Reflecting on who I am and where I want to be…
PART A: What makes an effective Teacher Librarian? An effective teacher librarian is one who demonstrates leadership, collaboration, innovation, and supports the school community through the provision of services which enhance learning and wellbeing. It is someone who can position the Library as the heart of 21st century learning within the school and support whole…
An integral aspect of the Teacher Librarian (TL) role is the creation and curation of digital resources, including research guides and learning objects to support learning across the curriculum (Oberg, 2007). This provides an avenue for TL’s to directly impact student learning, collaborate with teachers, and embed vital information literacy skills into learning materials (O’Connell,…
Ok, I’ll admit it. I was deeply confronted by the suggestion that we use search engines which are not Google, as I am a self-confessed Google aficionado who primarily utilises Google platforms on a professional level. NOT use Google? Perhaps I’d had bad experiences before, but I could not see the value in this initially.…
The module readings have opened my eyes to the wealth of thought that needs to go into online resources, especially those which are aimed at students. Whilst I have been aware of my legal requirements in regards to copyright, I have gained a much greater understanding of creative commons licensing and ensuring I am modelling…
I chose this subject as the final elective in my Masters of Ed (TL) course, partly just because it sounded interesting (!) and partly because the assessments sounded practical and relevant to my future career. I currently work in a library with decent physical spaces (not perfect, but decent!) but very little digital resources spaces,…
My understanding of leadership and the important role of the teacher librarian as leader has developed significantly throughout this unit. Looking back at my initial blog post, I realised I already had a strong interest in leadership and an awareness that different styles could significantly alter outcomes, motivations and opportunities within the school environment; however,…
Leadership is a dynamic process within a school environment, which has naturally evolved to meet the changing needs of the 21st century. Whereas in the past, principals were seen as the ultimate authoritative manager within the school, the increasing complexity of modern educational systems have resulted in the necessary re-evaluation of the organisational structure. As…
When learning more about leadership styles, what really stood out for me is that some styles facilitate the TL to lead, and others are styles that the TL should adopt when leading. Leadership which facilitates the TL to lead: Transformational leadership is an essential component of 21st century schools, as it provides an avenue to…
My first thoughts about the ETL504 unit is that everyone says to leave it as late as possible in your course: that it’s hard, and that you need to draw on the wealth of knowledge you have already gained in the other subjects. So I start the session with some trepidation, worried about the workload…
As a lifelong lover of literature, I was drawn to this subject and the immense possibilities it could provide to my future career. Coming from a secondary English background, I already felt fairly confident in my ability to foster a love of reading and use literature to open new avenues for student engagement, empathy and learning.…