According to the Australian School Library Association (ASLA), the teacher librarian has three major roles. They include that of: curriculum leader, information specialist and information services manager. Their role is vital as they “support and implement the vision of their school communities through advocating and building effective library and information services and programs that contribute […]
ETL401 – Introduction to Teacher Librarianship
Are School Librarians an Endangered Species?
In considering the reflection prompt, ‘are school librarians an endangered species?’ Bonanno, in her keynote address at the 2011 ASLA Biennial Conference, offers a powerful “game plan” to ensure the survival of the teacher librarian species. Bonanno (2011) identifies teacher librarianship as an “invisible profession” amongst the teaching vocation at large, at a “tipping point”, […]
Discussion Forum 3.1 – AITSL Standards
As my understanding about the role of the teacher librarian continues to evolve with further subject study and research, it is evident that the unique and specialised qualifications held by the teacher librarian should deservedly be held in high regard. Despite being NESA accredited, I was unaware of the existence of a separate set of […]
AITSL Standards for Teacher Librarian Practice
The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) has developed the AITSL Standards for Teacher Librarian Practice document. It clearly and succinctly provides “exemplars of practice” (ALIA, 2014, p.1) which can assist the teacher librarian in successfully achieving in the Professional Knowledge, Professional Practice and Professional Engagement domains at the proficient, highly accomplished and lead levels. […]
ETL401 Assessment 1 (Part B) – Online Reflective Journal: Blog Post
Only a few weeks in to the Master of Education (Teacher Librarianship) course and it is glaringly apparent that my former understandings of the role of the teacher librarian will undergo a drastic transformation as I progress through my studies. Whilst it has not been a position that has been on my radar until relatively […]
The Information Society and the role of the Teacher Librarian
There is no doubt that we are part of an ‘information society’. Whether you identify as what Floridi (2007) describes as a “digital native”, who has been born into this current time period burgeoning with technological devices, smart technologies and constant connectivity; or a “digital immigrant” who has adopted and incorporated these technologies as they […]
Social Media and the Rise of Celebrity vs Qualified Professional
Never before in history has there been so much ease of access to information. The information landscape is evolving at an “alarming rate” (O’Connell et al., 2021, module 2.2) and the amount of data created is growing exponentially each and every day (Desjardins, 2019). With the rise of various social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, […]
Libraries framed by an Economic Definition of the Information Society
The reflection prompt invites the consideration of libraries framed by an ‘economic’ definition of the Information Society. It asks whether libraries are managers, creators and distributors of information, or data processors? O’Connell et al. suggests that “when we talk about the information society we think of rapid technological change, convergence of technologies and changes to […]
The Driving Force Behind Technological Change
The reflection prompt for this learning activity, as to ‘who/what is driving technological change – is it the inhabitants of the landscape or the technology itself?’ is a bit of a which came first – the chicken or the egg? kind of question. I’d first consider why a particular technology is created. Usually, society has […]
The Tool is Directing the User…
O’Connell et al. states that “the tool is directing the user” where built-in artificial intelligence (AI) is an embedded technology where “users don’t have to think about how to use it [the technology tool]”. She provides Google as an example of a platform which uses this AI feature, which limits search options based on a […]
Ramifications of having access to Technology 24/7
Having access to (or the ability to access) information 24/7 is a norm in our modern-day society. On first consideration, I would deem it to be a largely positive notion. However, in the article set for consideration and reflection upon, Mosbergen (2016) reports on a French labour reform bill that has me questioning whether this […]
Deep Web and Internet2 Definitions
After consideration of a number of googled definitions of the terms, these are my own definitions of ‘Deep Web’ and ‘Internet2’: Deep Web – The Deep Web is the part of the World Wide Web (ie. Internet) that cannot be found on standard search engines (such as Google or Yahoo) that index regular ‘Surface […]
A 2007 Perspective on the Future Impact of ICT in Our Lives
The reflection question, ‘has much changed since Floridi wrote this article?’ can be reduced to a simplistic yes or no answer. My response: yes, I believe much has changed in the 14 years since the article publication in 2007. I think more pertinent questions to consider are: how have things changed and also how much […]
An Introduction to the Information Environment
The initial readings from Module 2.1 of the ETL401: Introduction to Teacher Librarianship subject provide an interesting foundation of learning to begin my Masters journey. The first reflective task is to consider what we have learnt so far from this particular module. As such, the following is a summary of O’Connell et al.’s teachings of […]