Whilst previously considering the various roles of the teacher librarian (TL) to include information literacy leader and media specialist (Brien, 2021, July 27), I viewed the TL’s expertise as integral in helping to develop students’ information and digital literacy skills and capabilities (Brien, 2021, July 23). This is ever so important as we exist in […]
ETL501
Discussion Forum 4.3 – Information Services for Staff
One information service the teacher librarian could provide in a primary school setting, is the establishment and delivery of intensive cyber safety and digital citizenship workshops. These workshops would be beneficial in that it would ensure this particular curriculum content is taught in a meaningful, authentic and engaging manner – aligning with the teacher librarian’s […]
Discussion Forum 4.1 – Use of Web 2.0/3.0
I believe network limitations and device availability are the main issues when it comes to inclusion and utilisation of any Web 2.0/3.0 tool. I think this is a significant barrier for successful technological integration as these factors can cause severe frustration for teachers when they potentially have the desire to implement these tools, but the […]
Discussion Forum Module 3.1 – Student-friendly Search Engine: Kidtopia vs. Kiddle
For this module activity, I chose to compare student-friendly search engines Kidtopia and Kiddle to find out information about the concept of sustainability. Kidtopia’s top four results were ads, which did take up the entirety of the screen; therefore, scrolling was required to get to the first non-ad hit. The ads were outlined in a […]
Discussion Forum Module 3.1 – Common Search Engine: Google vs. Dogpile
For this module activity, I chose to compare Google and Dogpile to find out information about the concept of sustainability. The page display of results from Google were clean and simple. The top chunk of information was a definition of the concept, followed by a list of potential questions to further hone results. This was […]
Discussion Forum 2.3 – Critical Evaluation for Students
A Stage 3 classroom teacher entered the library the other week, wanting to borrow a few junior non-fiction texts for a low-ability student. The class was conducting online research for a writing task and the teacher was complaining that the student “couldn’t even do a simple Google search” and thus, the books were the alternative. […]
Discussion Forum 2.2 – Critical Website Evaluation for Teachers
It is interesting to pause and reflect on the learnings from Module 2, in light of how I have previously evaluated websites and their usage for teaching and learning. I had been made aware of readability tools back in the Resourcing the Curriculum unit, to check appropriateness of websites for inclusion in the curation of […]
Blooms Taxonomy Module 1 Activity
This practical activity required an exploration of Bloom’s Taxonomy and then locating Resources/Web 2.0 tools that would assist in developing students’ understandings on the given curriculum area and related questions that were provided. Objective Question Resources/Web 2.0 tools Knowledge What is an ecosystem? Dictionary – print or online (http://www.onelook.com) or basic textbook, https://www.workdnik.com/, http://visuwords.com, […]
Discussion Forum 1 – Dynamic Learning Spaces
Last year in my very first year as teacher librarian, I had the pretty unique opportunity to set up a library at a brand-new school – I did a blog post on my Thinkspace blog with before and after pictures and also some reflections on the process. The bulk of the furniture had already been […]