Tag: digital environment

The Challenge of New Opportunities

The Challenge of New Opportunities

by clairetuminello89 ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

The Australian Curriculum is providing teachers and teacher librarians with many new challenges, including the need to continually improve personal knowledge and understanding of digital tools and digital environments. Indeed, if we are expected to contribute to an educative experience that prepares our students to function efficiently and effectively in 21st century society, then we ourselves need to accept a level of responsibility to develop our own skills and knowledge in relation to digital tools and digital environments. These tools and environments are likely to feature extensively in workplaces and in society in general for a long time to come.

Putting aside the complexities and politics of a teaching career, being a teacher provides a wonderful challenge for those in the profession to embrace and adapt to constant change. Certainly, it sometimes feels like the change is never ending and it can really induce a lot of stress! But ever the optimist, it is something I secretly love about being a teacher. Danielson (2007) describes teaching as a “flat profession”, whereby as we gain experience, our responsibilities are essentially the same as a new teacher. I don’t necessarily agree with this. Sure, there are similarities in being able to deliver exciting learning opportunities to students regardless of the stage of your career, or being passionate about your subject and content. However, I think that as we gain experience, it’s not a “flatline” but (hopefully) on an upward trajectory in terms of the richness of what we can provide! Our challenges and responsibilities change quite a lot. The responsibilities of a new teacher are to learn how to juggle life as a teacher, how to manage a class of students after being dumped headfirst into your own classroom with limited practical experiences, how to try a few different things just to see if they work and be OK if they fail, and be motivated to improve them to make them better, even if they do come off well. Experienced teachers have different responsibilities – they’re often no longer experiencing the aforementioned challenges, but rather a whole set of new ones.

A huge personal challenge for me is the rate at which technology, and in particular digital tools and environments, are changing. It is really difficult to keep up with all of the fantastic opportunities that the digital world presents, which in turn makes it feel like an enormous challenge! A great example of my ignorance in this field relates to coding. I find it extremely intimidating, I have never done it and I wouldn’t even know where to start. However, I acknowledge and accept that coding is likely a working/learning skill required to function in 21st century society. On completion of this masters, I will hold a leadership role in a school as a teacher librarian. Part of my role is to embrace such challenges, and acknowledge the importance of digital upskilling for the benefit student learning, and ultimately, a rich and useful education. Furthermore, I’ll probably have to inspire others to embrace them too!

Leaders in schools, including but not limited to senior executive members, teacher librarians and teachers, have a responsibility to accept the challenges presented by rapid and dynamic technological change. This includes everyone accepting a personal and professional responsibility to learn about digital tools and environments. I envisage a world where professional learning communities made up of teachers across all experience levels and all domains can commit to improving outcomes in digital skills (in the case of coding, these would include digital literacy, design thinking, problem solving, creativity, collaboration, etc.) for students by collaborating effectively via structured professional learning (PL) and collaborative planning and teaching practices. Collaboration in PL can lead to the kind of accountability, support and engagement required to actually implement the PL into the classroom setting (Cole, 2012). I am also as ambitious to think that in a secondary setting, and potentially even in upper primary settings, students could be contributors of skills/knowledge to professional learning in coding, alongside other experts in the field.

Leadership is about many things, but I think great leadership includes a strong element of foresight and anticipating what will be needed in the future. The state of our country at the moment is a wonderfully depressing example of leadership that has failed to employ foresight or anticipated what might happen next (and if it does, what are we going to do). To state the obvious examples, our response at both state and federal levels to the pandemic, our involvement and response to the events in Afghanistan, our response to the bushfires and to climate change in general…it’s quite frankly embarrassing. Instead, we are stuck being constantly reactive and backpedalling.

Digital tools and environments are certainly not new, and they are still ever-changing, but rather than be on the back foot, it is up to us to see the writing on the wall. The present and the future of education is certainly going to include these tools and environments, so it’s up to all of the leaders in schools to embrace them, and attempt to anticipate their use in the future. Collaboratively, we can be held accountable for each other to focus on providing authentic learning for the future.

 

References

Cole, P. (2012). Linking effective professional learning with effective teaching practice.
https://ptrconsulting.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/linking_effective_professional_learning_with_effective_teaching_practice_-_cole.pdf

Danielson, C. (2007). The many faces of leadership. Educational Leadership, 65(1), 14-19. http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept07/vol65/num01/The-Many-Faces-of-Leadership.aspx

 

Resourcing the Curriculum of Today and the Future

Resourcing the Curriculum of Today and the Future

by clairetuminello89 ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Historically, change has been a recurring theme of human existence. Categorising these changes has been popular practice in understanding our history – for example the Industrial Age occurring between 1760-1970. Currently, we find ourselves as consumers of and contributors to the Digital Age or the Information Age which began in 1970 when transistor technology was developed. Libraries, including school libraries, have always been concerned with information as they have always housed collections of information in a variety of genres and formats. Thus, the so-called “Information Age” has impacted and continues to result in change for libraries and the collections they house.

Collection development is a central activity occurring in any library. Corrall (2018) suggests that a collection pertains to the entire notion of a library, and that the words ‘library’ and ‘collection’ are essentially synonymous. Where once the professional practice of collection development involved a much less diverse and interactive suite of resources, the Digital Age has seen a proliferation of information that seems to defy the constraints of space and time (Newsum, 2016). In relation to school libraries, SLAV (2018) states that “school libraries reflect and contribute to the achievement of the school’s mission by managing and curating equitable, inclusive and diverse physical and digital collections that reflect both a local and global perspective.” This statement reflects the need for school libraries to continue to develop collections that are driven by the needs of the community that they serve (Tuminello, 2021, March 3). However, following my engagement in this subject, I believe the collection should promote not only the consumption of new information and ideas, but also the creation. I believe that it is paramount for school library professionals to continue to be able to promote and encourage a life-long love of learning and growth for all students, regardless of the complexities that the digital age has contributed to the collection development role, now and into the foreseeable future.

Throughout this subject, I became particularly interested in the notion of selection versus censorship in the context of a digital age. As a future Teacher Librarian (TL), I certainly see myself as an advocate and supporter of intellectual freedom. However, there has to be a place for censorship in schools with access to the internet. Whilst the internet is an abundant resource for information that can resource and supplement the curriculum in a way that has not been done before, I bring into question whether the all of the information it provides is intellectual in nature, and therefore if the use of filtering in schools is compromising “intellectual” freedoms. In a blog post on April 13, I commented that “our communities have constant and uncensored access to the whole world of information. I would question this level of self-selection autonomy in the school context, and argue that internet filtering is necessary on some level in a school context.” However, whilst internet filtering is common practice in schools for this very reason, it is also as problematic. Johnson (2010) highlights some of the issues that occur when using blocking tools to filter what information is accessible to students and provides example of situations where student learning is negatively impacted by poor filtering decisions. Of note, his first suggestion to rectify these issues relate to the school policy that underpins internet filtering decisions.

The complexities of collection development in school libraries continues to evolve and change as the ongoing digital revolution influences publishing models and digital content. In such an age, school libraries should be promoting 21st century learning, and thus should access and acquire collections that provide this. However, to create such a collection requires professional decision-making that must be supported by policy should it aim to be ethical and accountable for the decisions made. A collection development policy (CDP) “aims to ensure equitable access to resources for all in the school community” (ALIA, 2017, p.4). In a blog post on May 14, I stated that “it is important to be able to be transparent, and to make conscious and systematic decisions that can be backed by the CDP so that questioning by stakeholders in relation to censorship, money and other issues can be answered and supported by documentation.” Whilst a CDP does provide a written document that supports the decision-making that pertains to the collection, it further supports the school library professionals by outlining the purpose of the collection and assists in future proofing the importance of the position of the library in the school. Thus, having a thorough and professional CDP that is regularly reviewed alongside the corresponding procedures is essential to justifying and promoting the worth of a school library.

Remaining relevant in a digital and dynamic age is a challenge faced by all libraries, including school libraries. On May 20, I commented that “the future of school libraries is directly related to the future of education, the future of learners and the future of content.” As mentioned earlier, in some ways it can be deduced that the library is the collection and the collection is the library. In order for libraries to justify themselves in a world where free and open access to information is afforded to anyone with an internet connection, they must be able to support their claims. A CDP allows the TL and the staff who collaborate to develop the document to provide a purpose and projection into the future for the collection development practices in a school. Prior to completing all of the modules, I made comment on April 13 that “the TL must have selection policy that is clear, strong and defensible to allow them the courage to make decisions that allow the community intellectual freedom.” I now understand that the policy requires more than just consideration of selection, but also pertains to identification, as well as acquisition, evaluation and deselection issues. If the policy is created collaboratively, and is able to succinctly address these principles, set goals and provide continuity, then the TL alongside the school community allow themselves the ability to be flexible and adapt to future technological changes, and can also demonstrate a clear vision that outlines the ever-changing complex notion of collection development.

References

Australian Library and Information Association School, & Victorian Catholic Teacher Librarians. (2017). A manual for developing policies and procedures in Australian school library resource centres. https://www.alia.org.au/sites/default/files/ALIA%20Schools%20policies%20and%20procedures%20manual_FINAL.pdf

Corrall, S. (2018). The concept of collection development in the digital world. In M. Fieldhouse & A. Marshall (Eds.), Collection development in the digital Age (pp. 3–24). Facet. https://doi.org/10.290/9781856048972.003

Johnson, D. (2010). Censorship by omission. Library Media Connection, 28(4), 48-49. http://dougjohnson.squarespace.com/dougwri/censorship-by-omission.html  

Newsum, J. M. (2016). School collection development and resource management in digitally rich environments: An Initial Literature Review. School Libraries Worldwide, 22(1), 97–109.

School Library Association of Victoria. (2018). Statement on school libraries. https://slav.org.au/Statement-on-School-Libraries

A Crystal Ball for School Libraries and Collections

A Crystal Ball for School Libraries and Collections

by clairetuminello89 ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I do not have a crystal ball to predict the future. A quote that I love from Soren Kierkegaard, a Danish philosopher, is “life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards”. Often, looking back on events and experiences can bring some hindsight, but we cannot change history. We can look forwards and try to create new events and experiences that acknowledge the gains and the losses of the past.

In the context of school libraries, Wade (2005) highlights that the school librarian is no longer a keeper of books that demands a quiet space in the library and occasionally comes into a classroom to talk about their contents. I acknowledge that maintaining a collection that meets the needs of it’s audience and provides resources and evidence for learning is a gain for a school community. However, given what we now know, the idea that learning must occur in utter silence and can only be presented directly from teacher to pupil is a potential loss of the past.

The future of school libraries is directly related to the future of education, the future of learners and the future of content. The challenge for school libraries and school library collections is to remain relevant and future-proof themselves in a world that seems to change faster than the speed of light. Not only is this change swift, it is also dynamic. It was once suggested that students appear as aliens in a library, as students entered the spaces with superior computer literacy skills than the school librarians themselves (Wade, 2005). Perhaps this observation is true, however there has been research to suggest that whilst Generation Y demonstrate confidence in using technology, this does not necessarily translate to intentional, effective and meaningful information-seeking behaviour (Coombes, 2009).

Consequently, I believe the future of school libraries is impossible to predict – and nor do I want to. It is too dependent on the future of other factors. IFLA Trend Report Update reminds us that “the library in itself is an enduring demonstration that expertise and truth exist, matter and are appreciated.” For now, and I may be wrong, but I can only see the relevance of this statement being magnified. In this vain, I hope that school libraries find a way to embed themselves in a school such that they are an irreplaceable piece of the education puzzle.

 

References

Combes, B. (2013). Educating the digital nature of the future. inCite, 34(4), 33-33.

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. (2016). IFLA Trend Report.  http://trends.ifla.org

Wade, C. (2005). The school library: phoenix or dodo bird? Educational Horizons, 8(5), 12-14.

 

 

Would we build them?

Would we build them?

by clairetuminello89 ♥ 0 Leave a Comment
Parkes (2010) poses the question: “If libraries didn’t exist, would we build them today?”
Libraries of the past were the beacons of knowledge, the keepers and preservers of the books. In current times, information and knowledge are easily and freely accessible most of the time, largely thanks to the dawn of the technological age. Physical resources still exist. They are still highly relevant and have a place in society just as digital resources do.
But libraries provide something that no online environment can (at the moment). A human, face-to-face interaction that can lead the horse to water, and allow the patron a physical experience with a book (or other physical resource). Whilst online environments can still provide a vast range of high-quality and engaging resources, they cannot replace the personal relationship or interaction that you can have with a librarian, nor can they offer the physical experience of turning a paper page and the feel of a book. Perhaps I’m nostalgic or a bit of a romantic, but this experience contributes to my love of books and reading.
It is based on this that I think libraries would still be built today. Perhaps smaller, perhaps differently, perhaps to include more technological advancement – but still, they would be built.

Now, that statement is a hypothetical situation that doesn’t exist because we do have libraries. They were built, and they still are built. The ways in which we arrange the libraries to encourage active participation in reading behaviours are being studied. In particular, the organisation of the fiction collection has been scrutinised. Where once these collections have simply been organised according to the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), a quantitative system in which the fiction section is the least specifically organised, now libraries are seeking to depart from the DDC system and move towards classifying this section by genre to make books that may be of interest to the user easier to find. Whilst genrefication can be challenging to roll out, especially given how many genres there are, reclassifying the library’s fiction collection by genre gives students more ownership of the fiction collection and allows them to find materials that genuinely interest them (Moeller & Becnel, 2019).

As TL’s, it is our professional responsibility to encourage students and the whole school community to engage in and enjoy reading. Let’s make it easier, not harder, for our young people to get excited about reading and empower them to choose their fiction based on what they’re interests are.

References

Moeller, R. A. & Becnel, Kim E.  (2019). Why on earth would we not genrefy the books? A study of reader interest classification in school libraries. Knowledge organization, 46(3), 199-208.

Parkes, D. (2010). Web 2.0 and libraries: Impacts, technologies and trends.

Selection, Censorship and the WWW

Selection, Censorship and the WWW

by clairetuminello89 ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Selection, as I see it, is a professional responsibility whereby the TL selects resources for the school library that meet the needs of the curriculum, the students and the whole school community. These selections are based on a selection criteria, and decisions to select the resource are made regardless of whether the selector believes the resource may incite controversy within the community that the library serves. The TL must have selection policy that is clear, strong and defensible to allow them the courage to make decisions that allow the community intellectual freedom.

The following quote offered in Module 2, Developing Collections, hits the nail on the head:

Selection … begins with a presumption in favor of liberty of thought; censorship, with a presumption in favor of thought control. Selection’s approach to the books is positive, seeking its value in the book as a book and in the book as a whole. Censorship’s approach is negative, seeking for vulnerable characteristics wherever they can be found – anywhere within the book, or even outside it. Selection seeks to protect the right of the reader to read; censorship seeks to protect – not the right – but the reader himself from the fancied effects of his reading. The selector has faith in the intelligence of the reader; the censor has faith only in his own. In other words, selection is democratic while censorship is authoritarian, and in our democracy we have traditionally tended to put our trust in the selector rather than in the censor (Asheim, 1953, p. 63).

Jenkinson (2002) suggests that selectors look at resources with an open mind – they are trying to see the positive value of the resource and how such a resource might meet the needs of the curriculum and the students. Whereas, censors see the resources with a negative lens and tries to find ways of excluding resources based on words, topics or themes that may exist. In many instances, this is done without consideration of context.

All of the above considered, the role of the TL is to avoid being timid and neutral, and encourage resource collection that allows the school community intellectual freedom and is as progressive as possible.

However, when considering the world wide web (WWW), our communities have constant and uncensored access to the whole world of information. I would question this level of self-selection autonomy in the school context, and argue that internet filtering is necessary on some level in a school context. With physical resources, we are able to offer literature and resources appropriate and educational for particular age groups and not for others. The internet and digital resourcing takes this selection criteria away if we are unable to filter the information being accessed. The power of media outlets to push their own agenda in this space (in particular, political agenda), and the algorithms that exist to propagate false information, is quite terrifying in my opinion. After watching The Social Dilemma in 2020, I was compelled to delete all of my social media for this reason. That said, I think it is of particular importance to educate everyone with access to devices, and not just young people, about the power of such intelligence. “Advancing technology is both our saviour and our doom” – Olaf, Frozen II.

Another example I would like to draw upon here is the sexually objectifying portrayals of women in the media, and young boys’ access to pornography. There is a large body of research that exists demonstrating that regular, everyday exposure to this content contributes to greater tolerance of sexual violence toward women, higher levels of body dissatisfaction, greater self-objectification, and greater support of sexist beliefs (Ward, 2016). In this context, I would question whether all of the information available on the WWW is, in fact, intellectual in it’s nature. Don’t get me wrong – being able to discuss these issues in a safe space, such as a classroom environment, is of the greatest importance. But there is a difference between intellectual content and just simply content. Questioning the purpose behind the creation of the content is a part of the selection process. Being able to filter what is available to students on the internet is extremely important policy in this context. Sexual and pornographic content is contributing to some of the biggest issues in our society, and filtering access to this type of information online is an important tool in the battle against sexual exploitation, violence against women and domestic violence, and human trafficking.

Therefore, as TL’s in a rapidly growing technological environment, making sure that the selection policy can address the issues above and allow for robust discussion amongst the school community, but still allow and encourage a filtering process that considers the appropriateness of what is available on the internet is paramount. Whilst I don’t personally see a “fine line” between selection and censorship (I believe them to be essentially opposites), I think there is merit in filtering on the internet whereby students can access information that is harmful, untrue and has the potential to incite violence and exploitation.

References

Asheim, L. (1953). Not censorship but selection.Wilson Library Bulletin ,   28, 63-67.
Jenkinson, D. (2002). Selection and censhorship: It’s simple arithmetic. School libraries in Canada, 2(4), 22.
Ward, L. M. (2016). Media and Sexualization: State of Empirical Research, 1995–2015. The Journal of Sex Research, 53(4-5), 560-577. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2016.1142496
The Information Environment

The Information Environment

by clairetuminello89 ♥ 1 Comment

Information is an evolving concept requiring us to reflect upon it’s very nature. In and of itself, it is simply a flow of ‘bits’, however as a whole, as humans we are able to apply meaning to the information. The idea of information as ‘bits’ quite reminded me of a visit to MONA in 2018, where my favourite exhibition was called Bit.Fall, where a wall of water spells out the most popular words searched on Google that day. Even without context, I found myself trying to attach meaning to the words. Why were those particular words being searched so frequently today?

Interestingly, it came to my mind that thinking of information in this way is a uniquely human experience. I was particularly thinking about linguistic and/or verbal information as it exists in the physical and digital landscape, as that type of information is referred to a lot in the material presented. As intelligent beings, we are able to synthesize information and use it to further our evolution. However, most animals with a level of intelligence are seemingly able to process the information in their environments to adapt, communicate and survive. Therefore, our ability to manipulate, understand and use information relates directly to how humans and other animals are able to advance and adapt in the world.

However, we are at a point where this progression has resulted in advances in technology. Such is the advancement that we are now saturated with information. In fact, the four inherent properties of information cited in the module (inconsumable, untransferable, indivisible and accumulative) mean that the information environment is overloaded. It is particularly important for consumers of information to be able to critically evaluate the authenticity of the information. In the age of information saturation, fake news, constant access to an ever-expanding landscape of ‘bits’ and ‘wholes’, the role of TL has never been more important. Teaching ourselves and young people how to research effectively, communicate, learn and use that information may well be a fantastic tool to apply in human advancement as we navigate through the ever-changing digital environment.