Last week, I decided to check some web referencing sites that the school diary at my current school currently lists. Apart from one link being dead, the other did not impress me. Even playing around with a few other sites, not impressed either.
What has disappointed me at this stage, but also Microsoft Word is their inability to automatically create proper bibliographical listings for an item or a proper in text citation. They claim to know the rules of each referencing system yet they just get it wrong.
At the end of the day its going to create confusion for students as they are taught to properly list items in a bibliography or provide an in text citation.
What does that mean for me? I still feel that you will have to teach them how to do it manually i.e. teach the conventions associated with creating a bibliography under the Harvard Citation system. At the moment that is what I have been doing with a group of Year 7 Religion classes - showing them what a bibliography is, why they are created, structures and conventions and doing some exercises.
I did a similar approach when at Hurstville Boys' High School with Year's 7 and 8, guiding them manually through the process, though they were being taught the APA system.
I intend to comment and reflect further in the not too distant future.
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Engaging reluctant readers
The Centre for Professional Learning (NSW Teachers Federation) has published a short feature with ideas on how to engage reluctant readers in the classroom. This is handy for upper primary and junior secondary years.
In one sentence, it encourages teachers to let students take ownership of reading and writing.
In one sentence, it encourages teachers to let students take ownership of reading and writing.
Friday, July 24, 2015
Library Warriors@Evans High
I was reading the Winter 2015 edition of Learning Hub (SLANSW) when I came across an article by the Vice-President of the School Library Association of NSW - Tamara Rodgers.
It interested me how Tamara's experiences have tied in with some of my recent experiences this year. While I have finished the block at Georges River College - Hurstville Boys' Campus (back at Waverley College as an acting Teacher Librarian this term), I will admit that the article should have come out earlier because it could have guided me through that time and perhaps shaped some ideas in making a positive learning culture within the library.
I remember speaking with my library assistant about how to label the library monitors. She proposed "library boys" as it was a less formal tag and would make the work look "cool". I think "Warriors" sounds just as great because it can install a sense of responsibility yet make the work looking appealing.
Both of us had also raised the role as part of a school service program with the Head Teacher - Welfare at the school to try and get the kids to pursue activities in which they can contribute to the school community and building up a structured scheme for the "library boys". Even encouraging activities like a chess club were floated around to encourage the boys to pursue their interests but also provide them with a safe place to do it.
There was a group of Year 9 boys that I recall that were loitering and behaving inappropriately in the library at times, yet if you gave them something to do you'd find that they would get a sense of ownership and pride. I got to see them in another light, and in a positive way. This was needed when books to be weeded had to be relocated and organised in a sorting area. I could actually give praise to these kids, instead of referring them onto Head Teachers or the Deputy.
I think I may have a good model in terms of managing a library monitor system at whatever school I may be at, now or in the future.
With establishing a learning culture, the boys were never provided with a proper self-service printing system which other schools had. I was able to lobby for a printing system to be established and will be installed soon. Being boys, they love to leave things to the last minute and when they need to print, the library is often the only place to do it. They would have to approach my library assistant and pay 20 cents per page for printing from a printer within our staffroom. This took time away from her ability to work productively. I have planted one of the first seeds in making it a learning centre because boys will start to use it for learning, even if it is for printing.
One of our collections (Graphic Novels) had been previously stored in the staff room. Boys love their graphic novels. I managed to find some spare shelves and put them there. The loan rate for Graphic Novels has soared, though I hope to see that collection grow in the years ahead.
There are probably other comments to be made. One I won't comment though is the behaviour referrals. They were quite high and this not the place to bring it up.
It interested me how Tamara's experiences have tied in with some of my recent experiences this year. While I have finished the block at Georges River College - Hurstville Boys' Campus (back at Waverley College as an acting Teacher Librarian this term), I will admit that the article should have come out earlier because it could have guided me through that time and perhaps shaped some ideas in making a positive learning culture within the library.
I remember speaking with my library assistant about how to label the library monitors. She proposed "library boys" as it was a less formal tag and would make the work look "cool". I think "Warriors" sounds just as great because it can install a sense of responsibility yet make the work looking appealing.
Both of us had also raised the role as part of a school service program with the Head Teacher - Welfare at the school to try and get the kids to pursue activities in which they can contribute to the school community and building up a structured scheme for the "library boys". Even encouraging activities like a chess club were floated around to encourage the boys to pursue their interests but also provide them with a safe place to do it.
There was a group of Year 9 boys that I recall that were loitering and behaving inappropriately in the library at times, yet if you gave them something to do you'd find that they would get a sense of ownership and pride. I got to see them in another light, and in a positive way. This was needed when books to be weeded had to be relocated and organised in a sorting area. I could actually give praise to these kids, instead of referring them onto Head Teachers or the Deputy.
I think I may have a good model in terms of managing a library monitor system at whatever school I may be at, now or in the future.
With establishing a learning culture, the boys were never provided with a proper self-service printing system which other schools had. I was able to lobby for a printing system to be established and will be installed soon. Being boys, they love to leave things to the last minute and when they need to print, the library is often the only place to do it. They would have to approach my library assistant and pay 20 cents per page for printing from a printer within our staffroom. This took time away from her ability to work productively. I have planted one of the first seeds in making it a learning centre because boys will start to use it for learning, even if it is for printing.
One of our collections (Graphic Novels) had been previously stored in the staff room. Boys love their graphic novels. I managed to find some spare shelves and put them there. The loan rate for Graphic Novels has soared, though I hope to see that collection grow in the years ahead.
There are probably other comments to be made. One I won't comment though is the behaviour referrals. They were quite high and this not the place to bring it up.
Thursday, June 11, 2015
Revisting Weeding in 2015 (II)
It has been a few weeks since I last reflected on my work to do with weeding the collection.
Things have slowed down a bit there, but have been encouraged by what I have managed to do. Time for me has been difficult as I contend with the other challenges of weeding the collection.
I have been impressed generally by the response of colleagues as they select books to be retained or to be disposed of. I have felt quite confident as I communicate about progress. Even as books have been moved into sorting areas before discarding them on OASIS, I have been flexible in letting teachers come to pick what they want. A few books have found their way back onto the shelves which is fine.
The weeding itself is going to take much longer than what I hope for, but I have found some side projects as well that I feel are linked back to this - like following up on overdue books, removing duplicate borrowers and accounting for other unreturned items.
Things have slowed down a bit there, but have been encouraged by what I have managed to do. Time for me has been difficult as I contend with the other challenges of weeding the collection.
I have been impressed generally by the response of colleagues as they select books to be retained or to be disposed of. I have felt quite confident as I communicate about progress. Even as books have been moved into sorting areas before discarding them on OASIS, I have been flexible in letting teachers come to pick what they want. A few books have found their way back onto the shelves which is fine.
The weeding itself is going to take much longer than what I hope for, but I have found some side projects as well that I feel are linked back to this - like following up on overdue books, removing duplicate borrowers and accounting for other unreturned items.
Friday, May 1, 2015
Revisting Weeding in 2015
Back in 2011 as part of my studies, I explored the issue of weeding on it.
Where I am at the moment, one of my short term challenges is to remove items from a collection that has aged significantly, especially the non fiction collection where there appear to be few (if any) contemporary resources available. The shelves are overcrowded and in fact can barely accomodate much more.
I've actually had to create my own weeding policy simply because the library does not have a collection development policy.
What I have done so far, is that I'm focusing on what I want to keep as opposed to what I want to dispose. I have my criteria set up for weeding e.g. poor physical condition and outdated information. I have been placing stickers on shelves as I check items, while placing stickers on the items that are to stay in the collection.
I also have consulted teachers and invited them to inspect the collections to see what they want to keep while explaining to them as to why we "weed" the collection e.g. helping us to decide which resources need to be purchased so that students can have easy access to resources that are contemporary and relevant to learning. I emphaised the positives of doing so because weeding can seen on the surface as "negative". They have been keen so far in their input. There are items no longer relevant to the kids but they are still relevant to teachers.
I even will need to document areas that really need updating, like books on computers and sport.
Where I am at the moment, one of my short term challenges is to remove items from a collection that has aged significantly, especially the non fiction collection where there appear to be few (if any) contemporary resources available. The shelves are overcrowded and in fact can barely accomodate much more.
I've actually had to create my own weeding policy simply because the library does not have a collection development policy.
What I have done so far, is that I'm focusing on what I want to keep as opposed to what I want to dispose. I have my criteria set up for weeding e.g. poor physical condition and outdated information. I have been placing stickers on shelves as I check items, while placing stickers on the items that are to stay in the collection.
I also have consulted teachers and invited them to inspect the collections to see what they want to keep while explaining to them as to why we "weed" the collection e.g. helping us to decide which resources need to be purchased so that students can have easy access to resources that are contemporary and relevant to learning. I emphaised the positives of doing so because weeding can seen on the surface as "negative". They have been keen so far in their input. There are items no longer relevant to the kids but they are still relevant to teachers.
I even will need to document areas that really need updating, like books on computers and sport.
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
Louise Limberg - UTS Connected Intelligence Centre Presentation - April 1 2015
On April 1, I attended a presentation by Louise Limberg at the University of Technology, Sydney. She spoke about meaningful learning through information literacy.
As a Teacher Librarian, I need to foster a culture of meaningful learning within my school but ensure that students have the information literacy skills needed for effective engagement.
One key finding of interest to me was that those who analyse and scrutinise information. Learning outcomes were likely to be more sophisticated with well grounded and independent conclusions of a research topic. If we focus on fact finding, learning outcomes are less likely to be met. Knowledge is fragmented.
I think my qualifications as a history teacher helps me because we need to scrutinise and analyse sources in order to draw a finding or conclusion. I'm currently on a Ten Week block at the Hurstville Boys' High Campus of the Georges River College in Sydney and already I'm telling my students to look at the sources that they use when undertaking research. Even though at the moment its a bibliography, we need to draw some conclusions about sources, particularly if the source is missing information e.g. author. Does it make the source credible or not? Does the information appear accurate compared to other resources.
Another element I need to consider is ensuring the research questions are researchable. Instead of picking topics for research, we as educators need to set research questions that will foster inquiry.
We have also been reminded to provide feedback on student learning and progress in the research process. This can be overlooked when marking an assessment. I feel we need to foster the process of inquiry questions with our students in order to form knowledge and provide the conclusions that we seek from learning.
There are challenges that lie ahead which were identified by Limberg. Technology is ever changing. Obviously we must adapt to those changes especially the easy access to the ever burgeoning amounts of information in a digital world. Information is presented in a wide variety of formats. We need to ensure that students can draw on that variety (not a few) to add their reading, interpretation, assessment and construction of meaning. There is also the challenge associated with politics and society e.g. free access to education or the content to be included in new national curriculum.
As a teacher librarian, I must keep alert to the new and emerging formats and encourage students to utilise it, but at the same time also draw on traditional resources. If a student can draw on a variety of resources, it will become easier to construct meaning. I have found that any student that uses a variety of resources is bound to achieve better results in learning tasks, than one who may for instance rely on two or three websites.
As a Teacher Librarian, I need to foster a culture of meaningful learning within my school but ensure that students have the information literacy skills needed for effective engagement.
One key finding of interest to me was that those who analyse and scrutinise information. Learning outcomes were likely to be more sophisticated with well grounded and independent conclusions of a research topic. If we focus on fact finding, learning outcomes are less likely to be met. Knowledge is fragmented.
I think my qualifications as a history teacher helps me because we need to scrutinise and analyse sources in order to draw a finding or conclusion. I'm currently on a Ten Week block at the Hurstville Boys' High Campus of the Georges River College in Sydney and already I'm telling my students to look at the sources that they use when undertaking research. Even though at the moment its a bibliography, we need to draw some conclusions about sources, particularly if the source is missing information e.g. author. Does it make the source credible or not? Does the information appear accurate compared to other resources.
Another element I need to consider is ensuring the research questions are researchable. Instead of picking topics for research, we as educators need to set research questions that will foster inquiry.
We have also been reminded to provide feedback on student learning and progress in the research process. This can be overlooked when marking an assessment. I feel we need to foster the process of inquiry questions with our students in order to form knowledge and provide the conclusions that we seek from learning.
There are challenges that lie ahead which were identified by Limberg. Technology is ever changing. Obviously we must adapt to those changes especially the easy access to the ever burgeoning amounts of information in a digital world. Information is presented in a wide variety of formats. We need to ensure that students can draw on that variety (not a few) to add their reading, interpretation, assessment and construction of meaning. There is also the challenge associated with politics and society e.g. free access to education or the content to be included in new national curriculum.
As a teacher librarian, I must keep alert to the new and emerging formats and encourage students to utilise it, but at the same time also draw on traditional resources. If a student can draw on a variety of resources, it will become easier to construct meaning. I have found that any student that uses a variety of resources is bound to achieve better results in learning tasks, than one who may for instance rely on two or three websites.