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Part B – Critical Evaluation

Literature

When people think of libraries they immediately think of rows and rows of books and literature sorted by the Dewey Decimal System (DDS). This was the perception that I had when I began my degree in 2019. As I undertook my degree, I began to question what role the TL had within the school and more specifically within the library (Somner, 2019a).

The library that I had began to work in was unloved and unused. My students didn’t read and the data from our school supported this. Over the year of 2018, only 178 resources were borrowed across the whole library. This highlighted the idea that children and teenagers no longer borrowed books. I was shocked at this and began to consult research to gauge whether it was just my school that this was reflected in or if it was a wider issue and whether my job as a TL was becoming endangered due to lack of interest (Somner, 2019b). On consultation of the research, I realised that our students were the anomaly. It was reported that 67% of teenagers still read for fun (Gilmore & Burnett, 2014) and 95% of these readers preferred physical books over e-books (Zickuhr, Rainie, & Purcell, 2013). This gave me the inspiration to revitalise our literature collection and tailor it to our students to capture their interest.

As part of this process, I decided to get rid of the DDS and arrange our collection by genre, or otherwise known as genrefication. Genrefication is debated about whether it is successful or not across many libraries. I was inspired by the article “How Genrefication Makes School Libraries More Like Bookstores” (Cornwall, 2018) and agreed with the sentiments that the DDS often made finding new books for students seem too hard or that they did not know where or how to look for these resources. After two weeks of removing our books from their shelves, culling old resources and re-labelling literature into genres, we were ready for students to be re-introduced to the collection. Within months after the re-classification, we had less students needing help to find resources and many more students browsing and borrowing (Somner, 2020a). In order to make this classification accessible to students and to assist library staff in re-shelving books, we put coloured dots on each book which correlates back to their genre. This allowed for ease of re-shelving and for students to identify which genre the books belongs to without the DDS. This can be seen in the photograph.

Whilst this was a step in the right direction, we were still only appealing to a small selection of students. Thankfully, I had enrolled in ETL 402 – Literature Across the Curriculum. I realized that my library was lacking in the crucial element of diverse literature. This was vital in introducing students to different lifestyles, cultures and backgrounds (McDonald, 2013). Based on this information, I was able to analyse our collection and identify areas of need. I soon realised that our collection of picture books was lacking and based at very low stage 4 students, despite there being large collections of enriching and complex texts aimed at students in upper secondary being utilised in other schools (Somner, 2020a). I researched how picture books can assist in developing students’ literacy skills and realised that even year 12 students struggle to critically analyse visual texts (Turner, 2014) and this skill was crucial in their HSC exams. Picture books seemed like a natural solution to help bridge this gap. Based on this, I used the guides from ETL402, to influence my selections to purchase new texts for our picture book collections.

This, however, was not the only area that lacked resources. We have a large population

of LGBTQ students in our school and I did not have a single text to support them, fiction or non-fiction. This was an alarming finding as the research supported the idea that LGBTQ students often found safety within the library as a safe space and that in order to feel confident within themselves they needed to see people like themselves reflected within the texts that they read (Koehler, 2011). I needed to rectify this immediately in order to help reduce the victimisation of the LGBQT students through the promotion of inclusive literature (Oltmann, 2016). Based on this, I started to buy LGBQT resources and promote them using our Facebook page and our promotion section within the library. In order to promote these texts, we used both visual and written methods with a written list of new texts as well as a physical display of books by the entrance. These can both be seen in the accompanying photos. These texts were incredibly popular and were starting to be borrowed more frequently due to their promotion and inclusive message.

Over the course of the last 18 months, our library borrowing rates have rapidly increased. I believe this is due to changing the layout of our literature to being arranged by genre which has made it easier for students to find and borrow new, interesting books, as well as by identifying collections that were lacking such as LGBQT texts and supporting students by promoting an inclusive mindset. Our borrowing statistics have increased from 178 texts in 2018 to 1104 so far in 2020. I do believe that in order to continue with this success and build upon it, I will need to continually reflect on what we have done that is successful, what has not been successful and what else we could implement. Success is built upon the ideal of reflection and continually evaluating the changes that we make (Somner, 2019c).

Leadership styles

Prior to starting my degree, I did not make the correlation between TL and leader. This began to shift as I undertook ETL504 – Teacher Librarians as Leader. I began to realise that as a TL, I would need to initiate and lead change within the school environment to better our students. I was in the unique position to see the student as a whole, rather than as just an English student or just a science student. I needed to become their advocate for better approaches to learning.

The first step towards developing my leadership skills was to analyse my own approach to conflict management. An effective leader needs to be able to have difficult conversations and manage conflict whilst allowing all participants to feel understood and heard (HR360Inc, 2016). I undertook the conflict resolution questionnaire and realised that my ideals of conflict are based around the idea of compromise and that I tend to stay away from yielding as it only advantages one side whilst the other feels defeated. I needed to be aware that I would generally try and use avoidance to escape confrontation and that I needed to rectify this if I wanted to be successful (Somner, 2019d). Thankfully, at the head of my school, my principal was a prime example of a strong female leader, who was both effective and approachable. I was able to analyse some of her methods of leadership and adapt them to suit my own skillsets.

I found myself reading about the different styles of leadership and started to see myself reflected back in some of these styles. I found myself gravitating towards the transformational and instructional leadership styles more than any other. Transformational leadership is built upon the principles of teamwork and setting ourselves and other goals to strive to achieve in order to better ourselves, both personally and professionally (Ingram, 2017). This works very well for a TL who has skills that transfer easily into all Key Learning Areas (KLAs). Instructional leadership also focuses on learning for both staff and students, as well as utilising reflective practice to inform and change teaching (University of Washington, 2015). The TL is in a prime position to lead new pedagogical change within faculties based on their own skills and knowledge bases.

With this knowledge now fuelling my practices within the school, I started to create opportunities for myself to assist other teachers in bettering their own practice to create optimal learning environments for our students. Technology has always been a passion of mine and I aim to create engaging teaching and learning through incorporating technology in my classes. This, I realised, would be the platform that I would utilise to test out my leadership abilities. I spoke with head teachers in my school and let them know the services that I could provide and teach to their faculties to help them incorporate more ICT into their lessons. This was largely ignored until COVID-19 became a reality. Once school work needed to move online to become remote, teachers needed to learn how to teach virtually. I used this as an opportunity to make myself valuable and offered my skills to teach staff new ways of teaching and different platforms that they could utilise to teach students at home.

The English head teacher, soon emailed me to ask if I could lead some professional learning for their faculty based on the school’s online learning platform, Moodle and GoogleSuite. This is evident in the emails inserted here. I was able to engage with the English faculty and use my leadership skills to set them goals such as establishing home pages for all classes and was able to model the steps that they would need to take to do so. Through setting them achievable goals and modelling the steps, the staff felt supported and encouraged to learn and develop new skills which would help their students to engage from home. Through creating a positive environment where staff felt supported and safe to make mistakes, it created a positive culture where staff wanted to succeed (Smith, 2016). After the PL, the head teacher communicated back with me about what a great session it was and thanks to my leadership, her staff were confident in their abilities to transition to online learning and thrive.

 

 

Through this course, I have realised that leadership is vital in advocating for the skills that students will need in a 21st century world. I need to make opportunities for myself to ensure that others in the school can see and understand how valuable the role of TL is in their school and how we can support their staff. I have discovered that once a few staff members realise the expertise you can teach, other staff members begin to be aware of it and then start to work together as a team towards the common good for the students and not for the individual (Somner, 2019e).

Collaboration

Collaboration often becomes a smaller subsection within leadership. I, however, believe that collaboration is one of the foundations of teaching and should not be overlooked or hidden away within larger concepts. Collaboration came up in ETL504 – Teacher Librarian as Leader and I have been fixated on this concept ever since. Collaboration is a symbiotic relationship that is complex and dependent on effective leadership, positive relationships and clear communication (Bishop, 2011).

I began to reflect on my own experiences of collaboration and realised that I had never been given any guidelines or instructions for effective collaboration, despite teachers relying so heavily on it. Through ETL504, I came to learn about Bell’s (2013) acronym of REACH. I found this simplistic method of respecting, educating, assuming, communicating and helping each other, provides a platform for effective and respectful collaboration. I became determined to make my library the desired place in the school for effective collaboration.

My first step towards this goal was getting more staff into the library space. Before I began in my role in 2019, there had been no TL for over 3 years. My principal allowed me to revitalise the space with innovative furniture which allowed changeable spaces, ideal for group work and communication. This change was inspired by the need to keep up with curriculum changes in the sense that students needed to be able to share information in other ways than just through the written form (Lippincott, Vedantham & Duckett, 2014). This meant that students needed spaces to learn how to work together, verbally communicate their ideas in large spaces and work in environments that were not typical classrooms in order to become effective 21st century learners (Thoughtful Learning, 2017). Our spaces can be seen in the accompanying photographs.

As part of this revitalisation, we moved the shelves in the library to create a more open space, with moveable furniture and booths that encouraged collaboration and teamwork. Once we made these changes, the space was big enough for two classes to use the space at one time, with whiteboards covering one entire wall. Despite this change, teachers still were not using the space for collaboration and were only using it as an additional computer room. To overcome this, I worked with my principal to move our staff meetings to the library space. This meant that all professional learning (PL) would now take place here. The PL that was delivered in this space mirrored classroom learning. We strategically developed PL around collaborative learning which required the teachers to break up into small groups to work on a task and then report back to the larger group as seen in the photographs. This strategy was used to allow teachers to see the positive impact the library space can have on collaboration through the way that the room was set up. This was an effective strategy as it allowed teachers to get a first-hand understanding of the different pedagogical methods they could implement in the space through their involvement in collaborative and comprehensive PL (Cole, 2012).

From their PL, more teachers began to utilise the space. Due to the way that our timetable was set up, one year group usually had one subject on at the same time. This led to multiple staff in the same faculty wanting to teach in the space at the same time. This encouraged teachers to share the space and team teach. The library became known in the school as the place of active and collaborative learning, due to the interactive resources such as whiteboard tables and moveable seating (Holland, 2015).Through this collaboration, the teachers felt supported as I made myself available to help with the new furniture and how they could most effectively use the space.

Once faculties, had started to team teach in the space, I began to work with our middle school teachers, our High Potential and Gifted Education (HPGE) teachers and our cross collaboration teachers to gather feedback to further refine the space. Through this collaboration, the teachers felt like their voices were being respected which helped them to educate their students (Bell, 2013) through the purchase and implementation of more innovative furniture. Due to this process, I have been able to collaborate with many different faculties to present as a team to students for on many occasions including a university information session with our careers team, seen in the photograph.

Through using Bell’s (2013) acronym, I have been able to allow staff to feel like their opinions are respected and heard before implementing change in our library’s collaborative space. Despite collaboration being a group activity, I have realised that I need to lead the initial implementation and discussions around what I can offer and help with, as well as what our space can offer as this leads to building all participant’s capacity, not only my own (Somner, 2019e). I have also realised that teachers, despite being expected to be collaborative, often have not been explicitly taught how to do so. I will need to continually reflect on this for future endeavours both in and out of the library in order to ensure all staff can be introduced to Bell’s (2013) REACH method to promote positive collaboration.

Reference List

Bell, M. A., Van Roekel, J. L., & Weimar, H. (2013). School librarians and the technology department: A practical guide to successful collaboration  [Linworth version]. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Bishop, K. (2011). Connecting libraries with classrooms. Retrieved from ProQuest Ebook Central.

Cole, P. (2012). Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching practice.
Retrieved from https://ptrconsulting.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/linking_effective_professional_learning_with_effective_teaching_practice_-_cole.pdf

Cornwall, G. (2018, July 22). How genrefication makes school libraries more like bookstores. In Mindshift. Retrieved from https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/51336/how-genrefication-makes-school-libraries-more-like-bookstores

Gilmore, N., & Burnett, M. (2014, December 16). Crunching numbers at the Nielsen children’s book summit. Publishers Weekly. Retrieved from http://www .publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrensindustry-news/article/65068-kids-are-thriving-readingand-hungry-for-more-crunching-numbers-at-the-nielsenchildren-s-book-summit.html

Holland, B. (2015, January 14). 21st century libraries: The learning commons. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/21st-century-libraries-learning-commons-beth-holland

HR360Inc. (2016, February 15). Tips for having difficult conversations with employees [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/mueGH8-BSNU [3.35 mins]

Ingram, D. (2017). Transformational leadership vs transactional leadership definition. In Hearst Newspapers: Small Business. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/transformational-leadership-vs-transactional-leadership-definition-13834.html

Koehler, E. (2011). The silent message: Professional journals’ failure to address LBGTQ issues. Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults, 1(4). Retrieved Oct. 2016.

Kosciw et al., “The Effect of Negative School Climate”; Hughes-Hassell, Overberg, and Harris, “(LGBTQ)-Themed Literature for Teens.”  

Lippincott, J., Vedantham, A., & Duckett, K. (2014). Libraries as enablers of pedagogical and curricular change. EDUCAUSE Rev [Internet], 27.

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

Oltmann, S. M. (2016).  . “They kind of rely on the library”: School librarian serving LGBT students. Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults, 7(1). Retrieved from http://www.yalsa.ala.org/jrlya/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Oltmann_They-Kind-of-Rely-on-the-Library.pdf

Smith, B. (2016). The role of leadership style in creating a great school. SELU Research Review Journal, 1(1), 65-78. Retrieved from https://selu.usask.ca/documents/research-and-publications/srrj/SRRJ-1-1-Smith.pdf

Somner, J. (2019a, March 10). Reflecting on my teaching journey and what a TL does. [Weblog post]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/jessicasomner/2019/03/10/reflecting-on-my-teaching-journey-and-what-a-tl-does/

Somner, J. (2019b, March 24). Are school librarians an endangered species? [Weblog post]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/jessicasomner/2019/03/24/are-school-librarians-an-endangered-species/

Somner, J. (2019c, May 19). Reflective Practice. [Weblog post]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/jessicasomner/2019/05/19/reflective-practice/

Somner, J. (2019d, August 11). Conflict Resolution. [Weblog post]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/jessicasomner/2019/08/11/conflict-resolution/

Somner, J. (2019e, October 6). Part B – Reflection. [Weblog post]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/jessicasomner/2019/10/06/part-b-reflection/

Somner, J. (2020a, May 23). Reflective Blog Post – ETL402. [Weblog post]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/jessicasomner/2020/05/23/reflective-blog-post-etl402/

Thoughtful Learning. (2017). What are 21st century skills? [FAQ]. Retrieved from https://k12.thoughtfullearning.com/FAQ/what-are-21st-century-skills

Turner, C. (2014). Opening the portal: An exploration of the use of postmodern picture books to develop critical literacy and contribute to learning in the Australian Curriculum: English. Literacy Learning: Middle Years, (1), 52-61. Retrieved from https://www.alea.edu.au/

University of Washington. (2015). 4 dimensions of instructional leadership. In Center for Educational Leadership. Retrieved from http://info.k-12leadership.org/4-dimensions-of-instructional-leadership

Zickuhr, K., Rainie, L., & Purcell, K. (2013). Younger American’s library habits and expectations. Washington, D.C.: PEW Research Center. Retrieved from http://libraries.pewinternet.org/2013/06/25 /younger-americans-library-services/

 

 

 

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Reflective Blog Post – ETL402

 

I undertook ETL402 as my last subject, except for my professional placement subject. My reasoning for this was that due to my background as a high school English teacher, I was confident with my literature skills. In hindsight, I wish I had undertaken this subject close to the beginning of my degree due to the valuable understanding of what literature actually is and how best to incorporate it into the classroom.

 

Throughout this subject, I was introduced to genres of literature that I had previously overlooked due to my own preconceived ideas that they weren’t valuable. Picture books for older readers have been lacking in my current library as I deemed them to be only valuable for students who couldn’t access the literacy levels needed for more complex texts. Through reading the information from The National Library of New Zealand (2013), I was introduced to the concept of sophisticated picture books. From this, I was able to take this information back to my school purchase books from some of the authors listed. From this, students have really engaged with these texts from 7-12 and have been asking for more.

 

Another area that has changed my practice was through raising my awareness of the range of LGBTQ books available. Our collection at school, had some titles but these were aimed at older readers. I quickly realised that through not having age appropriate LGBTQ titles I was sending the subliminal message that these students were alone and overlooked. (Oltmann, 2016) I quickly began scouring the internet to be inundated with booklist after booklist of great inclusive texts for all ages. Since creating more awareness of these titles in the library, I have found that I have many new faces popping into the library during breaks to not only borrow but to spend their breaks in the library due them now feeling like this is a safe space for them in the school.

 

I was also forced to reflect on my choice to implement genrefication in our library last year. Despite it still being argued about within library circles, I was pleased to see that other TLs are undertaking this massive task of arranging books by genre rather than by Dewey. I realised that our school has supported the findings in the article by Cornwall (2018), in that since making the change, we have less students needing to ask where to find their next book and are instead spending their time browsing their chosen genre looking for their next literary love. This is opening up their literary worlds and exposing them to new authors and styles.

 

Moving forward in my TL career, I believe I will need to continue to reflect on my book choices to ensure that I am not inadvertently sending messages to minority groups through not having an inclusive collection as well as ensuring that I don’t dismiss a specific genre without actually investigating it and trialling a few books to gauge whether students appreciate the style.  

 

 

 

 

 

Reference List

 

Cornwall, G. (2018, July 22). How genrefication makes school libraries more like bookstores. In Mindshift. Retrieved from https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/51336/how-genrefication-makes-school-libraries-more-like-bookstores

 

Oltmann, S. M. (2016).  . “They kind of rely on the library”: School librarian serving LGBT students. Journal of Research on Libraries and Young Adults, 7(1). Retrieved from http://www.yalsa.ala.org/jrlya/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Oltmann_They-Kind-of-Rely-on-the-Library.pdf

 

The National Library of New Zealand. (2013). Sophisticated picture books. Services to Schools. Retrieved from https://natlib.govt.nz/schools/reading-engagement/childrens-and-youth-literature/sophisticated-picture-books

 

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INFO506 – Reflection

Beginning this subject, I thought I was fairly fluent with social media. Only being in my 20’s and having grown up using social media from the days of Myspace, I thought I knew what I was doing. Through this subject, I realised that I only knew a tiny fraction of the world of social media. This subject has opened up my eyes to the amount of different platforms that there are, the volume of people who use them and how I can use them in my professional life.

Beginning this subject I used Facebook and Instagram religiously. At the end of this subject, I find myself now using Twitter and reading blogs by other professionals to help me keep up to date with educational news and theories. I initially thought social media was the place to keep in touch with friends and family, not the place to learn of new professional learning, connect with colleagues and peer teach. This subject has really opened my world up online.

Twitter was never my go to social media platform. I always found it informal and too brief. Through this subject, I was introduced to the idea of peer mentoring and collaboration through Twitter. Whilst I still don’t really tweet, I follow many librarians and library networks both here and overseas. This allows me to see what others are doing in their library spaces to make them engaging and also to be better informed about professional learning in the library space. By having these relationships with other librarians, I am gaining knowledge that I just couldn’t get in my school alone due to having no other TL. I now have a network at my finger tips to ask questions to, ask for suggestions or just watch as they innovate. This network is free professional learning that allows me to continue growing as an educator without leaving my classroom (Willemse, 2016).

This course has also made me think about my online identity. As much as I hate to admit it, there are two versions of myself; my personal life version and my professional life version. When online, I don’t want to bombard my friends and family with post after post of new educational reform but at the same time I also don’t want all of my colleagues to see photographs of my nieces and nephews. This made me think about creating a “personal professional” account (Cho & Jimerson, 2016). This now means that I can confidently share my personal photos still without the fear of a colleague seeing something that they shouldn’t as well as not making my friends’ unfriend me as I post a link to a new professional learning aimed at low literacy.

Moving into the future and considering social media and the internet, I am slightly concerned about what these platforms know about my identity and what they will retain even if were to delete my profile. This thought was presented to me through this subject and since then, I have been more concerned with what I am posting or even searching online (Me and my shadow). I am worried that in the future private medical companies may have access to our online trace and will be able to see our past searches which could flag medical issues to drive up premiums. Despite this, there are too many advantages to staying online. The only solution is to very carefully consider what I post and ensure that I read terms and conditions to see who my private information is being shared with. Ultimately my privacy is up to me and I will ensure that I take all necessary precautions to cover myself both now and in the future.

Throughout this subject, my ideas have definitely evolved. I no longer see social media as a recreational tool. I see it as a professional networking tool as well. I am now more informed about the dangers of sharing too much information online and will work towards minimising this risk. I am now utilising more platforms in a much more effective way to make the most of my experience both professionally and personally.

 

References

Cho, V., & Jimerson, J. B. (2016). Managing digital identity on Twitter: The case of school administrators. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 45(5), 884-900. doi: 10.1177/1741143216659295

Me and my shadow, (n.d.). Take control of your data. Retrieved from https://myshadow.org/

Willemse, A. J. (2016). #TwitMentoring: Librarians using Twitter in forming and cultivating mentoring relationships. In D. Lowe-Wincentsen (Ed.), Beyond mentoring : A guide for librarians and information professionals. Oxford: Elsevier Science. Retrieved from Ebook Central.

 

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INFO506 – Evaluation

INFO506 has been an enlightening and eye-opening experience for me this session. It has encouraged me, through various readings, to consider the often unspoken aspect of social media for professionals. Coming from an educational background the majority of my experience for social media was sending through photographs or events to our social media member who then took care of the legalities of posting and what we posted. Since completing this subject, I have begun to get an understanding of the politics of social media, the challenges and the opportunities that it provides for us.

Social media has developed rapidly over the last decade and as a result society has been given more autonomy over what happens to and for them. Despite large governmental organisations having online presence, there are more “everyday” people who utilise social media. This has resulted in the larger organisations trying to manipulate society into their way of thinking using a top down model whilst society now has access to a much wider range of information to disprove or question their governments through a bottom up model (Gruzd, Jacobson, Wellman & Mai, 2017). This has given the opportunity of having more control over knowing what is happening, not only in our back yards but all across the world which gives us more insight when making important decisions such as voting.

These challenges not just specific for political parties but now is the case for schools, hospitals and police. They are being forced to be transparent in their decision making because it gets plastered across social media as soon as they make a questionable decision. These organisations utilise social media in the hopes to create more transparency and accountability to help ensure that the public feels safe and supported by them (Bonsón, Torres, Royo & Flores, 2012). This is a great concept expect that most of these platforms are only used in a way to give one way communication (Schwerdtfeger, 2013, March 17). They will either turn off comments or not monitor them once their piece of information has been shared. This can create resentment in the 72% of Americans (Pew Research Centre, 2019) who utilise social media who may feel like their voices aren’t being heard.

One major opportunity that social media allows to organisations is the ability to interact with their target audience in the comfort of their own homes. For example a high school library often is not the first place students would choose to hang out in at lunch times. However, if the library was running events or activities to become a more central place, they would need to get their information out to patrons. This can be done through social media. Through creating an online presence using a platform that students use. With 79% of all Australians using Facebook or Youtube and 62% using Instagram (Digital 2019 in Australia, 2019), it can be said that through using one of these platforms to access patrons they would have a large chance of success of getting their message out there. Through strategic social media posts to advertise games clubs, movie events or competitions, the library would greatly improve the number of students who access and use the library (Orzechowski, 2017, January 10). Through this, the library would be able to help more students realise how the service could assist them and continue to increase users.

This opportunity, despite it being so great comes with challenges. In order to run a successful social media page, the person running it needs to ensure that they are trained in the correct social media policies as well as stay up to date on new platforms and services they provide (Business.gov.au, 2018). This can be costly and time consuming which can detract from the services that the organisation provides. Working on social media when you work in an environment dealing with children and young adults under 18 is extremely sensitive. You need to ensure that the person maintaining the account understands the restrictions around what is appropriate to post and ensures that the site is fully compliant with privacy restrictions. For example, for the Department of Education NSW, the social media member must only keep students photos on their device for up to 24 hours and they must be deleted after that point (Social Media Policy, 2018). Due to the high amount of staff turnover in schools, this could be extremely costly to ensure that a staff member is consistently trained. If the school puts someone in this position that isn’t familiar with social media policies and schools, they could post something confidential that would open the school up to lawsuits.

At the beginning of this subject, I had no idea about any of the policies or the history of social media. Throughout this session, I have learnt about the policies and procedures that are put in place to protect me whilst using social media as well as the many advantages and disadvantages of social media.

 

References

Bonsón, E., Torres, L., Royo, S., & Flores, F. (2012). Local e-government 2.0: Social media and corporate transparency in municipalities. Government information quarterly, 29(2), 123-132.

Business.gov.au (2018). Benefits of social media for business. Retrieved from https://www.business.gov.au/marketing/social-media/benefits-of-social-media

Digital 2019 in Australia. (2019). Retrieved 21 December 2019, from https://wearesocial.com/au/digital-2019-australia?mc_cid=2627112634&mc_eid=632bbf90f7

Gruzd, A., Jacobson, J., Wellman, B., & Mai, P. H. (2017). Social media and society: Introduction to the special issue. American Behavioral Scientist, 61(7), 647-652. doi:10.1177/0002764217717567

Orzechowski, V. (2017, January 10). #NoFilter: Social media content ideas for libraries [blog post]. LITA Blog. Retrieved from http://litablog.org/2017/01/nofilter-social-media-content-ideas-for-libraries/

Pew Research Centre. (2019). Social media fact sheet. Retrieved from https://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheet/social-media/

Schwerdtfeger, P. (2013, March 17). What is Web 2.0? What is Social Media? What comes next?? . Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iStkxcK6_vY&feature=youtu.be

Social Media Policy, Social Media Policy (2018). Retrieved from https://policies.education.nsw.gov.au/policy-library/associated-documents/social-media-procedures.pdf

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INFO506 – Module 6 – Task 18

Technology is rapidly evolving which means that infrastructure and humans must keep up with these changes. With the advancement of the internet and the connectivity that it allows, libraries need to be evolving in order to remain seen as useful and necessary. The internet offers many opportunities for the library to evolve such as electronic tracking systems and user identification systems. Along with these advantages there are also negatives to consider such as privacy and expenditure.

By utilising an electronic tracking system for all resources within a library, it would allow patrons to access the items that they are looking for efficiently. They could look up their resource on a network and then using the app on their phone they could be sent directions specific to their library of where to go to retrieve their item. This could even be updated to a hot and cold system where the phone registers where the user is and tells them if they are going in the correct direction to retrieve their item. This would be useful for people who suffer from anxiety and social conditions that may stop them from interacting with the librarian. Whilst this won’t replace the librarian, it will allow the librarian more time to spend on other initiatives within the library.

The internet could also provide the opportunity for the user to create a digital library card that tracks the resources that they are borrowing and would begin to recommend resources based off the history. This could offer personalisation to the patron that could not be offered exclusively through the librarian who would have not read every single resource in the collection. Through this personalisation the librarian could utilise the system to purchase books of a specific genre that are extremely popular and could use the system to help them choose recommended books.

Despite all of these benefits there are downfalls to this technology. Due to the internet being accessible by nearly everyone, it leaves its users open to privacy risks. Hackers could track users and use their sensitive information on other websites (Bansal, Arora & Suri, 2018) which leaves the patron open to many issues.

Also, online systems are constantly being upgraded and changed. This alone is very expensive but when you add into the equation training to ensure that staff are up to date on how to operate the technology effectively it becomes almost too expensive to make it worthwhile implementing.

Technology is definitely advancing society but both the advantages and disadvantages must be considered before implementing these internet based technologies into the library to ensure that the longevity is sustainable in your environment.

 

References

Bansal, A., Arora, D., & Suri, A. (2018). Internet of Things: Beginning of new era for libraries. Library Philosophy & Practice, 1-7.

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INFO506 – Module 5 – Task 15

Having an online identity is a complex notion that needs to take into account the purpose of the account, the audience and the social media platform. The user’s identity is shaped around how they view themselves as well as who they aspire to be both professionally and personally (Cho and Jimerson, 2016). This notion becomes even more complex when dealing with professionals who wish to use these platforms for professional reasons but often are confronted with many issues and dilemmas about what is appropriate to post and when to censor yourself online.

The first important issue that needs to be taken into account is the purpose of the account. The user needs to determine their intention for their account before they begin to post. Once they begin posting, their digital trace is there for everyone to see and possibly use against them in the future if their post is deemed to be inappropriate or controversial (Me and my shadow). If they deem the purpose of the account is to inform and educate their peers and fellow teachers then they should restrict their posts to educational based posts that are not politicised. This will stop the user from becoming a target of being labelled as a “policy pusher” or advocate for a specific party. This is incredibly important for educators as they are not allowed to advocate for political parties on a public forum.

Another issue is knowing what to post and what to keep private. Due to the emergence of social media platforms and their surge in popularity professionals are now confronted with how much of their personality to show through their posts. If they don’t use any personality in their posts, they are often deemed too robotic, however, if they use too much then their sense of professionalism is taken away. This can be managed through having a “personal-professional account” which is aimed at professional development and education matters and a separate account for the user to reach friends and family which is in no way connected to their profession (Cho and Jimerson, 2016). This allows for the user to manage their accounts to ensure that what they post or who they follow on each account is appropriate and reflective of their digital presence. This will stop parents and community members seeing personal information such as holiday photos or sporting preferences but also allows the users family and friends to not have to see resources relating to education or a specific school of it does not concern them.

Having an online presence in the modern day is almost necessary in order to stay up to date with policy changes, reforms and recent developments but it is also as necessary in order to stay connected with friends and family who may be spread across a country or even the globe. This leads to the necessity of a professional needing multiple social media accounts in order to stay up to date both professionally and personally without sacrificing their personal privacy or professional learning.

 

References

Me and my shadow, (n.d.). Take control of your data. Retrieved from https://myshadow.org/

Cho, V., & Jimerson, J. B. (2016). Managing digital identity on Twitter: The case of school administrators. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 45(5), 884-900. doi: 10.1177/1741143216659295

 

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INFO506 – Module 4 – Task 7

Moving into the 21st century, both patrons and organisations are changing and must develop and sustain a relationship with each other in order to create libraries that are both practical and engaging. This can be done with a mindset of a Library 2.0 ethos. This mindset involves the 4 C’s, which are collaboration, conversation, community, and content creation. This mindset strives to create a more efficient and effective way of creating and maintaining an engaging library space and service (Casey & Savastinuk, 2010).

Laura Cole (2016) makes 4 key points that guides libraries in the direction of becoming a Library 2.0. This points are ensuring that there is information accessibility for all patrons, the library shouldn’t depend on a physical space, the role of the librarian is to be a navigator and that digital libraries become a fluid idea. These ideas can be applied to any library space to help with the transition to a 2.0 library.

Information accessibility for all is a fundamental concept. In my current high school, there is a range of student ability. There are vision impaired students, students who read 10 grade levels below and students who read many grade levels above. In order to ensure that all of these students have access to the information, a range of resources need to be available. This can be achieved through having both the traditional, physical book stacks as well as having a more modern, technological approach such as an e-Library collection that offers audio books for students who can’t physically read and e-books which filters such as the dyslexia filter for students who need more personalised help to access the text on screen. This allows all students the chance to find resources or even books to just read for pleasure. Through this move, the library becomes more digital and students begin to move away from the idea that the library is the place of just books and begin to see the space as a collaborative space that they are able to create things in, rather than looking for an outdated, dusty old book.

In a school, there is often a struggle for maintaining classrooms and space. This could be eased through the library space which could be utilised as a skills space rather than a book storage. Through moving to a more online domain with an e-library, the librarian could focus their space on technology to allow students the opportunity to learn the valuable skills to access these resources as well as learning basic digital literacy skills. Through this transition, the librarian becomes more of a navigator than an instructor. This allows the students to collaborate with the librarian and begins the conversation to open up the possibility of deeper learning.

By moving away from the idea of libraries being places of quiet and reading and moving towards the idea that libraries should be loud, collaborative and engaging, students will begin to regard the library as a place that is invaluable to their education which is an idea that they will take with them into their lives.

 

References

Casey, M. & Savastinuk, L. (2010, May 21). Library 2.0: Service for the next-generation library. Library Journal.

Cole, Laura (2016) BiblioTech as the Re-Imagined Public Library: Where Will it Find You? Paper presented at: IFLA WLIC 2016 – Columbus, OH – Connections. Collaboration. Community in Session 213 – Metropolitan Libraries.

 

 

 

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INFO506 – Module 3 – Task 4

Washington Post

The Washington Post Twitter account seems to post only news related articles. These articles are directed at adults from their 30s onwards. They utilise keywords in their tweets such as “analysis”, “opinion” and interesting topics like “Trump” in order for users to be able to search and find articles that are relevant and useful. There are every limited pop culture or entertainment related articles through this account which means that it most likely does not reach younger audiences which could mean that they were deemed to not be part of the target audience. Also, the majority of the articles are about issues that are aimed at Americans which makes sense seeing as it is the “Washington post” Twitter account. This would also mean that people from other nations would not access this twitter feed regularly unless there was an issue that they were interested in and sought out the information. The account has a following of 14.5 million subscribers which shows that is it successful as a high percentage of twitter users deem their information important enough to be following in order to receive updates regularly.

 

The Australian Library & Information Association

The Australian Library & Information Association Twitter account seems to post to a relatively small demographic of library users and professionals. Just because it is posting to a smaller demographic does not mean that the content is less professional or less important. The content that this page seems to tweet or retweet include information about reading programs, library initiatives and articles and links about library memberships and opportunities for those members. The target audience seems to be librarians, students and parents who may be looking for opportunities for reading or similar activities for their children. This Twitter account seems to be fairly successful but as successful as The Washington Post. This account has 10 800 followers who subscribe to its feed.

When looking at both accounts it becomes clearer why one account has a larger following. The Washington Post account is linked closely with the news publication of the same name. This means that the readers of this would likely follow the account in order to get access to breaking news before it hits the shelves in physical print. This paper is also well known around the world. I am based in Australia and despite this, I know of the Washington Post. Whereas, the ALIA account has a fairly small target market. It does what it needs to do well, however, it is not widely known and therefore can’t be as successful as an account that has affiliations with larger information channels such as a newspaper.

References

Australian Library and Information Association. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/alianational

The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/washingtonpost

 

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INFO506 – Module 2 – Task 3

Social media has impacted the Department of Education and schools in Australia in various ways over the last decade. These impacts are both positive and negative and often influence how or why decisions are made.

A positive influence that social media has had on schools within the DET is that schools will now often have their own social media presence. The form in which this presence takes varies from school to school but most schools will now usually have at least their own Facebook page. Through Facebook the school is able to communicate easily with its community and share information between parties. This is especially important when emergencies arise when information is needed to widespread and quickly received. An example of this were the recent NSW and QLD bushfires. Schools that had their own social media accounts were able to post up to date and accurate information that parents and students could easily access. This allowed schools to communicate whether or not they were closed or open or even if they were being forced to evacuate (Guzman, 2016). This allowed one channel to be known as the authority for the school and for parents to be able to trust this source (Social Media Policy, 2018). This was helpful when schools needed to get the message to hundreds of parents at one time without having to call or text them individually.

Social media is not without its downsides though. One negative influence that social media has had and continues to have is the issue of cyber bullying within schools. Schools often struggle to effectively manage cyber bullying due to the multiple platforms of social media and that it is used outside of school. This leads to students being bullied in schools which can be managed through teachers and executive staff but when that bullying continues in their own homes and via devices that they just simply cannot be parted from, this leads to issues coming into the classroom which escalate often into violence and self-harm. These issues were not as common 10 years ago but due to the increase of social media usage students are finding themselves faced with cyber bullying more and more frequently and schools are forced to deal with the fallout from this despite not having any control over the situation.

Social media has both positive and negative influences in school settings but these platforms need to be managed effectively to ensure that all users are protected and safe.

References

Guzman, A. (2016, April). Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/04/6-ways-social-media-is-changing-the-world/

Social Media Policy, Social Media Policy (2018). Retrieved from https://policies.education.nsw.gov.au/policy-library/associated-documents/social-media-procedures.pdf

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INFO506 – Module 2 – Task 2

Technology is becoming more and more necessary in our modern world. The majority of retailers and companies that no longer are registered and appear in local directories and phone books such as the Yellow Pages are growing. This means that companies and retailers will often move to cheaper and more accessible ways of advertising and drawing in consumers such as the internet and social media.

In Australia, the population in 2019 is around 25 million people. Out of those 25 million people 87% use the internet whilst 64% use social media (Digital 2019 in Australia, 2019)This means that in order to reach their consumer base they need to create more of an online presence. This can often be done effectively through social media apps and websites whereas in the past they would have relied heavily on great service to generate word of mouth advertisement, large and expensive advertisements in phone directories and print advertisements in newspaper and magazines.

With more and more people utilising social media, companies need to be tuned into their target audience and utilise social media sites that target their specified target market. For example, a company may want a low cost social media presence to draw in customers and may opt for a lesser known platform such as Twitter which in 2019 had 326 million active users which sounds great but compared to a more well-known and utilised service such as Facebook which had 2271 million active users (Digital 2019 in Australia, 2019), seems to only target a very small share of the market. Companies would have to analyse the data and the weigh up the cost of advertising on more well-known, but more expensive platforms compared to more cost-effective but lesser known platforms.

Companies in the 21st century now need to think critically about their target market and how best to draw them in through an online platform. This is effectively getting rid of paper advertisements in favour of a purely electronic presence.

This also leads onto physical stores being made redundant more commonly. Due to an increased online presence and the ease of online shopping, more and more consumers are opting to purchase directly from their lounge rather than going in-store and making the purchase. Companies now need to create an engaging and captivating online store presence that will lure shoppers away from their competitors and into their store instead. Through this move to more online shopping, companies are now having to compete in a larger market. A local Australian company will now often have to compete with a large scale business in America or China who have the ability to create the same products but for lower prices. This forces smaller online stores to look for and create incentives for people to shop with them rather than larger online retailers.

Reference List

Digital 2019 in Australia. (2019). Retrieved 30 November 2019, from https://wearesocial.com/au/digital-2019-australia?mc_cid=2627112634&mc_eid=632bbf90f7

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