ETL 501 Teacher Librarian Collaboration Commentary

Activity  1.    

·        I have no idea about what the school is doing regarding a learning website as I am only a CRT. There is a school website and there is a link to the library. I am aware that they use Moodle but I know nothing about it.

·        A story board helps to visualise steps and sticky notes are easy to move around and change the sequence. This is harder to do in the finished product. If you can organise the structure first you ultimately save time.

·        I’ve looked at website design a lot lately. I am a huge fan of white space as I know how intimidating huge chunks of writing can be. They turn me off no end. That’s why I could never engage with Isobelle Allande’s House of the Spirits...but I digress. Tree maps show how to navigate around a site, and show structure. Contrast is important too. No dark on dark colours.

·        I started off looking at Weebly some time ago and ditched it because I was too impatient with downloading photos. I really had trouble with it and found the directions confusing. I’ll get back to it once all these assignments are completed. I found Wikispaces a lot easier. No frills here. Prezi is on my to do list.

Activity 2.

·        Subject content is the main criteria. If it doesn’t fit the curriculum and isn’t pitched at students, then what is the point?

·        I agree in principle that learning websites developed at the school are more likely to engage kids. The sense of ownership will be strong.

·        You can put a few points in the annotations referring back to whatever Info Lit model the school uses. I’m ashamed to say I don’t even know what the school uses because I am so rarely there and there doesn’t appear to be any reinforcement of policy around. I have seen a poster in the staff room about Bloom’s Taxonomy so I’ll draw a long bow here and suggest they may be fond of the Big6 model. But I’m only inferring here. I have no proof.

·        Annotations can give directions about how to use the resource. That’s helpful. Don’t be didactic or patronising as it turns readers off.

·        If students find a good resource we can encourage them to add it to the learning website-with a wiki this should be easy.

·        I read bits of Lynch and Horton (2008). Web Style Guide: Basic design principles for designing websites on line, at www.webstyleguide.com/wsg3/index.html. It goes on for pages and pages about interface design and is rather technical for the most part, so I was rather confused. Animoto looks really cool. The kids would love this. This is also on my to do list.

ETL 401 Blog Task #3

Information Literacy is more than a set of skills.

Information literacy (IL) is a slippery term to define. Academic and Teacher Librarian (T/L) Linda Langford (1998) wrote a lengthy article trying to clarify a definition and admitted that the whole process could bamboozle or alienate an audience. I admit to being one of those perplexed and bored readers. Greenblatt (2005) is more succinct, taking only a sentence to proclaim IL as ‘the ability to find and use information’. Academic Michael Eisenburg (2008) states that it is the ‘basic skills set of the 21^st century.’
   Perhaps a middle ground, borrowing heavily from Abilock (2004), would be to describe IL as an illuminating process where the learner locates, understands, evaluates and uses a range of information.
   What the person does with this information is up to himself/herself. Whereas Abilock states the learner should use the information to create something, I would argue that information literacy could end with the learner using it for decision making purposes only.
   So is I/L just a set of skills? Certainly today’s students are ‘digital natives’ already highly skilled in technology use. They can download music and videos, use a keyboard, mouse or touch pad, Google for unlimited information, post photos, link platforms, text friends, and so on. The list continues to grow. But most self-taught digital natives aren’t using the technology to exploit its potential to the fullest. They are simply skimming the surface. The new technology may be the tool to finding information but these self-taught craftsman can learn a lot from someone who knows the trade. In short, the teacher librarian.
   Information literacy goes further than a set of skills. It involves critical thinking, application and transfer. Students need to critically evaluate the information they find, particularly on websites. They need to look for bias and be alert to scams.
   Students must apply their I/L skills in a responsible way. They must be upstanding cyber citizens who obey copyright laws, are sensitive to privacy issues, avoid plagiarism and communicate on the Web using the appropriate etiquette.
   I/L is also about the transfer of these skills to other areas of life. Academic James Herring (2011a) showed that Scottish students on work placement found that work places sourced their information differently to how it was done in schools. A heavy reliance on databases, email and mobile phones contrasted with the schools’ emphasis on the Web to source information. Research into this topic is limited but Herring suggests that both groups can learn from each other. As Kuhlthau (2004) states, ‘Transference is the ultimate objective of education.’ Imagine if students could transfer I/L skills into adult life. What a switched on workforce we would have.
   Furthermore I/L is also about dealing with Web2.0 technology without fear. Kuhlthau’s theory of the Information Search Process (ISP) shows that emotions play a large role in how we all search for information and understanding this relationship helps T/Ls to guide students sympathetically.
   Teachers can also model the fact that we are learners too. We need to continually demonstrate to students that we use the new technology responsibly and efficiently. T/Ls can run professional development course to introduce various aspects of I/L in small chunks (Herring, 2011b, p72). For example, avoiding plagiarism or using creative commons or Google Advanced Search etc.
   We can be better prepared for visual learners too. Posters or laminated cards reinforcing a learning method such as Herring’s PLUS method can be placed prominently around the library. T/Ls need to shamelessly ‘bang on’ about this chosen method at every staff meeting and every time a class comes into the library to research. Eventually we will create lifelong learners.

 References

Abilock, Debbie. (2007). Information Literacy Building Blocks of Research: Overview of Design, Process and Outcomes. Retrieved 27 August 2012 from

http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/information/1over/infolit1.html

 

Eisenberg, Michael B. (2008). ‘Information Literacy: Essential Skills for the Information Age’ DESIDOC Journal of Library & Information Technology, Vol.28, No.2, March, pp39-47

Greenblatt, Melinda. (2005). ‘Library Connections: Creating Lifelong learners’ Catholic Library World,
             Sept Vol 76 No.1

Herring, James, E. (2011a). ‘From School to Work and From Work to School: Information Environments and Transferring Information Literacy Practices’ Information Research. Vol.16 No.2, June

Herring, James, E. (2011b). Improving Students’ Web Use and Information Literacy: A Guide for
            Teachers and Teacher Librarians, Facet Publishing, London

Kuhlthau, C. C. (2004). ‘Learning as a Process’. Seeking meaning: a Process Approach to Library and Information Services (2^nd Ed.) pp13-27). Westport, Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited.

Langford, Linda. (1998). Information Literacy: a Clarification, from Now On: The Educational
             Technology Journal. Retrieved 27 August 2012 from
http://www.fno.org/sept98/clarify.html

 

ETL 501 Commentary #7

Providing information for staff and students.

Librarians need to think about how they offer their services to staff - as emails, on blogs, staff memos, noticeboards, informal staff encounters, straight to wikis...          An then when they find something to share how will they share it. My guess is more often than not in the future it will be electronically. Librarians need to be aware of staff's curriculum and PD needs.

I am really warming to wikis. I still consider myself an infant in using this technology but I can understand Joyce Valenza's enthusiasm for it. I can’t see the importance in rolling around on the floor laughing about wikis though, but  I do agree with her other points, especially the ease of links, uploading ability and how you don’t need html knowledge to build one. The fact that they are collaborative and organic is super stuff. I think the potential is probably endless.

The reference interview

Discover from the client what information they want, how much and pitched at what level.

Information Services and Resource creation

 As T/Ls we ne need to 

·        Provide access to information (traditional and online)

·        Provide an inviting space to be (comfortable/clean/no nasty dragon lady types)

·        Provide friendly, non judgemental hands-on help when students can’t find stuff

·        Provide reading materials for enjoyment (mags/fiction/graphic novels etc

·        Provide for people with special needs (quiet nooks/ earphones/ visual aids or whatever...

I really like the School Community Profile Template set up by the national library of New Zealand. It takes into consideration everyone who uses the school library. It makes me think how can we cater more for our population of ESL students from refugee backgrounds. Should we be looking at more African literature, more books on African and Asian nations in the non fiction shelves? The junior school library caters for reluctant readers really well. The librarian seems to have made this one of her key concerns and surfing and football books proliferate.  As for digital devices, this point is not really addressed locally. I think we need to catch up with the digital natives.

Posters in the library are good but often become as unseen as wallpaper. Mnemonics are helpful though and something like the PLUS model as a poster could have prime position on a display board. At the junior school library the staff have put laminated cards directing students on how to use the online encyclopaedia. But most kids ignore this too. I think it needs constant reinforcing. Maybe a small template card with “Keywords”, steps to use the catalogue and steps to use the on line encyclopaedia could be useful...

ETL 501 Commentary # 6

Students and the Web

·        Why do we have computer tools for brainstorming exercises? (I am a big one for pencils and paper myself).

·        Topic development: sizing, finding an angle, introducing complexity, the iterative process. This seems to be suitable for older kids.

·        Think- what do you think you already know; puzzle -what questions or puzzles do you have about this topic; explore- how would you explore this topic? A good groundwork for brainstorming.

·        I used the Ultimate Research Assistant and typed in ‘cannibals’. It looked through 10 documents and highlighted where a paragraph of each where the key word came up. Some were about fish, some about murderers, some about tribes in the Congo... What is a kid to do with all this disparate information? This is where students need to skim and scan and really get rid of all the dross.

·        Questioning- dozens of visual representations of Bloom’s taxonomy. Interesting geometric patterns. A graphic artist would love this section. Obviously many apps/tools can be used on different levels. I like the spin tool at the end. This could generate some interesting questions for yr 7 kids.

·        I like the concept mapping of how to be a good web searcher and also the brainstorming of the phrase ‘search strategy’. I think they could both work well with groups providing results to be shared with the class.

·        Hoax sites are worth drawing kids’ attention to...

·        I like the little study bugs videos on You Tube. I can imagine using these for High school students as handy guides before they start an assignment or as links on the library blog. There are heaps more to choose from.

ETL 401 Blog Task #2

Constructivist Learning and the Australian Curriculum

This week Victorian Teachers go on strike. The stop work is principally a dispute over pay and conditions but teachers have put a moratorium on developing the national curriculum as part of upping the pressure on government to listen to their grievances. The national curriculum is due to be implemented in 2013 (ACARA, 2011) and already the science, maths, English and history components have been formulated. There is still much work to do however.

The national curriculum sets out the content of each subject in detail but how does it propose that students in the 21^st century should be taught? What learning theories does it favour?

Learning theories can generally be grouped into either behaviourism or constructivism models (Herring, 2011). Behaviourism theories focus on learning basic skills and views learners as receivers of knowledge. Examples of behavioural models are learning the first 20 elements of the periodic table or remembering Dewey decimal classification numbers. Herring even lists writing down explanations of information literacy models as an example of behaviourism.

Constructivism is based on the premise that learners construct their own knowledge. Learning is active as students make connections to their own existing knowledge and pursue what interests them, thus enhancing understanding and boosting motivation (Herring, 2011).

There are many models of constructivism, two examples being Project Based Learning and Inquiry Based Learning. Project Based Learning directs students to generate questions, work collaboratively and generate a presentation to communicate findings back to the class. Such an approach takes advantage of information technology to seek information and synthesise it. Boss and Krauss (2007) have written extensively on how Web 2.0 tools can be used to present student findings and how the whole PBL approach motivates students.

My only concern with PBL is how appropriate its use is for children who prefer to learn individually. I am thinking here of students on the autism spectrum, many of whom have massive problems collaborating and communicating.

Another popular method of constructivism is Inquiry Based Learning which is a cyclical approach whereby students generate questions on a topic, investigate the topic, create a solution or response then evaluate the process. In the current Victorian Curriculum (VCAA, 2007) provision has been made to encourage teachers to use Inquiry Based Learning. Their website states, ‘The VELS supports an inquiry learning approach encouraging students to ask key questions for investigation throughout the domains’.

So if constructivism is encouraged in the Victorian Curriculum, how does it fare in the proposed Australian Curriculum? There is no neat category where it fits, but this may be due to the broad way the document has been drafted. There is a section entitled “General Capabilities” where items such as ICT capability, critical and creative thinking, personal and social capability are housed. These capabilities all fit neatly into constructivist learning models but the document doesn’t make reference to such pedagogy specifically.

The curriculum claims that students ‘require literacy skills and ICT capability to communicate effectively across all learning areas’ and that the capabilities are meant to be ‘general and operate across the whole curriculum (ACARA, 2012).’

Mitchell and Spence (2009) detail that the Australian School Library Association (ASLA) and the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) have introduced a policy entitled ‘Statement on Guided Inquiry and the Curriculum’ which encourages teacher librarians to use constructivism pedagogies. As completion of the national curriculum nears, teachers appear to have a lot of freedom to implement constructivist learning theories into their teaching. Teacher librarians armed with their new policy paper ought to be ready for the challenge. Whether or not classroom teachers  follow suit is another question.

References

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) (2011) ‘Timeline Phase 1 Curriculum’ retrieved Sept 4 2012 from www.acara.edu.au/curriculum/timeline_phase_1_curriculum.html

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) (2012) ‘General Capabilities’ retrieved Sept 3 2012 from www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/GeneralCapabilities/Overview/Nature-of-general-capabilities.html

Boss, Suzie and Krauss, J (2007) Reinventing Project Based Learning: Your Field Guide to Real World Projects in the Digital Age. Retrieved 26 August 2012 from www.iste.org

Herring, James. E. (2011) Improving Students’ Web Use and Information Literacy: A Guide for Teachers and Teacher Librarians. Facet Publishing, London

Mitchell, Pru and Spence, Sue (2009) Inquiry into Guided Inquiry. Access (10300155) Nov, Vol.23 Issue4, pp5-8.

Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) (2007) What is Inquiry Learning?  Retrieved 11 August 2012 from http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/support/wholeschool/program/inquiry.html