Critical reflection ETL505

This post is my final reflective thoughts on the subject ETL 505. Although the subject has been thought-provoking I have learnt to define bibliographic description and describe its importance and relevance in providing access to information and importance in a digital environment. Prior to studying ETL 505 my understanding of the principles and processes of describing resources was limited and whilst my new knowledge does not place me in a professional category of describing information resources, I believe that it does provide a great insight to the importance of effective resource description. I have developed the notion that information resource description is multifaceted and varied. I now understand the necessity of IFLA’s development of the conceptual models Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR) (IFLA, 1998) and Functional Requirements for Authority Data (FRAD) (IFLA, 2009) as they focus on what the user needs to find, identify, select and obtain, contextualise and justify resources.

ETL 505 has increased my understanding of metadata as the structured information that describes, locates and provides ease of retrieval, use or management of information resources (Adamich, 2007). Metadata standards must be compatible with the emerging technologies of the digital environment.

The greatest understanding that I developed during the study of ETL505 is that information resource description and the vast aspects it entails, is an essential key to the success of the school library. I previously viewed the library as a source of information, it is now viewed as an evolving being where knowledge of how resources are described, the use of vocabularies and an understanding of information retrieval systems is vital. As research suggests school libraries are fundamental in the success of students’ academic achievement (Lonsdale & Australian Council for Educational Research, 2003). Knowledge of information resource description allows for an understanding of principles and processes resulting in the systematic organisation of resources in a school library. This contributes to student achievement through effectively and efficiently progressing through the FRBR user tasks of find, identify, select and obtain for all formats of information resources.

This unit challenged and extended me while also allowing me to appreciate that quality resource description, the application of standards and consideration of the end user is central to information resource description and ultimately, effective information access and retrieval. It also highlighted that to maintain relevance, school libraries must consider their information setting and modify the systems and tools they utilise to best serve the needs of their users in providing effective access to information.

References:

Adamich, T. (2007). Curriculum based cataloguing and the new metadata: Cataloguing beyond the world of MARC. Knowledge Quest, 35(5), 66-71.

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (1998) Functional Requirement for Bibliographic Records: final report, K. G. Saur. Retrieved fromhttp://www.ifla.org/publications/functional-requirements-for-bibliographic-records

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (2009) Functional Requirements for Authority Data: a conceptual model, K. G. Saur. Retrieved fromhttp://www.ifla.org/publications/ifla-series-on-bibliographic-control-34

Lonsdale, M., & Australian Council for Educational Research, V. a. (2003). Impact of School Libraries on Student Achievement: A Review of the Research.

ETL 523 Critical Reflection post

What I have learnt throughout my studies of digital citizenship is that the Digital Learning Environment is an environment where technology is used as part of everyday life. It is incorporated into many facets of our lives and we utilise it to enrich our lives. An environment where technology is accessible and we have the skills to use it. The whole way we educate children has now changed. With the increase in the use of technology children now have access to information that they never previously had. As Educators we no longer need to focus on teaching content as the students can access this all online. We are now teaching children how to access information and develop skills in the doing so. Dorothy Burt stated that “Using a digital learning environment means the learner is no longer dependant on the physical presence of the teacher. Their learning is accessible 24/7 and is rewindable; if you don’t get it the first time you can go back and have another look at it because it’s online. Valuable time spent face-to-face with the teacher is focused on learning conversations rather than instructions and directions.” (Patterson, 2013). Children are now learning from more sources of information and need help to come to process all this information. Digital citizenship is about using technology in an appropriate manner and knowing what this is. It is important that children are using the internet in a positive way and that they are aware of the dangers of misuse and what the consequences can be. With the growing use of social media I feel there needs to be more of a focus on the safety and use of these sites. In the article Digital Citizenship in K-12: It Takes a Village, the authors, question who will guide learners to a safe and productive technological society. “So, the inevitable question must be asked: Who represents the village for our youth, as it relates to digital citizenship? Will it be parents, teachers, administrators, academics, technology professionals, media specialists, or students? The obvious that for a successful cultural shift, it will require all of us. The implementation of this type of program will require an established and shared curriculum, an establishment of middle ground between reactionary and proactive actions in the K-12 environment.” (Hollandsworth, Dowdy, & Donovan, 2011, p. 2). This article really made me aware of some of the issues of who is actually responsible for preparing students for a digital learning environment.  I feel that as teachers we need to bear a lot of this responsibility as we have the knowledge that is needed to prepare students to be good digital citizens. I feel some parents are almost in the same position as their children, using these technologies without knowing how to be safe and how to leave a positive digital footprint. The information on digital footprints really made me think about my own digital footprint. As a teacher I have always had an awareness of my digital footprint as I see that as part of your professional role to be an example. I like the analogy that a digital footprint is like tattoo, once it is there it is very hard to get rid of is. This analogy may help students in their thinking as it makes them think of it as more concrete. As I teacher I feel that the following statement sums up what I need to do to prepare myself to teach in a digital learning environment.  “Digital citizenship is about transforming yourself into a professional who can effectively research technology trends, monitor the uses of technology, avoid the fear factor and model legal wisdom, in order to make vibrant learning opportunities for all” (CSU Interact material, 2014). I think it is important to keep your knowledge and skills up to date by continuing your own personal learning journey through professional development and by being up to date with new developments in digital learning. There has been a lot of changes in the way we teach and I feel a lot of changes are still needed to be an effective teacher, a networked teacher (see image) in today’s digital learning environment.

TODAY'S EFFECTIVE TEACHER

The image above is courtesy of Alec Couros licensed under a Creative Commons license. Photos from courosa Flickr photostream.

References

Charles Sturt University Interact material for ETL523, 2014.

Hollandsworth, R., Dowdy, L., Donovan, J. (2011). Digital citizenship in K-12: It takes a village. TechTrends 55(4) 37-47.

Patterson, A. (2013, December 7). Switched on to learning. The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11168355

 

ETL523 4.1

Why is it important to foster a global approach to digital citizenship?
What do you see as typical challenges within a school when balancing ‘educational networking’ with ‘social networking’?
When we go on the internet we immediately connect to the world. Students need to be aware of this as well as being aware that whatever they post can be accessed by many people not just their immediate circle of friends. I like the idea of challenging students thinking by asking questions that challenge their thinking such as ''Would you be happy for your parents to see everything you put on social media, your grand parents, etc". I think the challenge with balancing networking is that children might not be aware where the line is between the two. Keeping them focused on educational outcomes may be hard when the opportunity for social networking is available. If it can be balanced then it would be a great way to engage students.

ETL 523 3.2

What is responsible learning within a DLE?
How do you instill the need for regular, reliable and responsible behaviour for learning while using digital tools?
I liked the idea of the  'Stop, Screenshot, Block, Tell, and Share' strategy by Lindsay and Davis(Flattening classrooms, engaging minds, Ch.5, p. 112). This strategy works within a single class setting or in a global collaboration. If something unpleasant is found or posted (image, text etc), then the user who finds it first is required to follow the pattern: Stop viewing the item, make sure you get a screenshot as evidence (if appropriate), if possible block the offending material from further viewing, tell someone (teacher, IT Manager, other teacher in global project, global project manager etc) so that further action can be taken, and then share the incident so that others can learn from it as well. I think this is an excellent idea for setting up for  responsible behaviour while using digital tools. It ensures that the students are responsible for not only their own content but the content of others as well.

ETL 523 2.5

What curation tools and methods do you use now? How do these compare with new ideas explored through this module?
I think that using curation services such as Scoop.it and LibGuides is certainly an interesting way to go about searching. With the myriad of information out there today, Google just isn’t sufficient to efficiently research a topic in depth.  Before I studied this topic I was not using any curation tools and now I have a wealth of information about curation tools. When I watched a clip on Scoop.it I was amazed at how easy it was to use. Next step, find time to try out them all. Curate the curation tools! This new idea is fantastic. One of the best resources I have found throughout this course. As a mother I constantly am helping my children with assignments and these tools will be a fantastic help.

ETL 523 2.3

Based on your reading of the digital divide, how does this translate in terms of a school’s responsibilities?
How can information specialists/leaders and school administrators adequately address the breadth of Internet regulation issues faced by their school community?

I think the school has a responsibility to provide equal access to technology to all students in a fair and monitored manner. I have seen at schools certain classes being given resources such as laptops whilst others didn't even have access to a computer in their classroom. I think that students bringing in their own devices could make internet regulation harder to manage as they may already have unsuitable content on their device and it would be hard to manage other devices on the school network. The availability of access may vary from device to device and this would disadvantage some students. I also feel that the children who don't have the availability of a device would also be disadvantaged. This may cause a digital divide among students. The school should be responsible for providing the technology needs for students that way it can be fair and equitable across the board and internet regulation can be monitored.

ETL 523 2.2

How do you see yourself developing the knowledge and skills to address current and future information literacy and digital fluency needs?
What is the relevance and purpose of transliteracy in this overall discussion of digital citizenship and 21st Century teaching and learning
I think its important to keep your knowledge and skills up to date by continuing your own personal learning journey through professional development and by being up to date with new developments in digital learning. You need to be using technology on a regular basis so you can maintain and improve your skills to then help students with their digital skills. You cant help students if you are not confident yourself. We need to be aware as educators that information now comes from many different sources not just books and for some students this can be overwhelming especially the volume of information they are sometimes faced with. This is when we need to be teaching students skills in information literacy so they can extract the information they need.

ETL 523 1.4

What makes a digital citizenship curriculum valuable and worthwhile?
Discuss one approach to embedding digital citizenship into the curriculum
"We want our students to have technological fluency and 21st century competencies, yet there is a wide variability in what each school provides in terms of access to technology and priority for education about digital citizenship" This sentence really sums up our current curriculum surrounding digital citizenship. We want our students to experience all the benefits of technology yet as an education system we are not addressing the issues surrounding this use. The students are expected to keep up with this technology but aren't gaining the skills to do this in a safe and productive manner. A digital citizenship curriculum is valuable and worthwhile when  it is a part of the everyday curriculum as this is the frequency at which our students are using technology. This needs to be incorporated into the curriculum so that its normal practice for the students. This would make it valuable and worthwhile, if students interacted with the digital citizenship curriculum everyday. Embedding digital citizenship into our everyday teaching would be my approach.

ETL523 1.3

What are the challenges of introducing digital citizenship to young people (students)?
The challenge I think is that technology is being used so much by young people and its so popular that young people don't want to listen to concerns about their safety when using these technologies. They think everything on the internet is true and safe and don't want to know otherwise. To overcome this we need to teach digital citizenship in a fun, engaging way and start when children are young. If we wait till high school then the students are already using so much technology that its hard to change their habits. If we start in primary school we can influence these habits in a positive way.

ETL 523 1.2

What are important messages and understandings we should be remembering and sharing with colleagues to inform our approach to teaching and learning in the digital world? I think the important thing to acknowledge is that if we are encouraging students to use technology then it is our responsibility as teachers to make sure they are aware of what they are doing and that they know about their digital footprint and the ways to be a good digital citizenship. We should never assume that because children are very savvy in their use of technology that they know what being a good digital citizen is. Unless this is taught the children will not know. Unless children are taught that they have a digital footprint then they wont know. A digital footprint is like tattoo, once its there its very hard to get rid of!

ETL 523 1.1

What is your understanding of digital citizenship? Why?

What have you learned so far? What questions are you beginning to ask yourself?

Digital citizenship is about using technology in an appropriate manner and knowing what this is. Its important that children are using the internet in a positive way and that they are aware of the dangers of misuse and what the consequences can be. I think this is an area that we are not teaching children enough about. With the growing use of social media there needs to be more of a focus on the safety and use of these sites. Why do we not have a program as part of the curriculum that focusses on this? Why are we so far behind from other countries such as America in our use of this technology?

ETL 523 Module 1

What is your definition of a ‘Digital Learning Environment’? Provide examples from your school and/or working/professional life to support this.

What are some of the changes created by our digital lifestyle that you need to be aware of as an educator?

What has been the impact of social networking on teaching and learning

I feel a Digital Learning Environment is an environment where technology is used as part of everyday life. It is incorporated into many facets of our lives and we utilise it to enrich our lives. An environment where technology is accessible and we have the skills to use it. The whole way we educate children has now changed. With the increase in the use of technology children now have access to information that they never previously had. As Educators we no longer need to focus on teaching content as the students can access this all online. We are now teaching children how to access information and develop skills in the doing so. Social networking has connected children online which can be positive if used in the correct way or negative if used in that way. Children are now learning from more sources of information and need help to come to process all this information.

ETL401 Critical Reflection

As I reflect back on what I have learnt and how my view of the role of the teacher librarian has changed I realised that I didn't really have a true understanding of what the role of the teacher librarian was. My very limited experience which inspired me to study was through a stint in the school library replacing the TL whilst she was on long service leave. During this time I didn't really fully experience the role of the TL as I was only expected to carry out some of the duties that the TL performed. It wasn't until I studied ETL401 that I realised how extensive the role of the librarian was and what it involved. A powerful statement I read in the ASLA standards of professional excellence for teachers (2004)stated ' Teacher librarians support and implement the vision of their school communities through advocating and building effective library and information services and programs that contribute to the development of lifelong learners'. I think this statement really impacted on me in the way that it described the role of the TL and the impact that they can have on learners.

The ASLA standards give a very thorough job description for the TL position and I was very unaware until I studied this document that the position encompassed all these roles. I'm sure if I asked other staff at my school what the TL role involved they also wouldn't be aware of all that it entails. Teacher Librarians really do need to be advocates for their position in the school. Staff need to be aware of all they do and the importance of their role. I read a comment on the forum from a TL who had taken up a new position that had been unfilled for a number of months. I thought about how our school would cope if we didn't have a TL maintaining the library service and realised it would be very difficult. There is a lot of talk on different forums about the TL position being under threat but I think if schools really acknowledged what the TL did within the school, if every school wrote a job description that encompassed all that the Tl does within their school then I think most schools would begin to be better advocates for maintaining the TL positions within schools.

While reading Herring, J(2007). I learned that it is important the library is regarded and operates as part of the whole school, not something extra which can be gradually trimmed away: a centre of learning first and of resources second. This again reflects back on my earlier comments about the importance of the library service and promoting it within the school so staff are aware of the importance of it. As a classroom teacher I was unaware of the role of the TL as I only have contact with her once a week when my class has a half hour lesson with her. It was only after studying this course that I realised how much went on behind the scenes in the library and only then did I really think about what services the TL provided. I will definitely be a better advocate for the TL myself now I see how the whole school benefits from the services of the library.

Prior to studying this subject I was unaware that part of the role of the TL was to teach information literacy skills. I knew that technology was being incorporated more and more in the library but it wasn't until this year that in our school library Stage 3 stopped having formal lessons and started research lessons with their teacher and the TL. When I read the subject information and readings on information literacy I begun to realise the need for these skills to be taught in the library. I was interested in incorporating them into my stage1 class but felt that it may be too difficult for them to understand. Graham Bebington (2010) gave me a great idea in his forum post when he suggested using the Super3 model and adapted model of BIG6 with younger students. This gave me an opportunity to use some of my learning as a teaching opportunity.

I have also throughout this course become aware of the challenges that the TL faces in her role. I was reassured when I read a post by Jennifer Green ( 2010) that I wasn't the only classroom teacher facing problems with fitting what we had learnt in with what is practised in many schools. I myself had commented in my blog about this (T2 Subforum). The challenges of time restraints for collaboration and RFF timetabling was evidently a problem for others and I felt reassured that others faced challenges too. I guess this is why advocacy of the role of the TL is so important so that changes can be made.

Lets all keep advocating for teacher librarians to stay in schools.



References



Australian Library and information Association and Australian School Library Association. (2004). Standards of professional excellence for teacher librarians. Retrieved form www.asla.org.au/policy/standards.html on 24/05/2010.



Bebington, G. (2010). Super 3 model. Message posted on ETL401 Topic 4 subforum.



Green, J. (2010). Topic 2. Message posted on ETL401 Topic 2 Subforum.



Hering, 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: Cetre for Information studies, Chrles Sturt University.

T5 subforum

I think that collaboration would be great but in reality we are all so busy at my school in our own timetables and the librarian is also as busy as she has a full timetable of RFF that time would need to be created for teacher / librarian collaboration and this would need to be instigated from the top and I think that a lot of principals are unaware of the advantages of doing this. Maybe I should print of a few articles and slip them in my principals pigeon hole!!!

T4 subforum

Being in the infants department I was unsure how I could ever utilise any of the information skills models as they all looked too involved for the level of the children I teach but I read on someones post about the super3 model. The super3 contains the same basic elements as the big6, but makes the language and the concepts a little simpler and easier for younger students to understand. Will give it a go!

T3 subforum

I feel that since the TL is the person responsible for resourcing the curriculum with what is available to them in the library then they definately should be involved in curriculum development. At my school the TL isn't and this means that resources often aren't utilised as classroom teachers aren't aware of there availability. If the TL was actively involved in this development then there would be better utilisation of resources. The principal should ensure that resources purchased are being utilised in the best way and this would be through the collaborative planning of units by the TL and classroom Teacher.

T2 subforum

At my school the principal is very supportive of the librarian and the library service. However the librarian is still seen by many teachers as the provider of relief from face to face and not in a capacity as a provider of other services. It is only this year that computers have been accessed in the library by stage 3 students and used in a research capacity during library lessons. For many classes however there only contact with computers is in the computer room and the library is still all about books!! How the two will marry will be interesting to see?? THe TL role does need to evolve as students need to learn information technology skills from a much earlier age in todays society.

T1 subforum

I think that the move into the 21st century certainly presents great oportunities for the use of technology in the library setting but along with this comes a lot of challenges and certainly a change in the role of the teacher librarian. The TL now becomes a support for the use of technology not just books and this vastily changes what skills need to be taught to students. The question is will Tl's be prepared for this change??

A start!

This is the beginning of my blog!!. I really don't see the point in blogging for me. It appears to be an online diary and I never have had a diary as I don't really have the time or inclination to write down my every thought and movement however it is a requirement of my TL course so I will attempt to write something in here on a regular basis!!