Week 2

Module 2: The Information Environment

What is an information society and why is it important for the teacher librarian to have an understanding of the information landscape?

An information society is a society that values knowledge above all else.
The term ‘information society’ is used to describe the current trends marked by the rapid changes to technological, economic, educational and occupational organisations. It is the understanding that information plays a pivotal role in today’s advanced economy, through the creation, use, distribution and integration of information. It is something that is purchased, sold and manipulated – the attributes of all traded goods. However, information can take many forms and whether the form of information is deemed valuable is based upon the perspective of the society in which it is interpreted (Cornelius, 2004).

It is important for the teacher librarian to have an understanding of the information landscape, as ‘information as knowledge’ is a valuable asset in the workforce, with a greater demand on education systems to ensure students are equipped with the necessary ICT skills to access information and the ability to process the vast quantity of information they will be required to process upon entering the workplace.

Different pedagogies have been adapted to the ever-evolving 21st century society and its needs, with one theory, the ‘constructivist theory’, suggesting that learning is viewed as “the construction of meaning [information], rather than as the momorisation of facts” (Patel et al., 2011). It is essential that the teacher librarian’s role within the school develops with the growth of information in society to adjust and prepare students to successfully manage their role beyond the classroom in an information society.

 

Reference list:

Cornelius, I. (2004). Information and its philosophy. Library Trends, 52(3), 377-386. CSU Library.

Patel, C.J., Gali, V.S., Patel, D.V., & Parmar, R.D. (2011). The effects of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on higher education: From objectivism to social constructivism. Accessed from International Journal of Vocational and Technical Education Vol. 3(5), pp. 113-120: http://www.academicjournals.org/journal/IJVTE/article-full-text-pdf/8A69D4C738 

 

Week 1

Module 1: Introduction

Holy guacamole. It’s been a huge week for me. Nothing gets you into the swing of forced learning like an assignment due Monday!

This week was all about beginning our modules, introducing ourselves to the group forum and setting up our think space blogs.. WELCOME.

I found the first assignment of writing a reflection of the perceived view of the teacher librarian to be interesting and believe it or not.. actually enjoyable to write. It wasn’t just another academic piece of writing full of in text references and poorly used APA referencing. It was my reflection and my opinion on the topic (backed up by academic and scholarly articles of course). I hope this is a sign of good things to come for this course!

I didn’t find myself distracted by cat videos and pictures of Meghan Markle’s (rumoured) wedding dress. I read several other blogs written by students completing the same assignment and found it fascinating. Hundreds (180ish?) of different people, with different perspectives and different life experiences to alter these perspectives… and yet majority were of similar opinion. Is it because we hold the same values of education, leadership and the role the librarian has within schools? Maybe we’ve all had similar experiences of being in a library as a child and found this to be a comforting and wonderful place to be. That overwhelming good feeling of knowledge, escape and adventure being just a fingertip away.

Anyway, that’s it for this week. I’m feeling some what on top of things so far. No Britney circa 2008 meltdown for me yet! Phew.