Tag Archives: Information

Evaluating the usefullness of digital resources

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When I consider the resources I use in my school library for teaching purposes, at the forefront of my mind is the usefullness and accessibility of the resource to my students. In my current TL role, I am teaching students from K-6. The main aim of my program has been information literacy that supports other KLA’s such as history and geography. My focus then has been teaching the beginnings of researching and resource analysis from years 3 and up. As such, when I plan to share a resource, in particular a digital resource, I critically analyse the resource to determine its usefullness and applicability to the task at hand. But what about students? How do they analyse resources with a level of understanding that is needed to assess resources? Using CRAAP as an analytical tool, has been helpful but it seems to have its drawbacks.

Teaching CRAAP has had mixed results. Students get stuck using the analysis well and often forget to use this tool the following year in subsequent research activities. It has made me question, is my teaching lacking clarity? is it a lack of retention on the students behalf? or is it simply that the tool is too complex for their level of understanding to apply successfully? More than likely it is a combination of all. And I am willing to embrace different modes of analysis to improve my teaching and student learning.

Too often fantastic books are left on the shelves in the library, in favour of easily accessible online resources. After all, give a child a laptop or an ipad and away they go, right? Wrong. Students need to be given the tactile opportunity to explore texts, especially non-fiction texts. My observation of my students shows me that unless they are strongly encouraged to use and understand the layout of non-fictional texts, navigating a website or digital resource well,  will be challenging, regardless of their age. Using CRAAP has made my students more aware of the currency, reliability, accuracy and authority of resources, rather than a resource for the sake of giving/ providing information. However, there are still challenges with teaching the concept of bias when we look at the P element being Purpose.

Kay Oddone’s video on CRAAP versus SIFT shows a great example of how a website can pass the CRAAP test fairly well, but have the reliability of information challenged in another resource, such as a video. As a TL, it has made me question whether teaching critical analysis of resources can be better performed by encouraging the use of SIFT. I really like the idea of students stopping before clicking on any hyperlinks on any web source, to really think critically about the resource. Perhaps this is the tool missing from my teaching program. By implementing a tool such as SIFT, I hope that the idea of bias will be better understood and critically applied and evaluated in student learning.

The dynamic information environment

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When I think of the dynamic information environment, I immediately think of information and how people access different types of information. As a TL, I reflect on the ways my students access information for learning and investigative purposes and how I guide their learning to help them build research skills.

My library space is limited when it comes to digital access and so my programming requires forward planning and liasing with fellow staff to book and secure access to laptops and ipads. My students thus spend the infant years understanding, learning and practising how non-fictional books are used and accessed. These skills are used and further refined from year 3 onwards, combining with digital research. It would be great to imagine my library space as one that creatively caters to the diverse learning needs of my students at the click of my fingers, however, this is not a reality and I know this scenario is repeated in many other schools. My school is fortunate to have a tech teacher who guides and supports tech and science utilising the tech room. Here, students use a range of digital tools applicable to their learning. Tools such as Book Creator, Word Clouds, Minecraft, Google Earth, and more, are all used to engage our diverse students to demonstrate learning success for a variety of outcomes and across KLA’s.

So, can I consider my library space a dynamic information environment? In a way, yes. At first glance it may not seem as such, considering the lack of obvious digital tools available for student use. But, we must remind ourselves that information is found in all sorts of places. Books, online, posters, magazines, signs, toys, and other tactile materials. I encourage my students to seek information from environmental print, provide opportunities to tell and retell stories using lego story boxes, rotate displays and always promote books about particular topics, authors or the latest trends. It is all too easy, in this digital age, to forget there was a time before ‘the internet’. Increasingly TLs and educators are striving to self educate on the latest digital tool or online information access point. While this is all well, I think there is still value in teaching students information access via books. Our diverse society means there is still inequitable access to digital tools by families, and we need to ensure these members of our communities  have the opportunity to develop the skills required to access information. As TLs, it is thus imperative that we maintain a diverse information environment, ensuring that we capture the curiosity of all of our students, staff and school community.

Reflecting on collection development

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Early in my journey to becoming a qualified teacher librarian (TL) I had not contemplated the complexities of the TL role (Piper, 2020). Resourcing the curriculum has given me the opportunity to deepen my understanding and knowledge of collection development and management. This reflection demonstrates my understanding of the role and nature of library collections. I highlight some key challenges TLs need to overcome in their multifaceted role while maintaining a dynamic library collection. As I embark on my professional journey as TL, I contemplate some practical ways in which I can meet the needs of my school community and advocate a collection of dynamic resources to strengthen the school curriculum.

Having worked in a school library, I have had the fortune to develop some understanding of library collections and how these are managed. The application of my understanding, however, was limited to basic management practices. I now know that library collections require expert management and development practices (Piper, 2022b). School libraries aim to provide access to resources for students, teachers, parents and the wider school community (NSW Government, 2021). TLs ensure that library resources are available to entertain, inform, support, and develop curriculum needs through their expert collection management (Australian School Library Association, 2022).

As a small school in a lower socio-demographic area, my library has historically relied on physical resources that are increasingly dated and provide little stimulus for innovative learning. Library collections should hold diverse resources presented in a range of formats for optimum engagement. A well-maintained library collection includes quality resources that support the school’s curriculum; is actively supported by the school community; considers potential limitations such as budget, accessibility, and ethics (Cooney et al., 2017). Library management must be undertaken with purpose and accountability through the implementation of a library collection policy and procedure. It is clear then, the library is a repository for a dynamic collection of resources that is managed and maintained by the expert TL.

Examining the many facets of collection management highlights necessary processes for evolving school libraries. Historically, communities have acknowledged libraries as repositories of resources (Vaughan, 2022). Collection management requires cyclic reviews of the resource collection to ensure resources are useful and meaningful (Saponaro & Evans, 2019). It has long been recognised that library users must have access to current resources to meet the demands of rapidly changing information landscapes (Fitzpatrick, 2000). By critically reviewing and assessing digital and physical resources within school libraries, TLs can ensure that relevant resources are meeting the needs of teachers, their diverse learners, and the evolving curriculum.

A library’s collection is informed and guided using policies and procedures (Braxton, 2018). Library policies and procedures are necessary for ensuring the library collection is useful and relevant for the library clientele. A search online demonstrates many examples of school library policies which include frameworks describing resource selection, acquisition, budgets, maintenance, and challenges (Christensen, 2018; St Andrew’s Cathedral School, 2012; Our Lady of the Assumption School, 2019).

A notable observation of library management policies show that selection and deselection criteria are reliable collection maintenance frameworks. The American Library Association identify selection criteria and aids that are used assist the TL when evaluating resources (American Library Association, 2017). As part of my course requirements, I had to create an annotated bibliography specific to the needs of my clientele, a Stage 3 cohort within my school (Piper, 2022a). My annotated bibliography identified examples of selection criteria that included: budget, learning needs, current collection holdings, resource formats, availability, and appropriateness of resources. Further, selection aids were identified as being helpful tools to source and evaluate resources that could contribute meaningfully to the library collection (Bertland, 2015). This exercise made me realise that I had already been using selection aids without understanding their relevance to collection management and development. With this knowledge, I now know that my resource selection practices will be enhanced.

TLs are expert managers of resources as well as teachers of information literacy (NSW Government, 2021b). TLs are qualified to lead information literacy programs which are supported by relevant and accessible resources that facilitate a quality curriculum. The use of collection policies and procedures enable TLs to demonstrate accountability and integrity when collating resources (IFLA School Libraries Section Standing Committee, 2015). Advocating a quality selection of resources demonstrate leadership from the TL in developing information literacy programs and facilitating the needs of the school community (Allen & Taylor, 2017).

TLs face several challenges when developing and managing collections (Softlink, 2019). These challenges can include budgeting, acquisition workflow and ethical issues. I reflected on elements of supply issues for school libraries and how overcoming shortfalls in access and budgeting needs can vary due to school specific scenarios (Piper, 2022c). Budgets can be sensitive topics with various curriculum areas vying for larger budgets. Expert TLs advocate strategically for reliable resources that meet curriculum needs (Ejikeme & Okpala, 2016). Similarly, ethical concerns must be monitored ensuring authorship is recognised, user responsibilities are practiced, equitable access considers the sensitivities of cultural and linguistic needs (Jacobs, 2008).

When I consider my own priorities for my TL role within my school, three areas stand out as being of importance: developing a greater understanding of school budgets; the implementation of a library collection procedure; and ensuring teaching and learning programs have access to relevant quality resources. These priorities will facilitate a quality library collection that is recognised and used by all members of the school community.

Looking ahead, I know that I need to encourage robust collaborative practices with my school leaders so that the development of the library collection is transparent, purposeful, and applicable to the needs of my school (Hutchinson, 2017). Consulting the school’s scope and sequence and liaising with colleagues will develop clear recommendations in budgeting for the acquisition of resources to support changing curriculums. Implementing a collection development policy will strategically advocate specific resources to support innovative learning programs. Together, these resources and learning programs will foster information literacies skills equipping students for the future (ACT Government, 2019).

The use of policies and frameworks to govern library collections establishes confidence in the TL to demonstrate professionalism in their role. By applying my knowledge and expertise in collection development and management, I aim to curate a dynamic collection meeting the discerning needs of my school community.

References

ACT Government. (2019). School libraries: the heart of 21st century learning (pp. 1–13). ACT Government Education. https://www.education.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/1435435/School-Libraries-The-Heart-of-21st-Century-Learning.pdf

Allen, L. E., & Taylor, D. M. (2017). The role of the academic Library Information Specialist (LIS) in teaching and learning in the 21st century. Information Discovery and Delivery, 45(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1108/idd-09-2016-0030

American Library Association. (2017, December 20). Selection criteria. ALA American Library Association. https://www.ala.org/tools/challengesupport/selectionpolicytoolkit/criteria#:~:text=Top%20Five%20Recommended%20Public%20Library,Publishers%20Weekly

American Library Association. (2021, December 19). The importance of library policies. ALA. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/importance-library-policies#:~:text=Libraries%20have%20a%20responsibility%20to,equitable%2C%20and%20non%2Ddiscriminatory.

Australian School Library Association. (2022). What is a Teacher Librarian? ASLA. https://asla.org.au/what-is-a-teacher-librarian

Bertland, L. (2015). Selection tools for school librarians. Resources for School Libraries. https://www.sldirectory.com/libsf/resf/selection.html

Braxton, B. (2018). Policies and procedures. 500 Hats the Teacher Librarian in the 21st Century. https://500hats.edublogs.org/policies/

Christensen, E. (2018). Heaton Public School library collection management policy. NSW Government Education. https://heaton-p.schools.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/doe/sws/schools/h/heaton-p/localcontent/2018_library_collectionmanagementpolicy.pdf

Cooney, E., Galvin, M., Graetsch, S., Mitchell, P., Ryan, S., & Stoove, T. (2017). A manual for developing policies and procedures in Australian school library resource centres. (2nd ed.). Australian Library and Information Association.

Ejikeme, A. N., & Okpala, H. N. (2016). Promoting children’s learning through technology literacy: challenges to school librarians in the 21st century. Education and Information Technologies, 22(3), 1163–1177. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-016-9481-1

Fitzpatrick, C. (2000). Navigating a new information landscape. Social Education, 64(1), 33–34. http://www.socialstudies.org/sites/default/files/publications/se/6401/640107.html

Hutchinson, E. (2017). Navigating the information landscape through collaboration. SCIS, 101. https://www.scisdata.com/connections/issue-101/navigating-the-information-landscape-through-collaboration/

IFLA School Libraries Section Standing Committee. (2015). IFLA school library guidelines (B. Schultz-Jones & D. Oberg, Eds.). International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. https://www.ifla.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/assets/school-libraries-resource-centers/publications/ifla-school-library-guidelines.pdf

Jacobs, M. L. (2008). Ethics and ethical challenges in library instruction. Journal of Library Administration, 47(3-4), 211–232. https://doi.org/10.1080/01930820802186548

NSW Government. (2021). Library. NSW Government Education. https://education.nsw.gov.au/policy-library/policies/pd-2005-0221#:~:text=The%20purpose%20of%20the%20school,Information%20Communications%20Technology%20and%20literacy.

Our Lady of the Assumption School. (2019). Library policies. Our Lady of the Assumption Ennogera; Brisbane Catholic Education. http://www.olaenoggera.qld.edu.au/about-us/policies-and-procedures/Pages/Library-Policies.aspx

Piper, J. (2020, March 13). Thoughts on being a teacher librarian. Lines of Thoughts Reflections of a Teacher Librarian. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/jennyp/2020/03/14/thoughts-on-being-a-teacher-librarian/

Piper, J. (2022a, May 9). Developing a relevant library collection. Lines of Thoughts Reflections of a Teacher Librarian. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/jennyp/2022/05/09/developing-a-relevant-library-collection/

Piper, J. (2022b, May 9). Developing and managing library collections – first thoughts. Lines of Thoughts Reflections of a Teacher Librarian. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/jennyp/2022/05/09/developing-and-managing-library-collections-first-thoughts/

Piper, J. (2022c, May 16). The makings of a good supplier. Lines of Thoughts Reflections of a Teacher Librarian. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/jennyp/2022/05/16/the-makings-of-a-good-supplier/

Saponaro, M. Z., & Evans, G. E. (2019). Collection management basics. In Proquest.com (7th ed.). ABC-CLIO, LLC. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/csuau/reader.action?docID=5762942

Softlink. (2019, August 13). 7 Challenges for school libraries – revisited. Softlink. https://www.softlinkint.com/blog/7-challenges-for-school-libraries-revisited/

St Andrew’s Cathedral School. (2012). St Andrew’s Cathedral School Library Policies. St Andrew’s Cathedral School. https://www.iasl-online.org/resources/Documents/PD%20Library/sacs_library_policies_2012_NEW.pdf

Vaughan, D. (2022). A brief history of libraries. In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/story/a-brief-history-of-libraries

Part C Reflections

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Nostalgic memories of reading literature was at the forefront of my mind when I began this course (Piper, 2020, March 14), with the Teacher Librarian (TL) exposing students to a world of books, encouraging and facilitating a love of reading and research. Reflecting on my learning has shown me that while this is correct, it was a limited understanding as the role of the TL is multifaceted and complex. Learning about Lamb’s PALETTE acronym (Lamb, 2011) reinforced my understanding that the TL role embraced many aspects of teaching, guiding and facilitating an environment that enables students to investigate and explore concepts in literacies.

My essay on makerspaces helped me understand the current trend of libraries as ‘third spaces’ (Slatter & Howard, 2013). Reading about Jackie Child and Megan Daley’s (Daley & Child, 2015) experience providing a space filled with tools and equipment for students, showed me that students need to be well equipped to use a multitude of skills to interpret, analyse and use information that they come across. I have always valued the concept of a holistic learner but reading about multimodal literacy and empowering 21st century readers (Sly, 2014; Kalantzis & Cope, 2020) has me wondering: how might I change my teaching practices to facilitate and enhance the understanding of multimodal communication?

Information surrounds us in many different forms and we interact with it on a daily basis (Carlito, 2018). I did not appreciate the complexities of information and how a working understanding could inform teaching practices (Piper, 2020, May 3). However, reflecting on Combes’ depiction of information using an iceberg (Combes, 2014) illustrates that we can only realistically access a small part of what we deem to be known information. To interpret the many forms of information that we can access we need to understand Information Literacy (IL). Again, I found Combes’ infographic (Combes, 2016) helpful in illustrating the many facets of IL that I need to be thinking about when I teach my students. Further reading led me to appreciate how IL can be applied to all aspects of life, be it in the home, at school, in the workplace or even applying it to our own personal health (CILIP The Library and Information Association, 2018).

As a beginning TL I am familiar with the concept of programming research tasks. As a NSW teacher I was aware of the ISP (NSW Department of Education, 2020) but I have never used it explicitly in any program. Reading about Information Literacy Models (ILMs) has developed my understanding of the processes used in inquiry-based tasks and how these can be applied to suit a variety of learning styles, learners and school contexts. Analysing and comparing models such as PLUS (Herring, 2006), the Big6 (TheBig6.org, 2014) and Braxton’s expansion of the ISP (Braxton, 2014), has taught me that at the core of each model is the same end goal in creating an information literate learner. A learner that can identify their prior knowledge, find a purpose for research, be critical when locating information, use the information in a relevant way and reflect on their learning and understandings.

Now that I have a greater understanding of ILMs I can see how they support the reflective learner. The Australian Curriculum identifies specific general capabilities (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2017) that focus on key elements. By implementing an effective IL program I can support students to develop knowledge, skills and behaviour that is essential of a cooperative and reflective learning style.

As a TL I now know that it is beneficial to integrate ILMs into my program where possible. In discussion forum 5.4a: Information Literacy, I acknowledged the difficulties faced by TLs when implementing ILMs. Every school context will vary and present their own challenges. Observing the ILMs, I realised they can require many lessons, embed different capabilities, and demand the use of many different resources.

Library lessons can often be compressed due to administration, change-over, borrowing and behaviour management leaving little time for teaching and using ILMs. However, if school staff support TLs implementing ILMs then the GCs can be addressed and assessed in a more effective and cohesive way.

IL is so important for our students and now that I have implemented an ILM in a program, I know that I can take this learning and apply it within my school context to support my students to become effective users of multimodal texts.

 

References

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2017). General capabilities. Australian Curriculum. https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/general-capabilities/

Braxton, B. (2014, January 6). Information Literacy Process. 500 Hats the Teacher Librarian in the 21st Century. https://500hats.edublogs.org/information-literacy-process/

Carlito, D. M. (2018). Supporting multimodal literacy in library instruction. Reference Service Review, 46(2), 164–177. https://doi.org/10.1108/RSR-02-2018-0015

CILIP The Library and Information Association. (2018). Definition of Information Literacy. Information Literacy Group. https://infolit.org.uk/ILdefinitionCILIP2018.pdf

Combes, B. (2014). Chinese whispers: The nature of information and the future of libraries. International Library Symposium.

Combes, B. (2016). Information Literacy: Competencies, skills, making meaning & thinking. http://www.literacymatters.org.au/uploads/1/0/0/1/100124268/information_literacy_aug_2016.pdf

Daley, M., & Child, J. (2015). Makerspaces in the school library environment. http://tinkeringchild.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Makerspaces-in-the-school-library-environment-1yl39z1.pdf

Herring, J. E. (2006). A Critical Investigation of Students’ and Teachers’ Views of the Use of Information Literacy Skills in School Assignments. School Library Media Research, 9. http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aaslpubsandjournals/slr/vol9/SLMR_CriticalInvestigation_V9.pdf

Kalantzis, M., & Cope, B. (2020). Multiliteracies. New Learning Online. https://newlearningonline.com/multiliteracies

Lamb, A. (2011). Bursting with Potential: Mixing a Media Specialist’s Palette. TechTrends, 55(4). 27-36. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-011-0509-3

NSW Department of Education. (2020). The information process. https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/curriculum/learning-across-the-curriculum/school-libraries/teaching-and-learning

Slatter, D., & Howard, Z. (2013). A place to make, hack, and learn: makerspaces in Australian public libraries. The Australian Library Journal, 62(4). 272-284. https://doi.org/10.1080/00049670.2013.853335

Sly, C. (2014). Empowering 21st century readers: Integrating graphic novels into primary classrooms. In K. Mallan (Ed.), Picture books and beyond. Primary English Teaching Association Australia.

TheBig6.org. (2014). Getting Started. TheBig6.Org. https://thebig6.org/resources-1

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Approaches to information

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When I think of the word ‘information’ I think of the knowledge, understanding and skills that are presented to me in a variety of formats. These formats can be visual, text, aural. Increasingly the information we have access to is multimodal.

I hadn’t thought about approaches to information. Though I dare say we consume information with these approaches but on a sub-conscious level.

What are those approaches I hear you ask?
Behaviourist, sociocultural, phenomenography approaches.

The behaviourist approach lends itself to a fairly self explanatory definition. The behaviour in which one approaches and uses information to build on their skills from a range of sources. It is interesting to see how the Australian and New Zealand Information Literacy framework clearly illustrates how the information gained is used and built on which lends itself to the concept of lifelong learning.

The sociocultural approach deals with the aquisition of information. How do I aquire information? I mentioned earlier that information can be found and consumed in many different ways. Listening to audio podcasts, reading text in papers or books, viewing a multimodal webpage, immersing oneself in an interactive experience are all forms of knowledge attainment. This is a valid illustration of the sociocultural approach.

Phenomonography. Such an interesting word. My understanding of phenomenography is that it is the method whith which one interprets and understands information. By interpreting, analysing and reflecting on the information gained, one has gone through a process that spurs on further investigative projects.

With these approaches in mind, I then begin to think which of these approaches are my students using? Are there gaps in their aquisition of information? What can I do to ensure all students are not only gaining information, but interpreting and being critical in their analysis to apply new information and skills to other areas of their learning. Now I am understanding the bigger picture of information literacy and the importance for the TL to scaffold and provide learning and immersive opportunities for students to build on their skills.

I’ve always used the term ‘lifelong learning’. And I like to think I understood that term. But understanding these approaches has shown me that there are aspects to learning that come together to form an overarching idea. A process of development that occurs over a period of time and should be facilitated correctly throughout a students journey in education.

Technological change in our midst.

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Technological change has been undergoing change on a regular basis since the industrial revolution. From a digital perspective it is undergoing change that is constant, and will continue to affect the way our lives are lived in future.

With regards to information, change is seemingly never ending. Our readings for this module asks as to think about who or what is driving technological change? I struggle to completely understand the concept of determinism. Unless of course I am simply over-thinking this. In a nut shell, my understanding is that determinism is the theory that all events are determined by pre-existing causes. Without these causes humans won’t have the free will to make future choices.

What does this have to do with technological change? Clearly this is alluding to the cause of technological change. Humans. Society. We have so many digital platforms available to us, that it is how it affects our way of thinking and what we do with that thinking process that determines our future choices. Hence determinism. With human’s intrinsic drive and motivation to improve on the past, make changes to be more valuable and efficient, I believe this is the cause for technological change.

I marvel at the awe when a young student tells me what they have learnt about ‘the olden days’. Discussion in question was about a wash board. Such a simple tool used for doing a mundane task that is washing. Nowadays, we of course use an electric washing machine that not only makes the job less burdensome but lessens the time needed to complete the task. The ‘olden days’. What will our future be like? Today will, at some point, become the olden days.

Such is the case with information and technology. If society’s use of the washboard motivated inventors to improve on the simplistic design to make it more efficient, how much so will our use of electronic gadgetry to seek information, spur current and future inventors, engineers and scientists to create tools that provide information at a faster and more intelligable and accessible rate?

Such a complex concept to digest yet at it’s core, humans seem to be the driver of change.

The information landscape.

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My previous post looked at understanding information as a ‘thing’. Something to be gained, manipulated and used for purposes hopefully with wisdom. I likened the current state of affairs as the information environment being an overgrown jungle. So many different platforms and modes accessible to users.

I was challenged to explore the different aspects of the information landscape. When you consider the  formats available and the delivery modes, one realises that information is a constant in our lives. It is everywhere, every day, every moment of our waking lives.

Information comes to us in all forms of carriers: the internet, books, recordings, manuscripts, etc. This fact of course is liable to change in future. The concept of the World Wide Web is relatively new when you think of the history of the industrialised nations. In future who knows what will exist that doesn’t exist today! It is no wonder then that the definition of information is undergoing change on a regular basis, or at the very least being extended to include new definitions.

McCreadie and Rice discusses access to information utilising 4 conceptualisations. Information is a resource or a commodity that can be produced, purchased and manipulated; information is environmental as it provides perceived data in our surrounds; information is representational; and information is a communication process. The concept of environment really struck a chord with me. Yes I was aware that information is around us, but I hadn’t thought consciously that our environment is providing ‘data’ that we need to analayse on a consistant basis.

This leads to the equally interesting illustration of the Shannon model. Could information presentation and communication be a bit like Chinese whispers? I know too well the obstacles and challenges that come with Chinese whispers. As a hearing impaired citizen, gaining information can be challenging when relying on audio alone. All the more reason to double check what I have heard, and investigate environmental data to confirm my understandings.

Navigating facts and seeking reliable information leads us to consider different levels of information available. As Masters students, we were asked to investigate the deep web and interact2. Such vast domains with even more information that forces us to carefully analyse and use wisely. Information presented in the digital sense, is truly layered, dense and complex.

With information at our fingertips and increasingly accessible to people from all walks of life, what are the ramifications of this reality? Reflecting on my own use and access to information, I can identify three benefits and negatives.
The benefits:
1) Availability. As a teacher, I am striving to ensure my students are  informed and guided young citizens. I therefore need to have access to current and relevant information with which to inform and educate my students no matter the topic. Information that I need is there when I need it. If I don’t know something, I can search and find it.
2) Accessibility. I can inform myself as a teacher, student and citizen on current news and data that will be relevant to my life. I can learn new skills by accessing instructions and procedures. I can entertain myself by accessing visuals, podcasts, and literature. I can educate myself by logging in to my online learning modules at any time or place.
3) Currency. Having access to information all the time means we can be armed with current information and be in the present. When researching topics, whether it be as a student or teacher collating useful sources for my students, I can access information that is recent, relevant and up to date with the latest research.

The negatives:
1) Constant. My previous post talked about the realities of living during the world pandemic that is COVID-19. Daily, the news blares out new statistics, images of doom and gloom and a sense of hopelessness. We wake up to a radio spewing information. We turn on our computers to open up emails to access information. We check noticeboards for information. No matter what we do information is in front of us, whether we are deliberately accessing it or not.
2) Overload. For me, information overload is a new sensation that is proving negative. Interestingly it is making me understand how my mind works in more detail. Being a citizen, a parent, a teacher and now a student, I am having to access all sorts of information in all sorts of places. With dates and information to remember, calendars are very useful tools for keeping track of engagements and so on, but still there is so much. Come Friday’s, it is not uncommon for me to say “My brain is just too tired”. Surely a sign of information overload.
3) Higher expectations. With greater access to the information landscape, the expectation to perform to a higher degree increases. I listed my roles earlier, all of these roles have different expectations. With information at every turn, the pressure to keep up to date, perform and evaluate is always there. Beginning this course, I knew I would have to prioritise my time differently and complete more work. With this fact, the pressure to perform definitely increased. Without ready access to information, I don’t think I would be up late completing readings online, comparing my work to other examples online to ensure I am performing well, receiving multiple emails to complete the next task whatever that may be. Yes, constant accessible information certainly means we pressure ourselves with higher expectations.

Yet the information I access is just ‘the tip of the iceberg’. Combe’s infographic clearly illustrates how much we use and access.

Information will always be in our midst. How we access, interpret and use it however will, I’m sure, be an ever changing realisation.

Understanding ‘information’.

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I call myself ‘old school’. Why? I tend to use pen and paper a fair bit when jotting down thoughts, ideas, questions and taking notes from readings. But therein lies my downfall. Another assignment looms in the not too distant future and so I must add my thoughts here.

The last few weeks have been a huge challenge for everyone right around the world. The reason? COVID-19. I often find myself questioning the reason for undertaking this course now, but of course none of these challenges could have been imagined at the beginning of the calendar year. And so, here I sit, my mind feeling like a computer screen with about 100 tabs opened, too many thoughts and ideas to categorise effectively and reflecting on my readings.

I realise then how paramount it is to be studying the TL course. Information. It is everywhere! It is being delivered on so many different platforms. It is being presented in so many different modes. It is challenging our understanding of intended meanings.

Yes, the information environment at present reminds me of an overgrown jungle.

Information was a word I always thought I understood. Simultaneously I view it as: complex, simple, informative and critical amongst a list of other adjectives. I never really questioned the complexity of the information environment, except to understand that it was something humans needed to know in order to navigate educational opportunities.

My first challenge was realising just how many understandings of information there are. Semantic, classic and data-knowledge continuum. That it could be broken down further on so many levels. That it could be visualised as a part of a continuum in which information could be seen as chaotic and, when understanding is realised, it could lead to wisdom and sensible applications.

I’m very much a visual learner/ individual. To help me understand concepts I’m often drawn to diagrams, graphs or draw my own images to understand my thoughts. I really liked the information heirarchy illustrated in the module. However to understand it clearly I stretched it out on a horizontal continuum. In doing so, I could better visualise the direction data, being objective facts, can develop into wisdom, having a higher purpose.

That there are different types of knowledge and the fact the attributes vary depending on use of information is also important. As teachers, we are constantly running pre-tests to test students individual knowledge. When sharing the responses, we take this individualised understanding to a group level. By applying our teaching content to student tasks, we share the societal knowledge that forms the basis of global, historical, cultural and identity understandings.

So what have I learnt? I think the better question for me is: What have I realised? I realised that I do know more about information than I thought I did. Or better, I understand the complexities of information even more so because I have been challenged to think about it consciously. As teachers we are being exposed to, manipulating and experiencing information every day. We are assisting our students to do likewise. It is part of human nature. The behaviour of information affects how we communicate our knowledge and how we learn to use it to make necessary applications. It is multi-faceted. It is ever-changing and challenging our thinking processes on a daily basis. If we find it complex, how much more so is it for our younger generations?