Archive of ‘ETL501’ category
Technology is a great tool to harness information in the 21st century learning environment. It is the teacher librarian’s (TL) responsibility to ensure that students ‘have access to well-organised systems for retrieving resources’ (Gemell, 2022, July 24), since effective school libraries enhance student learning outcomes (Libraries Tasmania, 2022). This is achieved by providing easy access to information in a range of formats through the use of technology. Effective school libraries also assist with integrating information literacy skills across a range of curriculum areas (Libraries Tasmania, 2022). All these aspects are covered in a well-constructed research page.
Creating digital learning objects is an important role of the TL to support digital literacy for students. A digital learning object is ‘a standalone piece of digital content that can be used and reused for learning purposes’ (IGI Global, n.d.). ‘The TL is well-placed to curate digital resources for teachers and students to access’ (Gemell, 2022, August 22), making them a ‘one-stop-shop for accessing information quickly and easily’ (Gemell, 2022, August 22). This idea is supported by ACT Government (2019, p. 7), stating ‘Teacher librarians are professional curators – they select only the most useful resources for teaching and learning’. By creating research guides, TLs assist in locating reliable, meaningful and authoritative resources in a world of information overload (ACT Government, 2019). Research guides also ‘encourage active engagement in the interactive information seeking process’ (Education matters, 2022).
Teaching and support are required in students’ development of information literacy and research skills (Loh, 2019). Students do not naturally have digital literacy skills (Kirscher & De Bruyckere, 2017). Kelly (2022, September 16) stated that there is ‘value in building the essential skills students need to be successful, particularly when using digital technologies’. I agree with this statement and as a TL it is imperative to teach our students the skills they need to be successful. ‘This world of ever-changing information is a minefield for students to navigate and we are all having to upskill in a variety of areas in order to successfully navigate and access the information we require’ (Gemell, 2022, July 24).
Creating research guides presents challenges relating to copyright. As the TL I must be an exemplar for best practice. This was discussed in relation to the use of book covers as pictures when creating research guides. The main point from the discussion is that using the book covers is highly unlikely to have any negative effects, however it’s important that correct copyright practice is modelled (Oddone, 2022, September 13). I found the smartcopying website to be reliable resource.
Another challenge that arose is the consideration of the reading level of the online resources. Knowing my students is key to selecting appropriate resources, but this was also backed up by the use of website readability checkers. The two that I predominantly used were Webfx for individual pages and Experte for entire websites. The accessibility of the online research guide also needed to be considered. ‘If students are presented with a resource that is not suitable for their needs, then it is of little use’ (Gemell, 2022, September 8). This is also true in the evaluation of search engines. ‘It’s important to think about what the students need out of their searching’ (Gemell, 2022, August 4).
To validate the effort of building a research page, it needs to be used by students and promoted by teachers. It is not a matter of ‘build it and they will come’. Having the research pages located on a platform that students use regularly helps in this conundrum. In my current role, LibBase (part of Infiniti) is used as the research guide platform. These are linked to class pages and promoted in class by the classroom teachers. As a result, these research guides are well-used (Gemell, 2022, August 2022).
In building the research guide I have learnt to consider the readability of a website, including the reading level, navigation and layout. I have also learnt to do some coding (thanks to a wonderful colleague) to ensure that the website was fit for purpose.
References
ACT Government. (2019). School Libraries: The Heart of 21st Century Learning. Canberra: ACT Government: Education. https://www.education.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/1435435/School-Libraries-The-Heart-of-21st-Century-Learning.pdf
Education matters magazine. (2022). School libraries supporting 21st century learning. https://www.educationmattersmag.com.au/school-libraries-supporting-21st-century-learning/
IGI Global. (2022). What is a digital learning object. https://www.igi-global.com/dictionary/enhancing-21st-century-learning-using-digital-learning-objects-and-multiple-intelligence-theory/67087
Kelly, S. (2022, September 16). Creating resources [Discussion board]. ETL501, Interact 2. https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_62875_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_127076_1&forum_id=_281396_1&message_id=_4131909_1
Kirschner, P.A. & De Bruyckere, P. (2017). The myths of the digital native and the multitasker. Teaching and Teacher Education, 67, 135-142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2017.06.001
Libraries Tasmania. (2022). Effective school libraries. https://libraries.tas.gov.au/school-library/Pages/effective.aspx
Loh, C. E. (2019). Envisioning the school library of the future: A 21st century framework. https://doi.org/ 10.13140/RG.2.2.32524.36489.
Oddone, K. (2022, September 13). Referencing pictures [Discussion board]. ETL501, Interact 2. https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/message?action=list_messages&course_id=_62875_1&nav=discussion_board_entry&conf_id=_127076_1&forum_id=_281392_1&message_id=_4222723_1
I’m in the process of curating resources for assignment 2, The library research guide. Having previously made pathfinders I thought this assignment would be straightforward. However, I have come to realise that there is so much to think about when curating resources for the research guide.
More than a Google search
Research guides are so much more than doing a broad Google search and trawling through the pages to find something that I think is suitable, then copying and pasting the URL. The curation of these resources relies on the TL understanding not only the topic area, but the students who will be accessing the research guide. The research guide also needs to embed research literacy skills, so students get the research guide is more than a collection of resources; it explains how to use the resources to get the most value out of them. Appropriate annotations of the resources allows students to navigate the resources and use them more effectively. In this way, the research guide supports students in navigating a range of quality resources and avoiding the infoglut of a poorly executed Google search.
Accessibility and readability
I hadn’t previously considered the readability or accessibility of resources but now realise that this is so important. If students are presented with a resource that is not suitable for their needs, then it is of little use. There are several readability checkers available online including Experte and Sitechecker.
The readability score (scale of 0-100). The following table shows the ranges
(Image from https://www.experte.com/readability-checker)
The access of the resources is also important. Different students have different needs when it comes to access and these must be considered in the creation of a research guide. The research guide that I am currently creating is focusing on the Year 8 history topic: Japan under the Shoguns. While researching suitable sites I discovered that there are sites available that have a read aloud function for many of the articles. This function is available on worldhistory.org and School Britannica. It is also available on many eBooks. This function allows students of lower reading abilities to access resources that they may otherwise not access.
Information literacy
To ensure the research guide is more than curated resources it is important to embed information literacy skills. Links to effective note-taking skills, note-taking templates and information about effective research skills are paramount. It’s one thing for students to access the resources, it’s another to support them in effective notetaking and research. The inclusion of instructional videos and clear templates support students to navigate and get the most out of the research guide.
Be sure to
Final hot tips for a great research guide
- Know your students
- Know the curriculum
- Use the readability checkers
- Check the readability of each web resources
- Check the readability of the research guide
- Embed information literacy skills
- Notetaking templates
- Notetaking skill information
- Boolean operators
- Easy navigation of the research guide
- Visually appealing but not distracting
- Working links
- Appropriate annotations
- Modelling of correct referencing
I think that using social media in the classroom is a slippery slope. There are arguments for and against using these platforms, but I personally would be reluctant to harness social media as an education platform.
There are several arguments supporting the use of social media. Students are using a variety of social media platforms and, as educators, and particularly as digital literacy experts, the teacher librarian are well-placed to support students in the safe use of these online spaces. Using social media opens up opportunities for ‘teaching moments’ to show students the importance of online responsibility and the use of privacy settings to ensure their online safety. Students also learn to engage with social media in a responsible manner and learn to only post what is appropriate. It’s the ‘think before you post’ mantra. My go to was always ‘if you wouldn’t put it on your grandmother’s fridge, don’t post it online’. These are vital skills for students as they interact with each other more and more in the digital world.
In saying that, interacting with students in a social media platform potentially opens a minefield of problems. When a page is opened for students to use it would become the responsibility of the teacher to monitor the use of the page. Teachers cannot monitor a page 24/7 so there is potential for the page to be used inappropriately. The page can’t be ‘closed’ overnight so students would have 24/7 access. Depending on which platform is chosen, students would be able to directly message the teacher, and this can place the teacher in an awkward situation in regard to child protection. These platforms are not monitored by the school and would breach child protection policies.
So, are there better options than teaching students how to be responsible in a public social media platform? Well, it depends on what the social media platform is being used for. Is it simply for sending out messages to students or is it for students to collaborate and contribute to the page? For messages being sent out be the teacher, the platforms School Stream and Class Dojo allows the school to make whole-school and individual class announcements. These platforms are monitored by the school to ensure that the content is appropriate.
Google Classroom allows interaction between teacher and students, and it includes a class homepage where students can post. I have previously worked in a ‘Google’ school and Google Classroom was used effectively to teach students about appropriate online interaction. The beauty of this choice is that the platform was monitored by school IT services, so the teacher was not on their own in monitoring the content. The page was also ‘closed’ from 8pm – 8am and on weekends. This is a setting the school chose to employ as a way to reduce issues around page monitoring.
I understand that students need to have real-world opportunities to build their skills in digital citizenship and that social media is not going away any time soon. However, I don’t think using public social media platforms is the way forward. I would suggest that teachers need to think carefully about what the purpose of using social media is before diving in headfirst.
I’m now halfway through ETL501 and I have been enjoying my learning journey so far. It has definitely challenged my thinking in the design of the physical library space and how that space is used by ALL members of the school community. I have looked at my library through a more critical lens and thinking about more than the aesthetics. The physical layout of the library must be purposeful and fit the needs of the school community, taking 21st century skills into account, thus future-proofing the library space. It was exciting to share the (imagined) library redesign ideas with my colleagues and to spark conversations around why the space is set up how it is and what would be changed, if anything. Being more critical of the library space allowed me to realise there are issues in my library, particularly the height of the non-fiction shelves. I hadn’t realised that the height makes browsing prohibitive as well as a WHS issue.
It was also eye-opening to realise that the library’s number one purpose is to service the needs of teachers and the students come secondary to this. However, by supporting the teachers it enables them (and us) to support the students. It’s not about neglecting student needs but supporting them through the curriculum needs of teachers.
Doing all this learning online is challenging however it does have advantages. The online delivery model allows me to
- Access the content when I want to
- Refer back to the content as required
- Curate readings digitally
Disadvantages include
- A lot of reading online
- Feeling isolated because there is no in-person interaction with the unit coordinators or students
Even though I have enjoyed the learning in ETL501 so far, I do find it difficult to be excited about it. I have to be self-motivated to engage in the learning and the discussion boards. The amount of reading can be overwhelming. I would like to see a change in the delivery of the bulk of the content through recorded weekly lectures with additional reading and activities required in addition to the lecture. I have previously engaged in distance education that followed this model and I found it to be more motivating.
Engaging with online content has got me thinking about the concept of the flipped classroom. The flipped classroom model needs to be considered carefully before implementation. The resources provided must suit the needs of the learners otherwise it is difficult to engage with the materials independently. The flipped classroom model also needs to take differentiation of content into consideration. There is not a one-size-fits all when it comes to learning. I can see that the flipped classroom model could possibly allow students to move through their learning more quickly because the learning is taking place outside of class time. This frees up the class time to be used for support from the teacher and peers through questions and practice of new skills.
The flipped classroom model could influence library research investigations with students engaging in independent research outside class time and then receive guidance from the classroom teacher and the teacher librarian at school.
However, it does make me wonder if the flipped classroom model works for motivated, capable students but is potentially a pitfall for students requiring more support.
Key aspects of Web 2.0 that are likely to impact on education in today’s schools include web search skills, website evaluation strategies and the effects of social media.
The use of search engines has a huge impact on education. There are a vast number of search engines available, and they all allow a list of websites appearing at the click of a button. This information glut can be difficult to navigate, particularly if students do not have the skills to effectively evaluate websites. These skills are not innate, and students are not digital natives (Kirscher & De Bruyckere, 2017). It is disservice to our students to assume they have the skills to navigate and discern information presented to them online. Just because our students have grown up in a world where the internet always been in their lives, does not mean they naturally have the skills to navigate it. To put this in perspective, we all grew up in a world where there are cars, however we all needed explicit instruction to learn to drive one.
Web 2.0 provides an interactive experience for students, and they can comment on and ‘like’ pages and posts. They can create their own blogs and interact with other internet users. This opens a whole can of worms for schools around cyber-safety for their students. All schools have a responsibility to ensure that students are safe online. Schools need to have a ‘Responsible use of ICT’ policy and it needs to updated regularly and adhered to. This helps to ensure students’ online safety.
The impact of social media platforms is ongoing in schools. It’s more than teaching students about the dangers of these social media platforms (grooming, cyber-bullying, identity theft) but for schools to understand what behaviours are being promoted in trending videos (Wright, 2022). With this knowledge, teachers can support students in their safe navigation of these social media platforms. Our students are exposed to more information than ever before and they must have the skills to navigate this information. Remember, not everything you read in on the internet is true!
This might all seem like a lot of doom and gloom with the online dangers for our students. But there is a light! The teacher librarian can support students in their skills to navigate Web 2.0 tools. From effective search skills to website evaluation, the teacher librarian is well-placed to teach these skills explicitly in a range of subject areas across the curriculum. There is also opportunity here for the teacher librarian to provide professional development to staff to upskill them in these areas as well. Web 2.0 applications are here to stay and cannot be ignored. To ignore these is to ignore student needs.
References
Kirscher, P.A., & De Bruyckere, P. (2017). The Myths of the digital native and the multitasker. Teaching and Teacher Education. 10(67) 135-142.
Wright, A. (2022, April 7). TikTok: What Are the Dangers and What Should Schools Do? School governance. https://www.schoolgovernance.net.au/news/tiktok-what-are-the-dangers-and-what-should-schools-do
The layout of the library takes many factors into consideration. It needs to be visually appealing while servicing the needs of the school community. It needs to be a place of quiet study and collaboration. It needs to be a flexible, yet practical. Many of these considerations seem to be contradictory and presents the conundrum of ‘How does the library cater for all these needs?’
The conundrum
Different sections of the school are going to require different uses of the library space. This morning I was faced with one such conundrum around the use of the library. In the mornings, the library is a buzz of activity; students studying, chatting, playing cards, catching up on homework, and playing chess. There is particularly boisterous group of Year 8 students who enjoy sitting and chatting in the library. Their favoured space is close to tables at which the Year 12s like to study in small groups. One Year 12 student was labouring over a past paper and was getting frustrated about the Year 8s chatting. All students have equal rights to accessing the library space, but the Year 12 student didn’t see it that way. The year 12 student was offered a small study room, but he declined saying he preferred to be at the table. Who was right in this interaction?
This particular scenario is not unusual in the library space; one that I am sure we have all faced at one time or another. The question is, what do we do about it? Are we meeting the needs of the students in the current library space?
Role of the library
Loh (2019) states that “The five key roles of a 21st century school library are to support reading, research, collaboration, studying and doing” (p. 4). This is a far cry from the library of old, where it was simply a place to store and access knowledge and information (Australian Library and Information Association, 2014; Halder, 2020; Rashid, 2020). The library is a much more dynamic space now than ever before and is being used in dynamic ways. The space must have the flexibility to cater for all students needs within the five key roles. Reading, researching and studying require a quiet space, while collaboration and doing require a space that allows talking and movement.
Solving the conundrum
The key to the solution is being definite about what each section of the library is used for. There needs to be areas for quiet study, researching and reading, and there needs to be areas for collaboration and doing. When there is cross-over in these areas, that is when the situation outlined above occurs.
There is no one-size-fits all solution, and it’s vital for the teacher librarian to assess the needs of the students and staff through conversations and understanding the curriculum. They then apply this knowledge of their community to designing the space to suit the varied needs.
References
Australian Library and Infomation Association. (2017). Future of the library and information science profession school libraries. Canberra: Australian Library and Infomation Association. https://www.alia.org.au/futureoftheprofession
Halder, D. (2020). A transitional shift from traditional library to digital library. In A. K. A. Kaushik, Handbook of research on emerging trends and technologies in library and information science (pp. 147-156). IGI Global.
Loh, C. E. (2019). Envisioning the school library of the future: A 21st century framework. https://doi.org/ 10.13140/RG.2.2.32524.36489.
Rashid, M. H. (2020, December 28). Difference Between Traditional and Digital Library. Library & Information Managemet. https://limbd.org/
Before I sink my teeth too far into a new unit, I like to take a moment to pause and really think about what I already know (or think I know) about the subject. What does ‘dynamic information environment’ mean? The word ‘dynamic’ is really the key here. It shows that the world of information is ever-changing and not static or stagnant. The phrase does not specify whether the information environment is physical or digital so I’m going to apply it to both contexts. This world of ever-changing information is a minefield for students to navigate and we are all having to upskill in a variety of areas in order to successfully navigate and access the information we require. So, what does this all mean in the context of a school library and the role of the teacher librarian?
According to Australian School Library Association (ASLA) (2022) the teacher librarian has three main roles. These roles are as curriculum leaders, information specialists and information service managers. Teacher librarians as information specialists and information service managers both contribute to the navigation of a dynamic information environment. The teacher librarian ensures that students and teachers have access to well-organised systems for retrieving resources. For this to be effective the teacher librarian must ensure that these systems are well maintained with the focus being on the users. Just because a system works well for the teacher librarian, it may not be suitable for the school community. These systems must consider both the physical and digital resources.
How does the dynamic information environment relate to the physical space of the library? My initial thought is that the library space must be flexible to accommodate the variety of ways in which the school accesses information. Just like the way the information landscape is every-changing, then the library space needs to adapt to accommodate this constant change. A library space is a place for collaboration, exploration, leisure as well as research and individual study. The physical space must be dynamic in its own way to function within and support the dynamic information environment.
There is a lot to consider and unpack in three words but these thoughts are just the beginning of the learning journey in ETL501.