January 21

ETL402 – Illuminating Literary Learning

qimono / Pixabay

Before undertaking Literature Across the Curriculum, as a Secondary English teacher and almost through my Master of Education (Teacher Librarianship), I thought my knowledge of literature and literary learning was rigorous. Although never conceited enough to consider my knowledge complete, I baulked at the subject trying to assess whether it would be worthwhile – already having taught literature for the past fourteen years. However, since undertaking the subject, my breadth of knowledge of texts has proliferated, especially of digital texts. For example, in Module 2A.2b, I discovered Simonetta’s discussion forum response which offered an inspiring digital story of K’gari interactive documentary (2021, November 17) (n.d.). My learning continued to grow from the inception of the course throughout.

From my first blog entry which delved into the definition of children’s literature, I was captivated by the evolution of history, previously society treating children as adults and how that impacts on the appropriateness, interests and benefits for children and young adults now (Travassaros, 2021a). I knew that every student has individual learning needs but the importance of choosing appropriate literature that students can identify and connect with, their culture and their situation was emphasised, as evidenced in Assessment 1 which expounded the inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander realistic fiction (Travassaros, 2021b). Furthermore, not only is it beneficial for the individual represented but also for the class to learn cultural awareness (Travassaros, 2021b). Additionally, by introducing the texts written by or in collaboration with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors, it provides an authenticity and credibility to the text  which, when studying perspectives, encourages students to empathise with protagonists which encourages social cohesion (Travassaros, 2021b).  In future, I will use this knowledge when undertaking collection development, in creating book displays, creating book boxes and collaborating with teachers to deliver literature across the curriculum.

The pedagogical benefits of literary learning through various genres and forms was explicitly taught, not only with diversity and perspectives but I also learnt that through the genre.  For example fantasy uses metaphor to diminish the severity of unpleasant or hard issues (Flanagan as cited in Travassaros, 2022, January 21). I learnt that literature response strategies are important for further cultivation, developing and shaping the learning of students experienced through the literature read. A book trailer, with its kinesthetic approach, can encourage interest, and act as a relaxant for those who are challenged by the activity (Festa as cited in Travassaros, 2022). Not only was I reminded of some learning strategies such as think pair share, but my eyes were opened to strategies I was unfamiliar with and wished to try, such as literature circles.

This subject has provided me with valuable information a teacher librarian can use across the curriculum.  My teacher librarian journey has only just begun and my learning path will continue. Professional development and connections within the teacher librarian industry will assist this process, as well as undertaking my own research and readings. The future is bright!

References

Festa, K. (2017). The book trailer project: Media production within an integrated classroom. Journal of Media Literacy Education. 9(2). 105-113. https://doi.org/10.23860/JMLE-2019-09-02-08.

Flanagan, V. (2014, March 3). Children’s fantasy literature: Why escaping reality is good for kids. The conversation. https://theconversation.com/childrens-fantasy-literature-why-escaping-reality-is-good-for-kids-22307.

Gimono. (n.d.). Light bulb idea lit. [Image]. Pixabay. (https://pixabay.com/illustrations/light-bulb-idea-lit-inspiration-4514505/. Used pursuant to Pixabay Creative Commons licence.

SBS. (n.d.). K’gari interactive documentary. http://www.sbs.com.au/kgari/.

Simonetta, J. (2021, November 17). RE: 2A.2b Literary non-fiction. [Online discussion comment]. Interact 2. https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_58477_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_115076_1&forum_id=_259136_1&message_id=_3848830_1

Travassaros, E. (2021a, November 12). ETL402: Literature Across the Curriculum. Charles Sturt University ThinkSpace: Ellene’s reflective journal. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/ellene/2021/11/12/elt402-literature-across-the-curriculum/.

Travassaros, E. (2021b, December 17). Assessment item 1 – Rationale for fiction, journal article. Charles Sturt University EASTS. https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/csu-serviceslink-BB5c1c4db3261aa/link?type=easts&course_id=_58477_1&mode=view.

Travassaros, E. (2022, January 21). Assessment item 2 – Literary resource kit. Charles Sturt University EASTS. 

 

 

Category: ETL402, Literature, Reader response, Uncategorized | LEAVE A COMMENT
July 12

ETL507 Assessment 6: Professional Reflective Portfolio – Dazzling Sun

Teacher Librarians must strive to be as dazzling as the sun.  (Photo: McKenna, 2016)

At the beginning of my studies, I was a secondary English teacher working in a combination of casual and temporary roles in Special Education and English as an Additional Language or Dialect. My passion for literature and the library developed from childhood experiences of the public library and the school library – visiting the public library to borrow books with my grandparents; occasionally attending storytime at our local public library; hearing about books from the teacher librarian then scrambling to be the first to borrow; and an exciting author visit from Colin Thiele(!) when I obtained his autograph. My memory of my high school library was not so quaint. It was a dry, uninspiring, probably underfunded and lonely space. However, after observing the vibrant learning hub created in one of my current schools, it inspired me with the desire to create my own vibrant, imaginative high school library filled with a love of learning and vitality.

Bonanno’s keynote address conveys need for Teacher Librarians to change (2011)

In my first ETL401 blog post, I hazily defined (and limited) the teacher librarian’s (TL) role as an “educational facilitator and manager of spaces” (Travassaros, 2019a, para. 1). How inadequate I can now say this is, being almost qualified as a TL! Etched in my memory and evidenced in my further blog entry from the inception of the course (Travassaros, 2019b, para. 1), disturbingly, has been Bonanno’s keynote address at an Australian School Libraries Association (ASLA) conference (2011). In this video she mentioned that, at the House of Representatives Inquiry into school libraries and teacher librarians, participants frequently referred to the TL profession as an “invisible profession” (1:37). Identifying with this statement at the time, lacking knowledge about the position, I have since had several experiences where the TL position has not been given worth.  Instances such as: while I teaching ‘library classes’ a classroom teacher stated in front of the students that they have a test and needed that time for preparation, thus devaluing my content; my current new position as TL was cut back to three days a week whereas the previous TL worked four days; and the library does not open at break times when I am absent, such as the two weeks I was away for work placement.  In these instances, not only has practice has confirmed theory but it provided strategies and perspectives of dealing with the issue such as Bonanno’s ‘glass half full’ (2011: 0:50). I learnt that it is essential that to be committed to ensuring that the TL role is valued and dazzles as the sun.

Three themes I consider indispensable in my learning and elements for being an effective teacher librarian are: collection development, 21st century teaching and learning; and leading from the middle.

The Big6 (2018) inquiry learning model

Information Literacy and Literature

Originally I was bamboozled by the complex concept of information literacy which has projectiled into 21st century education, as discussed in my ETL401 blog entry (Travassaros, 2019c, para.1-3). The changing information landscape; proliferation of literacies, information and technologies; the internet; the way that information is consumed and increasingly created emphasises the need for the TL to be capable of facilitating teaching and learning of information literacy. Understanding of inquiry learning has important benefits such as the implications of incorporating technology into research units and the natural differentiation it provides as Roots Lewis, Simmons and Maniotes discusses when they justify their choice of choosing Guided Inquiry (2018) with which to develop a culture for learning in their school. Developing a unit of work which was based on the Big6 inquiry model (2018), in ETL401 Assignment 3 (Travassaros, 2019e) and which explored a number of other information literacy strategies such as California State University’s ‘CRAAP test’ of assessing information was instrumental in building my understanding of a number of concepts and resources which will be invaluable for future use (2019). Through devising this particular unit of work, I have developed an excellent knowledge and understanding of concepts pertinent to information literacy. At present, my recently acquired main TL role has limited exposure to classes. However, we have developed a memorable unit which has concepts and resources ready to use on a ‘just-in-time’ basis. In future, I need to develop colleguial relationships to create opportunities.

INF533 Literature in Digital Environments was enlightening. It emphasised the need to be aware of 21st century developments and that implications that these texts have regarding information literacy. We explored digital narratives from a multitude of sources such as ‘Into the Cave’ ABC news story (Motherwell et. al., 2018) and the Incredible Tales of Weirdwood Manor (All Work No Play Inc, 2019). From an educator’s perspective, it was exciting to discover these multimodal texts and contemplate their possibilities. These digital texts be classified according to the variety of features they contain such as in such as in Assessment 2 blog entries of enhanced or interactive digital texts (Travassaros, 2019f(i); Travassaros, 2019f(ii)). They can be beneficial for a range of abilities and learning styles, some texts having the scope to be read to the viewer such as option to have the viewer read to or simply have words on the screen as discussed in my blog (Travassaros, 2019f(ii)). However, Roots Lewis, Simmons and Maniotes warns that technology should not be the focus of the lesson (2018). It should be the subject content. On recently work placement at the Digital Library, four classes of Year 6 students visited on excursion, as discussed in Assignment 5 ETL507 (Travassaros, 2021, p. 4-5). One of my activities was to facilitate their engagement with the virtual reality equipment. The program contained virtual rooms of pictures of the previous mayors which complemented the civics and citizenship educational program the library had running. Most students were enthralled with the experience so it came as a surprise when it was conveyed that some students who participated in the holiday program, although probably more experienced in virtual reality, thought this experience uninteresting. This experience conveyed that it is important for students to be interested in the lessons but there must be purpose to the new technology buzz as they will soon tire of the ability to pick up a virtual plant and throw it across the floor.

As I reflected on this situation, using the theory learnt to apply to practice, I realised that there are many differences between the information agency contexts and the types of digital texts. Applying this work placement experience to the school library context, the school library facilitates compulsory, graded, differentiated educational units of work programmed in accordance with New South Wales Education Standards Authority (NESA) syllabuses. This, to a large extent encourages compliance and participation by students. Whereas the public library provides voluntary educational STEM activities. This particular interactive text when applying to Bloom’s taxonomy only requires a lower order thinking response. The participant finds an article and understands how to use the interactive technology. INF533 emphasised the importance of using quality educational texts. Teale and Yokota warned against interactive elements interfering and detracting from the narrative (2014, 581). While a virtual reality program is more of a timeline rather than a narrative, this, the technical features tended to be an intrusion from the content of learning about the mayors. My main school where I am TL, the library has virtual reality technology. Much of the time it sits unused. However, the theory and practice obtained throughout this course has provided the tools to investigate how to make this into a valuable resource for the library.

21st Century Teaching and Learning

21st century education is not only about knowing broader concepts like information literacy but also, to a large extent, about knowledge of context both on a macro scale, through key organisational policies and guidelines, and then having the ability to apply them on a micro scale. In a number of subjects including ETL401, ETL503, ETL504 and INF533 we explored the broader guiding educational documents such as: ACARA’s General Capabilities (Travassaros, 2019e; Travassaros, 2020a; Travassaros, 2020b); each discipline’s NESA Syllabus (Travassaros, 2019e); NESA’s Library Policy [State of New South Wales (Department of Education), (2019)] (Travassaros, 2019g); and ASLA’s Policy Statement – School Library Bill of Rights [2011(2018)] (Travassaros, 2019g; Travassaros, 2019h). From an educational perspective these documents are necessary to function as a TL. A TL must have the knowledge of the content to be able to lead learning into the 21st century, applying that learning, being able to be flexible with it. If unaware, then this course has also given me the tools to investigate.

On a more localised basis, both ETL504 and ETL503 focused on policy documentation such as developing a library policy. Amending another school’s library policy (Travassaros, 2020b) and explored strategic planning activities including when investigating vision and mission statements, learning that the ‘big picture’ must include the present and the future (Jisc, 2012, 1). The synthesis of these items then contributed to creating a white paper, when a proposal for implementing 21st century learning put forth (Travassaros, 2020a, p. 2-6). However, the knowledge of the school demographic context is also essential. In ETL401 Assessment 3 was a collaborative unit based on particular location possessing distinct attributes of the school (Travassaros, 2019e, p. 2 para. 1). For INF533, I created a digital narrative for a specific class, The water cycle: How Splish recovered his Splash (Travassaros, 2019j), connecting the e-text with the relevant syllabus outcomes, copyright and Creative Commons issues in my blog (Travassaros, 2019i). Even when applying context, knowing the demographics, it is sometimes difficult to predict the outcomes. For example, on work placement I facilitated the Battle of the Book Clubs challenge as discussed in ETL507 Assessment 5 (Travassaros, 2021). Impressively, Newcastle Libraries has over 200 book clubs, but it was still difficult to estimate the turn out. Similarly in practice, employed at my main current school for the past four weeks and not having access to classes, I have been organising a writing competition for Children’s Book Council of Australia’s Book Week. However, is difficult to predict what sort of response it will elicit. Nevertheless, it is important to be informed of the context so that situations can be managed, marketed and advocated for and we are provided with the best knowledge and tools to enable success now and to prepare out students to learning in the 21st century.

Leadership

 Figure 1. An early leadership concept map created and submitted in a discussion forum post (Travassaros, n.d.)

Figure 2 Developed leadership concept map (Travassaros, 2020d)

My professional learning journey continued to hit new peaks in ETL504. The growth of our leadership definition was refined in the creation of a concept map in the drawio platform (Travassaros, n.d.). Figure 1 evolved into figure 2. How to construct the concept map (text type), the language and ideas of leadership all evolved. The language of leadership is very important as we learnt the types of activities, persona a leader takes on and formulated ideas on what sort of leadership styles, even testing some out in the case studies! It is interesting that in an ETL504 discussion forum post in 2020, I have noted that leadership should be contingency leadership style (Travassaros, n.d). To be a successful leader, a teacher librarian must be knowledgeable and adaptable when encountering every situation. Bush and Glover’s article discusses various types of leadership theory including: transformational, distributive and managerial leaderships (2014). With contingency leadership, a leader should change their leadership type to suit the occasion (Bush & Glover, 2014). ETL504 provided a landslide of information. This subject is only the start of becoming a skilled leader. I have learnt that to be an effective TL and leader, I will further benefit from experience, practice and networking. In terms of networking, I have joined various professional groups such as ASLA and the Newcastle Area Teacher Librarian Association (NATLA).

Distributed leadership was evident at work placement as noted my Work Placement Report (Travassaros, 2021, p. 5-6). It worked well in developing programs in teams as well as collaboratively when utilising various specialisations such as when the digital librarian and the youth and children services librarian collaborated to devise educational programs such as the Home School Network – STEM discovery learning session and the Civics and Citizenship and Virtual Reality Program for Year 6 students (Travassaros, 2020, 5, 10). With all the attributes that make up 21st century information agencies such as the proliferation of information, it is beneficial to share the workload and have others “own” their projects. At Newcastle Libraries, I also witnessed transformational leadership in terms of the innovative student-centred discovery learning that I witnessed in these events. Additionally, servant leadership took place when the Co-ordinator – Service Design Customer Experience also completed the responsibilities of Customer Service Officer. I learnt that to be a successful leader, it is beneficial to be aware of alternative strategies. However, leadership research is constantly evolving and this course has enabled me to investigate an issue when the need or inclination arises.

During the TL course, I have developed an appreciation of the complexity of the TL’s role. It is a role that needs to be advocated – TL’s survival depends on it! Over the past three years, together – the course and I – have successfully covered vast amounts of knowledge and an understanding of theories. There has been an array of topics in multiple subjects such as information literacy and literature, leadership and 21st century education. The course has effectively taught me many things, only shrapnel fragments of which lay here on these pages. However, key aspects of my learning have been that it is the synthesise of all the elements learnt that allows us to choose the best informed practice and the best chance of successful outcomes. It is with reflection that we can improve our learning and perceive a situation from another perspective. I am still learning and will continue to be a lifelong learner – a 21st century learner. Every situation is different but the challenge, as a TL, remains the same. That is, the aim to achieve the best student outcomes possible.

References

All Work, No Play Inc. (2019). The incredible tales of Weirdwood Manor, [version 1.6.1] [software application]. http://weirdwood.com/

Australian Curriculum Assessment & Reporting Authority. (2016). General capabilities – Introduction. https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-capabilities/.

Australian School Library Association. [2011 (2018)]. Australian School Library Association policy statement – School library bill of rights. https://www.asla.org.au/resources/Documents/Website%20Documents/Policies/Bill%20of%20Rights_2018.pdf

Bonnano, K. (2011). ASLA 2011. Karen Bonnano, Keynote speaker: A profession at the tipping point: Time to change the game plan [Video]. Vimeo. https://vimeo.com/31003940

Bush, T.,  & Glover D. (2014). School leadership models: what do we know?, School leadership & management, 34(5), 553-571, DOI: 10.1080/13632434.2014.928680

California State University. (2019). craap-test.pdf. Meriam Library California State University, Chico. https://library.csuchico.edu/help/source-or-information-good

Jisc. (2012, November 8). Defining and articulating your vision, mission and values. https://www.jisc.ac.uk/guides/vision-mission-and-values

McKenna, F. (2016, August 23). Five birds flying on the sea Unsplash: Photos for everyone [image]. https://unsplash.com/photos/OD9EOzfSOh0 Used in accordance with Unsplash Licence (Creative commons licence CC BY 4.0).

Motherwell, S. (Journalist), Spraggon, B (Designer and Co-Illustrator), Hoad, N. (Developer), Madden, T/Reuters (Co-Illustrator), Cross, N. (Video Production), Leslie, T. (Producer), (2018, July 13) Into the cave ABC news report. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-13/thai-cave-rescue-tham-luang-extreme-challenges/9985286

Roots Lewis, K., Simmons, S., & Maniotes, L. (2018). Building a culture for learner voice and choice through inquiry. Teacher Librarian. 45(4). 24–27. http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lih&AN=129318056&site=ehost-live

Teale, W. H., & Yokota, J. (2014, May). Picture books and the digital world: Educators making informed choices. The Reading Teacher. 67(8). 577-585. https://www.academia.edu/3886534/Picture_Books_and_the_Digital_World_Educators_Making_Informed_Choices

The Big6., (2018).  Welcome to the Big6: Inquiry every day in every way with the Big6! The Big6.org. https://thebig6.org/ “The Big6.org copyright license 2018; original license for the Big6 is copyright © 1987 Michael B. Eisenberg and Robert E. Berkowitz. For more on the Big6, visit: https://thebig6.org/” The site is used in accordance with permissions page under Creative Commons Licence (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

Travassaros, E. [Elle] (2019a, March 11). Warning … tsumani ahead! Ellene’s reflective journal. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/ellene/2019/03/11/warning-tsunami-ahead/

Travassaros, E. [Elle] (2019b, March 22). Are school librarians an endangered species? Ellene’s reflective journal. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/ellene/2019/03/22/are-school-librarians-an-endangered-species/

Travassaros, E. [Elle] (2019c, May 4). Information literacy (… where do I start?) and the role of the teacher librarian. Ellene’s reflective journal. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/ellene/2019/05/04/information-literacy-where-do-i-start-and-the-role-of-the-teacher-librarian/

Travassaros, E. (2019d). Assessment 2: Discussion Essay. ETL401.

Travassaros, E., (2019e). Assignment 3: Discussion Essay. ETL401.

Travassaros, E. [Elle] (2019f(i), August 31). Interactive Digital Literature Review: INF533 Literature in digital environments: Assignment 2 – Part A. Ellene’s reflective journal. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/ellene/2019/08/31/out-of-the-cave-and-into-the-enhanced-digital-literature-review/

Travassaros, E. [Elle] (2019f(ii), August 31). Interactive Digital Literature Review: INF533 Literature in digital environments: Assignment 2 – Part A. Ellene’s reflective journal. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/ellene/2019/08/31/interactive-digital-literature-review/

Travassaros, E. (2019g). Assignment 1. ETL503

Travassaros E. [Elle], (2019h, January 9). Pre-meditated self-censorship. Ellene’s reflective journal. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/ellene/2020/01/09/pre-meditated-self-censorship/

Travassaros, E. [Elle] (2019i, October 7). INF533 assignment 4: Part C critical reflection. Ellene’s reflective journal. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/ellene/2019/10/07/inf533-assignment-4-part-c-critical-reflection/

Travassaros, E. (2019j). The water cycle: How Splish recovered his Splash. Book Creator. https://app.bookcreator.com/library/-LpukWY2xVJk7KQ5GF69/gkXU1NgGVPS857wsnxPRZLgf23j2/gt0ogFAtTdSlnUTAHcF2gQ/7CpAVAlLSoeyVTH16FxxLA

Travassaros E. (2020a). ETL504 – Teacher Librarian as Leader: Assignment 2: Navigating 21st century learning: Embracing the learning commons. ETL504

Travassaros E. (2020b). Assignment 2. ETL503

Travassaros E. [Elle] (2020c, May 24). Doors opening … mind the gap. Ellene’s reflective journal. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/ellene/2020/05/24/doors-opening-mind-the-gap/

Travassaros E. (2020d). ETL504 – Teacher librarian as leader: Assignment 1. ETL504.

Travassaros, E. (2021). Assessment 5 – Placement report. ETL507.

Travassaros, E. (n.d.). Discussion forum post. ETL504.

 

Category: Censorship, Collaboration, Curriculum and Learning, ETL401, ETL503, ETL504, ETL507, INF533, Information literacy, leadership, Miscellaneous, Policy and Procedure, Technology | LEAVE A COMMENT
February 28

ETL507 – Igniting a Reflective Chronicle

Reflection can be an illuminating experience. To gain the full benefit of experiences and learning, reflection is imperative. When “in the moment” it is extremely easy to become caught up paddling frantically trying to keep afloat. It is not until we have the affordances of later sitting back in buddhist style to reflect on the happenings, can the subject gain a better understanding of what just happened. Additionally, collaborative reflection is also beneficial.

I hope to gain out of this unit, a broader understanding of how school libraries slot into the information landscape. I expect that each library services their clients differently. Each would have similar considerations but emphasis would be on different elements. Primary school libraries, for instance, would have a large emphasis on learning to read but a library in a hospital that specialises in health and medicine would obviously be driven toward providing information on medical issues. “Clients” who would access that library would be more than proficient in literacy but may still have differing education and skills in certain areas. Each library works to service certain clients but do not necessarily work in exclusion to other libraries. For example, a school library and a public council library may have similar, if not, the same texts. Their target audiences cross over. Both are pitched for educating children to their ability level.

I have worked in both a council public library and a school library. There are similarities and differences in both places. I am looking forward to differences in policies and procedures but also in technologies used. In other school libraries, I am interested in hearing and seeing what happens in those libraries. I am looking forward to observing various other libraries such as the TAFE libraries, academic libraries, medical libraries and museums. The role of libraries, broadly is to serve their customers needs: educate, enrich and balance the socio-economic inequalities. Every person’s library’s needs in the library’s community should be catered to.

My professional goals at this point is simply to be a library educator who specialises in literacy and digital/technological improvements. I can envisage that by observing various ways procedures are practiced, I will be able to becomes more flexible and in a better place to make informed decisions about practices I will use in my school library (once I obtain a teacher librarian job).

I envisage (hope) I will be enabled to speak more flexibly with fellow information professionals. Likewise, my expectations are that professional connections will be gained and networks built for future opportunities.

An information agency is a place that specialises in knowledge and/or data. How information has been conveyed has evolved, the amount of information has exploded due to the internet and technology, accessibility has become more complex and digital literacy has developed as an issue. As a study visit in a previous year, I chose the Fiji Museum. What makes this an information agency is that it contains items and information about the past. Although, patrons cannot borrow items, it serves the need of customers by being a source of reputable knowledge and data that is catalogued. Fiji Museum’s objectives are: education, preservation and heritage management. It keeps safe the country’s cultural history for present and future generations. Services they offer are: cultural preservation;  venues, functions and exhibition space hire; virtual tours of the museum; and a reference library and archive.

Libraries provide opportunities. Many of them work equity and equality. They are about servicing their library users.

 

References

Fiji Museum, (2017), Fiji Museum, http://fijimuseum.org.fj/

 

Category: ETL507 | LEAVE A COMMENT
January 14

Future of the School Library Collection

Potential futuristic collection development – Photo by Hammer & Tusk on Unsplash

School libraries and their ingredients are in a state of perpetual change and funding is a decisive factor in allowing them to thrive. I think in ten years time, there will definitely be a need for a school library. It will have evolved though.

The school library will be a place of innovation that inspires students to learn –  with the right funding. I think mostly non-fiction books will disappear (I am sure many will disagree) but a physical fiction section will remain. There will be new ways to learn different concepts such as ethics. In a TED Talk video (Christopher Robichaud: How I used Dungeons and Dragons to teach ethics), Robichaud conveys how he taught ethics to policy makers through an online simulated game which incorporates group activities. Technology will progress and methods of teaching through these technologies will too. This is an opportunity for teacher librarians to lead these changes.

Lewis, Boudrye, Panter & Stout in their journal article, School library best practice requires innovation (2017 p. 6-7), reveal four areas that are integral to the success of future school libraries. These are inspiring areas but need to be elaborated on.  We also need to protect our students, so the ’empowering learners and teachers’ area also should include educating students more about how to use the internet, not only safely, information literacy but also in terms of whether their data is going. Therefore, with new technology the budget will need to expand. The gaps between those who have access to the budgets and technology will, unfortunately also increase. Therefore, advocacy and attention to equity  needs to increase.

Education and, school libraries, are already becoming more internationally connected. Gavigan in School library research from around the World (2018) asserts that best practices for library programs can be better established with research papers from worldwide sources and better student outcomes. School library collections will evolve, becoming more electronic, become more innovative and change with developments. Therefore, school librarians need to ensure they are professionally aware, contributing and advocating.

References

Gavigan, K. (2018). School Library Research from Around the World: Where It’s Been and Where It’s Headed. Knowledge Quest, 46(5), 32–39. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lih&AN=129489737&site=ehost-live

Hammer & Tusk. (2016). Woman using black VR headset. Unsplash: Photos for everyone. Retrieved from https://unsplash.com/photos/y1If8AIBpzU. This image is used in accordance with Unsplash Licence.

Lewis, K. R., Boudrye, J., Panter, S. L., & Stout, R. W. (2017). School Library Best Practice Requires Innovation. Knowledge Quest, 46(2), 6–7. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lih&AN=125991976&site=ehost-live

Robichaud, C., (2017). Christopher Robichaud: How I used Dungeons and Dragons to teach ethics. Ted: Ideas worth spreading. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/christopher_robichaud_how_i_used_dungeons_dragons_to_teach_ethics

Category: ETL503, Technology | LEAVE A COMMENT
October 7

INF533 Assignment 4 Part C: Critical Reflection

geralt / Pixabay

At the beginning of this subject, when I shared my knowledge, understanding and experiences with digital narratives in the Discussion Forum, I was concerned about the limited exposure I had with teaching some e-texts and non-existent exposure to digital narratives in the form of software applications and interactive texts. Since that time, I have developed as an educational professional, my ideas are more clarified, informed and evolved as my experiences have proliferated. The evidence of my learning is demonstrated the educational digital narrative, The water cycle: How Splish recovered his Splash.

The value of digital storytelling, is not to give students technological busy work but meaningful learning. This is confirmed by a Canadian third and fourth grade educator, Michelle Cordy(?) (Paikin, 2013), the educational quality of a digital resource is a concern also noted in my blog entry. Walsh asserts there should be a synergy between the literary and technological elements that creates various layers of support (Walsh, 2013, p. 187-189). When Splishy was depressed, the photographs were drained of colour, darkening the mood which correlates with the words. The overlaid images emphasizes the action Drippy was taking to assist Splishy and the high camera angles support Splishy’s mood – creating illuminating that feeling that he is feeling insignificant.   Due to the target audience, being a combined year 7 and 8 class in the Special Education faculty with a Stage 2 ability, it was important to be quite literal, while still challenging the students who are more capable.

Limiting the distractions was an important consideration (Yokota and Teale, p. 581) (Walsh, 2013, p. 181-186) to create better flow and engagement with the narrative. In Assignment 2A, of the interactive digital narrative review, hotspots became real distractions and interfered with not only the enjoyment of the narrative but with the progress of the story. Therefore, I refrained from incorporating more facts, activities and information. Features included are as important as the ones excluded in the digital narrative.

Choice of an appropriate digital medium in which to present the narrative was of paramount importance. Book Creator seemed an excellent choice of software application as it incorporates interactive, multimodal features that support the needs of students with diverse needs (Rhodes & Milby, 2007, p. 255) (Travassaros, 2019, 4 October). In particular, these students would benefit from the option of having literacy support, such as the option to have text read to them, words highlighted as they progress, visual images and videos and interactive supports such as being able to type, draw or record their answers in true or false or multiple choice questions in their own individual texts. Additionally, it was beneficial to have the option to hyperlink resources and sites so that students can create or use them for inspiration to create further activities as discussed by Fuhler (2010, p. 148) and previously noted in my Discussion Forum post. However, not only primary-sourced documents are beneficial for creation of student’s own texts but also documents such as the Make a Cloud experiment where students have the opportunity to write up a procedure.

However, it is not without its limitations as set out in my Revised Proposal for Assessment 3which included restrictions in linking other platforms such as links with G Suite (n.d.) (which requires the school’s approval). This is needed to for students and teachers to access to individual e-books. I also found that initially my expectations were too high. The project expanded, underestimating the time and volume of work. Initially, the plan was for the narrative to include recycling, as well as the water cycle. However, this was not possible.

When planning the digital narrative, copyright and fair dealing considerations weighed heavily in my mind. The work presented in The water cycle: How Splish recovered his Splash is original. It was an original idea scripted from public websites that were not subject to copyright restrictions then storyboarded. Applicable referencing was noted. The characters were created from plasticine by the author. All photographs were taken by the author too. Hyperlinks have been referenced such as the aforementioned Make a Cloud experiment (Sydney Water, n.d.). A video titled Birds eye view of the ocean waves pursuant to Creative Commons licencing has been used.

Future developments, will facilitate more individualised education for all abilities. More technological tools will be available that facilitate multimodal literacies. It will also encourage collaboration, not only within the school for students but globally for educators too. The volume of information and progress of technology will continue to flourish. Our challenge, as educators will be maintaining current with learning technology, enabling our students to cope with today’s technology and preparing them for tomorrow’s – the latter being impossible to predict.

References:

Altman, G. (n.d.). Pixabay images. Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/users/geralt/. (The image has been sourced from Pixabay and is pursuant to Creative Commons Licence.)

Book Creator. (2011-2019). Book Creator [software application]. Retrieved from https://bookcreator.com/

Fuhler, C. J. (2010). Using primary-source documents and digital storytelling as a catalyst for writing historical fiction in the fourth grade (Ch. 11). In B. Moss, & D. Lapp (Eds.), Teaching new literacies in grades 4-6: Resources for 21st-century classrooms (pp. 136-150). New York, NY: Guilford Press. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/csuau/reader.action?docID=465663&ppg=148

G Suite for Education. (n.d.). Spark learning with G suite for education. Retrieved from https://edu.google.com/products/gsuite-for-education/?modal_active=none

Make a Cloud. (n.d.). Sydney Water. Retrieved from http://www.sydneywater.com.au/web/groups/publicwebcontent/documents/document/zgrf/mdk5/~edisp/dd_099223.pdf

Miksanskiy, R. (Producer) (n.d.). Pexels. Retrieved from https://www.pexels.com/video/bird-s-eye-view-of-ocean-waves-1918465/ (Video was obtained under Creative Commons licence)

Rhodes, J. M. & Milby, T. M., (2007). Teacher-created electronic books: Integrating technology to support readers with disabilities. Reading Teacher, 61(3), 255-259. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=27349103&site=ehost-pve. DOI: 10.1598/RT.61.3.6

The Agenda with Steve Paikin. ( 2013, 5 October). Learning 2030: From books to screen [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=215NPpHsQPk

The Water Cycle. (n.d.) Sydney Water. Retrieved from http://www.sydneywater.com.au/web/groups/publicwebcontent/documents/document/zgrf/mdq3/~edisp/dd_047890.pdf

Travassaros, E. (2019, 14 July), Module 1.2: Evaluating digitally reproduced stories. Charles Sturt University discussion forum. Retrieved from https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_39502_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_76005_1&forum_id=_159417_1&message_id=_2347490_1

Travassaros, E. (2019, 24 July). Fast-paced digital buzz. Charles Sturt University ThinkSpace. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/ellene/2019/07/24/fast-paced-digital-buzz/

Travassaros, E. (2019, 31 August). INF533 Literature in digital environments, assignment 2 – part A, ‘The incredible tales of Weirdwood Manor’ interactive digital literature review , Charles Sturt University, Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/ellene/2019/08/31/interactive-digital-literature-review/

Travassaros, E. (2019, 4 October). INF533 Revised Proposal for Assessment 3. Charles Sturt University ThinkSpace. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/ellene/2019/10/04/inf533-revised-assessment-3/

Travassaros, E. (2019). The water cycle: How Splish recovered his Splash. Retrieved from https://app.bookcreator.com/books

Walsh, M. (2013). Literature in a digital environment (Ch. 13). In L. McDonald (Ed.), A literature companion for teachers. Marrickville, NSW: Primary English Teaching Association Australia (PETAA) Retrieved from https://doms.csu.edu.au/csu/file/863c5c8d-9f3f-439f-a7e3-2c2c67ddbfa8/1/ALiteratureCompanionforTeachers.pdf

Yokota, J. & Teale, W. H. (2014). Picture books and the digital world: educators making informed choices. The Reading Teacher, 34(6). Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/3886534/Picture_Books_and_the_Digital_World_Educators_ Making_Informed_Choices

Category: e-book, e-literature, INF533, Technology | LEAVE A COMMENT
October 4

INF533 Revised Proposal for Assessment 3

ElisaRiva / Pixabay

Just when you think you have it all sorted …

I had researched my digital platforms and I thought I was set. Once reality occurred I found many limitations when I started to register to use the platform and produce the text. The issues with my previous proposal were:

1. Connecting the Book Creator platform to Google Classroom is not possible as the school must have signed up for a G Suite for Education account. At my school we actually have Canvas which would do the same thing or similar to Google Classroom.

2. My expectations were too high. I was not be able to get to recycling of water as my assignment was long enough with the water cycle.

4. Nor did I get to TEEEC paragraphing.

5. Additionally, the outcome GELS-5 – needed to be swapped for GELS-8 – A student communicates geographical information.

6. If I am to link a Kahoot quiz – the actual quiz will not be linked just where you put the pin/code in – so I could not do that.

Below is my revised proposal. Any parts added I have highlighted in yellow. I have deleted other parts previously referred to:

Proposal topic:

The proposed topics are The Water Cycle  and Recycling Water in the Geography unit, Water in the World.

Proposed digital tools and/or spaces to be used:

The proposed digital tool and/or spaces to be used is Book Creator [software application]. Attached will be videos (perhaps including simple animation/s), hyperlinks and voice recordings. There will be spaces for students to complete learning activities.

Rationale for topic focus for the digital storytelling project:

This activity is designed for a Special Education combined IM and IO class. The students are in Years 7 and 8. However, the work is Life Skills (or approximately Stage 2) and has adjustments for varying ability within the class. Links to the NSW Geography syllabus K-10<https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/learning-areas/hsie/geography-k-10> are Life Skills outcomes:

  *  GELS-3: explores interactions and connections between people places and environments
  *  GELS-8: communicates geographical information.

The topics, The Water Cycle and Recycling Water, relate to futures in the faculty’s scope and sequence. The project will explore topics via the lifecycle of a drop of water. It will go through the process of collection, evaporation, condensation and precipitation with various options (like a choose your own adventure) to choose what happens to the droplet of water. However, students must eventually go through all options, ending in recycling of the water.

It is proposed that I will create an original informative and (hopefully) fun narrative. A script and storyboards are to be created from information obtained from credible websites. These websites will be credited at the end of the text.

Students are to participate in and create multimodal learning activities as the story progresses. Hyperlinks to activities, the facility to annotate documents (such as drawing circles on the page and inserting text), perhaps include voice recordings (not video as, a couple of students do not have permission to publish photos) and generally completing activities. Structured into the lesson sequence will be assessment for learning, assessment as learning and assessment of learning. These activities will also prepare students for their final assessment.

 

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September 7

INF533 Assessment 3 Topic Proposal

WikiImages / Pixabay

Proposal topic:

The proposed topics are The Water Cycle and Recycling Water in the Geography unit, Water in the World.

Proposed digital tools and/or spaces to be used:

The proposed digital tools and/or spaces to be used are: Book Creator [software application]. Attached will be videos (including simple animation/s), hyperlinks and voice recordings. There will be spaces for students to complete learning activities. Additionally, Book Creator will be connected to Google Classroom so students can submit their work.

Rationale for topic focus for the digital storytelling project:

This activity is designed for a Special Education combined IM and IO class. The students are in Years 7 and 8. However, the work is Life Skills (or approximately Stage 2) and has adjustments for varying ability within the class. Links to the NSW Geography syllabus K-10 are Life Skills outcomes:

  • GELS-3: explores interactions and connections between people places and environments
  • GELS-5: explores management of places and environments.

The topics, The Water Cycle and Recycling Water, relate to futures in the faculty’s scope and sequence. The project will explore topics via the lifecycle of a drop of water. It will go through the process of collection, evaporation, condensation and precipitation with various options (like a choose your own adventure) to choose what happens to the droplet of water. However, students must eventually go through all options, ending in recycling of the water.

It is proposed that I will create an original informative and (hopefully) fun narrative. A script and storyboards are to be created from information obtained from credible websites. These websites will be credited at the end of the text.

Students are to participate in and create multimodal learning activities as the story progresses. Hyperlinks to activities, the facility to annotate documents (such as drawing circles on the page and inserting text), perhaps include voice recordings (not video as, a couple of students do not have permission to publish photos) and generally completing activities including a Kahoot quiz and an activity that relates to a (TEEEC) paragraphing. Structured into the lesson sequence will be assessment for learning, assessment as learning and assessment of learning. These activities will also prepare students for their final assessment.

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August 31

Out of the Cave and Into …. the Enhanced Digital Literature Review

 

‘Into the Cave’ ABC News Story Screenshot – ABC News

INF533 Literature in Digital Environments

Assignment 2 – Part A

‘Into the Cave’ Enhanced Digital Literature Review

‘Into the Cave’ ABC News Report  is a story based on interviews with divers and reports by various ABC news journalists which was published on 13 July 2018. The digital news story which recounts the rescue of twelve soccer playing boys and an assistant coach who became stranded in 10 kilometres worth of labyrinth-like caves after a deluge of rain.  The outside world does not know where they were in the caves and a search that extends international boundaries begins. Due to this text’s well-crafted narrative, it draws heavily on the empathy of the viewer.

The webpage’s simple layout and basic interactivity enhances the simplicity and effectiveness of the text. As the reader scrolls down the page, the narrative progresses. The setting of the caves and the context of the narrative is developed through a screen that divides the screen in two. The right half allows the viewer to read the article by scrolling while the other half displays a map of where the caves and the boys’ progression. Once the reader reaches a certain place on the right-hand side, the map on the left ‘intuitively’ progresses through the caves finally ending in the location of where they boys were found. This interactivity enhances the flow of the story and the multimodal features of the text.

Additionally, the narrative is advanced with photographs, illustrations and video content. The video content enhances the movement and pace of the report. It develops the reality of the situation which is one where the tone is urgent. Highly emotive words were coupled with the text such as “neck-deep”, “alarm bells”, and “adrenaline-rushes” are teamed with video footage of the divers following a rope down into dark caves where they are neck-deep in water and all the viewers can observe is a flashlight in the distance. Unfortunately, sound is not available. However, the viewer could argue that the clichéd expression “the silence is deafening” is pertinent. That is, the cliché compounds the empathy the reader feels for the victims and the rescuers – the isolation and frustration involved.

There are many literacy features students can benefit from in the article. Visual literacy can be studied along with the text types of recount and news article. The evolution of the newspaper can be explored from an English perspective. The layout of the text with its short paragraphs, quotes and plain font which is possible to enlarge is beneficial for struggling readers. Literacy, Creative and Critical Thinking and a few Information Communications and Technology elements can be addressed with this article with the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (2016). Along with English, in History the concept of primary and secondary sources could be explored and in terms of Geography perhaps a case study of the caves may be applicable. Information Communication and Technology features and development of a website along with activities involved in all levels of Blooms Taxonomy from lower to higher order tasks could also be attempted. Additionally, information literacy features could be addressed such as credibility of sources and authority. In addition, there is potential to explore more news articles with the hyperlinks at the bottom of the page. This would be beneficial if exploring a multitude of non-fiction texts or developing a newspaper unit of work or exploring layouts of web pages if developing that. The beauty of the enhanced book is that it is extremely versatile.

This enhanced book does not try to complete with a printed book. It has qualities that are separate from the codex. It has many deviations and its multimodality has increased so that it can benefit the learning of a broader range of students.   I feel this is a memorable story that has the power to withstand time. However, with the volume of news stories and its stored location on a news website, it is possible that this text will not escape the danger of extinction but drown in archives or superseded technology. Unfortunately, there is no real way to save it on a device for future use. There exists no Google Books library to save this type of text from disappearing [Darnton arguing that Google Books may not have this ability anyway (2009, p.34)]

Reference List

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, (2016). Critical and Creative Thinking: General Capabilities. Retrieved from: https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/media/1072/general-capabilities-creative-and-critical-thinking-learning-continuum.pdf

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, (2016). Information, Communication and Technology: General Capabilities. Retrieved from: https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/media/1074/general-capabilities-information-and-communication-ict-capability-learning-continuum.pdf

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, (2016). : Literacy: General Capabilities. Retrieved from: https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/media/3596/general-capabilities-literacy-learning-continuum.pdf

Darnton, R., (2009). The Case for Books: Past, present, and future. New York: PublicAffairs. Retrieved from: https://primo.csu.edu.au/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma990019537390402357&context=L&vid=61CSU_INST:61CSU&search_scope=MyInst_and_CI&tab=Everything&lang=en

Motherwell, S. (Journalist), Spraggon, B (Designer and Co-Illustrator), Hoad, N. (Developer), Madden, T/Reuters (Co-Illustrator), Cross, N. (Video Production), Leslie, T. (Producer), 13 July 2018, Into the Cave ABC News Report. Retrieved from: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-13/thai-cave-rescue-tham-luang-extreme-challenges/9985286

NSW Education Standards Authority, (2012). English K-10 Syllabus (2012). Retrieved from https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/learning-areas/english-year-10/english-k-10

 

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August 31

Interactive Digital Literature Review

INF533 Literature in Digital Environments

Assignment 2 – Part A

‘The Incredible Tales of Weirdwood Manor’ Interactive Digital Literature Review

The Incredible Tales of Weirdwood Manor (WM) (All Work No Play Inc, 2019) is a multi-award-winning interactive application developed initially produced only in digital form. It is a multimodal text jam-packed with many engaging features, including: three dimensional characters, music, sound effects, a reader with words on the screen, limited animation, 360 degree navigation in some screens and interactive hidden elements to collect. The elements are consistent with the atmosphere, setting, character and plot development in this mixed genre digital narrative. Variable scores corresponding to puzzles, games and riddles solved and the objects collected are linked with the narrative achieve challenging games for students to use their participatory skills (Walker, Jameson & Ryan, 2010, p. 212) rather than just view or read. The objects, ghosts and creatures collected are linked to Oliver’s sketch journal. Highlighted words guide the advancing reader, an option to have a reader or self-recorded reader enhance traditional literacy components achieving the potential for technological features and a narrative that enhance each other in an educational and entertainment sense. The first two books are the basis of this review. They are the free teasers with subsequent volumes 3-6 costing a special bulk deal of $13.99 with 25% off (regularly $17.96). With so many features, how can there be anything missing?

In Book 1, this fantasy-mystery children’s narrative begins with the protagonist, Oliver Gryffon, riding in a quirky and eerie limousine to Arthur Weirdwood’s manor. The setting in the limousine foreshadows the dark and supernatural mystery that develops. Monsters, creatures and ghosts are revealed in the interactive features of the application and develops the spooky atmosphere. Flashbacks assist in creating Oliver’s character, who is an unwanted orphan, gifted artist with a special ability which allows his drawings to move on the page. The viewer also establishes that, although Oliver seems to be an innocent and well-meaning boy but there is something strange about him that has scared previous foster families he lived with.

As the tale progresses in Book 2, the participant meets Weirdwood (a reclusive, inventor, artist and writer), Eugene Donald (sci-fi nerd) and Celia Mei (writer) – two gifted children and an educator, Ms Mathilda Brimley. The artistry involved with the characters and settings are beautifully animated. A complex plot with supernatural occurrences and well-crafted omission of select details creates suspense. More than one mystery begs to be solved, such as the location of a missing ghost, Weirdwood’s hints at a dangerous and life-threatening challenge ahead for the three young children after he recites a riddle and the participant’s suspicions are pricked about Celia.

As glowing as this application seems, it does have some limitations. The characterisation of Celia as a type of beautiful Greek mythological siren seems gender stereotyped. Celia presents as a gifted writer who has written an award-winning romance novella called “Song of the Black Moth”. She seems to have the ability to hypnotically bewitch people like the siren song. Even though the female character is somewhat stereotyped, there is scope to provide for higher level Blooms taxonomy skills such as applying intertextuality.

The developers have included well thought-out multimodal features that includes beautiful unobtrusive original music and sound effects that compliments the narrative. However, at it can become repetitive. There is an option to have the story read to the listener with highlighted rectangles that follow the words as they are read.

Developers of the application have explicitly recommended that the digital narrative is targeted to students 6-12. I suggest that the vocabulary, difficulty of the puzzles and darkness of images combined with some sharp toothed monsters it would be appropriate for more 9-12 year old students or Stage 3-4 classes. This text is applicable to various General Capabilities in the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (2016) including the entire Literacy element, Information Communication and Technology, Critical and Creative Thinking, and it is applicable to almost all of the English K-10 Syllabus (2012), depending on which outcomes need satisfying, and the learning activities created from the outcomes and content.

It took persistence with the interactive features in the narrative, for the participant to begin to achieve a sense of purpose. It began to seem that finding the hidden features were a bit elusive, distracting and time-consuming (Yokota & Teale, 2014, p. 581). The animations are limited, so that the participant can take their time to locate the hidden items. Many with frozen images with the only animated feature consisting of just blinking eyes or hovering people. While this is understandable, it disturbed the progression of the story. However, as the narrative progresses, it is obvious that as all the items found contribute to the protagonist’s drawing journal, they have will probably contribute to future Books. The books are quite long and, if studied at school, would take quite some time to get through. It may be pertinent to study part of the narrative.

WM is a narrative that became more engaging as I read. However, the interactive hidden objects and frozen screen provided significant disruption to the flow of the narrative. I would reserve judgment on this text until I have read more.

Reference List

All Work, No Play Inc. 2019, The Incredible Tales of Weirdwood Manor, [version 1.6.1] [software application]. Retrieved from: http://weirdwood.com/

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, (2016). Critical and Creative Thinking: General Capabilities. Retrieved from: https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/media/1072/general-capabilities-creative-and-critical-thinking-learning-continuum.pdf

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, (2016). Information Technology and Communication: General Capabilities. Retrieved from: https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/media/1074/general-capabilities-information-and-communication-ict-capability-learning-continuum.pdf

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, (2016). Literacy element: General Capabilities. Retrieved from: https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/media/3596/general-capabilities-literacy-learning-continuum.pdf

NSW Education Standards Authority, (2012). English K-10 Syllabus (2012). Retrieved from: https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/learning-areas/english-year-10/english-k-10

Yokota, J. & Teale, W. H. (2014). Picture books and the digital world: educators making informed choices. The Reading Teacher, 34(6). Retrieved from: http://www.academia.edu/3886534/Picture_Books_and_the_Digital_World_Educators_ Making_Informed_Choices

Walker, S., Jameson, J., & Ryan, M. (2010). Skills and strategies for e-learning in a participatory culture (Ch. 15). In R. Sharpe, H. Beetham, & S. Freitas (Eds.), Rethinking learning for a digital age: How learners are shaping their own experiences (pp. 212-224). New York, NY: Routledge.

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August 31

Critical Reflection of Digital Literature Experience

INF533 Literature in Digital Environments

Assignment 2 – Part B

What makes a good digital text? What counts as a digital text? What purpose do digital texts serve?

From a teacher librarian/educator’s perspective, a good digital text is a text that is enhanced by the multimodality, it is completed with quality literature and quality features including technological inclusions that add layers of meaning to the text rather than provide simply distractions (Yokota & Teale, 2014, p. 581). With digital texts, Simpson and Walsh (2014, p. 30) assert that what changes is the “interdependent semiotic modes” that impact on the combination of multimodal features (Kress, 2010, p. 157) such as the option to have the text read aloud to the reader and other variable elements such as modifications to the visual display. Simpson and Walsh (2014, p. 31) caution that the multimodal texts can be more demanding in terms of students needing to deal with layers of texts and modes which can have an impact on meaning. Additionally, as the interactive features compound, more participatory skills (Walker, Jameson & Ryan, 2010, p. 212) are needed rather than just being able to focus on the skill of reading alone.

Digital texts serve numerous purposes. From the perspective of the educator, they can serve to educate their students. Though from the perspective of the author and the host of creators involved, their purpose can be to educate with the highlighted text that the reader/participant can follow but also to entertain. Into the Cave ABC News Report in addition also is informative but unlocks opportunities to teach students about information literacy.

 Compare your experience of reading digital texts with reading print.

The e-book focuses on the traditional reading experience, it lacks many of the technological and multimodal features and is the closest to the print experience. In my own experience, I prefer the print text to the simple e-book experience. I prefer the texture, it is less strain on the eye and just a more pleasant experience – one that is relaxing. However, I feel that with increasing my experience of reading e-books, this opinion might change. As the digital texts develop, the multimodal features generally add another dimension to the reading experience to both the enhanced and interactive texts. The danger with this type of text is that the reader, when the text is read to the listener, can become lazy or scroll too fast through the text – missing reading parts of it. In relation to the interactive text, it becomes more of a participatory experience that can incorporate a game. It takes the focus away from the narrative and more attention is given to the technological components. The characters are animated so limits the reader creating their own creative visualisations as the images are fed to the reader. However, the games can have value by promoting problem solving and creative thinking skills. Digital texts should offer different benefits so that digital books should not be interpreted as superseding but instead providing variance to codex.

Chose the digital text you most enjoyed. How might you incorporate it into a program at your institution?

Into the Cave ABC News Report appears to be such a versatile text for teaching purposes. I envisage that a collaborative three-way cross-curricular unit could be introduced. For English, there is the possibility this text could be incorporated into a collaborative non-fiction or newspaper unit. The unit could be organised through the teacher librarian. It could be structured to incorporate an information literacy model such as the Big 6 and teach features such as features the CRAAP (currency, reliability, authority, accuracy and purpose) acronym could be taught by the teacher librarian along with other concepts such as fake news. It may study a number of newspaper texts leading up to a group assessment of designing your own newspaper that reports on events within the school and wider community. The Information Software and Technology teacher’s role could be to facilitate teaching webpage design including the ability to animate parts of the webpage and incorporation of any sound features. However, these are quite large plans and would have to be supported by the school and relevant faculties.

I enjoyed the e-book, Peter Pan but I preferred reading Into the Cave ABC News Report, due the visual elements and creativity of the enhanced text. The interactivity of The Incredible Tales of Weirdwood Manor slow and time consuming. This interfered with the flow of the narrative. Admittedly, the extras grew on me after I could see that they would contribute to the story and this encouraged me to read on. However, it wasn’t until the end of the Book 2 and, for teaching, this was too late. Even though the digital texts can be applied more readily to Information Communication and Technology (ICT) Capability in the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority General Capabilities, realistically, how each applies to the curriculum is, to an extent, limited to the imagination and purpose.

Reference List

All Work, No Play Inc. 2019, The Incredible Tales of Weirdwood Manor, [version 1.6.1] [software application]. Retrieved from: http://weirdwood.com/

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, (2016). Critical and Creative Thinking: General Capabilities. Retrieved from: https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/media/1072/general-capabilities-creative-and-critical-thinking-learning-continuum.pdf

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, (2016). Critical and Creative Thinking: General Capabilities. Retrieved from: https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-capabilities/ethical-understanding/

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, (2016). Information, Communication and Technology: General Capabilities. Retrieved from: https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/media/1074/general-capabilities-information-and-communication-ict-capability-learning-continuum.pdf

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, (2016). Literacy: General Capabilities. Retrieved from: https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/media/3596/general-capabilities-literacy-learning-continuum.pdf

Barrie, J.M., (2008). Peter Pan. Retrieved from: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/16

Evaluating Web Resources, 2019, F. D. Bluford Library, North Carolina State University. Retrieved from: http://libguides.library.ncat.edu/c.php?g=778558&p=5584082

Free e-books Project Gutenburg, 2019, Project Gutenburg. Retrieved from: https://www.gutenberg.org/

Kress, G. R., 2010. Multimodality: a social semiotic approach to contemporary communication. Retrieved from : https://primo.csu.edu.au/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma990019477460402357&context=L&vid=61CSU_INST:61CSU&search_scope=MyInst_and_CI&tab=Everything&lang=en

NSW, Education Standards Authority, (2012). English K-10 Syllabus (2012). Retrieved from https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/learning-areas/english-year-10/english-k-10

Pixabay – the image used on this blog page is used pursuant to Creative Commons Licence

Simpson, A., Walsh, M., 2014, Children’s literature in the digital world: How does multimodality support affective, aesthetic and critical response to narrative?, English Teaching: Practice & Critique, 14(1), p. 28-43 Retrieved from https://www-emerald-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/insight/content/doi/10.1108/ETPC-12-2014-0005/full/pdf?title=childrens-literature-in-the-digital-world DOI: https://doi-org.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/10.1108/ETPC-12-2014-0005

The Big6 – Information & Technology Skills for Student Success, (n.d.), Retrieved from https://thebig6.org/

Walker, S., Jameson, J., & Ryan, M. (2010). Skills and strategies for e-learning in a participatory culture (Ch. 15). In R. Sharpe, H. Beetham, & S. Freitas (Eds.), Rethinking learning for a digital age: How learners are shaping their own experiences, (pp. 212-224). New York, NY: Routledge.

Yokota, J. & Teale, W. H., (2014). Picture books and the digital world: educators making informed choices. The Reading Teacher, 34(6). Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/3886534/Picture_Books_and_the_Digital_World_Educators_ Making_Informed_Choices

 

 

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