Today’s students and teachers are global learners. A global perspective offers an opportunity to develop positive and responsible values and attitudes by becoming digital citizens. One of the key components of digital citizenship is collaboration.

Initially after looking at the subject outline, the group work component of this subject made me think whether to go ahead or not with this subject. I decided to challenge myself. This assignment gave me a real feel of what collaborative planning is. I have used wiki spaces in my other subject before but this group work was an intense one.

According to Lindsay (2015), there are eight norms of online global collaboration. These norms provide an educator with support and helps to build an engaging and successful relationship with others. I will elaborate our group work using these norms.

1. Be Prepared: We were prepared for this task by writing a 100 word group proposal for our Digital Citizenship Learning Module.
2. Having a Purpose: We had a purpose to complete this task by the due date.
3. Paraphrase: This step is about using clear language for global understanding. Our group decided to use Google docs as our online learning module. This was because it allows us to edit our work and so we started putting our ideas on this common platform.
4. Perceive: To discuss further what we have paraphrased, we communicated through video calls and discussed our ideas further.
5. Participate: Our topic was then divided into subtopics to ensure that there was fair participation for group work.
6. Positive: We had regular meetings to make sure we are on the right track and to check if any assistance was needed along the way.
7. Productive: We had set time to complete each task and then review it together through group meetings. Our group was very open to each other’s ideas.
8. Potential: Together we were able to realise how all our contribution helped us in building a website.

Through this collaboration, I was more confident in using new tools. I had no experience with Powtoon or Weebly. However, one of the group members had use Weebly before so that made us feel comfortable. There were some discrepancies but we all had a very positive attitude which helped us get through our task. I think I will be more confident in trialling out new tools and using it in my professional life.

The internet has become a fundamental part of information, education and entertainment. In a school setting, it is therefore essential for students to develop these 21^st century skills which provide an emphasis on critical thinking, collaboration and communication.

Overall this group work was a very positive experience. We finally decided to celebrate our achievement virtually after we submitted our assignment.

Reference

Lindsay, J. (2015). Norms of Online Global Collaboration. Retrieved 22 April 2020, from https://www.slideshare.net/julielindsay/norms-of-online-global-collaboration

A successful 21st century learner should not only be able to communicate, collaborate and create effectively but also needs critical thinking skills to be an observant, global digital citizens. Digital citizenship is an umbrella term that broadly covers responsible, appropriate behaviour when using technology. But specifically, it can cover anything from “netiquette” to cyberbullying; technology access and the digital divide; online safety and privacy; copyright, plagiarism, and digital law, and more.

Teaching digital citizenship is a responsibility of all the stake holders. Parents and teachers play a key role in setting an example by balancing the use of technology. Global learners’ students and teachers should be fully aware of their role as a global digital citizen. We now have an enormous responsibility to ensure that our students develop cultural awareness and are engaged in acts of citizenship, not only within our schools and surrounding areas, but as active members of the global community

Digital learning space is different as compared to physical classroom. Physical leaning space is about furniture and walls, whereas virtual learning space involves room for collaboration, sharing, discussion, creativity and co creativity.

It is vital that students acquire the skills of digital inquiry through a variety of formats and reflect on both the process and product of learning. Students should be able to interconnect the value of the ethical creation of new knowledge and reflect on their process of being a safe, responsible and ethical digital citizens.

Beginning this subject was a bit overwhelming from me as just the thought of resourcing the Curriculum to me sounded like a huge responsibility. It is recommended to do this subject at the start of the course but this is my last core subject. However, I found the discussion forums very helpful. A lot of the questions were answered through forums. This form of communication brings collaboration and will also be useful in our work culture. I had a very positive experience with the group.

A teacher librarian wears several hats. In regards to budget and collection development, a teacher librarian plays the role of a collaborator, steward and a thinker. As a collaborator, a teacher librarian collaborates with students, fellow teachers, your administration and other community members; i.e., staff, school board members, parents, etc. In the role of a steward, a teacher librarian is a leader seeking a wide array of input, basing purchase recommendations and choices on sound needs identification, carefully monitoring and accounting for all expenditures, implementing and assessing the results, and communicating to the learning community. Finally as a thinker, a teacher librarian may have input on the development of the budget and making suggestions to their principal. This was really interesting and shows the different role of a teacher librarian.

The readings in this subject have demonstrated why the collection policy is such a critical strategic document and how it helps both library and teaching staff to be informed about the current library practices. This subject has given me an insight into the role of teacher librarian as collection manager. I have understand how important it is to have a collection policy at school. My school does not have any policy however we are in the process of creating one. The Australian Library and Information Association Schools considers that a Collection Development Policy is essential to a school library as it explains why the collection exists (ALIA Schools and VCTL, 2007).  A well-managed library collection development emphasise the need of ongoing assessment and evaluation. Library automated system has made this easier and efficient. Collection policy also helps to future proof the collection. A collection policy should support the Australian Curriculum and reflect the values of the school.

A school library should have a balanced collection. In developing a balanced collection, it is essential to consider the school’s vision and mission and based on that then come up with selection criteria. National Library of New Zealand (2020) states that a collection management plan is a guiding document of a library. A teacher librarian should be well familiar with his/ her nature of users as this impacts the collection in the library. As Braxton (2018) states, resources should meet the teaching and learning needs of students and reflect both the diverse nature of students’ backgrounds as well as their needs, interests and abilities. All the stakeholders has a role to play in developing collection for the school but teacher librarian is the one who makes ultimate decision. During the selection process, a teacher librarian should ensure that resources meet the criteria. Reputed selection aids such as SCIS, Scootle, Scholastic, CBCA, Premier’s Reading Challenge and other reputable sources should be considered before purchasing. Publisher’s website, OZTL-Net, Goodreads are also some of good selection tools.

The topic on budgeting made me realise the importance of prioritising the purchases. I learnt  how important it is to include staff and students in the purchasing process to keep the library collection relevant. In our school, we have a suggestion box for students and teachers where everyone is encouraged to recommend books and provide feedback and suggestions.

This year I also attended Copyright seminar conducted by National Copyright Unit. Smart copying website is a useful resource for teacher librarians. Censorship was a very interesting topic in this subject and is considered as one of the aspects of policy.

Another important lesson I have learned is how quickly a collection can become irrelevant to its users. Therefore ongoing assessment of collection is also necessary to make sure the collection is relevant and up to date. Weeding is equally important to acquiring new resources. Barbara Braxton’s blog 500 hats (2018), provides a timeframe as a guide for non- fiction books that can be useful to ensure that the collection is current.

School ​library should also ​cater ​for ​the ​growth ​and ​development ​of ​digital ​resources ​within ​the ​library’s ​collection. At our school, e resources are recently introduced. Digital resources are equally import as physical resources in today’s world. This is the future of school libraries and hence students should be educated to be information literate. The skills needed to be a digital citizen are skills school librarians, or media specialists, possess and are often called upon to teach. The 21st century skills cannot be learned in isolation. Some of the skills of 21^st century include critical thinking, creative thinking, communication, collaboration and teamwork, personal and social skills, and information and communication technologies (ICT) skills. Technology will have major influence in the education sector and this in turn will influence the school library collection. This is also the most effective way of advocating school library to all the stakeholders.

Finally through this subject, I have come across so many useful resources that will definitely assist me in my professional life. Overall, this subject has been very beneficial and has taught me why resourcing and collection management is an important aspect of the teacher librarian’s role.

References:

Australian Library and Information Association Schools & Victorian Catholic Teacher Librarians. (2020). Retrieved 9 January 2020, from https://www.alia.org.au/sites/default/files/ALIA%20Schools%20policies%20and%20procedures%20manual_FINAL_text%20only.pdf

Braxton, B. (2016). Sample collection policy. Retrieved from http://500hats.edublogs.org/policies/sample-collection-policy/

National Library of New Zealand. (2016). Annual report. Services to Schools. Retrieved from http://schools.natlib.govt.nz/school-libraries/library-management/annual-report

Effective collection in a library is one where current resources are counted. Current resources are defines as less than 10 years old. Resources older than 10 years may remain on shelf if it is appropriate, however these are not counted as part of an effective collection.

My initial thoughts on teacher librarian as a leader was quite different. Principals, head teachers, coordinators are considered as leaders. With changing educational settings, the role of teacher librarian is also changing. During the course, I came across the term ‘Middle Leaders’. This is a form of distributed leadership. I found it very interesting that teacher librarians lead from the middle and are therefore ‘Middle leaders’. Leading from the Middle is about the power we all have to build something together that none of us can accomplish on our own. It is the power to bring out the best in others (Gottlieb, 2012)

I learnt about different leadership styles and how unknowingly we work as an instructional leaders, servant leaders and transformational leaders by motivating self and others. I would like to ease the workload of classroom teachers by supporting and extending with work they do in classrooms.

This subject also gave me an insight into how teacher librarians can also acts as change agents and contribute effectively in creating a twenty first century learning environment through activities such as makerspace and flexile seating arrangements. The role of teacher librarian also includes educating students about digital citizenship. Teacher librarians should be risk takers and encourage change and innovation. Oberg (2009) believes that if teacher librarians are knowledgeable about school culture and the change process, they will be more able to set reasonable and attainable goals for themselves and for the school library program, and  this knowledge will also enable them to critique proposed innovations or reforms, for the school library or for other aspects of the school’s program of learning, in terms of the mission of the school: that is, the goal of making a difference in the lives of all students.

I also gained the understanding how important it is to promote and advocate our role by participating in newsletter, conducting professional developments activities, participating in staff meetings, writing blogs.

I found the discussion forums very helpful. A lot of the questions were answered through forums. This form of communication brings collaboration and will also be useful in our work culture. I had a very positive experience with my case study group but I must admit I was not able to contribute for the last two case studies because of personal issues. The case studies scenarios gave me insight into real work life situations and also in reality how sometimes it becomes hard to find a balance between your personal and professional lives. Despite all the ups and downs, I thoroughly enjoyed the subject and I wished I was able to contribute more.

To be an effective teacher librarian, I will remember the 3 c’s that I learnt in this subject; collaboration, communication and connectedness.

References

Oberg, D 2009, ‘Libraries in schools: essential contexts for studying organizational change and culture’, Library Trends, 58(1), pp 9–25

Gottlieb, H. (2012, October 30). Leading from the middle: Bringing out the best in everyone [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://creatingthefuture.org/leading-from-the-middle-bringing-out-the-best-in-everyone/

Group 6. (2019, November 4). Case Study Group 6. [Discussion Forum Post]. Retrieved from https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/discussionboard/do/conference?action=list_forums&course_id=_42385_1&nav=group_forum&group_id=_49716_1

How does the content of Colvin’s article relate the school libraries?

Colvin’s article can be related to the school libraries in the following ways:

• In 21^st Century teachers and librarians will be valued for their ability to create, judge, imagine and build relationships.
• Creating, articulating and sustaining the organisation’ values thus become one of the management’s most important job. Staff must respect and follow school’s values.

Colvin, G. (2000). Managing in the Info Era. Fortune, 141 (5). Retrieved from https://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2000/03/06/275231/index.htm?iid=sr-link1

Teacher Libraian as Leader- Initial Reflection

Libraries struggle to justify themselves in the age of Google. There are many who believe libraries are no longer necessary. Often the role of Teacher Librarian goes unnoticed. It is seen as a place for borrowing and returning books. When someone question about our role, it is highly disappointing and sometimes I wonder- are we endangered breed?

Recently at the school I work, the position of Head Librarian was considered not necessary. Someone working in our school as head librarian for 18 years  had to resign from his role as the management thinks his role was needless. He had been convincing the management about his role for the past 3 years. He now a continues to work as a History teacher. All his job responsibilities is now given to me but without any title or additional perks or relief. With all these thoughts in mind to consider the role of teacher Librarian as a leader is a question mark for me.

Through this course, I am sure I will gain insight on our role as leaders and work effectively with my additional job responsibilities.