Thank you to Jenny Watts for posting this link on various Teacher Librarian message boards today about some tips to help us in the Teacher Librarian profession become better leaders:
http://librarylostfound.com/2016/01/05/9-ways-to-become-an-even-awesomer-library-leader-in-2016/
It has encouraged me to think more about my engagement as a member of the profession.
I do like the point about engagement with the community including volunteer work. I have as a casual and in shorter temporary full time blocks have engaged in volunteer work through Hurstville Library, though I do concede I need to reconnect with a little more, especially my role as a Justice of the Peace.
They now have a weekend service, and should explore doing that service.
And there is the need to focus on professional development, a challenge which I recently identified. I will admit to reading journals and the like, but some more face to face or online courses would need to be done. There is also networking with the profession through professional associations and networks.
And blogging too can also help!!!! My blog entries in 2015 were well down on previous years.
Friday, February 12, 2016
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
The Year Ahead
Normally, I don't write about the year ahead but this year I felt a need to look ahead.
Before I do that, I look back at the year that was.
Professionally it was an exciting yet challenging year. The big focus was preparing the accreditation portfolio which I had drafted in late 2014. By the end of the year I was thrilled that the portfolio was completed and submitted to my current school for their consideration. For casual and temporary teachers like myself, doing the portfolio is just as challenging as it requires alot of self discipline and independence, which I was able to show. I encourage anyone in this situation to adopt this approach, and where help is available, seek it.
Term 1 saw me as an "on-call" casual teacher and it was mostly casual Teacher Librarian Work, which out numbered the classroom days which hasn't really been the case for me before in this situation, but Term 2 saw me on temporary appointments that took me through the rest of 2015. Term 2 saw me at Georges River College - Hurstville Boys Campus and then returned to Waverley College for the second half of the year. Each school threw its own challenges at me. Hurstville Boys' allowed me to show independence and decision making. Also an opportunity to create procedures and systems for effective library management. I did comment mid year on how I even noticed a change in behaviour when the students took ownership by lending me a hand with key library jobs based on reading I had done. It has even helped me at Waverley College.
At Waverley I've had many opportunities to build on and consolidate those skills and also adapting them to another library. Another highlight was working with Year 7 in their literacy lessons and presenting library sessions to the boys on digital collections like eBooks and eAudiobooks. I also ran some great research skills seminars with some Year 7 Religion classes focusing on referencing. Moving forward, I anticipate that the accreditation at proficient level occur during the course of Term 1 and that for me is a big milestone because I will really in the eyes of society be seen as a teacher; as an educator and that I believe will open some new doors. At this stage, I will be at Waverley College for all of Term 1 and it looks to be an exciting term ahead.
Like in 2015, I will continue my involvement with the Literacy program with Year 7. Who knows what else the term will throw? I will focus on more professional development and also keeping up my professional readings as well, which I do enjoy making a regular comment on here and putting it straight into practice. I like to learn and build my knowledge on anything. The world is never the same and is always moving. The rest of the year though is an unknown, though from the past things do come up and when they do they just happen!!!
The year could go several ways, but I do have plans for whatever happens. It may mean going back to casual teaching but that would open opportunities itself. I was sad I had to knock back some casual work offers but I truly appreciated the offers because it told me that as a Teacher Librarian and even as a Teacher, I am in demand. If you are working at a school and need someone to take care of your library, need an extra hand or two or join your team, please contact me.
By the way I am happy to work for free if needed because I don't want to lose my skills and working for free can open up career opportunities. I have had wonderful experiences that have aided me in a paid job.
Professionally it was an exciting yet challenging year. The big focus was preparing the accreditation portfolio which I had drafted in late 2014. By the end of the year I was thrilled that the portfolio was completed and submitted to my current school for their consideration. For casual and temporary teachers like myself, doing the portfolio is just as challenging as it requires alot of self discipline and independence, which I was able to show. I encourage anyone in this situation to adopt this approach, and where help is available, seek it.
Term 1 saw me as an "on-call" casual teacher and it was mostly casual Teacher Librarian Work, which out numbered the classroom days which hasn't really been the case for me before in this situation, but Term 2 saw me on temporary appointments that took me through the rest of 2015. Term 2 saw me at Georges River College - Hurstville Boys Campus and then returned to Waverley College for the second half of the year. Each school threw its own challenges at me. Hurstville Boys' allowed me to show independence and decision making. Also an opportunity to create procedures and systems for effective library management. I did comment mid year on how I even noticed a change in behaviour when the students took ownership by lending me a hand with key library jobs based on reading I had done. It has even helped me at Waverley College.
At Waverley I've had many opportunities to build on and consolidate those skills and also adapting them to another library. Another highlight was working with Year 7 in their literacy lessons and presenting library sessions to the boys on digital collections like eBooks and eAudiobooks. I also ran some great research skills seminars with some Year 7 Religion classes focusing on referencing. Moving forward, I anticipate that the accreditation at proficient level occur during the course of Term 1 and that for me is a big milestone because I will really in the eyes of society be seen as a teacher; as an educator and that I believe will open some new doors. At this stage, I will be at Waverley College for all of Term 1 and it looks to be an exciting term ahead.
Like in 2015, I will continue my involvement with the Literacy program with Year 7. Who knows what else the term will throw? I will focus on more professional development and also keeping up my professional readings as well, which I do enjoy making a regular comment on here and putting it straight into practice. I like to learn and build my knowledge on anything. The world is never the same and is always moving. The rest of the year though is an unknown, though from the past things do come up and when they do they just happen!!!
The year could go several ways, but I do have plans for whatever happens. It may mean going back to casual teaching but that would open opportunities itself. I was sad I had to knock back some casual work offers but I truly appreciated the offers because it told me that as a Teacher Librarian and even as a Teacher, I am in demand. If you are working at a school and need someone to take care of your library, need an extra hand or two or join your team, please contact me.
By the way I am happy to work for free if needed because I don't want to lose my skills and working for free can open up career opportunities. I have had wonderful experiences that have aided me in a paid job.
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
The rise of eBook collections (SMH Article)
Last Saturday (16/1/2015), The Sydney Morning Herald did a short feature on the rise of eBook collections in public libraries in Sydney. Sydney City Council now claims to have 10 000 eBooks in its collection.
It also claims that more people are joining libraries in response, encouraged by the convenience of iPads and Kindles as a reading tool, and existing members are borrowing more regularly which is encouraging news.
But the article fails to mention the percentage of eBook loans in comparison to loans of printed items. There are definitely some that have been attracted to borrow because items are now available as eBooks and don't have to lug a printed book around, or is it merely because people want to read something in print? Or perhaps did reading something in a digital form encourage them to pursue reading in a printed format.
Also have loans of printed items increased? We don't get that figure either.
Looking on the positive side, it is good though to see people making use of their local libraries and their collections, while at the same time developing their interest in reading. As I do believe, some are more suited to reading items digitally as opposed to print. Everyone has their style of learning and therefore everyone has their way of reading.
And what if one cannot access that printed copy of a book that they want to read at a particular point in time - at least an electronic version will fill that need, unless they really want that tactile version.
What about in a classroom situation? There will be no longer an excuse to not have bought a book to class, especially if the school library has its own eBook collection. I would be encouraging my students as well to pursue membership of their local library, not just for their digital collections, but also their print collections. Every library in every council area has its own unique collection of books. From holding accounts with four councils, I am often coming across items that are "exclusive" to that collection and have read some very interesting books that I may have not come across. I even want to recommend them for my school library!!! I might make that a challenge for this year in my work.
It also claims that more people are joining libraries in response, encouraged by the convenience of iPads and Kindles as a reading tool, and existing members are borrowing more regularly which is encouraging news.
But the article fails to mention the percentage of eBook loans in comparison to loans of printed items. There are definitely some that have been attracted to borrow because items are now available as eBooks and don't have to lug a printed book around, or is it merely because people want to read something in print? Or perhaps did reading something in a digital form encourage them to pursue reading in a printed format.
Also have loans of printed items increased? We don't get that figure either.
Looking on the positive side, it is good though to see people making use of their local libraries and their collections, while at the same time developing their interest in reading. As I do believe, some are more suited to reading items digitally as opposed to print. Everyone has their style of learning and therefore everyone has their way of reading.
And what if one cannot access that printed copy of a book that they want to read at a particular point in time - at least an electronic version will fill that need, unless they really want that tactile version.
What about in a classroom situation? There will be no longer an excuse to not have bought a book to class, especially if the school library has its own eBook collection. I would be encouraging my students as well to pursue membership of their local library, not just for their digital collections, but also their print collections. Every library in every council area has its own unique collection of books. From holding accounts with four councils, I am often coming across items that are "exclusive" to that collection and have read some very interesting books that I may have not come across. I even want to recommend them for my school library!!! I might make that a challenge for this year in my work.
Friday, November 27, 2015
BOSTES Accreditation - Some reflections
A big step for me professionally has taken place in the past few weeks in relation to seeking accreditation in NSW as a teacher at Proficient Level. I have submitted my samples to my current school for the writing up of the accreditation report.
It has been a year since I looked at my progress and since then, really was in a sense just about ready to present that evidence to a school, and just noting that I had found. I think that time last year came to be really handy because it has made everything much easier. I was able to approach my school, show the samples (and that they had signed off) and it was fixed.
I was able to provide some additional samples of evidence in recent months and also have my practice observed by an experienced teacher.
Hopefully the next entry on this topic will be about gaining the proficient level and giving credit to those involved in my journey there. So far a big thankyou to each and everyone of them.
Some Teacher Librarians may be finding it daunting to collect evidence, but really it is easy to collect. If you teach a lesson (especially primary school), keep a lesson plan, keep copies of sheets or handouts, newsletter articles (communication with the school community), professional learning diaries or samples of student work. Even minutes of a meeting you might have with your library team, faculty or colleague will count. Ideas are endless.
What about classroom management or student discipline? Create a discipline policy that you apply for the library that you work in. Casual or temp? Make a generic one and mention that it is adapted to all schools that you work at. Your teacher observation will also be handy here too like it has been done with me.
Make sure that you look at the standards and make sure that the samples will allow you to meet them all.
A big tip from me is to annotate your samples which you can do with Adobe Acrobat where you can show where the standards have been met and will guide your mentor or TAA in finalising your report.
With your annotations with your samples, go to some detail because it will make a difference as well. It will help you too in determining whether or not you have met the standards.
If you are stuck on doing it from a Teacher Librarians perspective, feel free to get in touch with me or speak to your TAA.
It has been a year since I looked at my progress and since then, really was in a sense just about ready to present that evidence to a school, and just noting that I had found. I think that time last year came to be really handy because it has made everything much easier. I was able to approach my school, show the samples (and that they had signed off) and it was fixed.
I was able to provide some additional samples of evidence in recent months and also have my practice observed by an experienced teacher.
Hopefully the next entry on this topic will be about gaining the proficient level and giving credit to those involved in my journey there. So far a big thankyou to each and everyone of them.
Some Teacher Librarians may be finding it daunting to collect evidence, but really it is easy to collect. If you teach a lesson (especially primary school), keep a lesson plan, keep copies of sheets or handouts, newsletter articles (communication with the school community), professional learning diaries or samples of student work. Even minutes of a meeting you might have with your library team, faculty or colleague will count. Ideas are endless.
What about classroom management or student discipline? Create a discipline policy that you apply for the library that you work in. Casual or temp? Make a generic one and mention that it is adapted to all schools that you work at. Your teacher observation will also be handy here too like it has been done with me.
Make sure that you look at the standards and make sure that the samples will allow you to meet them all.
A big tip from me is to annotate your samples which you can do with Adobe Acrobat where you can show where the standards have been met and will guide your mentor or TAA in finalising your report.
With your annotations with your samples, go to some detail because it will make a difference as well. It will help you too in determining whether or not you have met the standards.
If you are stuck on doing it from a Teacher Librarians perspective, feel free to get in touch with me or speak to your TAA.
Friday, October 30, 2015
Dads and reading
Here is a recent article from The Daily Telegraph, where they explored the importance of fathers in reading to their children because it encourages more abstract thinking.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/why-reading-a-book-with-dad-is-more-important/story-fni0cx12-1227544210970?sv=c8dc7500c1dc4c401c3b8dd4b6bf8d4a
It made even think too about my work in girls schools to date as a Teacher Librarian and undertaking wide reading sessions. It made me think of the higher order questioning that I did with them. I remember one instance asking students about why the covers of a Harry Potter book had been presented in a particular way and why the covers were designed that way. It got them thinking, even if they weren't too short.
For us men, it even encourages us to work in girls only schools, as the girls do also appreciate a male perspective on reading and literature.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/why-reading-a-book-with-dad-is-more-important/story-fni0cx12-1227544210970?sv=c8dc7500c1dc4c401c3b8dd4b6bf8d4a
It made even think too about my work in girls schools to date as a Teacher Librarian and undertaking wide reading sessions. It made me think of the higher order questioning that I did with them. I remember one instance asking students about why the covers of a Harry Potter book had been presented in a particular way and why the covers were designed that way. It got them thinking, even if they weren't too short.
For us men, it even encourages us to work in girls only schools, as the girls do also appreciate a male perspective on reading and literature.
Friday, October 23, 2015
Stocktaking Time (ii)
OK, a week has passed since I looked at stocktaking and have attended the webinar by Softlink. It was a good afternoon to be briefed on the stocktaking processes associated with OLIVER.
I think that there is really little to fear, even for those in DET schools who are moving over from OASIS to OLIVER. The big advantage that OLIVER has over OASIS is the interface and that you can see 20 results on a page as opposed to one so it can actually help you sort out items that are missing or poorly catalogued.
A bit like cooking, there is preparation for a stocktake which must not be overlooked like undertaking a simple housekeeping procedure to ensure that everything in the collection is on the system and to help identify items that are catalogued incorrectly.
And I liked how you can scan in barcodes once you have imported them to account for unscanned yet available items!!!
Don't ever fear closing a library just to do a stocktake, like they used to!!!
I think that there is really little to fear, even for those in DET schools who are moving over from OASIS to OLIVER. The big advantage that OLIVER has over OASIS is the interface and that you can see 20 results on a page as opposed to one so it can actually help you sort out items that are missing or poorly catalogued.
A bit like cooking, there is preparation for a stocktake which must not be overlooked like undertaking a simple housekeeping procedure to ensure that everything in the collection is on the system and to help identify items that are catalogued incorrectly.
And I liked how you can scan in barcodes once you have imported them to account for unscanned yet available items!!!
Don't ever fear closing a library just to do a stocktake, like they used to!!!