The Journey So Far

Having submitted and received my marks for my first two major assessments I think it’s time to stop, breathe and reflect on the journey so far!

In between teaching two geography classes, coordinating online senior learning support, completing an entire library stock take and everything else, I really look forward to the opportunity to sit down and do some study or work that is extremely relevant to what I am currently doing. I have to say that I am absolutely loving this course. Compared to my first teaching degree that I received back in 2017 it is a whole other world in which the readings make sense, I can see the value in what I’m doing and I am actually able to put content into practice. It’s that last part that really gets me though, being able to put what I am studying into practice and constantly developing my understanding of this role that I’m enjoying so much.

My Discussion Essay for ETL401 explored the use of BYOD Programs in schooling environments and what impact on school libraries and teacher librarians these might have. I chose this topic primarily because one of the first things I was asked to do when starting my current role was to assist with the facilitation of a BYOD program in our school of students in Year 7-10. It is something I have worked a lot on over the past year but had never really put it in specifically a library perspective, I had seen the program more from a student or whole school perspective. The research I conducted for this assessment and my own experiences over the past year have allowed me to further develop our BYOD policy and the ways in which we support our students technologically, especially given the current circumstances of online education! I also have to say that this unit in particular (ETL401) has been great for me in terms of placing my own individual role in the wider context of school libraries and school environments.

I found creating the Annotated Bibliography for ETL503 had a similar effect on me. I found the process incredibly useful for my own practice of selecting resources for my collection, as well as using tools and resources to assist with the collection process. In fact, I actively used the selection criteria I created as a part of this assignment to assist with my stock take, weeding and collection evaluation process, something that I would never have thought to do before! It is a slow process of learning, understanding and changing but it is one that I can feel happening already. It makes me very happy to be putting the concepts into action and to see the theory in practice, as well as to improve my own practice as a professional and the library space in general for all its users!