Sydney Writers Festival @ Cabramatta Library- October 19 2017

Yours truly with Jessica Townsend, Author of the recently released book - Nevermoor.

Fairfield City Council recently hosted a Sydney Writers Festival workshop for students attending schools within the Fairfield City Council Local Government Area.

I took a group of sixteen students from Mary Mackillop Catholic College, Wakeley to attend the sessions. Those attending were given some excellent writing tips from the following authors:

• J. C. Burke - What to consider when writing a short story e.g. Ensuring that you know your (main) character
• Marlee Jane Ward - To write, you need to constantly develop your writing skills.
• Evelyn Scott (Poet) - Poetry is feeling, not telling. Poetry must be able to evoke emotion.  

Jessica Townsend went on a different tangent focusing on she was motivated into writing and was a keen writer from a very young age. Like the other writers, it takes time to reach your ultimate goal. For the girls, this was their big highlight of the day

Her recently released book Nevermoor has already been signed up for a film adapation by 20th Century Fox, and is being released in 28 countries.  She is an author to watch. I am in the process of reading Nevermoor and hopefully will update you soon on what I think.    

Time to ditch printed magazines?

Last year, I shared insights on ePeriodical apps including Pressreader and Zinio. Recently, I was told by a colleague about the relevance of Periodical Collections in school libraries.

They advised me that it is no longer worth spending. The argument was that newspapers and magazines incurred unnecessary expenses because of the easy disposal, whereas a book has a longer shelf life.

I can see their point, particularly as apps such as Zinio will allow you to access back issues for a period of time and once "loaned", it is yours forever. You can download copies to your app, delete them and if you need it again in the future download it again.

The digital replica can in effect have the life that a printed book would otherwise have.

However, studies show the preference for printed resources. Is forcing one to go digital the right way or wrong way?

While the benefits might include access to a greater variety of periodicals, ease of convenience, access to back issues and less maintenance of the periodical collection, the downside is that school students lose an opportunity to locate content from printed periodicals or seek out a printed copy if they enjoy the web content.

What is interesting though is that more magazines e.g. Time Magazine actually provide free digital subscriptions to print subscribers. Even if you take out a digital only subscription, you will have to pay the same price. You might as well get the combined subscription and provide the online login (via your intranet or learning management system).

With access to Australian newspapers, the web services provided for digital replicas and websites to schools is still poor with unfriendly interfaces along with the high costs of providing the service. At this stage, it would be preferred that a printed editions be made available and a single login (via your intranet of learning management system) to the website and digital replica. The digital access would only work for access on a web browser.

As for magazines, abolishing the entire print collection won't work at this stage. Rather, concentrate on the popular titles and cull the less popular ones. If a school can afford a zinio or Pressreader subscription, it should be used to supplement the existing collection. Public Libraries have scaled their collections of printed magazines while providing others online.

And try and see if your subscription includes digital access as to get the best of both worlds, particularly where printed and digital subscription is equal to the price of a digital only subscription.

Libraries as an "extension of the playground"

I recently raised on two Teacher Librarian forums the idea of the library acting as an “extension of the playground.”

I received more than a dozen responses and have decided to share some of the information that was received or posted. Thankyou for your contributions.

Some do not support the idea of the library acting as an extension of the playground citing the library as a learning space and/or reading occurs. Loud conversations etc are not encouraged. One response was explicit in that the library was “not the playground”.

Another response cited personal experience where the application of the idea attracted the disenfranchised as opposed to those who may be seeking the library for learning, reading or even quiet activities e.g. board games. This stemmed out of the idea that libraries were in the eyes of teachers spaces for socialising.

Other responses supported the idea of the library as a “community” space during break times to allow students to access library services in a more informal manner. Social activities of a passive manner are allowed e.g. board games, playing (appropriate) games on computers, reading, homework and quiet chatter. Interestingly there was no reference in the postings and discussion to the library as an “extension of the playground”.

So then the question is, what is meant by the idea of libraries as an “extension of the playground?"

To understand the idea of libraries as an “extension of the playground”, it required me to define what is meant by “playground”. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, it “refers to a piece of land used for and usually equipped with facilities for recreation especially for children”. So if applied to a library during a recess or lunch break, the library must be equipped with facilities for recreation in order to be deemed a “playground”.

Therefore if the concept were applied, as Teacher Librarians, it would be our responsibility to provide students with appropriate recreational activities to keep them engaged.

I do have concerns with the idea of libraries as an “extension of the playground” in terms of the wording of the phrase. The word “playground” can be opened to many interpretations, as suggested by one contributor. Some may see this phrase as allowing behaviours allowed in outdoor settings to be applied indoors. If allowed, it creates concerns for learning and social needs along with safety of others. There are one or two schools which I have observed personally as adopting this approach. This has created behaviour management issues, particularly as they may behave in a manner that would not normally engage in within the normal classroom setting. Students complain, insisting they have a right to engage in the behaviour e.g. sitting on a table or entitled to warnings despite the imminent risk of safety.

Therefore we should not apply the idea of libraries as an “extension of the playground”. I have supported the concept of libraries as a recreational space during break times within the context of encouraging recreational activities that are passive when compared to normal playground activities - whether it is playing board games, card games, (appropriate) computer games or reading. Quiet chatter while seated is acceptable. It is important that it is explicitly stated as to what is allowed and not allowed in the library during break times along with expectations for behaviour. I would involve students and staff in the process as a means of encouraging ownership of library spaces and resources.

A Letter Writing Template (Self Created Resource) modelled on PEEL

I have had the opportunity to work recently with a group of special needs students at Marist College Eastwood, taking a religion class for five lessons a fortnight.

This week, I am sharing a template that I shared with them on how a person should write a formal letter. I focused on an assessment task that they were working on. For posting purposes, I have made some small modifications e.g. changing names.

I then created a template using a PEEL scaffold where they could draft the letter and then copy and paste each section onto a template.

The great plus of the PEEL scaffold is that I can apply it to any other text type. Feel free to use as needed.

Book sizes - Does big mean good?

Charles Wooley wrote an article for The Australian yesterday and has posed the question of whether or not books are being made big for marketing's sake?

He cites Mawson by Peter Fitzsimons and mentions that we don't get to read about his adventures to Antarctica until we are halfway through.

But hold on a moment? As a history trained teacher, doesn't one needs to understand the background of a person before we understand why they chose a particular path in life or made a decision/s that shaped a person into who they are?

In any story in order to understand it, we need to know one's background in life.

The size of a book should not determine whether its a good read or not. It is what is written and how it is written that determines its success.

Some of our biggest selling books are in fact books with long plots or explore an issue in depth. There are readers who will love the fine details of a character or person or of an event or topic. It is merely one's choice.

Strapped for time, there will always be shorter books or abridged versions. Some want to get the point read quickly.

It does amaze me how some smaller and shorter books retail for high prices. That question needs to be raised? No guarantee that it will be a quality read either.

Should writers show restraint? No. Let them write and let them focus on making what is written great.

As for people struggling to get to the end? I always would encourage a person to read a long book if they feel that they have the time and energy to complete it. I also believe that reading levels are important too. Weaker readers don't benefit from a long book. It's nice to set a challenge for one to read challenging texts, but they need to be realistic.

If a person cannot get there, take it steps. Aim for a book of 300 pages, then 350, then 400 pages.

Assignment Planning & Google Calendars

I have had the opportunity while filling in at Marist College Eastwood for the first part of this term to facilitate study skills seminars.

This week, I focused on  Assignment Planning and Bibliographies.

Bibliographies was fairly simple, with students completing activities and notes based on the details that they need to include. I was impressed with what they know about plagiarism but also curious as to why particular details like publishers and the place of location must be included. One concern, they mention that only websites are listed. I had to remind them of the formats of sources that can be used.

The focus of this entry is on Assignment Planners. One habit I observe is the last minute rush that occurs to complete an assignment. Students easily fall into a trap in holding off assignments.

I focused on their purpose and the benefits of assignment planners. Then I got them to list the steps that they need to undertake to complete an upcoming assignment.

Once they had listed their steps, the information was transferred onto their Google Calendar. I guided them through the steps in posting each step and how Google Calendars can remind them of when other learning tasks are due. They can easily organise their time.

I even required students to list when they intend to visit the library and to see their teachers, because they are important steps in the research process. How will one obtain information if they don't visit the library? How can one get help at the last minute as opposed to when the task is handed out? As the assignment involves creating an object or model, I went a step further and asked them if they do their research before making the model or after they make the model.

We near the end of the week and yes some of them have dropped in to view the resources we have prepared for them. I look forward to seeing more in the days ahead.