Infowhelm: A journey into Librarianship

Justification?

2012-02-25T14:50:00.004-08:00

Wouldn't it be great if we lived in a world where the importance of Libraries was given? Where school Libraries didn't have to fight for funding or their importance within a school?

I came across this recently on Cathy Nelson's blog, and thought it was worthwhile to re-post.

Now more than ever it is important for School Librarians to understand marketing in the same way that the school registrar understands marketing. What are the numbers telling you about borrowing patterns? Have you surveyed your students to find out what they like or do not like?

School Librarians need to work smarter using technology and tools to be proactive within their school and not reactive.

Re-design

2012-01-28T06:06:00.000-08:00

This year I have a part time Teacher Librarian load and I am so excited. It is like someone has put a shot of something in my arm. I have so many ideas and thoughts running around in my head and I hope that I can make a positive contribution to the school Library.

I will also start my third CSU subject, "Resourcing the Curriculum". So keep an eye out for posts on the readings.

I've been sprucing up the blog and associated social networking tools, preparing for the start of another school year.

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Can I be specific .. maybe not

2011-08-20T05:21:00.001-07:00

Chugging along on the essay, nearing the point where I will actually read it offline for the first time. Strange but true. It has taken me a while to get my "study groove on". I read better offline, I write better online, I think better with food in my mouth, I also need time to let ideas ferment. Finally I have come up with a study system that "I think" works. It is a bit different this time around studying, now I have two kids to juggle.

Found this interesting diagram here ..

A few thoughts from my readings that relate back to my experiences working with IT and ICT. This observation might not make it into my final piece as I don't want my assignment to be focused on ICT, but it is something that seems to be popping up in a number of articles. The lack of specificity in some areas, but not others. Particularly in the area of Information Communications and Technology (ICT).

Herring (2007) makes a number of valid points in his Chapter on "Teacher Librarians and the School Library" about the cross over between the various roles within a Library. I would however argue with his point that because the ASLA guidelines do not mention Internet or web, that they are outdated.

The Internet is an information system, a global information system and a disorganized one at that, but still an information system. We call the World Wide Web the Internet a the moment, but within the context of guidelines (which are normally loosely compiled to allow flexibility), I would expect that they would not be specific. Perhaps the guidelines could read “networked resources”. This would imply that they could be accessed by networked devices.

Continuing further down the article, he then goes on to state in the 'Information Skills in schools' section that in the role of developing information literate students we have to teach students to apply their information literacy skills irrespective of technology. So guidelines have to be specific except when they are referring to skills that students must have?

Herring, J. (2007). Teacher librarians and the school library. In S. Ferguson (Ed.) Libraries in the twenty-first century : charting new directions in information (pp. 27-42). Wagga Wagga, NSW : Centre for Information Studies, Charles Sturt University.

An opportunity missed for IT teachers and Teacher Librarians

2011-08-18T16:48:00.000-07:00

I am busy reading articles and compiling my first essay of my course. But one thing that struck me is that in many of the articles the role of teacher librarian seems to be taking on the role of IT specialist in schools. Herring (2007) would argue that this is indeed a good thing, that it is part of the package that the Teacher Librarian needs to offer to be relevant in today's teaching and learning environment. But coming from being an IT specialist in schools, I worry that Teacher Librarians would spend too much time learning software and teaching IT skills rather than information literacy skills. If we talk about Teacher Librarians working in partnership with classroom teachers, then they shouldn't be taking on the roles of classroom teachers. They should be enablers not disenablers.

The implementation of VELS in Victoria has managed to all but wipe out the IT specialist in schools. What was once a noble profession within schools is now seen with distain as Curriculum Coordinators around the state cancel compulsory IT subjects and shuffle competent information professionals into teaching something else. Many of these teachers who had so much to offer have simply given up and have gone back to teaching a non-IT subject because of the hassle.

The compulsory IT subjects are an opportunity for both IT teachers and Teacher Librarians to work side by side to ensure that our students have not only good IT skills but also excellent information retrieval skills.

Library of Congress

2011-07-19T16:00:00.000-07:00

It has been a tiring week, trying to fit in study around Nicholas, who is 5 months old. The last time I did study, I was child-free and could affort the luxury of endless hours of reading and digesting. This time around I need to be a bit smarter about how I go about it.

A friend posted this link to Facebook, a documentary on the Library of Congress and I thought it an interesting given that we are exploring the meaning of the modern library.

image source

"This program looks behind-the-scenes at the Library of Congress, allowing viewers to learn the history of the institution as they tour the Library’s iconic Jefferson Building and see some of the treasures found in its collections of rare books, photos, and maps. It will also feature a look at some of the presidential papers housed there, ranging from George Washington through Calvin Coolidge. Viewers will learn how the library uses technology to preserve its holdings and expand public access to them. It will also show how technology is helping to uncover new information about some of the items in its collections."

When did Library become a dirty word?

2011-07-18T05:33:00.000-07:00

I think that Monday night will probably become my study night. Just me, my macbook and the online forums for my course. I have been starting to read through the blog entries from some of the other students in my course and the one question that popped into my head was "When did Library become a dirty word?".

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Our schools don't seem to have Libraries any more. They have Information Services, Knowledge Hubs and Resource Centres. Has the true meaning of a Library been lost in the renaming of this resource in our schools?

My earliest memory of the School Library was working as a student at the end of the year in the Library sorting books and organising resources. But that doesn't seem to be sexy anymore. The new School Library has to be hip, happening and ICT integrated. Has the true meaning of the School Library lost it's way?

I had a great conversation on Facebook tonight about the importance of teaching students about how information is cataloged with a view to students being able to retrieve information more easily. My background is through teaching Information Technology in schools and over the years I have frequently taught "searching skills" to students.

Whilst many students are excellent at looking productive online ("oh look what Johnny found online ... "), the reality is that many students find information via serendipity rather than using a system of searching. I often tell students that if the search engine sends back >1000 search results, then you need to refine your search. That often means using Advanced Searching functions.

At it's core, the School Library is all about information organisation and retrieval so why can't we just call it what it has been known as for centuries ... a Library?

Are you a "Top Performing Teacher"?

2011-06-28T20:35:00.000-07:00

Back in May, the Australian Federal Government Budget 2011 announced the funding for $425 million over four years to reward top performing teachers.

I applaud the intent to improve teaching and learning. But if you have a scheme that rewards teachers individually, how do you measure that? How do you assess a teachers performance?

Do you reward Year 12 teachers for the marks their students get? What about the teachers that taught the students in the years before and the hard yards that they did with learning difficulties and individualised learning plans in order to get the kids to Year 12?

Do you also reward the people who work in student services for the mentoring they provide for the students or the library staff who help to improve the research skills of the students? What about the teachers that work in pastoral care, the ones that help to support good organisational habits or that encourage students to bounce back from an unsatisfactory result on a test or assignment?

How do you assess a teachers performance individually? What performance indicators can we quantitatively measure? Because comparing "Year 7 2011" with "Year 7 2012" is quite hard ...

So do you measure the top performing teachers on their ability to turn up to school on time, submit reports on time, publish articles in journals or on the more qualitative characteristics of the job such as their ability to conduct a parent teacher interview?

I am interested as to how the Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership might identify a "top performing teacher". On their web site they have National Professional Standards for Teachers. But how do you then reward teachers, in some cases upto 10% of a teachers earning, based on this. Will it create a compeditiveness within a school which is counter productive to good teaching and learning?

Teaching for 16 years has taught me that teaching is a team sport. That without the pastoral care, library staff, technicians and support staff, my ability to deliver my curriculum is diminished.

If you speak to teachers about what impacts on their ability to provide an excellent teaching and learning environment, many will talk about the access to resources, clean and healthy teaching spaces and the time to design and delivery quality curriculum.

Welcome

2011-06-12T04:23:00.000-07:00

As I sit here on my couch, tapping away on my iPad, I can't help but wonder how much schools are going to change over the next 15 years when my kids go to school. I can distinctly remember going to a CEGV Residential Conference at Deakin University in Geelong in the early 1990s, where the only access to Technology was via a Vax machine in the computer labs. I now have 24/7 access to the internet and the information that it allows me to access is endless. The research skills that were taught to my parents generation, are now undervalued by the students of today as more and more information is easily accessible. Computer "confidence" is confused with computer "competence". Flashy assignments are submitted to teachers with bells and whistles, but not much evidence of critical thinking or thorough research.

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This blog has been created to track my journey into Teacher Librarianship, to reflect on the learnings through the completion of a Masters of Education (Teacher Librarianship). Professionally, I have been an Information Technology teacher since 1994, since before the internet became mainstream in classrooms. Having held many positions of responsibility in the area of IT and eLearning, I am now ready for a change.