Month: December 2021

Top Reads 2021

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As 2021 draws to a close, I thought it would be a nice idea to reflect on  the 26 books that I managed to read this year. Here are my favourites!

I know it might not sound like much, but I’m proud of myself for carving out the time to read 26 books; I don’t think I’ve read that many since my carefree, idle days as a school student. Next year I’ll be aiming for 27 and will be tracking them on the newly-found The Storygraph. Wish me luck!

Cheers to the books I’ve read in 2021, and cheers again to the new ones I’ll discover in 2022! 🥳🍾🎉

ETL402 4.1 Digital Publishing Trends

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Identify one trend that you have experienced in an educational or library setting and reflect on how this could shape or inform future library services.

Just before she left and I took over, the previous teacher librarian at our school purchased an ebook subscription via Wheelers ePlatform for our library. It was slow to take off (possibly because of our school’s mobile phone/BYOD policy and DEAR procedures) but became more popular during online learning and in the school holidays, which suggests that many of our students enjoy the continued flexible access it provides. A lot of our staff have also taken advantage of the online library collection. During online learning I expanded the collection to include an Audiobook and Wellness package, though I’m not sure if these are providing value for money at the moment. Based on our current data over the past 12 months, it’s worked out at around $13 per resource that has been borrowed. I suppose it’ll take time, effort, and patience (as well as continued advertising and promotion!) to build a general culture of reading in our school, let alone one that relies on digital access! 

However, one issue associated with these online collections (apart from the inequities around technology and internet access) is that the Australian Government’s lending rights payments aren’t currently extended to digital formats despite their increasing popularity. It’ll be interesting to see how this issue proceeds over the next few years.

I’m personally really interested in how transmedia storytelling and gamification can help build engagement with literature. As a classroom teacher I’ve often relied on role-plays and simulations to engage my students and deepen their understanding of historical periods and concepts as well as literary themes. The year I advertised Year 11 Ancient History by stating we’d be investigating Assassin’s Creed: Origins we had enough students to create an extra class!  While a lot of the articles in the readings for this module focused on technology-based gaming as a resource, I think there’s a lot of potential in analogue, ‘old-school’ games too. For instance, a few years ago I was able to teach a unit on ballads and narrative poetry by getting my Year 8s to play Dungeons and Dragons. In my experience I’ve found that Mary Poppins was right, and regardless of the way the game is delivered, if it’s fun, they’ll learn.

One particular example I can think of where transmedia storytelling could be used in the library to support curriculum outcomes and pleasure reading is our Year 9 English unit on Survival. Students could play/watch the prologue of a digital game such as The Last of Us as a fun hook activity; honestly, this introduction is one of the best, most emotional examples of digital storytelling I’ve ever played. This could be supplemented throughout by a role-play/simulation that drew on elements of tabletop gaming to test their own survival skills. The library could provide the space/resources for these activities, and the TL could co-teach the role-play lessons to encourage engagement with library resources and staff.

ETL503 4.2 Creative Commons Licensed Resources

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Locate at least two Creative Commons licensed resources. Write a short description of each and explain the CC license chosen.

Resource 1: Disney by Marc Levin
I chose this resource because I know that the House of Mouse can be quite protective of its IP, and I wanted to ask whether this resource was actually covered by Creative Commons. I found it on Flickr at https://bit.ly/3HgzuLT with the generic attribution licence logo, but I’m wondering if it is legally covered by this licence since Disney (the creator and copyright holder) is not the poster of this material. Instead it looks like Levin has taken a screenshot (with a computer mouse icon included). What’s everyone’s thoughts on this?

Resource 2: How Disney Writes a Villain Song by Polyphonic

Watch Video

Duration: 9:42
User: n/a – Added: 19/10/18
I found this on YouTube by filtering my search using the Creative Commons option. This resource was shared under the Creative Commons Attribution licence allowing reuse. Again, I’d be interested to know if Polyphonic’s use of Disney’s images and music is legal to begin with. YouTube’s copyright policy states that creators shouldn’t use content in their videos that someone else owns the rights to; though this video might be covered by the USA’s Fair Use laws and Australian content creators might be covered by our similar Fair Dealing exemptions: research or study; criticism or review; parody or satire; reporting the news; enabling a person with a disability to access the material.

ETL503 4.1 Copyright Questions for Teachers and Students

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From your reading of the Smartcopying website, choose some facts you think teachers or students in your school may not be clear about. Develop two questions for each fact – one for teachers and one for students.

From my experience, a lot of people in schools don’t seem to understand that their actions are “unreasonably prejudicing” the rights of the copyright holder and misunderstand the licensing terms we operate under – I’ll admit that prior to studying for this degree I was just as ignorant. Just recently I had a DP email me to check because a staff member thought it was ok to give our students access to free book torrent sites because it was ‘educational’. I also had to step in when a Year 12 student tried photocopying an entire textbook so he could have his own copy over the holidays!

I’ve come up with the following questions:

For staff: Can I show a movie from Netflix to my class as a reward for them finishing their assessment task?

Answer: Under section 28 of the Copyright Act 1968, staff are allowed to show films, television or radio in their classrooms when it is for educational instruction and not for profit. HOWEVER, if this activity does not have an educational purpose, our school is legally required to obtain a Co-Curricular Licence to avoid copyright infringement. Also, Netflix’s Terms of Use 4.2 state that their content may not be shared with individuals beyond your household and shall not be used for public performances, with the exception of a limited number of documentaries (you can find out more here).

If you wish to legally watch a film with your class please ensure that it is a) educational and b) does not break the service provider’s Terms of Use. You can use our school’s Clickview account to avoid these issues.

For more information please refer to the following resources:

Films and Videos in Schools: https://smartcopying.edu.au/guidelines/films-and-videos/

Netflix Terms of Use: https://help.netflix.com/en/legal/termsofuse

 

For students (though staff might need reminding too!): How much can I photocopy from this textbook?

Answer: It depends. You are allowed to copy limited amounts of material without seeking permission from the copyright owner as long as you are copying for:

  • research or study
  • criticism or review
  • parody or satire
  • reporting the news.

The amount you are allowed to copy depends on whether you are unreasonably affecting the rights of the copyright owner to be fairly paid for their work. If the resource is freely available for you to purchase, you should either a) purchase your own copy; b) only photocopy a reasonable portion (a good guide is 10% or one chapter – whichever is greater); or c) seek the copyright holder’s permission to copy more.

No matter how much you copy, you should be labeling it with the details of the copyright owner/author, the name of the resource, where it was copied from, and when it was copied. Where possible, try to copy only what is absolutely necessary or link to the original material instead. Using Creative Commons licensed material will also help you avoid copyright infringement.

For more information about photocopying, please explore the following resources:

Students and Copyright: https://smartcopying.edu.au/students-and-copyright/

Scanning – What am I allowed to do? https://smartcopying.edu.au/scanning-what-am-i-allowed-to-do/

 

Another student in this unit also posed this question, which I think is a great example of how social media in the school context can totally confuse the issue. I’ve copied the information here for future reference, since I’m now a member of the school’s Social Media Committee:

A student is filmed playing a copyrighted song. Can this recording be shared via the school’s Facebook page?

Answer: From https://smartcopying.edu.au/music-copyright-guide-for-schools/

Making audio or video recordings

Under the School Event Licence schools are able to make recordings (this includes both visual and audio recordings):

  • of school events at which musical works are performed or a sound recording is played
  • to play at a school event (eg copying music to CD or MP3 to play at a school graduation)
  • to include in a video or electronic presentation (eg classroom PowerPoint slides, or in presentations at assemblies or functions)
  • to play in class, whether face-to-face or virtual (eg in order to play musical works and sound recordings relevant to material being studied).

The recordings made by the school should display the following notice:

‘This recording has been made under a licence from AMCOS and ARIA for school purposes only’.

Schools must also display the following details of each musical work captured in the recording:

  • the title
  • the composer/arranger
  • the artist and recording company (if the school is using a backing track).

Schools can also authorise members of the school community to make recordings of music performed at school events for private and domestic listening or viewing by members of the school community (eg parents, guardians and friends can make a video of a presentation night at which the school band played).

Recording a school event

Schools can make a recording (including an audio or video recording) of a school event at which musical works are performed and/or sound recordings are played. Schools can also synchronise a musical work or sound recording with an existing recording of a school event (eg to add a backing track).

Remember to label the recording in the following way:

‘This recording has been made under a licence from AMCOS and ARIA for school purposes only’.

You must also display the following details of each musical work captured in the recording:

  • the title
  • the composer/arranger
  • the artist and recording company (if you are using a backing track).

For example, you could have this information flash up in the final credits.

What can I do with the recording of our school event?

Schools can do the following with recordings of their schools event(s):

  • upload the recording to the school website
  • upload the recordings to a password protected school server, intranet or DTE and make this available to parents, guardians and students. For example if parents and guardians are unable to attend an assembly or graduation day, the school could send them a link to the recording on the school’s password protected intranet and allow them to download a copy for their private use.
  • upload the recording to an app that is being used by the school for internal school communications to members of the school community, such as Schoolbag, Seesaw, Compass and SZapp. This is limited to apps being used by the school for internal school communications, and would not include apps like Snapchat or TikTok.
  • email/message a copy or make a physical copy of the recording (eg copy it on to a USB) and distribute it (for a no cost or on a cost-recovery basis) to members of the school community (eg students and parents or guardians)
  • provide a digital or physical copy of the recording to third parties , including other schools and administering bodies, for the purpose of events the school is or would like to participate in (eg competitions and festivals)
  • stream a live communication of the school event from the school’s website.

Uploading a recording or live streaming a school event to social media

Schools can rely on the school’s music licences to upload recordings of their school events, or live stream their school events, to the school’s official social medial page on social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube. In order to communicate (ie make available) those recordings from those social media pages, school can rely on the licences that APRA AMCOS and record labels have with the social media platforms.

Note, that where a musical work or sound recording is being performed or played at a school event, the post may still be blocked or muted, see ‘Blocking or muting of events on social media’ below.

Blocking or muting of events on social media

Music recording companies (ie record labels) and some music publishers use software to identify potentially infringing content on social media platforms, such as Facebook. When a school live streams a performance where a musical work or sound recording is being played, or uploads a musical work or sound recording, this software may alert Facebook or other social media platforms to mute the recording or send a takedown notice to the school. If you are concerned about a live stream or recording being muted or your school being issued with a take-down notice, contact the National Copyright Unit.

Alternatively, you may want to consider uploading the recording to your school website or password protected digital teaching environment or intranet.

ETL402 3.1 Strategies to Leverage a Love of Reading

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Consider the key arguments presented in the theory you have read and how this is evidenced in the varied activities incorporated in the Read Like a Girl project. Identify one strategy that you could leverage in your school or library to promote a love of reading.

 

The big takeaway I got from the readings on this topic was that access is the crucial first step in helping students develop a love of reading. Much like Kevin Costner’s character in Field of Dreams, if we offer enough opportunities for our students to engage with our collections then hopefully it will tap into the one of the 5 reasons Howard (2011) gave for personal pleasure reading: entertainment, escape, relaxation, imagination, and reassurance.

I work in a high school and since teenagers are naturally social creatures (despite their occasionally anti-social behaviours!) I’ve been trying to leverage their love of social capital with the activities I’ve implemented this year in the library, such as:

– Student Media Team which allows students to publish reviews and content that they’re passionate about

– Babble, Books and Breakfast which encourages students into the library space where they can catch up for breakfast with our Welfare team (and hopefully talk about and borrow reading materials while they’re there!)

– Staff and Student Book Club which I’ve been promoting via emails, social media and posters

Next year we’re unfortunately removing our DEAR program and shortening our roll calls to 10 minutes, which means that I’ll have to find new, creative ways to encourage students to read for pleasure. It’ll also be interesting to see if the current cohorting model remains in NSW, since this will drastically limit the scope of my plans. I’m taking a Year 7 English class in 2022, and I’m in discussions with the English faculty to encourage fortnightly lessons in the library which allow students to choose their own reading materials. I’m looking to implement new social gatherings such as First Chapter Friday (where I’ll read a chapter of a favourite book to our students; hopefully other teachers will also jump on board!) and fan-fiction competitions. I’d also love to show that our school values reading achievement in the same way it values sporting achievements, and have put in a budget submission to allow me to purchase and award medals to our monthly top borrowers. Fingers crossed that it gets approved, though even if it doesn’t I will probably take it out of the library budget anyway.

ETL402 Half-Session Reflections: The Function of Historical Fiction in Secondary Schools

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Throughout history, humankind has been drawn to create and engage with fictional worlds to explore powerful, complex ideas which force us to question our assumptions, to connect with others, and to uncover deeper truths about ourselves and our world. Neil Gaiman (2013) identifies two key functions of fiction: first, fiction acts as “a gateway drug to reading” (para.9) by opening new worlds and possibilities while developing our literacy skills; secondly, fiction builds empathy, a necessary skill for citizens in our global world (para.9-10). Fiction helps expand our knowledge of the lives, thoughts, and feelings of others, and inhabiting the mind of another person helps us recognise our similarities, thus affecting what we think and how we respond to the world (Giles, n.d. para.3; Kidd & Castano, 2013, p.377; Whitten et. al., 2016, p.49; Short, 2018, p.291).

Some popular themes and trends influencing young adult literature include innovation and playfulness with content and form, multiple narrators, verse novels, and series fiction (Barone, 2010, p.15-17; Short, 2018, p.288). New technologies and the rise of social networking have also impacted children’s literature, increasing the accessibility of texts and authors while leading to a push for greater inclusivity and diverse representations by consumers (Barone, 2010, p.15-17). In recent years this intersection of technology and social awareness has seen the development of hashtags such as #WeNeedDiverseBooks and #LoveOzYA which connect readers with relevant content and build communities of like-minded consumers (We Need Diverse Books, 2021; #LoveOzYA, 2021).

Historical fiction is a powerful tool which can transform students’ understanding of the past while vicariously broadening their understanding of themselves, of others, and of the world around them. Recent Australian young adult historical fiction, such as Nanberry: Black Brother White (French, 2011), Crow Country (Constable, 2011), Sister Heart (Morgan, 2015), Freedom Ride (Lawson, 2015), Our Race for Reconciliation (Heiss, 2017), and Benevolence (Janson, 2020), focus on the experiences of Australia’s First Nations peoples. Through their portrayals of past injustices, texts such as these can play a crucial role in undoing prevailing misconceptions while promoting diversity and reconciliation.

Historical fiction novels, despite their focus on real events, ultimately fictionalise these events, and it can be a fine line between constructing an accurate, sensitive representation of the past and oversimplifying or trivialising peoples’ experiences (Wadham et. al., 2019, p.60, 62). Although historical acceptance is a key aspect of Reconciliation (Reconciliation Australia, 2021, 21-23), there is also the potential for First Nations students to be exposed to confronting material detailing their historical trauma. Historical fiction novels attempting to portray Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, cultures, and experiences also run the risk of being didactic and tokenistic. Barone (2010, p.16) notes that didacticism has made a comeback in young adult literature, while McDonald (2013) observes that novels with cross-cultural friendships encouraging non-Indigenous characters to reject racism and embrace tolerance have recently become popular (p.120). Garrison (2019) rightly argues that any representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander characters should be genuine and sensitive to the realities of these cultures (p.21), while Heiss argues that many readers are turned off by tokenism in literature (as cited in Case, 2014, para.5). For this reason, many non-Indigenous authors now consult with Indigenous groups to ensure accurate, meaningful representation (McDonald, 2013, p.120). Author’s notes are another strategy employed by composers to add credibility and authenticity to their work and are increasingly popular because they provide much-needed contextualisation for readers keen to see how the fictional fits with the historical (Short, 2018, p.295; Wadham et. al., 2019, p.65). Historical fiction therefore provides educators with a rich stimulus for developing students’ skills in critical thinking and information literacy in addition to acting as a powerful tool to increase their interest, cultural literacy, and empathy.

Research repeatedly emphasises the social, personal, and academic value of reading for pleasure (Herbert, 2012, p.86; Earp, 2015, para. 2; Whitten et. al., 2016, p.48, 51). Yet secondary school teacher-librarians wishing to support their school community in this endeavour are faced with a number of challenges leading to a decline in students reading for pleasure in adolescence, such as lack of time allocated to pleasure reading, competing interests vying for student attention, and negative attitudes towards reading due to its perceived lack of value (Barone, 2010, p.2; Dickenson 2014, para.4; Manuel & Carter, 2015, p.116; Whitten et. al, 2016, p.57). Additionally, due to overcrowded curricula, novels are often used to teach literacy skills instead of as a means of understanding the human experience or for fun (Barone, 2010, p.2-3; Short, 2018, p.291). In secondary schools the so-called ‘educational silo’ mentality often impedes efforts at collaborative, cross-curricular planning (Sheninger, 2016, para.2-4), but teacher-librarians, who engage with a range of students, are uniquely placed to draw together the various syllabus strands into meaningful learning activities. Educators should utilise this expertise if they wish to create effective, authentic learning experiences for their students. Teacher-librarians should select quality resources for their collections which serve the interests and needs of our community (NSW DoE, 2017, p.8; Short, 2018, p.296), preferably from diverse publishers like Magabala Books, and build a culture of reading for pleasure which ideally includes staff, students, and parents by collaboratively teaching, promoting books via read-alouds and displays (both physical and digital), and encouraging activities prioritising student choice such as book clubs and literature circles (Clarke & Nolan, 2014, p.11; Manuel & Carter, 2015, p.124; Earp, 2015, para.15-20; Brugar & McMahon Whitlock, 2019, p.85; Victoria Department of Education and Training, 2020).

 

Bibliography:

Barone, D. M. (2010). Engaging teachers and their use of children’s literature. From: Children’s literature in the classroom: Engaging lifelong readers. Guildford Publications.

Brugar, K. A., & McMahon Whitlock, A. (2019). “I like […] different time periods:” elementary teachers’ uses of historical fiction. Social Studies Research and Practice 14(1), 78-97.

Case, J. (2014, November 5). ‘Getting it right’: Anita heiss on indigenous characters. Wheeler Centre: Books Writing Ideas. https://www.wheelercentre.com/notes/221927959a6b

Clarke, R., & Nolan, M. (2014). Book clubs and reconciliation: a pilot study on book clubs reading the ‘fictions of reconciliation’. Australian Humanities Review 56.

Dickenson, D. (2014). Children and reading: literature review. University of Western Sydney, Australian Government, and Australia Council for the Arts.

Earp, J. (2015, March 3). The power of a good book. Teacher Magazine. https://www.teachermagazine.com/au_en/articles/the-power-of-a-good-book

Gaiman, N. (2013, October 16). Why our future depends on libraries, reading and daydreaming. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/15/neil-gaiman-future-libraries-reading-daydreaming

Garrison, K. (2019). What’s going on down under? Part 2: portrayals of culture in award-winning australian young adult literature. The Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults 10(2), 1- 34.

Giles, E. (n.d.). Navigating the common module. Literary Worlds Blog. https://englishliteraryworlds.weebly.com/literary-worlds.html

Herbert, B. (2012). When english meets history: exploring the faction genre through action learning. Literacy Learning: the Middle Years 20(3), 85-95.

Kidd, D. C., & Castano, E. (2013). Reading literary fiction improves theory of mind. Science 342, 377-380.

Lawson, S. (2015). Freedom ride. Walker Books.

LoveOzYA (2021). About #loveozya. https://loveozya.com.au/about/

Manuel, J., & Carter, D. (2015). Current and historical perspectives on australian teenagers’ reading practices and preferences. Australian Journal of Language and Literacy 38(2), 115-128.

McDonald, L. (2013). A literature companion for teachers. Primary English Teaching Association.

NSW Department of Education [NSW DoE] (2017). Handbook for School Libraries. https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/learning-across-the-curriculum/school-libraries/your-library

Reconciliation Australia. (2021). What is reconciliation? https://www.reconciliation.org.au/reconciliation/what-is-reconciliation/

Sheninger, E. (2016, December 4). The silo effect. A Principal’s Reflections: Reflections on Teaching, Learning, and Leadership. http://esheninger.blogspot.com/2016/12/the-silo-effect.html

Short, K. G. (2018). What’s trending in children’s literature and why it matters. Language Arts 95(5), 287-298.

Victoria Department of Education and Training. (2020, December 24). Literacy teaching kit: literacy circles. https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/english/literacy/readingviewing/Pages/teachingpraccircles.aspx

Wadham, R. L., Garrett, A. P., & Garrett, E. N. (2019). Historical fiction picture books: the tensions between genre and format. The Journal of Culture and Values in Education 2(2), 57-72.

We Need Diverse Books (2021). Programs. https://diversebooks.org/programs/

Whitten, C., Labby, S., & Sullivan, S. L. (2016). The impact of pleasure reading on academic success. The Journal of Multidisciplinary Graduate Research 2(4), 48-64.

 

*This post has drawn on extracts from my ETL402 Assessment 1 response.