LibraryThing

Recently, I was impressed to see St George Girls High School in Kogarah, NSW embracing this tool as means of sharing books that are available to their students. Students can add tags according to genre, topics, themes etc. Other features allow students to rate the book and provide reviews.

Not only can they view information provided by their peers but of others, whether they are at another school, other libraries or anyone who simply wants to share what they have been reading with others.

There is still alot to learn about it and how they can be used as a means of sharing read items. 

Website: www.librarything.com 

National Library Week 2013

This week (May 20-26) is National Library Week. Libraries across the nation will be organising special activities to mark the week.

Contact your local library for further information relating to activities and events.

Hurstville Library where I volunteer has a few events of interest including a presentation by 2013 Australian of the Year - Ita Buttrose on Wednesday Afternoon. Author Tim Bowden will also speak on Thursday evening.

Sleep Deprivation, learning and children

One common observation I see in the classroom is the tiredness that one may express because they stayed up late the night before. It is quite common

When I read this article, it reflects what I see, even what I have experienced as a student. There is so much technology around us. There is always the temptation to stay up late to watch that TV Show e.g. Revenge or The Voice, the Monday night football match, engage in social networking or ring friends. Even nighttime activities such as sporting competitions etc are keeping people up late.

From time to time, there is the need to burn the midnight oil as assignments and projects need to be completed because they were held off until the last minute.

I do agree with the need to tune out from technology (including TV) before going to bed and I would personally recommend it. I do have a pre bedtime routine myself where I engage in activities that are relaxing and encourage me to fall asleep and minimizes the use of technology. Even simple measures such as keeping the room dark in the evening can help indirectly.

Reading I find is excellent in sending one to sleep. For a student that needs to read their English text, that is a great way to get their reading done but also help them rest. Even if they don't like the book it helps them towards attaining the goal - sleep. If there is a book that they are eager to read, fantastic. Read it then too.

Make sure that the bed is used for sleeping. Keep technology away from the bed and make sure it is switched off. That is what I do. I switch my phone off and turn it on the morning.

Another tip that has worked for me is going to bed at the same time each night.

Time Management is also crucial as well particularly where the sleep deprivation is caused by study. This might mean teaching effective time management skills to my students to ensure that such situations are avoided particularly where an assignment is involved. I have proposed blogging as a form of keeping a record of learning during the learning process. Study schedules work as well as routines can be easily established that allow for maximum use of the time available to us.

Making it a success with Sue Larkey

My mother who is a teachers assistant has been receiving newsletters from Sue Larkey. Larkey is an educator that has taught students with Autism Spectrum Disorders in mainstream and special schools.

The newsletter provides practical strategies for school and for the home in supporting those who have an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

If you are a teacher, I strongly recommend that you subscribe to her monthly newsletter; regardless of whether you teach students with the condition or not. Even if you are a parent of a child with ASD, it is also a must.

Click on this link to allow you to register for her newsletter. You can receive it in the post or electronically.

Her website also contains useful resources. You can also purchase resources and obtain information on workshops that she has organised for each state. In NSW the workshops are recognised as professional development by the NSW Institute of Teachers.

I hope to go to one of her workshops this year. I believe that anyone with ASD can be successful in their lives just like anyone else can and live the same life that we take for granted.

The Homework Myth by Alfie Kohn

During the school holidays, I read the book The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing by Alfie Kohn and I would like to offer some reflections on the matters raised.

The position by the Kohn is that he feels that homework does not offer real benefits to learning in terms of student engagement and impact on academic achievement. It rejects traditional approaches to homework.

After reading the book, I still maintain my position of homework; that students do need homework in order to consolidate and apply the skills learnt at school that day.

I do disagree with his claims that homework does not improve academic achievement or increase marks. If you look at the content covered in each key learning area, there is a lot of concepts and information that must be grasped by students. Our brains cannot soak that information straight away. It takes time to build up skills and homework does give students a chance to help them understand concepts and information. This is then built up on in later lessons.

I look at my own experience as a student and without spending time doing homework and revision, I would have not attained the marks that I would ultimately get in my School Certificate and Higher School Certificate. I needed that time after school to revise key concepts and then able to devise methods of applying it. There was memorising, but also a chance to do past papers, additional research, read newspapers, books etc.

Kohn also questions tasks that require students to do "drills" or undertake homework that requires recall or rote learning. Sometimes there are circumstances where this is the only way to acquire an understanding of concepts because some skills have to be mastered through practice. It is like sport. If you want to be a superstar, you will need to practice. Learning a language requires rote learning given the complexity in mastering a language. If you don't memorise or practice it (reading, speaking, writing etc), then you cannot master a language. In maths, students complete exercises as a method of practicing mathematical formula's.

However, I was surprised that he actually agreed with some of the views on how homework can benefit student learning, like watching TV shows etc, or relating our learning to personal experiences.

I do agree with his concerns over anxiety and stress that homework can inflict particularly where students struggle to do the work or intrudes on routines at home. That is what I need to be careful about in setting homework. This means I need to set work that can be attempted by each student and only take up a suitable amount of time according to their stage of learning.  Most importantly, it must be relevant according to what is being learnt in the classroom. This includes explaining to students the relevance of the task and how it helps them. Obviously if there is an assessment task due or heavy workloads in other subjects, there needs to be that flexibility as well. This may mean not setting homework. At least it takes stress of students and lets them focus on the other tasks.

French President Proposes Banning Homework

French President Proposes Banning Homework: Talk about courting the youth vote. French President François Hollande has proposed banning homework as part of a series of policies designed to reform the French educational system. “Education is priority,” Hollande said in a speech at Paris’s Sorbonne University. “An education program is, by...

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It is almost six months since this announcement. I haven't heard anything new since.

I remember at the time speaking to a teaching colleague and even a few senior students at one school and they were shocked at this news and didn't agree with the President's idea. Students, while they may resent homework actually understand why it is important to them in terms of learning.

Homework is essential to student learning. It allows for students to consolidate and apply the skills learnt at school that day. Homework doesn't necessarily have to be based on that day's work, but it can also be preparatory work e.g reading a section of a novel to discuss in the class the following day.

Homework can be interesting and take on many forms.

In a high tech world, homework doesn't have to be pen and paper either or merely reading or writing. It can take on many forms like watching a TV show such as the nightly news bulletin to be informed on the main issues in our world, watching a documentary or collecting information based on personal experiences. We can also get students to be creative too and make it hands on.

As an educator, the challenge for me is always to make the homework interesting whilst keeping it engaging. It is often too easy for me to set a worksheet with questions or questions from a textbook. I need to consider other means. Variation is not confronting.

I think we are also lucky in Australia that students can work in settings free from distraction. There is always the local library and in an increasing number of schools provide opportunities. Homework Clubs and library's staying open after school allow students not just to complete their homework but also seek direct support from teachers that give up their time to allow students to optimize their learning outside of traditional school hours.

As the entry shows, banning homework is not a good idea.