Initially I was confused about the idea of schools as organisations. I viewed this as a very corporate term.
After the readings I can see that schools are definitely an organisation. There is heirachial leadership, a mission and vision statement in place to reflect the philisophy, it has clients - that being the students, their parents and the wider community, structures are defined and there is a budget in place.
However schools ARE different to other organisations because:
1. students HAVE to be there - legally
2. the people who run these organisations are not necessarily qualified in the field, that being education. They are politicians who are answerable to the general community, which always have something to say about the state of education today and how it has gone downhill since their days of schooling .... years ago
3. changes in schools are dictated by those running it - the same ones with no educational qualifications - and extras (personal development, social development, driver safety .... the list is endless!) which take away from the educational objectives that the school has set and are trying to work towards
The myschool website goes to the heart of these points. It is all too aften inaccurate, as is the case at the moment with regards to funding. I would never feel that I was in a position to tell a bank how to run their organisation - I leave it to those who are experts in that particular field. I wish the general community would extendthe same courtesy to those in the educational field and let us get on with the business of creating lifelong learners.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
School of the future - youtube clip
This youtube clip was posted to the forums by Kerrie Maxwell.
Some parts of this were incredibly interesting.
I was concerned (?not sure if that is actually the correct word to use here) by the fact that the library has very few books. Maybe this is an area where I need to accept that change in inevitable. However, as someone who loves to read, I hate the thought of not having an acutal book to hold in my hand and turn the pages. If all books are electronic I think a little bit of pleasure will go - I cannot imagine reading an electronic book at the beach! Another area that I feel I might struggle with, at least initially, would be the lack of schedule - classes are posted online daily. As a teacher in a primary school, I wonder how this would fit with children with Asbergers - of which we hav several at our school.
The things I LOVED from this are:
1. that human resources are valued and considered inportant. There is such a push towards technology that I feel teachers are going to become undervalued and seen as easily replaced by computers etc.
2. no blackboards. We have IWBs in all classrooms at school and I am such an advocate. They are excellent for engaging students and cater for visual as well as auditory learners whereas regular whiteboards are there for the visual learners only
3. 'use the technology to teach' as opposed to 'teach the technology'. The latter statement is not doing any favours for learners in the 21st century
4. partnering on the outside is impoirtant because we are shaping children for the world and not just education. This brings to mind something said by Tony Ryan at a recent sonference attended. He told us of a uni (?) where the students were allowed to take mobile phones into the exam room to assist them. When challenged on this, the response was that the exam was structured around the students knowing how to find appropritate sources rather than knowing everything for the exam themselves. This was referred to as 'connectivism' - which is now my new 'buzz word' re education and life in the 21st century
Some parts of this were incredibly interesting.
I was concerned (?not sure if that is actually the correct word to use here) by the fact that the library has very few books. Maybe this is an area where I need to accept that change in inevitable. However, as someone who loves to read, I hate the thought of not having an acutal book to hold in my hand and turn the pages. If all books are electronic I think a little bit of pleasure will go - I cannot imagine reading an electronic book at the beach! Another area that I feel I might struggle with, at least initially, would be the lack of schedule - classes are posted online daily. As a teacher in a primary school, I wonder how this would fit with children with Asbergers - of which we hav several at our school.
The things I LOVED from this are:
1. that human resources are valued and considered inportant. There is such a push towards technology that I feel teachers are going to become undervalued and seen as easily replaced by computers etc.
2. no blackboards. We have IWBs in all classrooms at school and I am such an advocate. They are excellent for engaging students and cater for visual as well as auditory learners whereas regular whiteboards are there for the visual learners only
3. 'use the technology to teach' as opposed to 'teach the technology'. The latter statement is not doing any favours for learners in the 21st century
4. partnering on the outside is impoirtant because we are shaping children for the world and not just education. This brings to mind something said by Tony Ryan at a recent sonference attended. He told us of a uni (?) where the students were allowed to take mobile phones into the exam room to assist them. When challenged on this, the response was that the exam was structured around the students knowing how to find appropritate sources rather than knowing everything for the exam themselves. This was referred to as 'connectivism' - which is now my new 'buzz word' re education and life in the 21st century
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
ETL 504 - Introduction
That time of year is here again - the beginning on another uni year. Having read all the module titles and assessment items, I must say I am really quite nervous. This subject sounds REALLY hard. I just spent last weekend reading the text and didn't get a whole lot out of it. Quite a waste of money. (Should I even write that given that the author is the lecturer??)
I have made a start and read through the introduction. The other two subjects I have so far completed have made reference to the TL as leader, but I didn't really get the idea of that. To me a leader was one of the executive, and I had never heard of a TL on the executive team. Even with the little bit of reading done so far I now have a completely different view. Phew - something is sinking in :)
Donham reading - 'Leadership'
A recurring theme is collaboration - not just in this article but in this course so far. There is good news and bad news here. The good news is that there is a focus at school at the moment in working collaboratively (Although poor TL not included - just collaboration between grade partners is the focus. The bad news is that during staff meetings on this topic I have completely tuned out and taken very little in). I'm sure someone on staff will have the name of the 'expert' that Dr G continually refers to.
I like the information of internal/external locus of control. We all have the external locus in us at times - some more often than others!
It was a relief to read that TLs cannot be expected to excel in every facet of their role. However, at HS the TL role is very much about resources and how quickly they can be placed in our hands. There is an expectation that library skills will be taught. But information literacy? Not the domain of the TL - at least this is what the general opinion of the staff is. As a result, the teachers at school think our TL is the queen of all TLs. She can name practically resource available for every unit of work in every KLA in every grade. Information literacy is pretty much either a. not taught or b. taught by classroom teachers. This is why, as excellent as I think our TL is, there is a lot lacking in her daily role. I know that she is frustrated by this, but as she is heading towards the end of her career she has said that she really can't be bothered fighting a losing battle. I guess this is an example of external locus of control. God bless you HC - you are a great TL and this isn't meant as a criticism of you but more of how your role is perceived.
Leading from the middle is a new concept to me. Essentially it means that you have no recognised leadership role as such, but very much are a leader through the very nature of your role. Donham makes mention that TLs lead through influence - and this is based on establishing expertise, collaborating with others, maintaining a good 'say-do' ratio and reflection and assessing. Communication is essential - an TLs need to articulate information literacy curriculum and how it can be measured.
Strategic leadership is also highlighted. I think this is the basis for assignment 2 - the vision statement. It compares a library as a 'resource-filled centre for teaching and learning' as opposed to a 'storehouse for educational resources' and an 'academic centre for the school' as opposed to 'an academic support programme'. In both instances I believe that the staff at HS see the library as the latter. And to be completely honest, until a year ago I did too! This to me highlights the need for the TL to communicate their role and responsibilities.
Action strategies highlighted include
I have made a start and read through the introduction. The other two subjects I have so far completed have made reference to the TL as leader, but I didn't really get the idea of that. To me a leader was one of the executive, and I had never heard of a TL on the executive team. Even with the little bit of reading done so far I now have a completely different view. Phew - something is sinking in :)
Donham reading - 'Leadership'
A recurring theme is collaboration - not just in this article but in this course so far. There is good news and bad news here. The good news is that there is a focus at school at the moment in working collaboratively (Although poor TL not included - just collaboration between grade partners is the focus. The bad news is that during staff meetings on this topic I have completely tuned out and taken very little in). I'm sure someone on staff will have the name of the 'expert' that Dr G continually refers to.
I like the information of internal/external locus of control. We all have the external locus in us at times - some more often than others!
It was a relief to read that TLs cannot be expected to excel in every facet of their role. However, at HS the TL role is very much about resources and how quickly they can be placed in our hands. There is an expectation that library skills will be taught. But information literacy? Not the domain of the TL - at least this is what the general opinion of the staff is. As a result, the teachers at school think our TL is the queen of all TLs. She can name practically resource available for every unit of work in every KLA in every grade. Information literacy is pretty much either a. not taught or b. taught by classroom teachers. This is why, as excellent as I think our TL is, there is a lot lacking in her daily role. I know that she is frustrated by this, but as she is heading towards the end of her career she has said that she really can't be bothered fighting a losing battle. I guess this is an example of external locus of control. God bless you HC - you are a great TL and this isn't meant as a criticism of you but more of how your role is perceived.
Leading from the middle is a new concept to me. Essentially it means that you have no recognised leadership role as such, but very much are a leader through the very nature of your role. Donham makes mention that TLs lead through influence - and this is based on establishing expertise, collaborating with others, maintaining a good 'say-do' ratio and reflection and assessing. Communication is essential - an TLs need to articulate information literacy curriculum and how it can be measured.
Strategic leadership is also highlighted. I think this is the basis for assignment 2 - the vision statement. It compares a library as a 'resource-filled centre for teaching and learning' as opposed to a 'storehouse for educational resources' and an 'academic centre for the school' as opposed to 'an academic support programme'. In both instances I believe that the staff at HS see the library as the latter. And to be completely honest, until a year ago I did too! This to me highlights the need for the TL to communicate their role and responsibilities.
Action strategies highlighted include
- learning and teaching - identifying expertise and using this to develop the library
- information access and delivery - making the library more visible via school's web page and a library homepage that can be easily navigated
- programme administration - involve others in strategic planning for the library programme, which to me = collaboration
Too long between posts!!!
It has obviously been too long between posts. Firstly, I went to wikispaces, which was what I thought my blog was. Then I had no idea of my username or password. I have just spent the better part of the last half hour trying to get in. If only my computer still had all the usernnames and passwords stored. Hmmmm
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
ETL501 - Topic 3: Effective Search strategies
Okay, this has been a learning curve. I am such a 'googler' that I really hadn't ever considered using another search engine! I liked the information on '7 Habits of Highly Effective Web Searchers'. I am still a bit lost with a lot of this - boolean, specific phrases etc. I know that this is just the basics of web searching and all educators should be proficient in this area. The whole concept of 'inurl' was almost too much to cope with - I was thinking about ending my time in this course there and then. However I am confident that I will eventually get my head around it all. It doesn't help that I haven't taken my class to the IT lab for YEARS - thhis is don't by the other teacher who is in 1 day a week. Next year I am going to change that wround and will take over that area myself.
My goal for the time being is to familiarise myself with different search engines. I have made a very small step towards this by bookmarking some of them.
My goal for the time being is to familiarise myself with different search engines. I have made a very small step towards this by bookmarking some of them.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Topic 1 - Teaching and Learning
behaviourist
This topic is all about the teacher librarian and teaching and learning. There are some things that have been covered in this topic that, as I read/listened to them, I had a flashback to ACU roughly 20 years ago!
One question asked by James Herring in his podcast was what the learning context of your school was. I would have to say that, for the most part, HS is constructivist. Having said that, there are some teachers there that pride themselves on how technologically savvy they are - only to use IWBs as regular whiteboards would be used ie to copy down information. BLOOMS is used in many classrooms in many different ways. Some of the Stage 2/3 classes seem to favour deBono with the coloured thinking hats prominently displayed in their rooms. I have never incorporated deBono myself, but that is purely because I am familiar with BLOOMS. The main point is that all stages in our school embrace HOTS and incorporate it into their classrooms.
Currently in Year 1 we are using BLOOMS in our shared reading unit for The Paperbag Princess. This is a fantastic unit of work where the children are not only encouraged, but expected to engage in HOTS throughout the term.
The question of how TLs can help develop better teachers was fantastic. I question though how many teachers would agree????? Many seem to see the role of the TL as predominently librarian and information/resource management, rather than teacher. I know that this is an area which TLs need to address in order for the profession to continue.
I particularly liked a comment by Bronwyn Sanderman (Topic 1 Reflection) posted on the forums:
'While we have a job to help locate resources, we also have a job to educate and help others how to do it themselves'
constructivist
One question asked by James Herring in his podcast was what the learning context of your school was. I would have to say that, for the most part, HS is constructivist. Having said that, there are some teachers there that pride themselves on how technologically savvy they are - only to use IWBs as regular whiteboards would be used ie to copy down information. BLOOMS is used in many classrooms in many different ways. Some of the Stage 2/3 classes seem to favour deBono with the coloured thinking hats prominently displayed in their rooms. I have never incorporated deBono myself, but that is purely because I am familiar with BLOOMS. The main point is that all stages in our school embrace HOTS and incorporate it into their classrooms.
Currently in Year 1 we are using BLOOMS in our shared reading unit for The Paperbag Princess. This is a fantastic unit of work where the children are not only encouraged, but expected to engage in HOTS throughout the term.
The question of how TLs can help develop better teachers was fantastic. I question though how many teachers would agree????? Many seem to see the role of the TL as predominently librarian and information/resource management, rather than teacher. I know that this is an area which TLs need to address in order for the profession to continue.
I particularly liked a comment by Bronwyn Sanderman (Topic 1 Reflection) posted on the forums:
'While we have a job to help locate resources, we also have a job to educate and help others how to do it themselves'
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Blooms
I really love the top image in this post. It demonstrates which Web 2.0 tools can be used in conjunction with Blooms and where they fit in.
I was interested to read in the intoduction of this topic that 'the web has generally enhanced the role of the TL'. I do not disagree with it and it was heartening to read this after a recent staffroom discussion. In this discussion I was talking about how I was going to be using all my long service leave in study/assignments while I try to complete this course. Another member of staff (who had been bragging about all the international destinations she was travelling to whilst on LSL!!!) wondered aloud why I was putting myself through all the stress of study when principals were looking to move their IT coordinators into TL roles. This absolutely floored me. Surely this is not where th esystem is headed??!! I am really enjoying the learning, but it is coming at a cost - less quality time with the children when assignments are due, using ALL my LSL so that I can try to keep a ballance between study and home life when assignments are due. I know that the powers that be are looking into TLs and hope that some type of mandate is handed down re TL qualifications.
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