ETL501 – Topic 2

Print and electronic information

I think the most interesting thing that I read as part of this module was the Ballard (2008) article. As I read about the web interface they created for their library all I could think was ‘I WANT ONE’. What a brilliant and ingenious solution to the reference debate! Accessible and available all the time, for me it encapsulates the purpose of a library – that is to provide the information when it is needed.

As for the reference debate itself I think it is becoming less and less relevant. At the school I am working in currently we have just integrated most of the reference section into non-fiction. It can now be borrowed for two weeks just like everything else. All that is left in the ‘reference section’ are sets of books and anything that doesn’t fit on the shelves. This was done for a couple of reasons. Really I think that if a student needs a book why shouldn’t they be able to borrow it? What makes some information so special that it cannot leave the library? Secondly, we have just subscribed to World Book Online and it is my hope that students will use this in place of the reference section. We chose this resource because of its ease of use and accessibility outside school hours. I think that for the idea of a reference section to make it into the future it needs to be called something else, something that takes into account the ideas of accessibility, authoritativeness and compendium.

Is Wikipedia then a reference work? I always direct students they’re at the beginning of their research process. It should be viewed as a general source, a place to go when you know nothing about a topic. Then once you have a basic understanding you move on to more reliable and specific sources.

ETL 505 – Topic One

 The need for information resource description

The very first things that this module asks us to do is question why we are even studying the unit. And I must admit it offers little in the way of solutions. The module stresses the importance of getting it right, of sorting materials and placing them in the correct place with the right description etc. It also stresses the idea that this is a specialist job, one that would take up too much of a teacher-librarians time. So I am still a little hazy about why I need to know it.

I was interested to read that archives, museums and libraries are like cousins, or perhaps even siblings. The Rayward (1995) paper suggests that their differences stem from their function and purpose and this makes a lot of sense to me.

I think it also links to why teacher-librarians need to know about all this. The reasons users search is different and understanding how, why and where information is kept can help TL’s help users.

One thing that took me a while to understand was the Hensen (2001) quote. So many big words, so many meta concepts.

In my own words I think he is saying

“cataloguing is primarily about content not form”

And I think that is something that is often forgotten. Usually I just search for one specific thing, especially at school when asked by teachers and students for help. So when they say have you got a book on ‘x’ that is all I look for. When really I should be looking for ‘x’ in all its forms.

So I guess I do understand why we need to learn this after all. If I can understand how information is described, and placed better I will be better able to retrieve and use it, and also better able to help others with this process.

Personally I think information needs to be organised effectively because that is the way I like it. In a library sense the information needs to be visible and easily accessed. It is also a way of selecting and sorting the resources one acquires. Twice this year novels have come into the library that are somewhat inappropriate for the context and users. So what happens to them? A senior fiction sticker is stuck on the spine and I can use it to remind me to quiz kids about their grade level before they borrow it. Can senior fiction be searched through the school catalogue though? The answer is no.

ETL501 - Topic One

The learning and teaching context

Beginning this unit with this topic has reinforced to me the ideas of what the focus of teacher-librarianship should be – and that is teaching and learning.

However, I am not sure that information provider is the most fitting term for this role. Information specialist is perhaps better, but my favourite role description for teacher-librarian is teacher.

                Some interesting points were made in the first chapter of Herring’s (2011) text the most pressing of which I think is the conflict between the concepts of the purpose of education and the purpose of school. These are important as depending on which is in focus the question of ‘what is learning?’ can have different answers.

                I agree with the point that 21^st century teaching needs to be based on a constructivist model and think that the main aim of this should be as Herring (2011) says to encourage, foster and develop information literacy in students. With the myriad of information sources available to young people today, and the multiple stimuli they are constantly in contact with, it seems to me that engaging them, through their own knowledge and interests, is the only way to go. It is key that teaching has a “clear focus on what students learn, how they learn and what teaching strategies will be most effective” (p.11) and that teacher-librarians have the same.

ETL401 - Assignment 2 Task C Blog post

Task C

Word Count: 620

            The concept that has most influenced my understanding of the role of a teacher-librarian is information literacy. It is a concept that is highlighted in the readings and research I have completed and in the thoughts of myself and others in blogs and on the forum.

            One of the first and foremost responsibilities of the teacher-librarian is to promote themselves as an educator (Morrison, March 3 2011), and that “the role of ‘teacher’ should be up the top of the list” (Ronnie, 2011). It is a mistake for the teacher-librarian to be viewed “as being in their own domain, called upon when necessary, but ultimately outside the teaching and learning practices” (Morrison, March 17 2011). There is consensus among the literature (Lamb and Johnson, 2008; Herring, 2007; Twomey, 2007; Sykes, 2001) which has informed my views that “the school library should be seen as a centre of learning first and a centre of resources second” (Herring, 2007, p.27). Teacher-librarians and school communities need to realise that the library has “the potential to be the pulsating technological heart of the learning community” (Varela, 2011) and with this comes the responsibility and role to “support information literacy in the school” (Morrison, March 17 2011).

            One thing that I did not completely grasp until well into the course was how closely linked information literacy is to the role of the teacher-librarian. It was naïve of me to think that myself as teacher-librarian was the sole leader of information literacy in the school. A key idea that has allowed me to evolve my understanding is constructivism. It is clear that information literacy is a process “where learners construct meaning for themselves” (Herring, Tarter and Naylor, 2002, p.2). In order to fulfil their role, a teacher-librarian must also see themselves “as a process, rather than a content, expert” (Johnson, 2011). The role of the teacher-librarian then is to instruct students explicitly about how information literacy can be used “to enhance and enrich their learning and assist their learning processes” (Bisignani-Piepers, 2011). To achieve this a teacher-librarian must work collaboratively to create “an information literate community”, a goal that “is the responsibility of the whole school” not just the teacher-librarian (Skrzeczynski, 1999, p.241; Morrison, May 2 2011).

This links back into the idea of the library as the learning hub, as through their role of promoting information literacy a teacher-librarian must connect “learning inside the school to learning outside” (Sykes, 2001, p.7). This is the most important role for teacher-librarians because if they “focus on the curriculum and student learning, know what teachers are teaching and when, and look for ways that technology can engage learners in meaningful experiences, they can have a tremendous effect on learning” (Lamb and Johnson, 2008, p.2; Morrison, March 20 2011). This is reflected in the Professional Standards where their knowledge and skills can be used “as a basis for providing library and information services” to both teachers and students (Haycock, 2001, 3).

            It is obvious that over time ideas about the role of the teacher-librarian have changed, and my own understanding is no exception. Teacher-librarians are asked to be all things, to all people, all the time. At this point in time, however, I have come to the conclusion that a teacher-librarian’s role in promoting and teaching information literacy should be at the forefront of everything that they do. That being said, I have also learned that the role of the teacher-librarian is a complicated one, and that whichever function is chosen pulls them in a different direction, to promote different values (Abilock, 2004, p.10).

            Therefore, there is one certainty about the teacher-librarians role and which is that it is “constantly changing and they must be able to accept new tasks in order to perform their duties effectively” (Purcell, 2010, p.33).

N.B.

The complete reference list for this section has been incorporated into the reference list for this assessment submitted on EASTS.

ETL401 - Information Literacy again

As I read for the assignment it is becoming clearer and clearer just how important information literacy is. And how it is the role of every educator to be involved in helping students to come to terms with this concept and develop it in themselves and their learning.

A lot of what I have been reading, especially about collaboration and higher order thinking, is tying in with a new push for co-ordinators in my school. We are implementing the NSW Quality Teaching Framework in our classrooms and assessments. In the assessment category especially there is an emphasis on actually having 'proper' higher order thinking skills embedded in our tasks, both formal and informal.

For me, these higher order thinking skills are what information literacy is all about.
It is easy enough for a student to source information, but what they do with that information in the real clincher.

Do students just take everything at face value? Do we as teachers accept that? When better sources are out there do we let students get away with the bare minimum of research and engagement with information? How do we encourage better information literacy?

I read a great reading about how a PLC school in Western Australia has developed their own idea of information literacy, out of ASLA's, and used it to develop their own framework for the development of informaiton literacy in their school.
All the models that we have been presented with are good, but I think this approach - one created through collaboration for the specific needs of a school community - is one that all schools and TLs should adopt.

ETL401 Module 5 - Collaboration

Collaboration in the school as a learning organisation.

I missed the forum I was supposed to comment on last week and so thought I would share some thoughts here.

I think the most glaringly obvious thing is that collaboration is GOOD.

And that, in an ideal world, everyone would be working with everyone else to share ideas, offer support and facilitate growth. It seems to me that learning organisations are so called because everyone is thinking and learning and changing together, and the organisation moves forward because everyone is encouraged to be an innovator rather than following one person who is doing the innovating.

Shared vision and sharing ideas is the cornerstone of the learning organisation, and effective collaboration facilitates this and leads to change.

What is not good is innovating separately, or innovating for innovations sake. Yes, the goal should be to increase student achievement and help them reach their potential, but it needs to be organic and school wide. Competition doesn’t seem healthy or helpful. Having my students perform best doesn’t necessarily mean that they learn well.

And I think this is where the TL comes in. It is part of the TL’s role to see that collaboration meets student needs, that resources are available for teachers and students to facilitate learning. The TL crosses all curricular boundaries and is in the best postion to front the learning organisation.

Valenza’s article is a map for that ideal world where collaboration is effectively undertaken. The question then is - How do we merge that ideal world with our own?

Don't worry I'm still here

Well, a month has gone by and I have been very quiet on the blog front.
Two assignments are now done and I can think about this again, very quickly before I have to start the others.

I am finding some of the ETL504 course very hard to deal with. It is so theoretical and I have no idea what I'm supposed to do for the second assignment.

All the ideals that are being espoused are good in theory, but how do they become reality? I am not an agitator by nature. It seems that the librarian needs to be an outspoken and bossy person who places the library at the forefront of everything.
And where do they find the time to do this? I'm good at procrastinating but I don't feel like I actually have any time to do anything.

As for ETL401, I'm still trying to create the information literacy programs for my school. I think after the second assignment I will be able to do that a bit more easily. And I haven't commented on the forum yet....