Before engaging with ETL504 my knowledge of leadership itself was limited and informed by my experiences as a teacher. As far as I was aware, leadership in schools was hierarchical and involved a filtered-down approach of telling staff what they needed to do, when it was due and, depending on the individual, offering varying degrees of support. Clearly I had a basic understanding of leadership theory and organisational structure, which is reflected in an early blog post (Coddington, 2024a; Robinson, 2010).
The immediate development of my knowledge evident in an early viewings and contributions discussion boards. Initially I was challenged by how to visually represent my buddying knowledge about leadership styles, particularly for my central school context (Coddington, 2024b). Viewing other’s posts helped me achieve this goal. Some that I found particularly helpful for element inclusion and potential tool selection were Marchant’s (Marchant, 2024) and McDonald’s (2024). In this thread I posted a basic visual representation of the structure and different leadership styles in practice at my place of employment (Coddington, 2024b).
This identification of leadership styles indicates growth in my knowledge. This was informed by module content and by close study of Smith’s (2016) and Bush & Glover’s (2014) detailed explorations of leadership theory. Farrell’s work (2014) further developed my knowledge of how the TL can operate effectively by leading from the middle of the school context, leading me to reflect on my own leadership styles. This prompted me to identify the use of transactional leadership by colleagues and myself in my own practice. However, my study of this literature imbued me with the desire to implement transformational leadership styles in my daily role for the positive influence it has on goal accomplishment, whilst distributed leadership is one I identified as being highly useful for larger, school-wide leadership projects. It will be one I seek to implement when engaging in substantial projects I plan to lead across the school to draw upon colleague’s expertise and increase the success and longevity of the project (Abbot & McGuinness, 2022; Bush & Glover, 2014; Smith, 2016).
This represents my developed understanding of the TLs role and capacity to lead across the school, which is further revealed through blog posts. Early on I identified my capacity to lead professional learning of staff in the digital sphere, but didn’t identify a leadership style to do so (Coddington, 2024c; Coddington, 2024d). This occurred later however, where I explored the positive impact transformative leadership of beginning and proficient teachers I can make using Soulen’s continuum of care (2020) on mitigating teacher stress and improving retention in the workforce (Coddington, 2024e). This change reveals the development of my knowledge, and these are certainly additional strategies I will implement in my future practice to support my colleagues.
This is only some of learning gained in ETL504. However, it, and the opportunities provided to implement it practically in assessment tasks has worked to consolidate all of my learning thus far in my studies, whilst also equipping me with a range of skills and leadership approaches I will certainly use to implement change in my practice as a TL.
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References
Abbott, L., & McGuinness, S. (2022). Change management in northern Ireland’s transformed integrated schools: what we want is a school where you can be who you are and its a safe place. International journal of inclusive education, 26(6),576-591.
Bush., T. & Glover, D. (2014). School leadership models: what do we know? School Leadership & Management, 34(5), 553-571. DOI: 10.1080/13632434.2014.928680
Farrell, M. (2014). Leadership Reflections – Leading from the Middle. Journal of Library Administration, 54, 691-699. DOI: 10.1080/01930826.2014.965099
Marchant, S. (2024, July 22). Module 2.3: Feedback on diagram opportunity – Module 2.3 Diagram Feedback. Discussion forum post [ETL504 Brightspace].
McDonald, E. (2024, July 22). Module 2.3: Feedback on diagram opportunity – Module 2.3 Diagram Feedback. Discussion forum post [ETL504 Brightspace].
Stress due to increased workloads is one of the key driving factors behind teacher exodus of the workplace (Brnadenburg et al., 2024). This is not a new finding, as the same phenomenon has been recorded in Western Australia after continuous periods of curriculum reform (Dilkes et al., 2014). With new syllabi being introduced and implemented by 2030 in Primary and High Schools in NSW, the potential for increased teacher fatigue is as real as ever, and could hit central school staff even harder as teachers often teach across faculties. The TL is now more important than ever in their role of supporting teacher’s in their drive to implement curriculum in their classrooms.
TLs should seek to implement a servant based leadership style first and foremost here as they seek to support staff. This could manifest in the locating of resources that teachers can implement that align closely with the requirements of the new syllabus, which the TL should become familiar with. They should also seek collaborative teaching opportunities to further support teachers implement the syllabus. This is a strategy Soulen recommends to support first year teachers, but it can, and should, be applied to support all teachers, as collaboration in the classroom and library have significant benefits for students and teachers alike (2020). Lesson/s should be planned together, delivered together, learning assessed together, and the effectiveness of the collaboration evaluated together (Soulen, 2020).
Alternative strategies Soulen suggests that can be applied here to support teacher’s and help mitigate their stress is establishing email contact with a follow up physical visit to their classroom to identify their “physical, digital and human resource” needs (2020, p.40), and highlight immediately accessible digital resources. Once the TL has identified the immediate resource needs of the teachers, they can reserve and hand deliver a few carefully selected physical resources that meet these needs (Soulen, 2020).
Implementing such steps will assist in supporting teachers and reducing the burden of their workload, and ultimately, reduce teacher burnout and departure from education (Soulen, 2020)
References
Brandenburg, R., Larsen, E., Simpson,, A., Sallis, R. & Tran, D. (2024). ‘I left the teaching profession…and this is what I am doing now’: a national study of teacher attrition. The Australian Educational Researcher, pp.1-20. DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-024-00697-1
Dilkes, J., Cunningham, C. & Gray, J. (2014). The new Australian Curriculum, teachers and change fatigue. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 39(11). https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1047053.pdf
Effective teacher librarians (TL) provide a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment where students feel valued and respected. They foster a love of reading, and develop and maintain a quality collection reflective of the curriculum and the teaching, learning, leisure and social needs of their patrons. They maintain currency with ICT, pedagogy, and curriculum developments, which they provide professional learning on for their colleagues. They lead collaboration with staff and the teaching of information literacy across the school. They demonstrate their commitment to learning by continually reflecting on and refining their practice against the standards of excellence for teacher librarians.
Critical Evaluation
When I began studying the Masters of Education (Teacher Librarianship) course my understanding of the TL’s role was basic. Coming from an English and History teaching background, it was informed by infrequent interactions with TLs through DEAR and Wide Reading programs (Coddington, 2020a). A reflective analysis of my progressive understanding of three key themes set for study over the course of the degree relating to the role of the TL reveals the depth to which my knowledge has grown, and how such a development has served to successfully equip me with the required knowledge and skills to be an effective teacher librarian responsive to the teaching, learning and leisure needs of my patrons.
Collection Management
Before I began my studies with Charles Sturt University I had already spent a few months as a practising TL, and the first thing I had done was order a range of fantasy and science fiction texts, and books featuring more diverse characters for our school library. This decision was made after I scanned the shelves and noticed a distinct lack of the genres and diversity in the collection. Evidently I already had a basic understanding of the necessity of having a balanced collection and including texts that reflect the diversity of Australia and our students (Caple & Tian, 2022), but my understanding of how to manage it effectively to support staff and student teaching, learning and leisure needs was, clearly, rudimentary. The subsequent development of my understanding of the complexity of the TLs crucial role in collection management was facilitated greatly through my study of ETL503: Resourcing the Curriculum.
Early reflections during my study reflect this rudimentary understanding of the collection management, which focused primarily on purchasing and making available current fiction literature (Coddington, 2021a). This was extended later to include the provision of literature that supports the curriculum as well as student interests (Coddington, 2022a), representing a small, yet important, shift in the right direction in my knowledge of collection management, as the collection should always meet curriculum demands. However, whilst this is indeed an element of the TL’s role, it certainly does not end there, and such posts reveal just how much I still had to learn. This is evident in an early blog post, where I labelled the amount of diverse roles the TL performs as outlined in Purcell’s work (2010), especially collection evaluation, as “idealistic” (Coddington, 2020g, para. 5), but this perspective is no longer one held. Collection management, and all the other roles outlined by Purcell (2010), are core components of the TLs, and are crucial to ensuring student and staff needs are met.
Already I had shown that my collection evaluation skills were elementary, and my studies served to effectively extend my knowledge on this element of collection management as I had much to learn. Collection development policies emerged as a key learning to serve this purpose, the establishment of which would allow me to effectively evaluate the collection (Lamb & Johnson, 2007). Further to this, collection mapping was something I noted as a prominent tool to assist me in meeting such evaluation needs (Coddington, 2022b) after I identified it prior as something I needed to develop my knowledge in (Coddington, 2023b) in order to be proficient and effective in my role, according to ALIA’s criteria of foundational knowledge, skills and attributes for information professionals (ALIA, 2015). I even identified the need for priority areas for evaluation in my practice, for which collection mapping would serve me well (Coddington, 2022d; Coddington, 2022e). This skill will allow me to effectively evaluate the collection for breadth, depth, strengths, and weaknesses and subsequently position me to identify short and long term goals around resource acquisition (Lamb & Johnson, 2007).
Resource acquisition was also far more complex than I had once thought. Whilst Hughes-Hassell & Mancall (2004) argue that selection can be achieved through a simple yes or no selection model, it is far more nuanced than the limited range of criteria that they include conveys – and even more so than the revised selection criteria I created to improve their model (Coddington, 2022f):
Click the image for the interactive version
It, too, is far too simple. Selection, and therefore also deselection criteria, should be based on more complex criteria including, as utilised by Colbongan-Papay et al. (2024), appropriateness of format, budgetary restraints, authorial reputation, and its current and future relevance to user needs and curriculum (Colbongan-Papay et al., 2024). This criteria, employed alongside other tools I have learned about throughout the course such as quality selection aids, will ensure the collection I manage is current, relevant, of a high quality, and meets the curriculum and leisure needs of students and staff alike. In this sense, my studies have successfully armed me with the knowledge and tools I need to be highly effective in this element of my role as TL.
Social Media
Social media (SM) is an integral part of many people’s lives, facilitating connection, collaboration and interaction across geographic distances (Giannikas, 2020). Prior to my studies I didn’t realise how significant a role SM had in my TL position. Reflecting on my learning reveals how much it has informed my practice, the growth of my knowledge about its benefits, and a new awareness of the concerning elements to consider before implementation.
From the beginning of my studies, technology and SM revealed itself to be a highly important factor in my practice. Prior to engaging in INF506 I identified it as a crucial resource, citing Instagram, Facebook, and Goodreads as platforms that I used to stay up to date on new and popular fiction works for collection management purposes (Coddington, 2021a). Musing on its benefits, I later reflected on its potential to support authors from diverse backgrounds to connect readership and promote their works (Coddington, 2021b). Once I engaged in INF506, I further highlighted its positive role in acting as a “digital faculty” (Coddington, 2023a, para. 1) more useful than some department-led training due to its innate sharing capabilities (Coddington, 2023a). Whilst I had therefore clearly considered its benefits for collaboration, what I had yet to consider was how I could utilise SM to support my practice beyond collaboration, or the concerns its usage entailed.
SM has the potential to be more than a collaborative space, a notion I had clearly begun to realise when I identified online marketing of library services and resources as a skill to develop (Coddington, 2023b). This reflection clearly prompted my enrollment in INF506, my involvement in which deeply broadened my knowledge of the potential and risks of SM usage. SM can act as a platform for communication with the public by education institutions, providing a space where information can be disseminated in a more cost effective and engaging manner, utilising photos and videos beyond the scope of the traditional newsletter or note home, and where audience engagement with content can be tracked and analysed for reach and impact. “Community” was a word I began to connect with SM at this stage of my learning, identifying it as a tool to build and engage with an online community reflective of the community in which schools – and the TL – operate (Coddington, 2023c). It was at this stage of my study that my learning moved beyond the surface level, and I began to think critically about the use of Web 2.0 technologies in practice.
A screen capture of a sample Facebook post created by M Coddington during INF506 to demonstrate methods of community engagement using SM.
The digital divide – the differences in access faced by students with and without access to technology (EDUCAUSE, 2021) – was already a problem I had identified throughout my studies (Coddington, 2023c), later identifying the support of it as a leadership opportunity in my TL role (Coddington, 2024a). However, I began throughout my engagement in INF506 to broaden my definition of SM, and explored the potential of use of Oliver, a library management system, as a SM platform, and the use of others such as Facebook to digitally establish and engage with a library-focused community (Kingsley, 2018). Establishing a trial school library Facebook page for one of my assessments revealed not only the practicalities involved in such a task, including the huge time commitment required to moderate it and create appropriate and engaging content, but also the potential for social media to be used to engage my biggest patron group – teenagers, who each spend over 14 hours online daily (eSafety Research, 2021). As 91% of Australian teenagers have access to a mobile phone (OAIC, 2023) and prefer to access resources through it (Obinyan, 2020), this shift in my learning saw huge potential to increase teenager library engagement. Whilst, regrettably, Oliver is not suitable for mobile use due to poor functionality, other SM platforms, with which teenagers readily engage (OAIC, 2023), are excellent platforms for social engagement, I learned (Coddington, 2023d). SM was no longer just a space for professional collaboration, then. With my new learning, it was a tool to engage students.
Here my learning became more critical, however. Issues of privacy became a core concern that I began to critically assess the risk for (Coddington, 2023c) using resources such as the NSW Department of Education Social Media Policy (2020) which prompted further research into privacy risks students face through SM engagement (Coddington, 2023d). My subsequent learning that teenagers are unconcerned with the tracking of data and photos posted to SM, despite awareness of the subsequent digital footprint they are creating, made me re-evaluate the benefits of utilising Web 2.0 technologies to engage them in the library (Crocco et al., 2020; Marino, 2021; Me and my Shadow, n.d.). Indeed, this digital footprint, and the data collection that is built into SM made privacy a core concern. It was a concept I was apparently unconcerned with prior to my engagement with the course, as one of my earliest blog posts reveals (Coddington, 2020b), but was a concept I soon became well versed in, as evidenced by later posts (Coddington, 2024b).
SM still has its place in professional, collaborative practice. However, my engagement with my studies, particularly INF506, shows a clear development of critical thinking. Employing SM to engage my users in the future will not be a strategy taken without careful consideration of the issues and concerns learned about throughout my course.
Information Literacy
Coming from an English and History teacher background, I was no stranger to the term “literacy” when I started my studies. It is, after all, the bread and butter of the English curriculum, and I had a thorough understanding of the nature of literacy as it applies to texts. In the early days of my studies, I explored the “dissecting [of] literacy” (Coddington, 2020c, para. 1), claiming that disciplines had attempted to break it down over the years in order to produce definitions that suited their context. However, whilst acknowledging the complexities of literacy as it applies to visual, oral, critical, social, cultural, and emotional contexts, and whether being discussed as a concept, process, or skill, I identified that the core definition of literacy – or multiliteracies – is simple: “to understand” (Coddington, 2020c, para. 3). At this stage I also already had a good understanding of information literacy as a more specific concept that students need to develop, identifying that it entailed knowing how and where to find information, and how to assess it and why (Coddington, 2020c). This was knowledge I continued to develop, exploring later in my studies the range of literacies a TL might explore throughout their role through the collation of literacy related definitions (Coddington, 2021d). What I didn’t identify at this stage of my learning, however, was that the TL plays a crucial role in facilitating this development, nor how they go about achieving it. This lack of acknowledgement of such a core element of my role as a TL heralded just how much further my learning would extend over the years of study ahead of me.
The subsequent significant leap in my understanding of information literacy and how it applies to teacher librarianship began through further engagement with ETL401 – Introduction to Teacher Librarianship. Demonstrating development in my learning immediately, I explored the role of the TL in facilitating information literacy skills in the digital infosphere by discussing the ASLA Evidence Guide for Teacher Librarians, particularly Standard 4 (2014) (Coddington, 2020d). This transitioned into reflections into how I can support and facilitate the development of transliteracy for my students in the library space (Coddington, 2021c). This represents a significant progression and shift in my knowledge. Indeed, the goals articulated to facilitate transliteracy learning in this latter blog post (Coddington, 2021c) have now, 3 years later, been fully realised. As a consequence of the technology provision I discussed in this post, as well as the targeted development of information literacy skills through regularly scheduled research skill development classes, student engagement in the library space has increased significantly and core digital literacy skills have improved exponentially. However, early on in my studies and in my role, students still struggled to articulate the qualities embodied in information literacy despite these changes in the library.
My studies resulted in inquiry learning emerging as a method to teach this information literacy in the school library. I was unfamiliar with this model prior to my studies (Coddington, 2020e), but it quickly revealed itself to be a solution to my confusion about how to teach information literacy, and the Information Fluency Framework, in the school library. Manifesting as a Guided Inquiry Design process (GID), this approach to teaching information literacy provides many benefits. A structured approach to inquiry learning that moves students through the Information Search Process and the associated specific stages of research (Kuhlthau et al., 2012), GID can – and should – be applied across curriculum disciplines. This is due to the fact that it replicates the complex infosphere students will be operating in beyond the schooling context. To prepare them to effectively navigate it, it teaches students not only how to research, but also promotes metacognition (Buffy, 2022; Garrison & FitzGerald, 2018), facilitates the development of higher order thinking skills (Kuhlthau et al., 2012; Purwasi, 2020) and provides ample opportunity for differentiation (Buffy, 2022). However, GID as a teaching approach requires a significant time commitment. This downside presents an opportunity to collaborate with teaching staff to reduce this load however, therefore allowing the benefits of a practising TL to be fully realised in the school (Buffy, 2022; Purwasi, 2020). Here I learned the TL can fulfil this role by creating resources for students that assist in guiding them through the GID stages of Open, Immerse, Explore, Identify, Gather, Create, Share and Evaluate (Buffy, 2022, p.79) and supporting the emotional changes that occur as they move through them (Buffy, 2022). An example of such a resource can be seen here, which I produced as a part of my studies in ETL401 (Coddington, 2020f).
This resource demonstrates the significant impact my learning has had on my practice, showing I moved from having no knowledge of how to teach information to producing resources to support the active implementation of GID in a school context. The long-term impact of this learning is evidenced by a more current blog post, where I identified this style of inquiry learning as a key strategy TLs should lead the implementation of in schools in order to most effectively prepare students for the complex skills required to be informed, critical 21st century citizens and learners (Coddington, 2024c).
It is clear, then, that my learning about information literacy and how to effectively teach it as a TL using GID has, and will continue to, ensure I am equipped with the knowledge and skills to effectively meet the information literacy needs of my students through successful collaboration. It is therefore a strategy that will continue to be implemented through my role as TL in order to facilitate and lead the development of informed 21st century learners capable of critically navigating the infosphere they will spend their lives inhabiting (ALIA & ASLA, 2004).
Reflections on my learning
My skills and knowledge as a professional TL have significantly improved throughout the course of my studies, and I have already demonstrated strengths in some areas. However, there is much to learn to develop excellence as a highly accomplished teacher librarian across all ALIA & ASLA standards (ALIA & ASLA, 2004).
My learning from this course has ensured that I have an excellent foundational knowledge that already drives effective collection management, teaching and learning in the library. ETL401, ETL402 and ETL503 equipped me with excellent professional knowledge regarding literature, the qualities and processes of learning (ALIA & ASLA, 2004, Standard 1.1), how to teach according to them (Standard 1.2), and how to provide consistent and equitable access to diverse resources reflective of patron’s needs and interests (Standards 1.3 & 1.4). For example, my development of a GID unit of work was critical in shaping and influencing learning programs in the library where I am a practising TL.
This accumulation of knowledge has also been instrumental in providing me with language, knowledge and new confidence for role advocacy, and has effectively equipped me with the tools to continually improve and increase user access in the library. For example, new knowledge of collection evaluation strategies and policy documents is vital and will continue to assist me to meet the needs of my users as my skills as a TL continue to develop, whilst ETL567 prompted me to engage in research in my school (ALIA & ASLA, 2004, Standard 3.1). The result was the genrefication of the library collection, despite some contention about the move. This demonstrates burgeoning excellence, and has already had significant positive impacts on students and learning, with more books being accessed and borrowed than ever before.
However, I still require professional development into the theory and pedagogy behind how students become independent readers (ALIA & ASLA, 2004, Standard 1.1). This must be undertaken in order to support student access to and enjoyment of literature, and would also enhance my collection development skills as it would equip me with the knowledge to cater for such learning and literature needs. This could be achieved through collaboration with my primary teacher colleagues, which would serve to model my lifelong commitment to learning.
This represents a shift in my attitudes as a professional TL as another key strength fostered by this course is my drive for collaboration. Once reluctant to collaborate, I now seek collaborative learning opportunities within the school and without (ALIA & ASLA, 2004, Standard 2.2). ETL512 and ETL401 facilitated this collaboration with the local public librarian and colleagues across faculties, respectively. The results have been positive for students and staff alike, with more interest expressed for future collaboration (Standard 2.2.).
Applying theory to practise in unit assessments has been instrumental in developing my TL skills. Whilst I’ve already begun to demonstrate professional commitment (Standard 3) in response to my learning, such as book talks, ICT acquisition and the running of professional learning sessions, Standard 3 (ALIA & ASLA, 2004) presents the most opportunity for professional development towards excellence (Standard 3.1). Leadership was already identified as needing improvements through ETL504, and I will seek transformative leadership opportunities (Standard 3.3) within the school and the wider community for the betterment of our students (Standards 3.2 & 3.4).
Australian Library and Information Association & Australian School Library Association (ALIA & ASLA). (2004). ALIA ASLA Standards of professional excellence for teacher librarians. ALIA & ASLA.
Buffy, E. (2022). 6 Guided Inquiry Design. In B. Schultz-Jones & D. Oberg (Eds.), Global action for school libraries: models of inquiry (1st ed., pp. 77-88). Walter de Gruyter GmbH.
Colbongan-Papay, L., Sugando, P. & Florendo, R. (2024). Library collection mapping for broad programs of the University of Baguio. College & Undergraduate Libraries, 31(1-2), pp.53-78. https://doi.org/10.1080/10691316.2024.2374710
Crocco, M. S., Segall, A., Halvorsen, A.-L., Stamm, A., & Jacobsen, R. (2020). “It’s not like they’re selling your data to dangerous people”: Internet privacy, teens, and (non-)controversial public issues. Journal of Social Studies Research, 44(1), 21-33.
Garrison, K. & FitzGerald, L. (2018). ‘It trains your brain”: Student reflections on using the guided inquiry design process. Synergy (Carlton, Vic), 15(2).
Giannikas, C. (2020). Facebook in tertiary education: The impact of social media in e-Learning. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 17(1) https://ro.uow.edu.au/jutlp/vol17/iss1/3
Hughes-Hassell, S. & Mancall, J. (2004). Collection management for youth: responding to the needs of learners. ALA Editions.
Kingsley, I. (2018). Use of social media by Alaskan libraries. PNLA Quarterly, 82(3/4), 62-72.
NSW Department of Education (2020). Social media policy. Implementation procedures – August 2020. NSW Government.
Obinyan, O. O. (2020). Application of mobile technologies in library service delivery. In A. Tella (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Digital Devices for Inclusivity and Engagement in Libraries (pp. 371-381). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-9034-7.ch019
Purwasi, L. (2020). The development of higher-order thinking skills on junior high school students through guided inquiry-based learning approach. Jurnal Pendidikan Matematika Dan IPA (Online), 11(2), 311-322. https://doi.org/10.26418/jpmipa.v11i2.40859
Direct your reading of this report to the relevant content and practical snapshots to envision and plan for leadership opportunities to explore in your own situation.
STAFF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMEMT
Wolf et al. (2014) discuss the emerging and highly important role of the teacher librarian in the digital sphere, wherein they should maintain the currency of their digital literacies in order to support staff and students to access digital resources and develop their own digital literacies (p.5). In my own context I work with an older demographic of teachers who do not have the skills or confidence to implement new technologies or effectively utilise the digital technologies or hardware already accessible to them. There is certainly space and a need for my role as teacher librarian to support staff more effectively in improving their digital literacies through ongoing formal and informal training, so that they can more effectively implement these technologies with their students. However, I would need to be careful to ensure that this remains a role focused on the support of digital learning and does not transition to resolver of technological problems (Wolf et al., 2014, p.6).
COLLABORATION TO BUILD A BRIDGE ACROSS THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
Another aspect to consider here is the impact of the digital divide, and how I as teacher librarian can work to reduce this disadvantage. This is particularly important given my context, where my school supports a significant number of students who live on farms and in reception-poor rural areas, or don’t have access to the hardware required to reliably access the internet at home. Often, students will ask to use the library at lunch time to work on assessments. This trend is also reported by Wolf et al. (2014), who further suggest that the school library could extend their opening hours to before and after school to provide these disadvantaged students with the access to the support, the internet and hardware they require to effectively engage with course work (p.5). In my small school, this would present a challenge. Staffing the library for these additional hours would be difficult. In the future, I would like to investigate setting up a volunteer roster of teachers willing to offer their time to supervise these students, or perhaps even liaise with the local public library to support students in that third space beyond the school library to help students bridge the digital divide.
Reference List
Wolf, M., Jones, R., & Gilbert, D. (2014). Leading in and Beyond the Library. Alliance for excellent education. p.1-24.
The ever evolving nature of digital technologies and the echoing impacts of COVID-19 on learning and the workforce both present challenges to, and impact the nature of, learning in a school setting. The 2023 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report: Teaching and Learning Edition explores these changes and their impact primarily on tertiary education. Examining these changes using the lens of a teacher librarian reveals the challenges school-based teachers subsequently face, and reveal opportunities for teacher librarians to support and lead teachers in addressing them in their classrooms.
Teacher librarians are in a unique position to be able to support teaching staff address the changing skill requirements of students. Highlighted in the report, rapid developments in technology and the increasing hybridity of learning and work beyond the secondary classroom brought about by COVID-19 have fundamentally altered the core skills students need to enter the workforce with. No longer is the ability to memorise facts and regurgitate them in formalised, controlled test settings of highest importance (despite what the hype about the HSC and ATAR might lead one to believe). To be successful in the workforce, students now need to be flexible, be aware of their learning capabilities and the need for continuous learning, and be equipped with the necessary tech skills to continuously manage and utilise changing technologies (EDUCAUSE, 2023, p.6). In short, they require versatile digital literacy and meta-cognition skills that will continue to serve them in dynamic work environments.
The need for the teacher librarian to support teachers in developing these capabilities in today’s students is reflected in the highly transformative nature of the digital space itself. Published only a year ago, the report suggests that AI has the potential to become a common part of everyday and workplace life (EDUCAUSE, 2023, p.6), leading to debates about its potential to proliferate academic cheating, impacting “academic integrity, accuracy, and fairness and equity” (EDUCAUSE, 2023, p.10). Now, just a year later, academic settings across the spectrum of education are indeed dealing with these unique issues. The place to address them is in the school and the school library, with the librarian working to supporting teaching staff to guide their students not only to develop the increasingly complex digital literacy skills required to navigate such an online world, but also the skills to master and implement this “low code” and “no code” technology in ethical, productive ways (EDUCAUSE, 2023, p.11).
This mastery of technological advances, rather than an avoidance of use of it out of fear or misinformation, is crucial. Positioned as the digital literacy expert within the school, it is therefore the role of the teacher librarian to foster this education not only of the students, but the teaching staff as well to ensure that staff are well informed and equipped with the necessary resources, skills and knowledge to effectively teach these new digital skills. AI can and should be a tool in one’s digital competencies tool belt, and students – and staff alike – are better off embracing and preparing for this change rather than avoiding it. In order to navigate our complex digital world, our students and our staff need to prepare to be prepared, and what better way to do that than with the host of digital literacies the teacher librarian can guide them towards developing as a leader of technological, pedagogical change?
The education system broadly, and schools at a more localised level, are organised and approach learning according to the four key elements of theory as presented by Bush (2015). The programs, the overall structure, and the learning that happens in a school are driven by the school’s keys to strategic directions, known as goals in Bush’s approach. These goals, determined by the executive team, are filtered down to the teachers and the students in a top-down approach through the hierarchical structure of positions in the school. These goals are influenced by the social, geographical and political context that the school operates within, and are simultaneously invisibly influenced by and determine the underlying culture of the organisation. Given the all-pervasive nature of these elements, it is clear that if the teacher librarian seeks to implement effective and supported school library programs, they need to reflect the goals of the school and be supported through all tiers of the organization’s structure if they are going to positively change and address the culture and context of the school.
This top-down structure of organisations is likewise reflected in Robinson’s (2010) presentation. However, he identifies cultural and societal forces as the key cornerstones of change – or lack thereof – in education. Reflecting on the physical structure of education, Robinson notes that things have not changed since it’s inception, with factory-like bell times still ushering students from one rigid, single subject class to another. And indeed, all those who have stepped foot in a secondary classroom recently have heard some rendition of the disengaged complaints of “How long until the bell?” and “When will I ever need to do this in real life?”. And they’re right,
to some degree. How can we expect the school and classroom structure to stay relevant when it has remained irritatingly stagnant in a world that has done nothing but evolve since the Industrial Revolution? Today’s students are learning in the same manner that our parents did, and yet if you mention watching Lady and the Tramp on a VCR, finding an old floppy disk in your office, or reminiscing about physically rewinding your cassette tapes to listen to your favorite songs again, you’ll be looked at like you’re speaking Dutch, and your students can’t access Google Translate to figure out what you’ve said because we’ve locked their phones away. What a way to be made to feel ancient.
So if society and culture are changing so much, the teacher librarian can, and should, approach student learning in a way that reflects these changes. Flexible and student responsive guided inquiry learning that leaves distinct subject disciplines at the door is one way that the teacher librarian can adapt learning opportunities to meet these key drivers of change in schools. Perhaps students still won’t leave knowing what a floppy disk is, but they’ll have approached their learning in a more flexible, collaborative manner that is more in tune with the skills today’s students will need beyond the classroom. And at the end of the day, isn’t preparing our students for life beyond school the goal of every educator?
Over the course of this semester, my engagement with INF506 has deeply broadened my understanding of social networking and social media, revealing my surface level understanding of the tools social media offers. This has had significant implications for my ongoing study, my personal life, and my continued development as a teacher librarian.
Prior to commencing my studies in INF506, engagement in social media was a daily occurrence for me. Living in a rural community far from family, friends, and opportunities for professional development, social media engagement is necessary to stay connected to the wider world. For the most part, my involvement was passive – I would post infrequently, but mostly my feed was full of book-related content, holiday and life updates from family and friends and, most importantly, posts on teacher education pages.
The importance I placed on social media as a professional development tool was evident at the very beginning of INF506 when I posted my initial thoughts about the importance of social media (Coddington, 2023a). In this post, I ruminated on the invaluable nature of social media as a tool to “connect and exchange resources and ideas with colleagues” (Coddington, 2023a, para. 1), and aligned myself entirely with Giannikas’ contention that, in a professional context, social media does indeed foster and facilitate connection, community and collaboration (2020) between individuals in similar professional roles, regardless of the physical distance that separates them. It is clear from the onset I had a firm understanding of the potential and use of social media and social networking to collaborate and professionally develop one’s knowledge and connections.
However, upon reflection of this blog post, my idea of social media for professional use was firmly grounded in my use and understanding of Facebook alone. Prior to engaging with INF506, it is clear I had never considered the use of other social media platforms to socially network for professional development even on a surface level, let alone critically. My engagement in INF506, particularly in the first assessment task where I had to propose and justify a social media strategy, and the Online Learning Journal Task (OLJ) 11 (Coddington, 2023b) , where I explored potential professional social media sites for functionality and issues demonstrate a burgeoning critical knowledge of social media and social networking in a professional sense. My critical analysis of Reddit and Buzzfeed (Coddington, 2023b) and my analysis of different Twitter/X feeds (Coddington, 2024a), for example, demonstrate this progressive movement beyond surface level appreciation of the professional development opportunities afforded by social media. In the former I discussed issues of algorithms informed by data tracking, and the major follow-on effects of this – censorship, which occurs on such sites and perpetuates the spread of misinformation and the dismissing of perspectives from minority, disadvantaged groups (Tripodi, 2023). In the latter, I analysed the effectiveness of approaches of two different X feeds, focusing on success, post rate, and appropriateness for intended audiences. Clearly, the critical approach taken with these posts further into the semester and the increased complexity and depth of concepts addressed reflects the development of my professional understanding of social networking as an information professional.
Despite a casual mention in an early blog post (Coddington, 2023c), what I had not taken into serious consideration yet, however, was another crucial concept and issue associated with social media and social networking: privacy. Reading Douglas’ post on privacy and security concerns in social media (Douglas, 2024) and engaging in unit reading materials, I too found myself reflecting on my personal attitude towards data collection and tracking that occurs through social media. Prior to engaging in INF506 I, like many others, (Crocco et al., 2020) found targeted advertising to be a convenient by-product of harmless data collection. Indeed, I even referred to this tracking as a way to “train the algorithm” (Coddington, 2023b) and failed to address it beyond surface level mentions of student privacy in other posts and comments (Coddington, 2023c; Coddington, 2023d).
However, after identifying this as an area of knowledge in need of development for professional and personal growth, I compiled a list of resources on privacy and ethical dilemmas with social media (Coddington, 2023e). This identified gap in my knowledge directly informed my approach to assessment task 2. Whilst the first assessment allowed me to explore the positive potential of social media use in schools, the second assignment promoted the critical evaluation of social media in terms of the core issue of privacy violations. The subsequent expansion of my knowledge of personal and professional social media engagement is evidenced in a later blog post, where I explored the personal risks of engaging in social media (Coddington, 2024b). This research prompted me to seriously consider my shadow profile (Tactical Technology Collective, 2024), and has resulted in a number of changes made not only to my privacy settings across a range of platforms, but also to my general browsing habits in personal, academic, and professional contexts.
Interestingly, from an academic perspective throughout this unit, I found myself reluctant to engage in social media with my fellow students despite my extensive use of the platform in my personal life. This occurred despite my early acknowledgment of the benefits of it, which are well documented (Coddington, 2023a; Ginnikas, 2020). Upon reflection, I attribute this to apprehension about the new communication format. In previous units, emphasis was placed on formal communication through university-regulated channels. Suddenly being provided with the opportunity to communicate casually with my peers, regardless of my acknowledgement of the benefits of it (Coddington, 2023c) was daunting, and as a result I didn’t participate as actively in the INF506 Facebook page as I would have liked. Rather, I was a passive viewer, predominantly silently observing the posts of others and engaging through reactions primarily.
Overall, the depth of knowledge gained about social media and social networking in INF506 has and will greatly inform my personal, academic, and professional lives. My personal and academic habits have changed, and whilst I am incredibly keen to implement the social media proposal of assessment task one in a real world context, I am also now keenly and critically aware of the privacy concerns associated with such an endeavour, and will be building strategies for mitigation of this into future social media policies I will create out of associated necessity in my professional role (Mon & Koontz, 2020). Given the ever-changing nature of social media and social networking, it is also clear that I will need to keep updated with issues, concerns, and updates in the social networking and social media fields to ensure my professional, academic, and personal engagement stays up to date.
Crocco, M., Segall, A., Halvorsen, A., Stamm, A., & Jacobsen, R. (2020). “It’s not like they’re selling your data to dangerous people”: Internet privacy, teens, and (non-)controversial public issues. Journal of Social Studies Research., 44(1), 21-33.
Giannikas, C. (2020). Facebook in tertiary education: The impact of social media in e-Learning. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 17(1) https://ro.uow.edu.au/jutlp/vol17/iss1/3
Mon, L., & Koontz, C. (2020). Ch02. Marketing and Mission, Goals, and Objectives. In Marketing and Social Media. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Incorporated.
Tactical Technology Collective. (2024). Me and My Shadow: Take Control of Your Data – What Are Digital Traces? Me and My Shadow. https://myshadow.org/
Tripodi, F. (2023). Ms. Categorized: Gender, notability, and inequality on Wikipedia. New media & Society 25(7), 1687-1707. DOI: 10.1177/14614448211023772
The continued rise in popularity of social media (SM) and its evolutionary nature has seen it utilised not only by individuals to socially connect, but also by information organisations to promote their organisation and share relevant information with the community. This trend has extended into the educational sector, with school libraries using SM such as Facebook to communicate with and engage local communities, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic (Kimmons & Rosenberg, 2022; Rosenberg et al., 2021). School libraries have successfully employed SM to communicate with and engage their audiences: students, parents and community members (Magee et al., 2012; Kingsley, 2018). Beyond posting about new collection items and opening times, Teacher Librarians (TLs) have found much success in posts that highlight student work, achievements, accomplishments and involvement in programs; reminders about club meeting times; and directly communicate with individuals to answer queries and communicate reminders (Harmon & Messina, 2013). However, given the continual development of technology that increasingly interacts with such platforms, and the inherently public nature of such platforms and pages whose intent is to readily engage and communicate with the community, SM usage by school libraries has the potential to pose serious privacy risks and concerns for library users – in this case, students (Rosenberg et al., 2021).
Privacy concerns are not a new issue for SM platforms. Historically, large SM platforms have faced criticism for infringements of user’s privacy (Kimmons & Rosenberg, 2022), violations that continue to occur and are exacerbated by continued rapid technological advancement (Crocco et al., 2020). Indeed, the collection of personal information that is built into the very nature of sites such as Facebook make “privacy” an increasingly incompatible element of the site, where setting up an online identity is a prerequisite for use (Baccarella et al., 2018). Despite claims by some platforms that the collection of data does not occur (Warzel & Thompson, 2019), an examination of social media data policies such as Facebook’s makes it clear that such sites do, indeed, collect, store, and share user data “globally, both internally within the Facebook Companies and externally with our partners” (Tactical Technology Collective, 2018, para. 58). Furthermore, posts made on SM are automatically considered publicly available data, which results in the collection, use and “selling” of data (Crocco et al., 2020), including the analysis of images (Rosenberg et al., 2021). This data can then be used by anyone, regardless of their intent.
This has considerable implications for students’ online and physical privacy, who are often the focus of school library posts and are some of the most frequent users of SM (Martin et al., 2018). When TLs establish SM pages and ask students and parents to engage with the page they are facilitating this collection of data, as each interaction individuals make on SM platforms, from passive viewing to active engagement, creates “digital traces” of an individual (Tactical Technology Collective, 2024). These traces are collected to create shadow profiles of individuals that are used to monitor, store, and track data about individuals, as well as the individuals themselves (Ravn et al., 2020). Shadow profiles are contributed to if TLs post photographs of individuals, which has the potential to further exacerbate online privacy concerns. Such photos are permanent digital footprints “that can be retrieved later by classmates, teachers […] or the general public.” (Martin et al., 2018, p.215), and can lead to what Ravn et al. (2020) term “creep shots” – the non-consensual sharing of images. Furthermore, the development of facial recognition algorithms, some of which have the potential to predict individual political and sexual orientation, can lead to further exposure of privacy by collecting such images and storing them in shadow profiles, which can further expose individuals to discrimination and stalking online (Rosenberg et al., 2021). This steady build up of digital footprints therefore exposes users to the risk of spear-phishing – fake online accounts, online fraud and scams (Rosenberg et al., 2021). Clearly, then, the online privacy violations and dangers that arise from simple interactions with SM pages, and through the posting of images of individuals, are significant.
What is further concerning is the significant exposure of physical privacy, and thus the physical dangers individuals can face through this online privacy violation. This is first made evident when one considers the tracking of information conducted through associated apps, such as Messenger. If students or parents reach out to the school library through such means, the information communicated can be stored by Facebook (Tactical Technology Collective, 2018) and locations tracked through IP tracking extensions such as the “Marauders Map”, which allowed platforms to “map, and thus stalk, the identity, locations, and movements of all individuals in a conversation” (Baccarella et al., 2018, p. 434). Even posting photos celebrating and acknowledging student success and involvement in the library exposes student privacy. In such shots, students are automatically tied to a place, both through their association with the school library post, but also through other identifiable features that image analysis tools can access and store – school logos, identifiable locations, and even student names when identified in posts (Rosenberg et al., 2021). As with all data collected, these images contribute to individuals’ digital footprints, and can be accessed and used by anyone – even those without accounts on the social media platforms used.
These potential breaches of student online and physical privacy therefore have significant implications for TLs seeking to implement SM. First and foremost, given the potential exposure of student privacy through posts, parents should provide permission for images, names and other information to be shared online about their children (NSW Department of Education, 2020; Rosenberg et al., 2021). Extending beyond the NSW Department of Education social media policy (2020), the identification of students in posts through names should be limited to their first names only if required, and portrait style photos that are easily analysed or provide clear identifiable features of individuals should be avoided in order to further prevent violations of student privacy (Rosenberg et al., 2021). At all times, regardless of permissions to post received by parents, TLs must consider student privacy, and such posts should only be made on official SM accounts (NSW Department of Education, 2020). In light of this, TLs should consider making their library SM pages private to control who has access to the information posted (Rosenberg et al., 2021). Whilst this would increase the administrative load of TLs it would be another effective strategy to help mitigate the risks to student privacy that SM platforms inherently pose.
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Reference List
Baccarella, C., Wagner, T., Kietzmann, J. & McCarthy. (2018). Social media? It’s serious! Understanding the dark side of social media. European Management Journal, 36, 431-438.
Crocco, M., Segall, A., Halvorsen, A., Stamm, A., & Jacobsen, R. (2020). “It’s not like they’re selling your data to dangerous people”: Internet privacy, teens, and (non-)controversial public issues. Journal of Social Studies Research., 44(1), 21-33.
Harmon, C. & Messina, M. (2013). Using Social Media in Libraries: Best Practices. Scarecrow Press Incorporated.
Kimmons, R., & Rosenberg, J. M. (2022). Trends and Topics in Educational Technology, 2022 Edition. TechTrends, 66(2), 134–140. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-022-00713-0
Kingsley, I. (2018). Use of social media by Alaskan libraries. PNLA Quarterly, 82(3/4), 62-72.
Magee, R., Naughton, R., O’Gan, P., Forte, A., & Agosto, D. (2012). Social Media Practices and Support in U.S. Public Libraries and School Library Media Centres. American Society for Information Science and Technology. Meeting. Proceedings of the … ASIST Annual Meeting, 49(1), 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1002/meet.14504901334
Martin, F., Wang, C., Petty, T., Wang, W. & Wilkins, P. (2018). Middle School Students’ Social Media Use. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 21(1), 213-224.
NSW Department of Education (2020). Social media policy. Implementation procedures – August 2020. NSW Government.
Ravn, S., Barnwell, A. & Neves, B. (2020). What Is “Publicly Available Data”? Exploring Blurred Public-Private Boundaries and Ethical Practices Through a Case Study on Instagram. Journal of EMpirical Research on Human Research Ethics, 15(1-2), 40-45. DOI:10.1177/1556264619850736
Rosenberg, J. M., Burchfield, M., Borchers, C., Gibbons, B., Anderson, D., & Fischer, C. (2021). Social media and students’ privacy: What schools and districts should know. Phi Delta Kappan, 103(2), 49–53. https://doi.org/10.1177/00317217211051145
The Washing Post X (previously known as Twitter) feed is a saturated with a plethora of posts about politics, sports, social media/technology, and the odd advertisement thrown in, just to name a small few. This hugely diverse range of posts offer minimal information in the posts, prompting viewer to click on the post to be directed to fuller articles that give more information, with a catch – users must pay for the access. They also occur in rapid fire succession, with multiple posts going up within a one hour period, all offering articles on wildly different topics from seemlingly pro-Trump propaganda and reporting to the apparent boom of the tourism/golf/beer industry thanks to “women”. One might be prompted to ask when perusing this account who the target audience is, and with such a huge onslaught of content offered by the hour on an incredibly diverse range of topics, the answer seems simple: everyone.
Perhaps this accounts for their 20 million follow count. Providing content that is of interest to the broadest range of demographics seems sure to end in some measure of success, and it certainly appears as though the Washington Post X page has a multitude of writing teams dedicated to writing content that appeals to certain demographics: Sport fanatics, pro-trump republicans, women, people influenced in the work of over-50 social media influencers, and those who want to know what the US is and isn’t doing in the Gaza/Israeli conflict overseas, just to name a few. If their goal is to generate clicks on articles, then they will certainly be achieving it with such huge numbers of posts vs. followers.
In contrast, the ALIANational X page has a very different approach. With 11.7 thousand followers, their target audience appears to be those interested specifically in the Australian Library and Information Association, with the content posted relating directly to libraries and the association. Their focus is rather on diseminating and providing access to resources, inviting viewers to seminars, chats and other professional learning that might interest them, alerting viewers to writing and publication opportunities, and offering a range of other services. Their content is not hidden behind a paywall, as is the case with the Washington Post X feed, and their intent appears to be to inform and provide to their audience, rather than entice for paid clicks.
If one were to measure the success of both pages based on number of followers, the Washington Post page would be the most successful. If one were to measure the success of both pages based on the number of views per post, the Washing Post page would be the most successful.
However, the ALIA page, with their lower interactions and follows, is considered more successful here. For strengths, their target audience is more specific, and the content posted more aligned with their target audience in mind. Their content matches their purpose, and is not hidden behind a pay wall. They could however find more opportunities to reach more users. Perhaps some paid boosting would increase their post views to match Washington Post levels, which would open more opportunities for more users to be effectively reached. Of course, they are operating in a very niche market, with only those interested in Australian library information being likely to access their page, which is a threat to page growth to consider.
Word count: 500
Reference List
Australian Library and Information Association, The. [@ALIANational]. X. https://x.com/ALIANational?s=20
Washington Post, The. [washingtonpost]. X. https://x.com/washingtonpost?s=20
Using Social News Sites Professionally – Functionality and Issues
Buzzfeed and Reddit are two social news sites which operate on the social promotion of posts amongst users. On Buzzfeed, the most popular articles will initially appear to new users. From there, the articles one clicks on informs the algorithm of user interests, and more relevant articles that align more closely with user interests will begin to appear. Reddit works in a similar fashion, however there is a modicum of user choice able to be weilded on Reddit. One can choose to follow particular subreddits (sub), which typically only allow posts that fit the theme or topic of the sub to be posted. Once posted, users give posts and even comments that they like an “upvote”, and those that they don’t like a “downvote”. This system determines which articles appear first on subs, which even have a function to sort posts by “most upvotes”. More interactive than Buzzfeed, users can comment freely on posts, however human and robot (bot) moderators will often step in to remove comments that either dereail the post content or do not meet sub comment standards. Eventually, Reddit will also learn user preferences and interests, and will recommend other subs that are similar or relevant to their current interests for them to follow.
Buzzfeed would be potentially benefical in a professional way if one was able to “train” the algorithm to only show work-related content. For example, a Teacher Librarian might search for and only engage with articles regarding books, libraries, trending titles, etc. However, a quick search for the broad term “books” revealed only one semi-relevant article “Only Book I’ve Ever Called Out Of Work to Read” – 14 Of The Best Books That People Have Ever Read (Cotton, 2024). The rest of the articles readily visible were advertisements, things you should “treat yourself to” on Amazon, quizzes to find out what Percy Jackson character you’re most like, and articles on a viral TikTok videos about why a middle aged woman doesn’t take advice from men. It took much more scrolling and searching to find book-related content. Clearly, then, Buzzfeed prioritises some content over others regardless of your search term, favouring more popular articles over relevant ones.
Issues with Reddit revolve around the social determining of post visibility. Upvoting and downvoting has the potential to ensure the most popular and relevant posts remain at the top of a sub. However, they also have the potential to hide more relevant posts. Downvoting can work to effectively censor posts that a redditor base big enough might decide is not worthy of engagement, or is something that they disagree with enmasse. Whilst this can be useful to remove less relevant posts, the potential for censorship is high and should be taken into considered when using the platform.
Censorship is therefore large issue for both sites when one considers the type of content posted. Posts and articles are not only made by employees or experts. Anyone can comment and post, and anyone can downvote on Reddit. This lack of regulation allows for misinformation to potentially be published and readily engaged with, with users potentially trusting the source and taking the misinformation as factual. This further has significant implications for minority and disadvantaged groups (such as women and LGBTIQIA+ individuals), who research has shown are more likely to be censored online and have relevant information published about them online deleted at higher rates than less disadvantaged groups (typical males) (Tripodi, 2023). This means that perspectives from advantaged groups have the potential to be prioritised on these sites. Censorship and the perpetuation of misinformation by non-experts and advantaged groups are therefore significant issues users must take into consideration when using these sites, whether it be for personal or professional matters.
Word count: 624
Reference List
Cotton, E. (2024). “Only Book I’ve Ever Called Out Of Work To Read” – 14 Of The Best Books That People Have Ever Read. Buzzfeed. https://www.buzzfeed.com/elizabeth_cotton/best-books-to-read
Tripodi, F. (2023). Ms. Categorized: Gender, notability, and inequality on Wikipedia. New media & Society 25(7), 1687-1707. DOI: 10.1177/14614448211023772
