Delicious

I am loving the way the live feed from my Delicious account  goes into any place I choose. The one on the sidebar comes from my Delicious tag library. On my Stage 3 wiki I have a tag for gold which provides a live feed as I find any useful websites. What I might do in the unit I am teaching is include there any worthwhile sites that the children find too. This will allow them to see how the process works.

TL Role Rubric

The rubric that belongs to this link gives a clear description of the role of the TL and points at which I can see myself and my work. It also provides for me an excellent example of how a rubric should be written. That is, it gives clear examples of what behaviour should  be evident at various points in one's practice.

Using wikis

I am happy with how the wiki I made for school is becoming more and more useful. Today I wrote up the entire unit on Selecting and the gold rush. I am happy that I persisted with using wikis as it didn't take me long to write. What took longer, of course, was deciding what to teach and how to teach it.  After reading for my course in the TL at CSU I am using graphic organisers to help the children compile their writing. I am also using them as an assessment tool .  I am doing this by putting in a KWL chart which should force the children to record their learning.

Enquiry learning

After having read the wiki site  EduTech (Schneider, 2010, accessed 15/04/10)  I have started to comprehend what enquiry learning really means. Due to previous studies I did have an understanding of constructivist theory which is helping in my grasping of the concept of project based or inquiry-based learning. What it means is that students are no longer given a set of facts to learn (although this may act as a  starting point), rather they are asked to create,  from their own understanding a product. This product could be of their own choosing or one given to them by the instructor.
In order to go through this process they need to be taken through some sort of information cycle. Here is the next question, which version of the cycle is my preferred one? This will be the subject of my next blog.
While I am on this subject I can say that after reading the above mentioned wiki, I feel that I am now starting to understand how to teach from an information literacy standpoint. This is why I have been able to construct an information literacy unit based on the gold rush. In this  unit, the children will be asked to use the sites which are on the wiki which I have put in a live feed from my delicious site; look at the gold rush from one point of view (women , men , indigenous etc) ; use a KWL chart to record their learning and note taking; write a bibiliography as they go along; write a diary entry on a what they have learnt about what life was like to be the type of person they have selected. It all sounds very involved when I say it like that!

This unit represents a huge leap in understanding and knowledge for me. When I compare it to what I was teaching last year it is an amazing change. Last year I did not understand how to incorporate information into the curriculum. I did not really understand what information skills were. Now I am starting to use my knowledge in my teaching. This process is facilitated by the expectations of the teachers at the school I am part of .

Getting a remark

Well I have to tell the world that yesterday was the most wonderful day for me. 3 things happened:
1. We bought a new camera which will be very useful for the whole family.
2. I handed in my first assignment for ETL401 - Teacher Librarianship.
3. I received notification that the uni had made a mistake and I did not fail ETL 503 and that my academic record will show that I passed that subject. How exciting!! I can't believe it. I was sure they would get back to me and tell me that I had still failed. What a relief!!

Now I will continue my studies with a new outlook. I will try and brush the feeling of failure off my shoulders and move on with a fresh energy. Today I will start preparing for the next assignment.

Digital literacy

I have been reading from the book called School reform and the school library media specialist  - Huges-Hassell and V. Harada (eds) In the article Literacy and learning in the digital world by P .Berger  she talks about digital literacy. She discusses how it requires the learner to think at a higher level. She talks about 6 aspects of this type of literacy. She calls them "navigation" which is finding you way around the net; "Context" which she refers to as seeing the connections between websites and not just looking at one site which can generate very biased information; "Focus" - students need to be encouraged to think deeply and not succumb to the distractions of being on a computer ; "skeptism" -evaluating info sources; " Ethical behaviour" - following the rules of the internet.

Wikis in the classroom

My wiki that I use for school has to be private so I can't put a link to it here because you have to be able to log onto it. The children in one of the 5/6 classes were using the collaborative notes we have made together and said he didn't agree with what it said in one of the notes the children had put into the wiki. I replied that you can't always believe what you read on the net.
The more I use the wiki in the classroom the more I see the opportunity it presents for teaching and learning.

Bookfair

I have just finished cashing up for my first bookfair. The parents and I sold $5700 worth of books. This means we raised $1700 in commission. I have spent this money on purchasing the 365 days series and the 29 Clues series. both of which the other librarians on the listserv say fly off their shelves. One of my personal missions is to get more of the boys reading in Stage 3. Maybe I should do a little action research to see what difference these books make to them. Maybe I could find out how many books they have borrowed before I put them on the shelf and then see what happens after they go out and I have done a few book talks.
I also spent the money on a simple camera for the library so that I don't have to go all the way to the office every time I , or the children want to take pictures. As well as the camera, I  bought the school's first post-modern listening post. I hope the quality is alright.