communicators who, with the support of the principal, have the trust and credibility of the wider school community.
TLs are instructional partners. That is they empower teachers to be more creative through their knowledge of new teaching materials and technology available in their subject area (Lamb and Johnson, 2008, p. 2). By collaboratively helping teachers design tasks and assessments, and to locate appropriate resources, they enhance the development of information literacy within the curriculum (Herring, 2007, p. 32). TLs also address the research needs of students by producing an appealing, easy to use and effective Library homepage, including the Library URL on all assignments, developing a school intranet, and by creating subject pathfinders to help direct both students and teachers in locating the best resources for their curricular needs (Johnson, 2006-7,Herring (2007 p.37).
The role of the TL is, and always was, dynamic, but they continue to help people to find information. TLs implement information literacy in schools. In the 1980’s called 'library skills', this focused solely on students’ use of the school library. ‘Information skills' (also referred to as 'study skills') focused on a wider set of skills used by students who were doing curriculum-related assignments. These skills included planning (e.g., concept mapping), information retrieval (e.g., search strategy), evaluation of sources (mainly books), interpretation, note taking and assignment writing. The term 'information literacy skills' began to be used more in the late 1990s and is not seen merely in terms of skills, however. While there is no agreement as to what exactly constitutes information literacy in schools, there is agreement that students not only have to practice skills but also to think about how and when they might use information literacy skills. (Johnson, 2002, p. 21).
TLs make students and teachers aware of the tools available to help them find and make sense of the vast array of information available through the Web. They also ensure the ethical as well as safe use of these tools. TLs inform the school community of the models available for web site evaluation (Kathy Schrock’s The 5 Ws of Web site Evaluation 2009), and of information seeking strategies such as Herring’s PLUS model (1996 and 2004), Eisenberg and Berkowitz’s Big6 model (2010) and Kuhlthau’s Information Search Process (2004) model. These information literacy models go beyond providing a set of skills for research, because they encourage effective, purposeful use as well as reflection and transfer of the skills to enable students to become competent but also responsible users of information.
TLs are educators above all. As well as keeping up with current trends and new technological initiatives, modelling ICT such as interactive whiteboards in their teaching, (Herring, 2011, p.2) TLs continue to be responsible for the effective, safe and ethical use of information by the whole school community. TLs also encourage reading books for pleasure.
My view of the role of the TL has changed to a much deeper understanding of the breadth and diversity of the role as well as the great responsibility with which they are entrusted. However, I feel reassured that there is great enjoyment and satisfaction to be had from experiencing the “light-bulb moment” when students find what they were looking for and understand how to use it.
References:
Haycock, K. (2007). Collaboration: Critical success factors for student learning. School Libraries Worldwide, 13(1), 25-35.
Herring, J. (2011) Improving Students’ Web Use and Information Literacy
Herring, J. (2007). Teacher librarians and the school library. In S. Ferguson (Ed) Libraries in the Twentyfirst Century: Charting new directions in information (pp. 27-42)
Johnson, D. (2006-7) Demonstrating our impact: Putting number in Context Part 1, Media Matter column Leading and Learning (2)
Johnson, D. (2002). Challenges: The seven most critical challenges facing our profession, Teacher Librarian, 29(5), 21-24.Retrieved from Ebscohost 26/09/2011
Lamb, A. & Johnson, L. (2008). School library media specialist 2.0: a dynamic collaborator, teacher, and technologist in Teacher Librarian December Vol. 36 Issue 2 pp 74-78
Oberg, D. (2006). Developing the respect and support of school administrators. Teacher Librarian, 33(3), 13-18.
Purcell, M. (2010). All Librarians Do Is Check out Books, Right? A Look at the Roles of a School Library Media Specialist, in Library Media Connection, v29 n3 p30-33 Nov-Dec 2010. 4 pp
Saturday, 10 September 2011
Creating a Pathfinder
One of the tasks we have been asked to do for ETL 501 is to create a Pathfinder for a unit of work for a specific class. The first challenge was to find a curriculum-related topic that was interesting. For my previous assignment, I chose a literature based topic from my daughter's English class, so this time, I decided to find a unit of work from my son's year level. As he was about to choose electives, I selected a Unit on Ancient Greek Civilization in which I was interested.
Having chosen my topic, I met with my ETL401/501 "study buddy" who showed me how to create a pathfinder wiki using wikispaces.com. based on advice from Herring's text book. However, I found this very puzzling and couldn't handle the technology at all as it was all new to me. After crying and profaning, I sought an alternative route into pathfinders by going into "google" and asking "How to create a pathfinder". Mr. Google quickly led me to a template for pathfinders, which I found fairly easy to navigate around and its headings and organisation even made sense. I started to enter information, but felt frustrated at not being able to master the creation of a wiki when my study buddy made it look so easy.
Several times I returned to my wikispace page, but each time left it having failed to achieve much.
My plan was to create the pathfinder on the template, save it into a word document and then trnsfer the information onto the wiki page once all my resources had been worked out.
At this stage, I had spent hours and hours and the task was becoming huge and completely overwhelming. I was convinced that I was working unintelligently and inefficiently to say the least.
Having chosen my topic, I met with my ETL401/501 "study buddy" who showed me how to create a pathfinder wiki using wikispaces.com. based on advice from Herring's text book. However, I found this very puzzling and couldn't handle the technology at all as it was all new to me. After crying and profaning, I sought an alternative route into pathfinders by going into "google" and asking "How to create a pathfinder". Mr. Google quickly led me to a template for pathfinders, which I found fairly easy to navigate around and its headings and organisation even made sense. I started to enter information, but felt frustrated at not being able to master the creation of a wiki when my study buddy made it look so easy.
Several times I returned to my wikispace page, but each time left it having failed to achieve much.
My plan was to create the pathfinder on the template, save it into a word document and then trnsfer the information onto the wiki page once all my resources had been worked out.
At this stage, I had spent hours and hours and the task was becoming huge and completely overwhelming. I was convinced that I was working unintelligently and inefficiently to say the least.
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
Information Literacy
Since reading about Information Literacy, I have learnt that we all need to find out information in order to function in society. As society changes, so the information we need constantly changes. If we are to learn new information, then we need to know how access that information. There is functional literacy and there is information literacy. In an educational setting, students need to be able to find out information in order to help them complete tasks, and in learning the skills to complete those tasks to transfer those skills to future tasks. This is how they build upon their skills base and how they prepare themselves for the world of work by becoming independently information literate.
Reading About Information Literacy
Today, I decided to update my blog. This is the first entry since I created it and I haven't had time to work out how to add an entry. Hopefully, this will work, and I can now add to my blog.
So many people on the course seem to be on the ball and techno savvy that I feel quite inadequate. Hopefully, with more trial and error, I can catch up.
Wish me luck everyone.
Lisa
So many people on the course seem to be on the ball and techno savvy that I feel quite inadequate. Hopefully, with more trial and error, I can catch up.
Wish me luck everyone.
Lisa
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
Hello
This is to introduce me to blogging. I am studying a Masters of Education in Teacher-Librarianship and have been required to start a blog.
This will be a steep learning curve for me.
Wish me luck.
This will be a steep learning curve for me.
Wish me luck.
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