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A whole new world (Assessment 2 – Part 2)

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Working out how to support my whole school community in the myriad ways that a good teacher librarian (TL) should is something that has worried me… until now.

This subject has shown me how to create re-usable learning objects so that it is possible to build and adapt a repository of school-based resources over time. This would include research guides, documents and templates that support the development of information literacy skills, and video tutorials (Kempinger, 2021a) that show how libraries can help.

Collaboration not isolation

A group of people working together.

Photo by Leon on Unsplash

Until I reached out to a colleague to discuss ideas about an actual unit of study, I was directionless and confused. The ability to tailor a research guide to a specific purpose highlighted the need for content curation and not simply content collection. Choosing quality content, evaluating it before including it and providing annotations to explain why it has been included, means that the user can feel confident that it will be suitable (Oddone, 2020).

Couldn’t do it without technology

Photo by ThisIsEngineering from Pexels

Unfortunately, my school library does not have a robust online presence. This is something that needs to be prioritized if we want to work smarter and not harder. A library homepage that links to subject-specific research guides, researching templates, how-to instructions, and video tutorials creates consistency; something that teachers and students can trust. As South (2017) says, we want students to experiment without a fear of failure and the ideas outlined above can support this.

TLs are experts at evaluating resources for their suitability and know to consider a range of factors when selecting resources. The readability thread started by Gill (2021) is a great example of how online tools can be useful but teacher judgement needs to  be applied when choosing resources for students.

Online vs print

Photo by Souvik Banerjee on Unsplash

Although there are a few useful references on the shelves in our library, we cannot compete with the variety that is available online(Kempinger, 2021b). But, can we simply send students online to find information?

While students are likely to be able to complete a google search, they are unlikely to be able to gauge the accuracy and reliability of the information they find. In order to support the development of information literacy skills, TLs need to ensure that they work with teachers to create useful and consistent processes that are embedded into the curriculum. These can then provide scaffolds for students within research guides; which is preferable to them finding their own unstructured methods (Gilbert, 2019).

The library website also needs to show best practice. It cannot be assumed that students understand how to effectively and respectfully use the broad range of tools that Web 2.0 has to offer. TLs can model “exemplary use of  social media, search engines, and collaborative research strategies” (O’Connell, 2011) when working with both students and staff.

Accessibility

Image by cris renma from Pixabay

Finally, my eyes have been opened to WCAG (W3C, n.d.). It is one thing to be aware of accessibility and another to actively strive to understand and achieve it. By ensuring that learning objects produced by or in collaboration with the library are compliant, a conversation about the choices we make can be started. If we know how to make it easier for everyone to access learning, why wouldn’t we do it?

 

 

References

Gilbert, K. (2019, May 3). Libguides: In workflow, discovery, behaviour and space. Synergy, 14(2). https://slav.vic.edu.au/index.php/Synergy/article/view/v14220165

Gill, L. (2021). Online access. ETL 501 forum module 2: Print versus digital information sources. Response in Discussion Forums. CSU. https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/forum?action=list_threads&course_id=_57506_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_114042_1&forum_id=_241167_1 

Kempinger, N. (2021a, September 19). Flip or flop? Passion for learning. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/kempinger/2021/09/19/flip-or-flop/ 

Kempinger, N. (2021b, August 1). Are reference sections going extinct? Passion for learning. https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/kempinger/2021/08/01/are-reference-sections-going-extinct/

O’Connell, J. (2011). Web 1.0 to Web 3.0: A wolf in sheep’s clothing or a new culture of learning? Technology and teaching practice. https://teachwithict.wordpress.com/2011-symposium-the-communicative-affordances-of-online-tools/web-1-0-to-web-3-0-a-wolf-in-sheeps-clothing-or-a-new-culture-of-learning/

Oddone, K. (2020, April 3). Digital content curation: How to do it right! SCIS. https://scis.edublogs.org/2020/04/03/digital-content-curation-how-to-do-it-right/?sbe-followsubs=true

South, S. (2017). School libraries as incubators – where good ideas hatch!​ Scan, 36(1). https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/professional-learning/scan/past-issues/vol-36–2017/school-libraries-as-incubators-where-good-ideas-hatch-

W3C. (2019, July 11). Introduction to web accessibility. Web Accessibility Initiative. https://www.w3.org/WAI/fundamentals/accessibility-intro/

Why aren’t we blogging already?

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Image by Werner Moser from Pixabay

This module is helping me to understand the versatility of blogs. Up until this time, despite my experiences, I have viewed blogs as journals and thoughtful meanderings that are primarily there for people to share their thinking on specific topics with those who have similar interests. What a missed opportunity!

Due to this closed way of thinking, I have never really considered the ways that I can utilise a blog within the context of my school.  After reading two online articles by Kathleen Morris, I am excited to experiment. As a TL, I see potential for a library blog that could incorporate or link to profession learning and specialist subject area blogs. As a practicing teacher, I am interested in a class blog that incorporates a specialist subject area blog as well as student blogs and collaboration. Time and current work demands mean that I need to be realistic and strategic in where I start this exploration. My teaching load is predominantly in English and, for this reason, it makes sense to begin here. Spending so much of the past two years teaching remotely has also meant that having an innovative and engaging space for students is something that I am constantly on the look out for.

Ideally I would want to build a blog that expands over time. Knowing that it is not possible to “do it all” forces me to consider the steps to take to make this project more likely to succeed and become a way to support student learning. Morris (2018) refers to blogs as a “sweet spot” that allows the teacher to work with and mentor students as they are building skills and understanding across a wide range of literacies and competencies. This really resonates with me as my own experience would suggest that student growth is highest when they have opportunities to work in collaboration with peers and the teacher on authentic activities.

The steps that I intend to take:

  1. Set up a class blog for year 9 English (I have two year 9 English classes and I hope that this will lead to cross-class communication and collaboration). Focus on administrative information and advertise to my students and their families.
  2. Begin to showcase work that is occurring in the classroom and encourage class community comment.
  3. Incorporate subject area content and use this to support student skill development around finding information
  4. Incorporate student/student and student/teacher collaboration
  5. Reflect throughout the process and gather feedback from students and parents. Make adjustments as required.
  6. Present to staff in the school and offer PD and to work collaboratively to support others in this pursuit.

References

Morris, K. ( 2020, February 11). The top 10 ways blogs and WordPress are used in schools. The Edublogger. https://www.theedublogger.com/blogs-wordpress-schools/ 

Morris, K. (2018). Why teachers and students should blog: 18 benefits of educational blogging. Primary Tech. http://primarytech.global2.vic.edu.au/2013/03/08/the-benefits-of-educational-blogging/

Reflecting (Assessment 3 – Part C)

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Every day I encounter staff who don’t understand the potential that lies in the library. They see libraries as a physical resource that is separate from the classroom environment, rather than an integral part of the teaching community where learning is at the centre (Herring, 2007). They need to be shown that libraries are spaces for integrated learning, where inquiry is at the heart of our practice (Todd, 2007). This is where an awareness of the role of teacher librarians is needed.


Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

These same staff complain about students who are unable to conduct effective research and simply ‘copy and paste’ their work from the Internet. They know what they want students to be able to do, but they do not know how to help them to develop the skills to get there. It does not occur to them that a quality teacher librarian, doing their job, will be able to bridge this gap and help teachers to teach and students to learn (Purcell, 2010). This is where an understanding of Information Literacy is needed.

I'd like to thank Google, Wikipedia and copy & paste“I’d like to thank Google, Wikipedia and copy & paste” by patrickdevries2003 is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

And then they sit in the staffroom at lunch whinging to anyone who will listen about students who do not complete homework and sit staring at their computer screen achieving little despite having more than enough work to do. There is a lack of understanding that, just because young people today have grown up surrounded by technology and look as though they know how to use it, they don’t necessarily know how to use it effectively (Combes, 2009). I reflected on this in a discussion thread about information societies that can be accessed here (Kempinger, 2019a). This is where the impact of collaborative teaching using an inquiry learning design is needed.


Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

So, what is my course of action moving forward? To start with, there will be an emphasis on promotion and the way that, as a teacher-librarian, I am in the unique role of being able to look at the school both vertically and horizontally (Purcell, 2010), meaning that it is easier to see the continuum of skills and how these can be supported. While I understand that I will become overwhelmed if I take on too much at once, on my to-do list for 2020 is to look at the humanities curriculum maps from years 7-12 to begin mapping the topics covered and skills required so that I can begin looking for opportunities to work collaboratively with classroom teachers to better prepare students for a life beyond high school that expects them to problem-solve and behave ethically (Lamb, 2011).


Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

When it comes to deciding who to approach for collaboration, I will need to be careful to select a teacher with whom I already have a trusting relationship built on open communication (Haycock, 2007) because, even though effective collaborative cultures need diversity in order to look at situations from a range of perspectives (Fullan, 1999), it will be trust and communication that drive the collaboration.

Thanks to documents like the Alexandria Proclamation on Information Literacy and Lifelong Learning (2005), highlighting global dedication to the empowerment of all people by teaching the skills to find, evaluate and create information is easy. While there are many models for teaching information literacy, it is important that each setting finds a model that suits them. This is where I see a conundrum for my immediate future- I personally prefer a sociocultural approach to learning where students work in communities on topics that interest them (Farrell & Badke, 2015), but many teachers at my school favour a behaviourist approach as they can fit it into their current practice. For this reason, I will need to remember that different people within the school community will see information literacy from different perspectives and this means that I cannot do what I prefer, but need to factor in these differences if I want to have a positive impact (Bruce, Edwards & Lupton, 2006).

Think positive - illustrations“Think positive – illustrations” by simona bonafini is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

So, if I revisit my first blog post (Kempinger, 2019b) I can see that I still have the same desire to be a driver for positive change, but I am now in a much better position to actually do something about it as I am armed with information that I have been able to experiment with in context, turning it into knowledge, which has power.


Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

References:

Bruce, C., Edwards, S., & Lupton, M. (2006). Six frames for information literacy education: A conceptual framework for interpreting the relationships between theory and practice. Italics, 5(1). Retrieved from https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/doi/full/10.11120/ital.2006.05010002

Combes, B. (2009). Generation Y: Are they really digital natives or more like digital refugees? Synergy, 7(1), 31-40. Retrieved from https://search-informit-com-au.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/fullText;dn=178236;res=AEIPT

Farrell ,R. & Badke, W. (2015). Situating information literacy in the disciplines: A practical and systematic approach for academic librarians. Reference Services Review, 43(2). Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/docview/1725782993?OpenUrlRefId=info:xri/sid:primo&accountid=10344

Fullan, M. (1999). Chapter 3: The deep meaning of inside collaboration. In Change forces – the sequel: The sequel, (pp.31-41). Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/csuau/reader.action?docID=237391&ppg=43

Haycock, K. (2007). Collaboration: Critical success factors for student learning. School Libraries Worldwide, 13(1), 25-35. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/docview/57538522/195463D1D10D40CBPQ/1?accountid=10344

Herring, J. (2007). Teacher librarians and the school library. In S. Ferguson (Ed.) Libraries in the twenty-first century : charting new directions in information (pp. 27-42). Wagga Wagga , NSW : Centre for Information Studies, Charles Sturt University. Retrieved from  https://www-sciencedirect-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/science/article/pii/B9781876938437500028

International Federation of Library Associations. (2005). Beacons of the information society: The Alexandria Proclamation on information literacy and lifelong learning. Retrieved from https://www.ifla.org/publications/beacons-of-the-information-society-the-alexandria-proclamation-on-information-literacy

Kempinger, N. (2019a). Online access. Forum 2.2 . ETL401 Response in Discussion Forums. CSU. Retrieved from https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_38048_1&conf_id=_74551_1&forum_id=_177141_1&message_id=_2632529_1&nav=discussion_board_entry

Kempinger, N. (2019b, November 28). Teacher or TL [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/kempinger/2019/11/28/teacher-or-tl-assessment-1/

Lamb, A. (2011). Bursting with potential: Mixing a media specialist’s palette. Techtrends : Linking research & practice to improve learning, 55(4), 27-36. Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=0a84a319-9bd9-44be-9dc5-d7f547be53c1%40sessionmgr102&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=60840783&db=a9h

Purcell, M. (2010). All librarians do is check out books right? A look at the roles of the school library media specialist. Library Media Connection 29(3), 30-33. Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=60171d13-40cb-4fcd-9884-3a2bb1ac5710%40sessionmgr103&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=EJ907292&db=eric

Todd, R. J. (2007). Evidence-based practice and school libraries. In S. Hughes-Hassell & V. H. Harada (Eds.), School reform and the school library media specialist (pp. 57-78). Retrieved from https://doms.csu.edu.au/csu/file/b84e4d87-0e09-4bd5-9dcb-023fe550270a/1/todd-r.pdf

Four Corners- Digi Kids

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After watching the Four Corners segment titled ‘Digi Kids’, I found myself thinking about my kids and my teaching practice.

As a secondary English teacher, I experience the difficulties of students coming to my classroom with such a range of abilities and experiences. I see a lack of phonics, grammar and punctuation knowledge, and the stress or disengagement experienced by those students who are lacking confidence in these areas. I, like the teachers in the segment, was never taught these things explicitly yet find the need to learn so that my students can achieve.

My school has shifted focus to lots of close reading and deconstruction of texts with a lens on word and sentence level teaching. We value reading and are bringing student choice to the fore.

Part of my motivation for choosing to go back to study and become qualified as a Teacher Librarian stems from my desire to provide the opportunities that students need to become passionate about reading and seeing learning as exciting and not a means to an end.

As a parent, I worry. I think most of us do. I worry about the impact my behaviors will have on my children. Food for thought and a good chance to reflect on whether or not we are in control of the technology in our lives, or if the technology is in control of us.