After Christmas excess and placement report

Well Christmas is over for another year and I have eaten way too much yummy food.

Being in Yamba we took advantage of the beautiful fresh and very cheap seafood. Prawns were only $10 a kilo. How good was that?

Today I was supposed to have an infusion of the new drug that I am on for my rheumatoid arthritis but the nurse had not collected the drug from the chemist and when she went to pick it up this morning discovered that the chemist was shut because it is a public holiday....well duh! I thought she would have picked it up before Christmas. Oh well that's the country for you.

Because I thought I would be hooked up to the drug all morning I decided to stay home while the rest of the family went to the beach. Turned out to be good choice as even though it has stopped raining it is incredibly windy outside and not very pleasant.

I thought I would put my time to good use and get started on my placement report.

The first thing I did was listened to James' podcast about what to include. Thankfully I have managed to get most of the information that I need so I can get started on it. The only thing that is doing my head in now is having to look up all of the references that James will inevitably require in order to pass this assessment. A very interesting thing to do in the country where there is not a great internet service.

5th day of placement- half way there!

Well today was an interesting day.
The morning was extremely busy with lots of people racing in to get their last minute books for the Christmas break.
The library closes from tonight until January 4 so people were borrowing heaps of books to read because the weather forecast for Christmas is RAIN RAIN RAIN.

After a civilised break for lunch across the road at the bowling club we came back to a very quiet afternoon where we only had about 6 people in all afternoon.
Although it was frustrating to be so quiet it was great because we were able to sit down and go through the questions that I need to answer for my placement report.

It was quite nice to finish on such a relaxed note.
Half way through the placement. Only 5 days to go!!!!!!!
Sure wish I was being paid for this!

Merry Christmas to everyone.

Day 4 of placement

Well here I am in a different library.
I am working at Maclean library today because Yamba library is closed on a Thursday.
It is a very different library.
The building is older and is a bit of a rabbit warren.
The borrowers are similar but there are more local kids using the computers than in Yamba.
The public library is such a meeting place for lots of local people and everyone is known by their name and the story that goes with them.
Just loving it.
Not looking forward to my report though!!!!

Day 2 of placement

Well today is day 2 of my placement.
At the moment it is really quiet so I am taking this opportunity to update the blog.
I can not believe the number of books that people borrow.
Most of the clients are retired people this week, but after Christmas I have been told that it will mostly be tourists.
We have been reserving books for people, returning books and shelving books.
I love seeing all of the new magazines and books that are available.
A local library is so much more interesting than a school library even though my school library holds more books than this library.
A major difference is that the books are all really clean and not dusty like at school so I don't feel like washing my hands every 5 minutes.
Lunch in 15 minutes. How cool is that? you get 1 1/2hours for lunch with NO playground duty.
Think I love the life of a public librarian.

First day of placement

I began work at Yamba library today.
It was fabulous.
Yamba is a single person library and Jenny is the beautiful lady who runs it. She was so patient with me and so very friendly to everyone who walked through the door.
When I chose this library for my 10day placement I thought that it would be really quiet and relaxing.
Well after day 1 I have learned that this is not the case at all.
We did not stop all day and the amount of shelving was unbelievable.
I did manage to grab a copy of Danielle Steele's latest book to read as well as a biography that I have wanted to read about a lady working in Antarctica. I hope I don't find any other books I want to read because I don't think that I will have enough time while I am here.
Looking at what I have to put in my report I am beginning to panic a little bit because I don't know where I am going to find all of the information I need and journals etc to back it up. Oh well that should keep me busy over the holidays.

Before leaving home on Saturday I submitted my ETL503 assignment about selecting resources for a school library.
I am quite happy with the finished product except for the fact that I am not sure if I have put enough references into it. I guess I will find out when the marks come back.
Oh well, nothing I can do about it now I guess.
Looking ahead I need to begin work on my collection management policy.............that should be interesting.

I guess the last 2 weeks in January are going to be extremely busy for me as I try to finish 3 major assignments for my 2 subjects. Maybe I should get started while I am away..........That could be a good excuse to avoid washing up on Christmas Day I think!!!

I failed Dewey!!!!

I failed Dewey....Actually I just failed the final assignment by half a mark. Only half a mark. I was sure it would be by much more than that.
Well anyway the good news is I was carrying a few extra marks in previous assignments so I can safely say that I have passed the subject....Yay!
Not with flying colours, only by about 2 or 3 marks, but who cares it is a pass and I no longer have to look at cataloging.
Besides my school pays good money to get SCIS to do our cataloging and who am I to argue with the way they catalog. It's all brilliant in my eyes.
So now tomorrow I will be starting serious work on ETL503 now that this horrible subject is behind me.

Ready to start again

Well the results have been posted for the Dewey subject. 7 people have failed. I just hope that I am not one of those 7 people. Oh well I guess I will find out on Thursday.

I have decided to study over the summer break to try and catch up the subject that I dropped at the beginning of this semester, so I have just down loaded the outline etc for ETL503- Resourcing the Curriculum. Unfortunately I have an idea of how much work it is going to be. The first assignment is due 3 days before Christmas.
I think that I might just give everyone money this Christmas in an effort to save time and maximize my potential assignment working time.
My eldest will be pleased. Not sure about the other 2 though.
Oh well I might get started on 503 because I have the modules and readings printed out from before and they look the same. I have done quite a lot of the readings already so it will just be a matter of revising them I think.
Oh what fun!

Part 2 of study visit

Thursday

This morning I had to trek all of the way to St Leonards to visit the Douglas Piper Library at Royal North Shore Hospital. Don't these people understand that if you live in the Shire you don't venture that far from home.
I wish I could say that it was worth the trek, but unfortunately I can't. This excursion was ranked up there next to the Conservatorium library. BORING!!!
Thankfully it finished half an hour early which was great because then a group of us were able to enjoy a leisurely lunch which was quite enjoyable.

After lunch I had to travel back to the city to see the Powerhouse Museum research library.
This was probably one of the highlights for me as we were taken on a tour of the latest exhibition which was the Benini fashion and photography exhibition. It was great. I loved finding out all about the photographer and seeing the beautiful fashions. One of the dresses that he photographed was remarkably like the Leona Edmiston dress that the lady at the law library had been wearing.
We were told that the library is a research library that is funded by the NSW government and is open to anyone by request.
Baz Luhrmann used the library to research for the movies Australia and Moulin Rouge. He was able to do so at no cost and they were only too happy to help find information for him.
Kit Willow the fashion designer also did research here for her collection. She was most interested in fashion from the 1970's.
Overall it was a really interesting library especially when you could see old Patons knitting patterns and old Women's Weekly's. This was a really good experience after the poor one at the hospital in the morning.

Friday

Our last day of visiting libraries was spent at the University of Technology. How motivated was Mal the guy that spoke first. It was exciting to see photos of the robot system that has been installed at Macquarie University to retrieve books from their underground storage. Andrew has been in charge of building this facility so it was good to be able to see the structure that he has been so proudly telling me about for months.
In the UTS library they have made a room for groups to use that has a white board along one whole wall. It was made with whiteboard paint in a similar way that people paint their walls with chalkboard paint. I would love to do that in a school library.
Unfortunately the other speakers weren't quite as inspiring as him.
After a tour of the library we handed in our reports that we had done of the libraries and that was it for that part of the subject.

It was actually quite sad to leave these people that I had spent the week with. Our common purpose to pass this subject had somehow bonded us together quite quickly. It made me realize again just how much I miss the face to face contact of university when you do it by distance education. Oh well hopefully I will see some of them again if I go to graduation.

Study Visit completed

Yay I have finished one part of ETL507.

This past week I ventured into the city to complete my study visit. For a Shire girl this was a big deal.

It was great to finally meet Roy and also Michelle and Mary Anne. They helped to ensure that everything ran smoothly and the very important thing of marking our names off at each venue to say that we had in fact attended.
We attended some really good libraries and some not so good ones.

A brief summary of my week follows:
Tuesday

State Library of NSW- We all met here for our first visit. I think that there were about 60 of us. We were given a lecture about the library and then we were taken on a behind the scenes tour of the library. Wow, what an underrated resource this place is. I am going to use this place a lot more and encourage my students to use its on line services.
Things I learned.

• They don't ever weed their material
• It is open to anyone to use
• It is a legal deposit library
• It is a research and reference library
• There are more than 5 million items in its collection valued at over 2 billion dollars
• Contains iconic material such as Captain Bligh's log book
• There are on line research guides that are continually being improved
• There is a Shakespeare room that has been modeled on a room at Hampton Court England. It has lots of William Shakespeare books in here.
• There is free wireless and free internet access
  

After being inspired by this library I then went to the Sydney Conservatorium of Music library.
All I can say is what a huge waste of time this place was.
They also had a really dumb borrowing system where you borrowed books for 8 weeks, but if someone else wanted to borrow it within that time the library would recall it and you would have to return it before the 8 weeks was up. They claim it works really well, but I am not convinced. The other thing was that students have to pay to use the internet here. how bizarre!
I was really disappointed with the presentation here. We were just shown through the library website for 1.5hours and then given a really boring tour.
This place was really boring, nothing special and not at all innovative.
The other choice for the afternoon had been the Art Gallery Library. Apparently it was quite good. Sure wish I had chosen that.

Wednesday

This morning I chose the NSW Parliamentary Library. I am so glad I did. It opened up another world to me. I really loved this one.
Things I learned.

• This library is only open to people that work at Parliament House. This included accredited Press who work at Parliament.
  
• The catalog is not available externally.
• Confidentiality is required by the library as they are often requested to research material for different political parties and can't tell the other party what they are researching.
• They offer a news clipping service, although now it is Eclips compiled by an outside company.
• Copyright doesn't apply here so they can copy anything they want.
• This is a legal deposit library so they get everything that is published in NSW. Most of the things they get is kept, what they don't want they send to the State Library and they discard it for them. (It was good to get this explained because I had didn't know what that meant when I heard the term at the State Library)
• There is no collection management policy they just get whatever they are asked for.
• They have an eclectic range of material ranging from magazines and journals to fiction novels to non fiction materials used for research.
• They took us down to the Stacks and we saw all of the old books etc down there. We even got to see and touch a Sydney Morning Herald fro the 1800's.

This was an amazing library and the librarian who showed us around had the most beautiful green suit on, complete with matching jewelery. She looked stunning...

In the afternoon I went to Allens Arthur Robinson Sydney Law Library which was in Deutsche Bank Place. What an amazing library this was. After seeing this place I thought that I would love to work in a corporate library but then realized I really love school hours and all of the school holidays so quickly scratched that off my list of potential jobs.
This library was in a very modern building with glass all down the side walls so that people going up in the glass lifts can see inside the library as they go past. It was also placed beside the cafe in a deliberate attempt to make them quite visual as people are forced to walk through the library if they want a coffee at the cafe. I though it made the area a bit busy and quite disruptive with the steady flow of traffic walking through all day.
An interesting thing about this library was that it is open 24 hours a day even though it is only staffed from 8.30 -5.30. I know how many of my books walk out of the library because teachers are too busy to write them down, so I imagine the same thing would happen in this library used by lawyers, especially when there is no-one manning it at midnight on a Saturday night. One of the conditions of borrowing from this library is that all books must stay in the building.
Considering that this is a law firm that charges lots of money for their services I found it interesting that the librarians don't charge for their time.
This is a commercial Law firm so most of the books etc are for this purpose.
All legal staff are expected to know how to access the library.

The lady who showed us around here had a really beautiful dress on. Apparently she got it from Leona Edmiston. It was beautiful but totally out of my price range!

I have to go and bring some washing in so I will have to do the rest of the week later.

Module 6 is doing my head in this week!!!!

Here I am finally sitting down to work through the exercises for module 6 after much procrastination.
This morning I even cleaned the house!!! That is a bad sign when I should be doing uni work.

Well anyway, I am up to exercise 2 and I am already finding it hit or miss whether I get the answers correct. I am finding the whole webdewey thing incredibly confusing.

Maybe tomorrow I will just head to the local library and pay the cataloger HEAPS of money to do my assignment for me............now there's a thought. Unfortunately I don't think that she would be too agreeable to do it for me no matter how much I paid her. However, it's worth looking into.....

If she won't do it, then I think I will just park myself at the library and use their print copies of DDC22.
Sure will beat having to figure out web dewey and all of his mates!

finished and submitted

Well I have finished my 2nd assignment and handed it in today.
It was about subject headings and I actually quite enjoyed doing this assignment once I got the hang of it.
I just hope that I understood and presented everything that was required because I will be really disappointed if I don't pass this one.

Tomorrow my TOM team is presenting their challenge solution at the State Final at the Uni of NSW. I hope they do well, but I know they will be up against some tough competition. They have worked really hard and have done well to get this far.
The ironic thing is, I am the compere for the day and I never ever use the microphone at school to control large groups. I went 7 years at my previous school without ever addressing the whole school on the microphone. They will all certainly get a kick out of me being pushed out of my comfort zone to do this job.

Yay I passed!!!

Just got my first assignment back for ETL505 and I am so pleased to say that I passed.........just. 1 mark over half way is a good pass I think considering I was really floundering with this subject.
Hopefully I will pass the second assignment with a bit more room to spare.

I think I am getting it!!!

Today I have spent all day working on assignment 2 for ETL505 and I think I am starting to get it.
I have systematically worked through all of module 5 where there were lots of examples to work through and now I am doing the assignment questions.
I was feeling quite relieved although a bit panicked when I read the forum questions of other people in my course. The people on the forum seem to be making it more difficult than it really is I think.
According to my lecturer there are over 70 people in this subject, but only a small proportion seem to be putting questions up on the forum. The way I see it, lots of others must 'GET IT' too.
Oh well when I hand it in at the end of the week I guess we will really see if I do 'GET IT'.

module 5 is doing my head in......

Well here I sit today realizing that I should probably have worked my way through this a bit sooner than I have.
I am only up to exercise 8 which is on page 16 out of 37 pages in my module print out.

Who would have thought that it would take this long?

Probably when I was going out to lunch last week and the week before I really should have been here in front of the computer.
As it is, I should be working on my assignment but unfortunately I haven't done the required exercises that will enable me to complete the assignment to a satisfactory standard.
Oh well, it's not due until the 13th so I guess I will keep chipping away at it bit by bit until I finish.
Unfortunately at the moment I still don't really grasp it, and when I think I do get it I read the forum and realize that I have no clue at all and I am on a totally different page to everyone else who has been working on module 5.
Help!! Who really cares about access points, genre headings, theme headings and any other type of heading????

One thing I have managed to learn while doing this subject is that I don't think that I will ever become a cataloger, it just does your head in!

Module 5

I am starting module 5 today, although I noticed they have given us a few weeks to complete it, and no wonder it isn't making a whole lot of sense to me at the moment. I guess the more I read the more it will fall into place.

Vocabularies, whether controlled or uncontrolled, are also known as indexing languages.

Derived indexing takes words from the document.
Assigned indexing takes words from somewhere else and assigns them to the document.

Subject approaches
The controlled vocabulary approach is where a specific word or phrase is selected to denote a certain subject.

Finished....yay

I have just typed the last word in my assignment.
I don't have to hand it in for another 6 days so I'm just going to set it aside until the weekend and then look over it again to determine if I want to make any adjustments.
I'm only after a pass and hopefully this will just scrape through.
Back to work tomorrow and feeling good not to have this hanging over my head.

500 words to go!!!

I think I am actually getting this bibliographic description stuff.

I have spent the morning editing the work I did yesterday and adding more information to my assignment and now I only have 500 words left to go. I haven't added any examples to part B yet so I should use up those words quickly.
If only I could think of some examples...................hence the procrastination and writing this blog.

I cannot praise the lecturing staff at CSU highly enough. Once I got over my fear that I knew nothing I phoned Ashley my lecturer for this subject and spoke to him emphasizing that I knew nothing.
Well turns out I did know what I was talking about. Go figure.
With some well placed questions from Ashley I was able to figure out some other stuff with the assignment. He actually didn't have to tell me the answers I was able to work through the process with him guiding me.
How great is that?

Every time I have phoned or skyped any of the lecturers they have been really generous with their time and knowledge and sent me happily on my way.
Thankyou CSU. Hopefully now I will complete this assignment to the satisfaction of the markers to ensure that I pass.

Dragons come out winners!!!

Looks like I am cooking a mars bar slice.
The mighty roosters went down to the dragons.
Oh well just another way I can avoid doing this damn assignment.

HELP!!!

Today I have a sick son so I am at home with him and he is asleep!!!

Unfortunately we had planned an afternoon at the footy watching the roosters play. I was quite looking forward to it as it is ages since we have done anything as a family. It was also going to provide another excuse for me to avoid my 505 assignment.
Oh well it was not to be.

Hopefully Roosters will win. If they do an AP at school has to wear a rooster jumper to the athletics carnival. If the dragons win I have to make him a mars bar slice.....I really do love being back in the state system.

I have been sitting here for most of the day reading my course notes/textbook/websites and I still have no clue what to do.
I have written 200 words out of 2000 and I think I have said everything that I know, and most of that is from the text book. Hopefully I won't get done for plagiarism.

I have also been emailing the gorgeous Fiona who has tried to help me. She says she is just as confused as I am but I think she has a better grip on it all than me. Thanks Fiona.

Oh well enough procrastinating and back to the assignment.

Sinking to the bottom of 505..............FAST.

After the chat room last night for ETL505 I thought that things would be clearer. Unfortunately I am not in this favorable position.
Today I have cut and pasted all of the helpful comments from last nights chat in the vague hope that it will all begin to make sense.
I have also gone through the forum and done the same thing.
After the chat last night it appears that only a handful of people really understand what is going on in this subject.
I take my hat off to John because he seems to be on the right track. Just wish I had his email to send a message to him in the hope that he might be able to shed some light on it for me.
The problem is that I don't really know what questions to ask the lecturers so that they can help, because they are really great and very quick to respond to an SOS.
Oh well I will work on it this weekend and see if it gets any better.

Dublin Core

After looking up the Dublin Core website and in particular the frequently asked questions I have discovered that the Dublin Core metadata is used to supplement existing methods for searching and indexing Web-based metadata, regardless of whether the corresponding resource is an electronic document or a "real" physical object.

The Dublin Core Metadata Element Set (DCMES) was the first metadata standard deliverable out of the DCMI was an IETF RFC 2413.
DCMES provides a semantic vocabulary for describing the "core" information properties, such as "Description" and "Creator" and "Date".

Dublin Core metadata provides card catalog-like definitions for defining the properties of objects for Web-based resource discovery systems.

According to my notes the Dublin Core meta data is based on 4 principles.

1. simplicity
2. semantic interoperability
3. international consensus
4. extensibility
   

Unfortunately even though I have browsed this site and read the required information I still have not experienced any clarity as to what I should be beginning to understand. Oh well I will keep plodding on.

Module 3

So far I am keeping up to date with this subject according to the outline, although after a busy weekend of kids sport and yesterday having to attend my daughters zone athletics carnival for the day I am feeling a bit of pressure to get through all of this before I have to pick up my son at 2pm for a dental appointment, do the washing, do the grocery shopping etc.
Anyway here goes....

3 definitions of metadata
(as suggested by Lisa Harris on the ETL505 forum.....thankyou Lisa)

1. metadata is structured data which describes the characteristics of a resource.
2. metadata is structured information that is created specifically to describe another resource.
3. metadata maybe described as ‘data about data’ . A metadata record consists of a set of elements which describe different parts of a resource.

common elements: metadata is structured; metadata describes resources; metadata is data; metadata contains common elements.

Going crazy already

This morning I looked up module 2 in ETL505 on the CSU website and discovered that it was different from the one that I had printed out and had been reading over the weekend. Oh well, I just printed out the new one and started working through that.
Now when I went back online to look up the readings that had been linked to the notes I have discovered that the original notes are back.....
What is happening at the uni???or is it me???
Oh well I am finally learning all about DEWEY...Who would have thought that it would take 12months into a library course before I would learn this stuff..
I had to watch this Youtube video introducing DEWEY so I thought that I would include the link in case anyone was inspired to watch it. WARNING: It's not terribly exciting!

Charles Cutter's Objectives

We were asked to look up Charles Cutter's objectives and rewrite them so that they are more suitable for libraries today.

Vanessa Small added the following information to the forum. I think she has done an excellent job rewriting them so I have published them exactly as she wrote them. (Thanks Vanessa) I have also included the link to the webpage that has the objectives listed.

Charles Cutter made the first explicit statement regarding the objectives of a bibliographic system in his Rules for a Printed Dictionary Catalog in 1876. According to Cutter, those objectives were:

1. to enable a person to find a book of which either (Identifying objective)

* the author
* the title
* the subject
* the category

is known.

2. to show what the library has (Collocating objective)

* by a given author
* on a given subject
* in a given kind of literature

3. to assist in the choice of a book (Evaluating objective)

* as to its edition (bibliographically)
* as to its character (literary or topical)

In today's library these would be greatly different. Although they could be kept in the same format I would reword them to be:

1. to enable a person to find information of which either (Identifying objective)

* the author
* the title
* the subject
* the category

is known.

2. to show what the library has online or in hardcopy (Collocating objective)

* by a given author
* on a given subject
* in a given kind of format

3. to assist in the choice of information (Evaluating objective)

* as to its format
* as to its character (literary or topical)

Other objectives in today's society would also be appropriate in terms of making specific objectives for online resources and specific objectives for hardcopy resources.

Alice Ferguson librarian extraordinaire

To day as part of this subject I was asked to listen to Alice Ferguson who is the librarian at Charles Sturt University talk about the importance of effective tools for organising and retrieving information.
She spoke about the four main information resources used to find information. They are:

1. library on the desktop
2. hard copy collection
3. libraries online data base collection
4. Internet.

1 & 2 are available by CSU catalog.
3 is commercially produced.
4 needs to use search engines to find the information.

1 & 2 the information is sound and easy to find.
4- the information is added at random and is less reliable. It is not well organised.

When finding call numbers the information is reliable and accurate and has been carefully chosen for accuracy by trained librarians.

The Internet dominates information retrieval although it is less reliable and not well organised.

In summary well organised information is essential to enable libraries to work well.

Rayward's paper and associated activities

Libraries, museums and archives in the digital future: The blurring of institutional boundaries by W.Boyd Rayward, November 1995.

Having read the section titled The Functions of Libraries, Museums and Archives I will now attempt to answer the questions that have been set by the Uni.

• What information is each dealing with? LIBRARIES are focused on acquisition (printed material/journals/books) with inter library loans to address gaps and specific clientele. MUSEUMS concentrate on all living (botanical) an non-living such as, artefacts denoting a time in a place in society. All items are stored and viewed in context complete with explanation. These may specialise, e.g. Railway museum. ARCHIVES are the collection of daily documents of a government/organisation (authors not identified) to track changes/incidents over time . Eg maps, printed documents, motion pictures, photographs....

• How different is it? LIBRARY - Our local library is a very busy colourful place/space with regulars, visitors attracted by the programs and changing offerings. each week there is a story time for pre-schoolers and during the school holidays activities are provided for children. Plenty of borrowing of current books takes place as well as DVD's and other multimedia.
  
  
  MUSEUM - All information presented is extended beyond the item and included era, habits, size, location, diet - a complete 'story' of facts as researched by others. A busy place with people moving through and returning at a later date for different promotions. Quite an educational place to visit.
  
  ARCHIVES- Documents of by-gone era's saved for future generations to use for individual research pursuits.
  A quiet business-like place with limited space and an increasing clientele going online.

• How does it change what information we might want to organise and retrieve? It seems that there is a place to store just about everything...but where does it stop. Obviously space will ultimately be used up and hard copies will no longer be kept, instead resorting to scanning and saving information on the computer in an effort to free up space.

I found Helen Rowlings comments on the forum to be very helpful in clarifying lots of this information for me. Thank you for your input Helen.

Module 1- The need for information resource description

Well here it is day 1 of the start of the new semester and my new subject ETL505.
Thanks to my in laws who have taken my children to Luna Park for the day I have been able to start the first module of this subject. That has been after the phone calls I just HAD to make, after doing 2 loads of washing and BEFORE I go out to lunch with the Attorney General of Australia's wife. Yep I do mix it with the big time...LOL

Anyway the big question to be answered in the first module is.......Why is it necessary for information agencies such as libraries to organise information effectively?

The simple answer is to be able to retrieve the information on demand.

Unfortunately according to my course notes there is more to it...............well duh, of course there is otherwise there would be no subject ETL505.

Main points Hider (2008) is making in his book pp21-23

• To make information retrieval systems work effectively there are three issues that are really important. (1) standards for organising information (2) participation in an agreement for exchanging metadata (3) participation in co-operatives to gain maximum benefit from exchanging metadata.
• Systems will become ineffective and not very cost effective if they don't address the above three issues.

Some input requirements for effective information retrieval systems.

• data input needs to adhere to widely understood standards.
• data input must require minimal effort.
• data input must meet the minimum requirements of the system.
• data input must maintain a high level of accuracy and consistency.

Some output requirements in relation to data output for effective information retrieval systems.

• data output must be readily understandable to the user
• data output must match users' requests as closely as possible.
• system must be user friendly.
• system should respond to users' requests as rapidly as possible.
• output must not be restricted to a limited number of terminals, but should be capable of being used simultaneously by all users who require it.
  

The start of a new semester

Well it is the weekend before the start of the new semester.
I am busy finishing off a patchwork quilt because once Uni starts there will be no time for anything else in my life.
I was quite happy on Friday when I got my results for last semester. A credit...yay.
Now bring on this semester.
I am doing one and a half subjects.
ETL507 complete with a study visit next holidays. I am really looking forward to that as I will be able to put faces to names. I really do miss the face to face contact.
ETL505 doesn't look as promising, just reading the assignments I am already terrified. Oh well I will just do it like everything else, one step at a time.

Another semseter completed

When I arrived home I was greeted by my husband holding my returned assignment 2. After opening it I was quite pleased to discover that I had passed quite well which was a massive relief as I had only just scraped through with assignment 1.
The one thing that I was disappointed with was that there was no written feedback regarding part c which was done on my blog. I felt really discouraged as I had been very diligent with all of my entries during the semester and had spent a lot of time completing part c of the assignment. Apart from the mark there was no feedback, which was a bit disappointing considering all of the effort.
My husband can't understand why I feel so deflated considering my mark.
Oh well at least it is another subject conquered, so bring on semester 2!

ETL401 Part C - Critical synthesis

Part C
Critical synthesis & reflections of TL role
810words

I have now discovered that my initial reasons for wanting to become a teacher librarian were not the most honourable (Drury, 2010). I initially thought that it was an easy job where you had an assistant who did all of the hard work for you and you had lots of free time to prepare and tidy the library because after all as a teacher librarian you just read books to children, let them borrow and kept the library shelves neat and tidy. Since the beginning of this course and taking up a job share position in a library I realise how misguided I was.

Since reading the Professional Teacher librarian Standards (ASLA/ALIA, 2004) I have learnt that there is more to being a teacher librarian than I first thought. Reading the comments of other students I was heartened to discover that they were also on a similar pattern of learning (Noble, 2010). The standards also demonstrated to me that we are part of a professional group who have excellent skills and knowledge instead of just being on our own as I commented on my blog post (Drury, 2010). Completing the second part of assignment two in ETL401 proved to be a turning point in my views of being a teacher librarian. What started out as a compulsory exercise that I was required to complete in order to successfully finish this subject rapidly turned into an exciting adventure of learning where I gave the standards more than just a passing glance. I discovered that they are all encompassing and while they looked impossible to achieve when I first read them they have now become a set of standards to help my professional development in an effort to enhance the quality of education that I provide for the students at my school.

Information literacy skills was a skill I thought I knew all about (Drury, 2010) but I quickly learned that there are more than one set of definitions, more than one set of frameworks and everyone has a slightly different variation (Kuhlthau, 2004, Eisenberg and Berkowitz Big6, 2001, NSW Information Process, 2007). It was exciting that the more I read about information literacy the more I began to realise that I could have a positive effect on the development of strategies that would enable my students to become life long learners.

My eyes were opened as I read about collaboration and the positive impact that it has on students (Haycock, 2007). I also found it to be a bit of relief when I read the article written by (Todd, 2008) because as I commented on the forum (Drury, 2010) collaborative schools are selectively collaborative and not necessarily the most creative. I also commented on this on my blog (Drury, 2010) that I enjoyed a light bulb moment when I read that just because you collaboratively teach you don't necessarily get through double the work (Todd, 2008). This had always been my impression of collaborative partnerships so it was good to gain a better insight into collaborative teaching. I was also challenged when I read (Gilman, 2007) and it was suggested that a great way to encourage a collaborative attitude would be to set up library wide wikis. As a direct result I have set up several library blogs each one catering to a specific group. I have created blogs for staff, general library, stage 2, stage 3, Premier's reading challenge and library monitors. The feedback has been amazing as everyone feels free to contribute and add their comments. If it wasn't for this article and indeed this course I don't think I would have taken the step to create these blogs in an effort to create a collaborative atmosphere. My other light bulb moment occurred when I read that collaborative teaching affects student academic achievement for the better (Montiel-Overall, 2005 & Haycock, 2007).

Throughout this course I have gone through many highs and lows as I have grappled with the new information presented to me. It has given me a new sense of purpose as I endeavor to be the best teacher librarian I can. As I try to develop not only a love of literature in my students but so much more including information literacy skills to equip them for life long learning. As I also try to encourage a collaborative environment within my school and endeavour to raise the profile of the teacher librarian role so that it includes leadership responsibilities within the school and as I build up networks within the school and from outside the school to turn this into a reality.

I have come a long way since the days of playing pretend libraries in my bedroom, or being asked to resign as a library monitor in 6th class (Drury,2010), but strangely I feel like I am just beginning this extraordinary journey of learning how to be an excellent teacher librarian. Thankfully there are lots of resources out there to aid in my development. Resources that include the excellent set of standards (ASLA/ALIA, 2004) to work towards and many support networks that help to find solutions to problems that I may encounter.

References

Australian School Library Association (ASLA) and Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). (2004). Library standards of professional excellence for teacher librarians. Retrieved from http://www.asla.org/policy/standards.htm

Drury, C. (2010, March 20) Standards of professional excellence for TL'S. Posted to http://cathyslibraryskillsprogress.blogspot.com

Drury, C. (2010, April 19). Thoughts on Todd article. Message posted to ETL401 module 5 sub-forum.

Drury, C. (2010April 20). Developing powerful instructional collaborations does not happen by chance. Posted to http://cathyslibraryskillsporgress.blogspot.com

Drury, C. (2010, April 27). Information literacy and how my views are changing. Posted to http:cathyslibraryskillsprogress.blogspot.com

Drury, C. (2010, May11). My inspiration to be a teacher librarian. Posted to http://cathyslibraryskillsprogress.blogspot.com

Eisenberg,M & Berkwitz, B. (2001). A Big6 skills overview. Retrieved from http://www.big6.com/2001/11/19/a-big%E2%84%A2-skills-overview

Gilman, T. (2007, May23). The Four Habits of Highly Effective Librarians The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/The-Four-Habits-of-Highly-E/46544

Haycock, K. (2007). Collaboration: Critical success factors for student learning. School Libraries Worldwide, 13(1), pp25-35.

Kuhlthau, CC. (2004). Seeking Meaning: A Process Approach to Library and Information Services, 2nd ed. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.

Montiel-Overall, P. (2005). A Theoretical Understanding of Teacher and Librarian Collaboration, School Libraries Worldwide, 11(2), 24-48.

Noble, J. (2010, March10). Thoughts on standards. Message posted to ETL401 module 2 sub-forum.

New South Wales Department of Education and Training. (2007). Information skills in the school: engaging learners in constructing knowledge. Retrieved from http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/schoollibraries/teachingideas/isp/docs/infoskills.pdf

Todd, R.J. (2008). The dynamics of classroom teacher and teacher librarian instructional collaborations. Scan, 27(2), 19-28.

Highly offended!!!

I was just speaking to a girlfriend who recently attended a workshop for Asperger children. She thought it was highly amusing when the speaker said that many Asperger children retreat to the library in their breaks as it is an area where they feel safe. So far I would agree with that.

But then he went on to say that in his opinion many teacher librarians also had Asperger's.
Now in the words of Seinfeld "Not that there's anything wrong with that", but I don't appreciate being labeled that way.
I am anything but Asperger's trust me, and so are the teacher librarian's that I know......well there was one back in 1986 that may have been...........
Oh well food for thought anyway.

Part B put to bed and no library monitors.....

In the words of the newspaper newsroom I can put part B of assignment 2 to bed..........at last.
I am now working on part C of the assignment and at the moment words are coming easy, but in no particular order and I can remember things I read on the forum about the topics I am wanting to discuss but unfortunately I am having a difficult time locating them again. In my next subject I am going to keep a really good record of where and when I read things so that when I need to recall information it will be a simple exercise.
It has been great at work today as stage 3 has an excursion so I have had a bit of time on my hands so I have been working on my assignment. My program is up to date and all of my lessons have been prepared for next week so I've used my time to get this done.
A highlight of my day was that I didn't have any library monitors in the library at lunch time...It was bliss. They are such an enthusiastic bunch but are really more of a hindrance than a help most of the time, so it was a very relaxing lunch break today........Maybe we could ban library monitors, but then I guess there would be a huge outcry. Oh well something to think about anyway.

second chat room experience- how exciting!

Last night I was participating in my second chat room ever while we talked about the second assignment.
I was so surprised when Tania commented on my blog.
Wow, I didn't think anyone was reading it except for my good friend Julie who has only just discovered it.
Tania, you have no idea what a boost to my self-esteem your comment was. I have not been sure if I have been on track or not during this subject and you provided me with the confidence I needed, so thank-you.
I spent all of Monday and Tuesday working on Part B of the assignment and thought I had finished, however after last nights chat I think I had better have another look at it.
Despite all of my complaining and crying at the computer screen I really have been enjoying this subject.

How hilarious is this?
I have been put in charge of all the school blogging, in particular the staff blog. Our IT teacher is leaving the school for the rest of the year to work as the region head of something to do with technology.
When he was first offered this role I was asked if I wanted to take over his role at the school. My response was to double over in laughter in front of the principal....then I realised she was serious!!
Who would have thought that I would have made so much progress in my technology skills to be asked this question?
Can't wait to tell Greg at my old school. He will think it is just as hilarious as I do!
Anyway after I realised she was serious I politely declined and suggested someone who knows more than I do which wouldn't be hard really.

Inspired by Jessica Watson

On Saturday instead of working on my assignment I was totally mesmerised by Jessica Watson completing her sail around the world. I didn't move from the lounge all day as I flicked between all of the television channels watching whoever had the best coverage at the time.
Now as I sit here becoming quite frustrated with the whole process of gaining my Master of Education in Teacher Librarianship and thinking that I will never get my qualification to enable me to fulfil my dream of becoming a teacher librarian. I am reminded of some words of wisdom that Jessica Watson spoke after she arrived safely back in Sydney after sailing around the world in response to the Prime Minister calling her a hero.
She said,

" I'm not a hero, I am just an ordinary girl who had a dream, you just have to have a dream, believe in it and work hard."

So with those words of wisdom from a very mature 16year old I am going to continue to work hard to get this assignment completed well to enable me to pass this subject so that I will be a step closer in achieving my very modest dream of becoming a qualified teacher librarian.

reading and the library

I just came across this great quote in my reading for assignment 2.

Classroom collections are most appropriate for learning to read; school libraries are most appropriate for reading and reinforcing the reading process

- Frances Roscello, AASL President 2003-2004

What a great quote.

Beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel

As I sit here trying to do my assignment...still. I am no further advanced than I was last weekend. Today however I have renewed hope. I listened to Roy's podcast yesterday and thought that I was beginning to get it, then today the wonderful Philip posted on the forum an answer to someones question about how to start.
After reading his post (and printing it) I now really think I have a handle on this whole part B section. I have all of my research printed off beside me and have eagerly started writing.
That guy should get a HD for this course because of all of the help he has been to me. I have read his blog regularly sometimes checking it several times a day to see if there has been an update and I love reading his forum entries. He just has a way of explaining things simply so that you understand the concept that bit better.
I think any parent would be banging down the principals door at the school he teaches at requesting him as a teacher for their child.
Well done Philip. If I get through this course it will be because of your generosity to share your thoughts and understandings.

Progress made today.....

Today and over the weekend I have spent all of my time researching the standards required for this assignment. However after reading many articles, blogs and forum entries I have loads of information. Unfortunately I think I am stuck in the collect stage just like Thinkbox wrote about in her/his blog. It seems that I too need a push to determine what to do with all of the information I have collected. Oh well maybe tomorrow night if I'm not too tired after work, or it will have to wait until the weekend again.

My inspiration to be a teacher librarian

I have been busy reflecting on why I want to so desperately become a teacher librarian.
As I was lying in bed thinking about it the other night I recalled playing libraries with my toys when I was about 4 and then for many years later. I vividly remember making cards and putting them in the backs of my books and then borrowing them out to my toys and any friends I happened to have over.
Wow! I should have gone on this path many years ago.
At primary school I was made a librarian and led the famous South Grafton Primary librarian's strike for better working conditions. Mrs Finn (the librarian) decided that perhaps it would be best if I led my followers outside and resigned from our position. After we got bored with our sit in we figured that was probably a good option.
When I first started teaching at Bennett Road Public school we had the most amazing librarian who made the most magnificent displays in the library for book week and made library lots of fun. Back then it was before the introduction of RFF so teachers participated in library lessons. It was great and sometimes I thought what a great profession this would be.
I really should have started training back then....I wish I had.
Several years ago I started working at Inaburra and met Julie who was the teacher librarian. I thought she had it made, heaps of release time to do who knows what, a library assistant and she didn't have to do sport. I thought this is a job I want, and I often used to joke in the staff room that I was going to come back as a teacher librarian because they had such a cushy life. Unfortunately this didn't go down well with Julie who always insisted that she worked really hard...yea right.
Julie started to give me casual days in the library and I thought this is the life, you get to team teach with the classroom teacher, you don't have to deal with parents or write reports. Yep this is the life for me!
Then by chance I picked up a 3 day a week job as relieving teacher librarian at Jannali East. I loved it, I had finally found my calling in life. It was everything I had dreamed it was.
Unfortunately I missed out on the permanent job as I didn't have any experience, but thankfully I moved onto Yowie Bay into a maternity leave position. In this job it all hit the fan so to speak.
I have teachers at me all the time wanting resources for their classrooms, The class readers are stored in the library so there is a constant turnover of books as the reading groups require new books on a weekly basis, team teaching is not an option so I have to teach classes alone which was really challenging in the beginning as students tested me. I had to organise a book fair for book week- what a nightmare that was! I had to talk to the new kindy parents at an information morning, I actually have to program information literacy skills into my teaching and I have to accession, make new borrowing cards, ensure that all infants students complete the Premier's reading challenge, encourage primary students to do likewise, put up with pushy parents who insist on borrowing 'suitable' books for their children to read for the challenge because after all they really don't know what to choose! and do a million other things around the school.
Sometimes you are not looked on as a 'REAL' teacher and sometimes you don't feel part of things because you don't have a close working relationship with other teachers on the same grade.
In all, I don't think I have ever worked so hard in my life, but I wouldn't change it for anything. I love getting to work each day, I love the smell of books as I walk into the library every morning, I love discovering new ways to teach research skills to students so that they will become life long learners and Julie I take back everything I have ever said about library teaching being a bludge.

chat rooms

Last night I participated in a chat room for the purposes of trying to get some clear answers about how to do my assignment.
It was an interesting experience, actually much better than previous ones I have participated in. Instead of using the CSU site we went 'external' and used a site called neatchat. It was neat and I found it much easier to follow the disjointed flow of conversation in between getting dinner ready for my family and having my questions answered.
Today I have gone through the chat transcript and deleted anything that I didn't think was relevant and printed it out so that I could look easily at the conversation as I do my research. If I had printed the entire chat it would have been more than 20 pages long, by deleting unnecessary stuff it was reduced to 6 pages which was much better.
An interesting thing that did come out of the chat was that Brooke casually mentioned that her school had moved away from quality teaching and was now onto collaborative classrooms. Wow the uproar that this statement could have caused, but it didn't it went through relatively un-noticed although Roy did seem a bit baffled by it. I am looking forward to hearing more about this model of teaching in the future.
Anyway I have now run out of excuses to complete part B of this assignment so I had better start.
Part C is going to be really easy to do as I have learnt so much and have come to realise that this job is way more than just shelving a few books.

Totally frustrated

The one thing that I can't get used to in distance study is not having face to face contact with a class in a lecture hall. I used to pick up so much in that environment, much more than I pick up now off the forums.
At the moment I am really finding it difficult to get started on part B of my assignment.
Within the confines of a lecture theatre people would bounce ideas off each other and ideas would springboard around the room. Just by listening you could pick up enough clues to at least get on the right track.
Unfortunately the forum doesn't quite give the same result. Sure, if people ask the right question that may help you, but at the moment I have listened to the podcasts, read the notes and read all of the comments on the assignment 2 forum but I still cannot seem to be able to get started.

I remember last semester when I tried to get information I was told that you had to make your own decisions at this level of study. I know that is the case but it is really difficult to make an informed decision when you don't even have a starting point.
I just wish the whole thing was over as I seem to be going nowhere fast.....I don't think I'm even treading water well enough to keep my head above water.

I know that Roy has said that the only dumb question is the one not asked, but I can't even think of a question to ask.

It's Mother's day

What's wrong with this picture???

It's mother's day, a day that my 3 children should be pampering and spoiling me. Instead I am sitting here trying to get my head around part B of the assignment. The problem is I just don't get it, I don't know where to start and I don't even know what questions to ask of Roy to help make it better. So as I sit here fumbling around wasting hours on Google scholar trying to find articles about teacher standards at least I can gorge myself on the beautiful Gulyian chocolates that my eldest son bought me for Mother's Day. That in itself is a miracle. On his way home from school he stopped at the shops and bought me the biggest box out of his own money and he also went to the newsagent and bought me a gorgeous card, not a $1 card from the cheap shop. For those of you that don't know my son he is incredibly tight with his money. He didn't even come to the Easter Show with us because we told him if he wanted to go on any rides or buy any show bags he would have to pay for them himself and as he doesn't part with his money as a rule he decided not to come. So it is REALLY special as a mum to get this present from him today. Actually I am still in shock.

So re capping:
Miracle 1 was my son buying me a present.
Miracle 2 will be working out how to do this dreaded assignment.

Now I have to go and endure lunch with the in-laws. Oh what fun it will be!!! The things we do for Mother's Day.

Part A done and dusted

I didn't move from the computer all day yesterday (I didn't even watch Ellen or Oprah....such a sacrifice) and I had worked solidly on it all day Monday and over the weekend too. As a result of staying focused I went to bed last night safe in the knowledge that I have completed Part A of our ETL401 assignment 2......and it's not due for a few weeks.

The only problem with completing it so soon is that I will now spend the next few weeks fine tuning it constantly.

I now have a sound knowledge of information literacy models and feel quite comfortable using the NSW DET model with a few minor variations depending on my class at the time.

I really enjoyed researching all of the models and would have liked a few more words in my word count to add a few more things, but like we kept being told "Keep it succinct" so I did.

I can now put IL models behind me and move onto the teacher librarian standards. On that, I would love to meet a librarian that has managed to achieve all of the standards. I think that it's an impossible task and way out of reach of mere mortals. But like we are told it is something to aim for. I think it would be easier to fly to the moon than achieve those standards though.

Just like having babies.....

I am sitting here looking up articles about information literacy models and teaching standards.
I love spending time researching and finding that elusive article, but unfortunately that doesn't get my assignment written.
I am also busy looking at previous forum postings and other people's blogs in the hope of getting a lead on some great stuff to include.

This level of education really pushes you to the limit. I remember saying after I finished my degree over 22 years ago that I would never study again. Oh how I wish I had upheld that promise to myself because if I did I could be out enjoying myself today with a few friends who also have today off work.
Study is actually like having a baby. After the birth of your first child you say I am never going to do that again, but then over time you forget the pain and sleepless nights and have another baby....Trust me if I ever finish this course I will NEVER do any study again and I will have this blog to read to remind me of all the pain and sacrifice that I have made to get this qualification. So I won't EVER forget!

Collaboration has the potential for changing teaching and learning

Montiel-Overall, P. (2005). A Theoretical Understanding of Teacher and Librarian Collaboration, School Libraries Worldwide, 11(2), 24-48.

I found this reading really hard going and it took me several attempts before I managed to complete it. What it did have to say was quite thought provoking though and well worth the read.

It gave a great definition of collaboration " Collaboration is a trusting, working relationship between two or more equal participants involved in shared thinking, shared planning, and shared creation of innovative integrated instruction."

It said that efforts to share responsibility in education through collaborative practice represent an attempt to transform education into a community of learners.

Collaboration has been closely aligned with two forms of constructivist thinking: a social constructivist world view and a sociocultural world view.

A collaborative environment equalises the playing field by developing mutual understanding.

In an ideal world collaborators would share a similar world view. However, diverse views can serve to enrich the collaborative process.

There are four concepts closely linked to collaboration:

1. networking - essential to initiate the process of collaboration.
2. coordination
3. cooperation
4. partnerships

Collaborators must at lest demonstrate a pattern of behaviour of being friendly.

There are five constructs that range from low to high in any collaborative effort.

1. interest
2. improved learning
3. intensity
4. innovation
5. integration

Through combined efforts and sharing knowledge, collaboration between teacher and librarian could transform education.

Information literacy and how my views are changing

When I first started this course I was lucky enough to be job sharing with a brilliant librarian who has posters of the NSW DET information literacy skills steps hanging all over the library. We also constantly refer to the steps when teaching stage 2 and stage 3 library lessons.

It was with this excellent background knowledge that I went into this subject thinking I knew it all and how hard could it be after all???
Oh how I was deceived. I felt really smug completing my first assignment. As I read the entries on the forum I was thinking 'are these people really THAT dumb??' Now as I reflect I realise I am the dumb one as I read more and more literature about IL I realise that there are so many choices.
As I read James' entry on the forum today he said that IL is a complex concept and practice. Up until then I had thought it pretty straight forward....ooops.
He also said that we should accept the views of others. Maybe I had already reached that stage or maybe I need to be like my 15 year old son and question everything.
Whatever is the correct way I am becoming more and more confused as I continue on this learning path.
I thought I was supposed to have a light bulb moment when everything became clear. The problem is everything was clear and now the light bulb has shattered as I try and get my head around the increasing amount of information that I am required to read.

The more I read.............

The more I read for this course, it seems the more overwhelmed I become.
I have completed all of the essential readings required up until now and I even read some of the extra suggested readings.
I am now up to the stage where I need to get a wriggle on and get a real start on assignment 2. Unfortunately I seem to be a very good procrastinator and my family are eating incredible meals at the moment. In fact one of the kids asked who was coming to dinner last night when they saw me preparing dinner instead of preparing my assignment.
Also by the looks of it my house needs a really good dust and vacuum. Maybe I'll look into that today some time.
Reading all of the forums I am becoming incredibly confused. I thought it was a straight forward assignment when I first read it but now I am beginning to wonder.
Today's goal will be to decide what three information skills models I am going to compare and contrast. Unfortunately all of the family is home today too as it is the ANZAC day public holiday so the day may not be as fruitful as I would like.
Anyway I might as well give it a go.

Developing powerful instructional collaborations does not happen by chance

Todd, R. J. (2008). The dynamics of classroom teacher and teacher librarian instructional collaborations. Scan, 27(2), 19-28.

This article caused me to reflect on my role as a TL in my school in relation to collaboration.
I found the research to be informative and the findings could be related to just about any school library in NSW.
I also felt that I wasn't alone as I read the responses of the teacher librarians and found myself falling into the same responses as the majority each time.
It said that the most common difficulties centred around lack of time, and scheduling issues. That could have been me responding to that question.
I found the conclusion of the article to be informative when it said that there were two major keys to a successful collaboration:1. plan and prepare well. 2. also allow for flexibility and adjustment along the way.

While most people see collaboration as a way to cover twice the amount of work in half the time this is not realistic.

Powerful instructional collaborations require depth of commitment, intense engagement with the mechanics of pedagogy, clarity of goals in terms of student learning outcomes, strategic time management, and organisational skills. It does not happen by chance.

Through learning we re-create ourselves.

Senge, P. M. (2007). ";Give me a lever long enough......and single handed I can move the world". In Jossey-Bass reader on educational leadership (2nd ed.) (pp3-15). San Francisco, California: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

This article spoke about learning organisations and how to build them.
R_3">Senge went on to suggest that there were five new component technologies that were required to innovate learning organisations.

1. Systems thinking
2. Personal mastery - this is the discipline of continually clarifying and deepening our personal vision, of focusing our energies, of developing patience, and of seeing reality objectively.
3. Mental models
4. Building shared vision- when there is genuine shared vision people excel and learn, not because they are told to, but because they want to.
5. Team learning - This is vital because teams are the fundamental learning unit in modern organisations. Unless the teams can learn, the organisation cannot learn.

He goes on to state that it is important that the five disciplines develop as an ensemble.

A learning organisation is a place where people are continually discovering how they create their reality. And how they can change it.

module 5 readings

Fullan, M. (1999). Chapter 3: The deep meaning of inside collaboration. In Change forces: The sequel, (pp.31-41). London, Falmer Press.

In this article Fullan spoke about the black box of collaboration. He said that collaborative schools are essential for success and gave ways that professional schools make a difference.
He gave a critical evaluation of other literature on this topic and shared the views of Earl and Lee (1998) on the topic of change.
I found it interesting when we were told that only about one-third of elementary schools were engaged in self initiating and actively restructuring processes after five years of reform.
Principals in successful schools take a long term focus which is good because these principals don't tend to shift to the latest fad that is being promoted as being the latest solution to everyone's problems.
My views of leadership were confirmed when it was stated that effective collaborative cultures are not based on like minded consensus. In a previous school that I worked in the head of the junior school surrounded herself with lots of 'yes men' who were all considered to be like minded as she hated confrontation on any sort. By employing like minded people there would never be any need for confrontation. Unfortunately this is the culture of the school as the head of the school also surrounds himself with like minded people who are too weak to stand up for their convictions. Unfortunately if you choose to be strong willed and go against their views you are gradually phased out of the school and encouraged to go elsewhere.
In this article diversity is valued. Oh how I wish I could pass on this article to my previous boss.
This article also talks about community building and suggests that it is only possible if organizational members develop trust and compassion for each other.
at my current school my boss is excellent at building community and collaboration is a healthy side effect of this.
I always considered that collaborative schools were the most innovative, but according to this article that is not necessarily true which take the pressure off a bit.
Although leaders are essential teachers spontaneously self-organise.
This was a fascinating article and one which although was challenging was also quite reassuring.

The Big Six

Wolf, S. (2003). The Big Six information skills as a metacognitive scaffold: A case study.

This case study was interesting in that it supported a lot of views expressed by different authors in relation to scaffolding etc.
I learnt that Metacognition can be described as thinking about thinking........something I don't do a whole lot of.
Scaffolding can also be defined as a support structure for learners engaged in activities just beyond their independent abilities.
I was also informed that studies had shown information seeking behaviours yield more positive results when the students performing them possess strong metacognitive skills. Something that I need to aim for when teaching students, and also to aim for with my own 3 children.
The results suggested that Big6 might act as a metacognitive scaffold for students who are asked to complete unfamiliar tasks involving complex content.
I'm sure that this article will be very beneficial for my next assignment, I know it would have been great for the first one if I had already read it.....

Aha moment........just a few days late!

Oh dear, if I had read all of the readings for module 4 before I attempted to complete assignment 1 I think I would have been able to answer the question so much better......I should have read the schedule guide a bit more thoroughly I guess.


Herring, J. (2006). A critical investigation of students' and teachers' views of the use of information literacy skills in school assignments.

As I sit here reading this article I am cringing in my seat. Herring used a lot of the references that I used for my first assignment and saw things that I didn't see.........were we really reading the same content???????
It was really interesting to see his critical evaluation of the different sources on information literacy skills and the way he was able to see the subtle differences in each article. I guess that is the mark of a true pro.
It was interesting to see his interpretation of the various research projects that had taken place.
I also found the results from his own study of secondary students to be quite intriguing. Guess I'll be reflecting on this article for the next assignment where we have to compare and contrast 3 different information skills models. I will also be reading all of the required readings before I submit my next assignment so I get my aha moment before submitting the assignment instead of after when it is way too late.

Information literacy

Abilock, D. (2004). Information literacy: an overview of design, process and outcomes.

This was very short and easy to read.
It gave a concise definition of information literacy and then broke it down into skills and strategies and outcomes. A good one to use if needing to make objectives and outcomes for a school program.


Herring, J. and Tarter, A. (2007). Progress in developing information literacy in a secondary school using the PLUS model. School Libraries in View, 23(pp23-27).

While this article was aimed at High School students it can easily be adapted to the primary school student.
As a TL we were informed that our major responsibility is to develop information literacy in schools.
The article gave us some information regarding a study carried out with secondary students. While the results were interesting it would be good to see a similar study carried out with primary students.
I thought the recommendations put in at the end of the article regarding ways that TL's can develop information literacy within schools was outstanding and I will be looking at ways of implementing the suggestions into my teaching.

Topic 4 readings

Langford, L. (1998). Information literacy: a clarification

This article was a great critical evaluation of lots of articles that the author had read. While reading this I realised that my assignment probably should be more along the lines of the way Langford wrote this article.
She pointed out that there had been a shift in educational thinking in relation to information literacy.
She gave a short history of literacy which was quite interesting, but probably a statement that had the most impact on me was when she said "The concept of literacy really depends on the information needs of the society of the time" so according to this statement as technology changes and our access to it also changes so will the concept of information literacy................maybe that's my aha moment right there.........
I liked the way that she compared all of the definitions provided by the different authors. I too had read what these authors had written and had not picked up on the subtle changes like she did. It is getting pretty obvious to me that I am no academic!
I would not have thought that Doyle's set of rubrics were a benchmark for understanding information literacy, but I may need to look into that a bit more thoroughly.
she managed to confirm my expectation that information is a lifelong goal not one that is achieved easily or quickly.
She pointed out that TL's are in a favourable position to ensure that all of this takes place, but also points out that it is also the role of the classroom teacher to ensure that it takes place in the classroom setting.
I am so glad that she stated that the outcome of an information literate society is lifelong learning. Yay she confirmed what I had come to believe while completing assignment 1.

Assignment finished and submitted!!!!!

I submitted my assignment today. The reason why I did this is because I am really sick of looking at it and trying to make it better. The more I look at it the more errors I think I find and the more frustrated I get as I really don't know how to fix it and make it better.
I know I haven't completed the first part as well as would be expected, but I am hoping that the second part makes up the shortfall in my marks. I also figure that I will have to work extra hard on the second assignment to make up for the shortfall of marks I am expecting in this first assignment. But then again Uni is funny and I may actually do better than I think.
Roy has suggested blogging my 'aha' moments of the assignment before I forget.
At this point in time I am beginning to feel really stupid as I don't really recall any aha moments during this assignment. I had done a fair bit of research on information literacy for a subject I completed last year so many of my aha moments came then when the whole concept was new to me.
I am feeling quite concerned about the readings I have done this year though as I think they all say the same thing except with really minor wording differences, so I am quite concerned I have missed something HUGE and have missed the whole point of this subject.
I guess only time will tell.
One thing I have learned through this ordeal is that I need to persevere in learning to be a teacher librarian as it is really challenging and quite complex and full of rapid changes in the area of technology. I feel blessed to be in a great school with others that can help me in the area of technology as it is an area that I don't do easily.
The forum has been a huge confidence builder for me as I see others who are also having the same difficulties as me and are getting hung up on the same issues as me. The forum has also been helpful as sometimes the people who post comments are a few steps ahead of me which is great because the problem has been solved even before I get to it.
I have just joined the Sutherland Shire teacher librarian network and already they have provided me with a wealth of information that can't be found in books. Some of the other teachers have been absolute lifesavers for me.
I need to think a bit harder about the aha moments and will get back to that after I have though a bit harder.

Finished assignment......well I thought I had!

After completing my first assignment for ETL401 I read it through again only to discover that I think I have described the role of the TL in an information literate school community instead of critically evaluating it.
I have included millions of references as that is what James likes to see, I have read the marking sheet AGAIN, listened to the podcasts AGAIN and re-read all of the criteria on the power points AGAIN.....
At the moment I am feeling incredibly frustrated and very discouraged as I try to salvage what I have spent the last 4 days working non stop on instead of enjoying the Easter break with my family.
Looks like I will be spending the next few days trying to fix it all up.

If it's good enough for Keith Richards then it's good enough for me

Sitting here reading the Daily Telegraph while I procrastinate finishing off my assignment I was blown away when I read that Keith Richards from the Rolling Stones has revealed a secret desire to be a librarian...........Well there you go, who would have thought???

Assignment 1 for ETL401 and Happy Easter

What a way to have to spend the Easter long weekend.........................completing this assignment about information literate school communities.

So far I have eaten all of my Easter eggs,(and then some!) and have heaps of printed articles covering my kitchen table while I try and make some sense of this assignment.
I am finding it incredibly difficult to stay and focus (obviously haven't mastered Covey yet) and get it all together. I know what I want to say, but unfortunately I said it all in about 200 words so now I need to find another 800 somewhere to make it to the quota required. I don't get it when people say that they need more words to say all of their information.
I am also struggling to be critically evaluative and not merely descriptive because basically all of my articles seem to agree with each other about an information literate school community and I can't seem to think outside the box to think of anything in opposition to what they have said.
At the moment I have about 30 tabs open on my computer with all of my searches for articles. at least James will be pleased with all of my references. I just hope it all makes sense, and I also hope I can get it all completed by tomorrow as my husband goes back to work on Tuesday and my eldest gets back from Dragon skin tomorrow night and I will then have to entertain the kids for the rest of the holidays.

Monty Python rules!

“I don’t believe that libraries should be drab places where people sit in silence, and that’s been the main reason for our policy of employing wild animals as librarians.” - Monty Python

A Statement on Information Literacy

Catholic Education South Australia (CESA) (2002). Statement on information literacy
Retrieved from http://online.cesanet.adl.catholic.edu.au/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-7133/statement+on+information+literacy.pdf

In an effort to empower students for lifelong learning they need to have the ability to retrieve, evaluate and use information effectively.

Information literacy is a dynamic concept which continues to evolve as new technologies become part of student learning.

As a teacher librarian it is my responsibility to teach students skills in critical appraisal.

The rest of the article just confirms all of the other literature that I have read about IL.
It was interesting though to see the way that the Teacher Librarian's role has been set out. after reading it, I am feeling less confident about my role as a teacher librarian and feel that I will never reach the lofty standards of being an excellent teacher librarian.

Resource - Based Learning

School Library Association of Queensland (SLAQ) (2008). Resource-based learning guidelines.

This article was great as it was simple to read and understand. It also gave step by step guide of how to plan a resource-based unit of work.
Along the way it also told you the role of the school, library, and teachers.
It also stated the benefits of the cooperative planning and teaching.

Using the information in this article it really will make it quite a simple procedure to begin to implement this style of learning in the library. I'm sure that it will be time consuming and many mistakes will be made along the way, but I'm willing to put in the effort to give it a go. Now all I need is a teacher to cooperatively plan with to enable the successful implementation of RBL.

Qu'Appelle Valley School Division and Regina Catholic Schools, Saskatchewan Ministry of Education (2004-2005). Resource-based learning, in Teacher-Librarians: Supporting Student Learning project.

This article didn't really offer any new insights that haven't already been stated in the other readings we have read so far.
However, after reading all of these articles I don't understand why we are not all teaching like this anyway.

Resource - Based Learning

Campbell, L., Flageolle, P., Griffith, S., & Wojcik, C. (2002). Resource-based learning. In M.Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching , and technology. (Wiki-based version of the original publication by Association for Educational Communications and Technology).

I don't think I had ever heard of the term Resource -Based Learning before I started this course.
I have found it interesting, informative and something I really want to develop at my school.

Resource-based learning is not tied to a single learning theory or to any specific pedagogy.
RBL is designed to actively engage students with multiple resources in both print and non-print form.

I find it a great method because it makes the learners take responsibility for selecting resources that appeal to their own learning preferences, interests and abilities.

RBL units often culminate in student products that are presented to an audience.

In a RBL school, students are more self sufficient, ask productive questions, synthesize, analyse, interpret and evaluate information.

Steps for implementing a resource-based learning unit:

• Identify goals.
• Determine acceptable student produced artifacts.
• Collaborate with the media specialist to plan the unit.
• Select resources in a variety of formats.

Role of Teacher in Resource-Based Learning
Teachers act as facilitators. The teaching of facts is replaced by teaching students how to learn.

Benefits of Resource-Based Learning

Good lessons engage students.

There are six strategies for motivation:

1. choice
2. challenge
3. control
4. collaboration
5. constructing meaning
6. consequences

Resource-based learning can significantly change teacher practices, challenging them to reinvent old practices and routines in ways that reflect the changing world in which students learn.

Resource-based learning promotes problem-solving and higher-order thinking skills.

Challenges of Resource-Based Learning
The greatest challenge is co-operative planning.
assessing student attainment of learning goals and objectives.



What I learnt from this reading
The thing I learnt from this reading was that I need to change my whole way of thinking and the way I teach students. I'm sure that it will be quite time consuming, but after teaching for over 20years I am quite excited about the prospect of something new and re-inventing myself in the classroom.

Do school libraries improve student achievement??

Well this was going to be the article that I quoted from in my job interview this week, only to totally forget to even mention it. Oh well at least I will be able to recall it for any future interviews.

Oberg, D. (2002). Looking for the evidence: Do school libraries improve student achievement?, School Libraries in Canada, 22(2), 10-14.

This article was mostly about carrying out action research projects to help a school to know if the students are improving as a result of the school library program, and how to use the data collected.

Quite a useful article if I ever feel the need to complete this type of research or if Roy somehow makes us do it as an assignment for this course.......please don't!!

Developing the respect and support of school administrators

Oberg, D. (2006). Developing the respect and support of school administrators. Teacher Librarian, 33(3), 13-18.

A very informative article about the role of a supportive Principal. This article will be very helpful in developing my assignment.

On the whole TL's often have low expectations of principal support.
This article gives us the perspective of a principal in their perception of a TL. It's actually right on the mark of many TL's I have met.......but not me!!! I'm perfect!

There are 4 key roles of a principal.

1. As a supervisor working directly with TL.
2. As a model demonstrating personal commitment.
3. As a manager enabling the program.
4. As a mentor providing visibility and importance.

Teacher Librarians gain support and respect form principals in 3 main ways.

1. By building professional credibility.
2. By communicating effectively with principals.
3. By working to advance the school goals.

TL's need to be aware of and utilize professional networks throughout their professional lives.

Blogs at school

On the 15 March the Department of Education introduced blogs to their system.
It is fantastic.
I have totally embraced the new technology and I must say that if it wasn't for this course pushing me out of my comfort zone I probably wouldn't have embraced it so quickly and confidently.
I have a couple going.

1. A library blog - so far the stage 3 students have been given the opportunity to suggest ways to improve the library, review books read for the PRC, review any book.
2. A G&T science blog - Each child can write up the experiment they presented complete with a photo and the rest of the group can comment on it. This is fantastic!

In the staff room we were discussing the possibility of have another one with staff member of the week on it. They could tell us about themselves and then we could all write positive comments. It was hilarious coming up with comments....We probably won't carry this one through.
I am looking forward to extending the life of the library one and next term I am beginning to work on Tournament of the mind so I am going to start one for that as well.

WARNING: BLOGS CAN BE ADDICTIVE

Yes, I did blow that interview!

Yes I did blow the interview. I missed out on getting the job.
It went to the librarian from the primary school that my children attended.
Even on my best day I wouldn't have been able to compete with her. She is amazing with many years of experience.
Oh well there is always next time.
As I wasn't the perfect mother when my children attended the local school I know I wouldn't stand a chance of even getting an interview for her job so I won't be bothering to apply for her old job.......

Tournament of the minds

I went to a facilitator training yesterday for tournament of the minds after my disastrous interview.
By contrast it was brilliant.
I think TOM is going to be extremely challenging but very rewarding in the end. I actually think I might enjoy it after all.
Just as well I dropped a subject at uni because I think that this is going to be really time consuming.
Unfortunately their will be about 120 teams at my region final so it will be difficult to get through to the next round. I suggested that perhaps we could compete at Armidale's final because there are only about 30 teams there....I figure that would be better odds to get through.

Guess I blew that interview!!!

I can't believe it, I knew all of the answers, I had even rehearsed all weekend, but when I actually had to tell the panel everything just flew out of my head.
Then you should have heard the crap I did say, most of it wasn't even relevant to the job, even as I was hearing myself saying it I knew it was all wrong.
Oh well, just as well I love the school I'm at because I have a feeling I am going to be there for some time to come.

Interact down....or is it?

Well today has been a frustrating day for me so I thought I would blog it.
I have tried to get onto the ETL401 site to look up the readings, modules and resources as I haven't done much all week. But alas there must be a problem because my screen keeps coming up blank. After posting my dilemma onto the forum I discovered lots of others are experiencing the same problem so I am now feeling slightly relieved.
Unfortunately it means I haven't been able to do any course work today which is disappointing.
I even suggested maybe Roy could give us all an extension. This was met with the suggestion that maybe we should have a plan B.
Oops, didn't think of that.
I guess I will just go on with preparing for my job interview on Monday. At least that will make me feel like I am using my time wisely.

I have finally admitted defeat!!!

Well today I finally admitted defeat and pulled out of ETL503.
It was a decision that I didn't take lightly but so much else is happening in my life and I didn't think it was fair to my family to be all consumed with Uni work and constantly cranky because I felt I was always behind.
Too many things have come up to take away from my uni time so I figured this was probably the best option.
Now over the holidays I will be able to spend time with the kids and do some fun things with them which will be nice.
It will be good to be able to totally devote all of my time to one subject. I'm actually really enjoying all of the reading and gaining of information.
I have my job interview on Monday so that is consuming me at the moment. Also on Monday I am attending the Tournament of the Minds facilitator workshop which is going to prove a huge challenge to me. I have never seen TOM operating and I have never had to be a facilitator. It's going to be huge.
Over the weekend I will post more about the reading I have been doing. It really is very interesting and thought provoking.

fostering collaboration

Haycock, K. (1999). Fostering collaboration, leadership and information literacy: Common behaviours of uncommon principals and faculties. NASSP Bulletin, 83(605), 82-87.

I felt this article stated the obvious on many occasions. The first was when it said that "Teaching partnerships and collaborative programs occur more readily where the school itself reflects a collaborative work culture." well duh! I guess it holds more currency when a professional writes it, instead of me saying it to a friend.
It also says that the Principal is the key factor in developing an effective integrated school library program. Unfortunately many schools don't work this way and library is used for release time because of budget restraints and time tabling issues. Most of the time library is just a 'drop and shop' time where teachers drop their kids for a 30minute lesson and then come back to collect them at the end of the time not really caring what has occurred in the 30 minutes except to make sure that the students have borrowed reading level appropriate books to take home from school until next week. Hmm not really conducive for an integrated library program. If the lessons are longer then the 'research' work you do with the class is only an add on to the classroom work and not considered very important! ( Maybe that's just my experience....)
The article goes on to say that the Principal should hire the best to ensure that this occurs. As I have a job interview for a teacher librarian position next week I am hoping that the principal and panel think that I am the best TL for the job. Oh well fingers crossed and hopefully I will be able to put some of this stuff into practice.
According to this article Principals mostly operate within a framework of their personal experience, as do most teachers I have encountered.
Oh well quite an interesting read and it means I can't keep blaming principals for not having collaborative planning/teaching as the responsibility falls onto me to make changes too....