Aha! Moment

Yes I've had my own little aha! moment. The lightbulb is flickering due to our essential reading "Introduction to guided Inquiry - What is it, what's new, why now?" Everything we've looked at so far is connected in this article: the roles of the TL; collaboration; leadership, constructivist learning; information literacy; curriculum; the information process etc. Guided Inquiry connects all this together and in my view should be the main instructional framework for all schools.
What challenges do I foresee in the implementation of such an approach? The main one is probably getting everyone on board - teachers, parents, students, executive. I think it would work best as a whole school approach but if that was not happening you could still make a difference with just a few classes and some teacher support. You are also going to get students who lack motivation, no matter what you throw at them but I think it would be great with the majority of students.

Making it harder than it needs to be...

There's something about information literacy that I don't quite get. Why do some find it so difficult to understand what it is and what it is about? It seems to me that some read more into it than they need to. Maybe I just see things in black and white. My definition of information literacy comes from the words "information", meaning knowledge gained through study, communication, research, instruction, etc, and "literacy", meaning the ability to use language to read, write, listen, and speak at a level that lets one understand and communicate ideas in a literate society, so as to take part in that society. Therefore, "information literacy" is a combination of these definitions - the ability to use language to read, write, listen and speak at a level that lets one understand communicate and used information (knowledge gained) in a literate society, so as to take part in that society.

Pretty simple, really. I don't believe it is something new. It's been around since the dawn of literacy. Langford (1998) states that historically, literacy was interpreted as a basic ability to read, write and comprehend, and as society's needs evolved,literacy became a universal right.

What do people read, write and comprehend? Information, of course! So one might say that literacy has always been connected with information. It was only in the late 20th century that we actually spelled out this connection.

Abilock (2004) sees Information Literacy as sharing a fundamental set of skills with other disciplines. I disagree. I believe it is embedded in all disciplines, in all aspects of society. It does however, involve a fundamental set of core thinking- and problem-solving meta-skills, and as Abilock also states, students develop "habits of mind".

I'm yet to read the Herring article for this section, so we will see how my definition evolves after consideration. I truly believe that by fossicking around, considering different literacies, we are muddying the waters, creating confusion and losing sight of the main idea. Perhaps there are some TLs who want to see information literacy as their special domain, unobtainable by mere mortal teachers. But to get the best situation for the students it has to be the main educational outcome in every school. And perhaps it already is in most schools, it's just not labelled as "Information Literacy".

Information Literacy: A Clarification

After some time away (due to a residential school for another subject) I am finally back into the swing of things, if just a little behind.
I have just read "Information Literacy: A Clarification" by Linda Langford and I must say that this article has really challenged me to consider and reach some sort of understanding of what information literacy is.

Throughout the article I was either saying YES or NO on various definitions/ideas, so I thought I might just list a few so you can get a basic idea on where I'm heading.

• There is a multiplicity of terms that could define "information literacy" - YESIt is defined differently by various schools of thought - YES


• It is a transfiguration - YES (if defined as "the metamorphosis of the old house into something new and exciting"


• An embellished view of the traditional understanding - NO, it incorporates new understanding as well


• A full transformation - Not exactly.


• A new literacy - NO


• A shift in educational thinking has occurred in that literacy is more than the ability to read and to right - YES


• Should be part of the natural discourse of teachers as they design and develop curriculum or discuss pedagogical issues - YES


• The label is fuzzy - NO I think it tells us exactly what it is "information" "literacy"


• Teachers are not clear what it means and how it relates to classroom practice - YES


• The process is unclear - YES


• There is a sense of urgency that essential learning areas include outcomes that ensure all learners become information literate - YES : In the school where I currently teach, literacy and numeracy outcomes must be imbedded in all programs. This is a step in the right direction but is not enough.


• Professionals in the information game must become literate in the field of information - YES! I know many teachers who do not know how to find information other than in a textbook.


• The needs of a society at any time determine how a society interprets a concept - YES


• Literacy is a dynamic concept - "mirrors the expanding information needs of society" - YES


• Kuhlthau (1995) To be literate was not only to recognise when information was required, but involved the ability to construct one's own knowledge through a process - YES


• To code and decode symbols...to translate symbols into meaningful messages - YES! I really like this simple definition. It doesn't explain how but it describes basically what we do with information.


• The concept of info literacy really depends on the information needs of the society of the time - YES


• Policy Directions (1990) defined info literacy as a functional literacy: the ability to read and use written information, to write appropriately in a range a contexts, and to recognise numbers and basic mathematical signs and symbols. YES this definition includes reading, writing, using (understanding) info in a range of contexts. This is how I see info literacy - as a functional literacy - necessary to function in society.


• Literacy is evolving - NO - I think the context in which we use literacy is evolving.


• There is a continuum of skills associated with literacy - YES


• Literacy itself is taking on different forms - transforming from a functional literacy through to a set of literacy - NO I dont agree. I think this is what is confusing people. Go back to the label - "INFORMATION" - this continually changes in how it is presented - "LITERACY" - making sense of this information - evolving rather than changing.


• Defining and redefining of concept could result in confusion and frustration - YES it is already!


• We are being bombarded by other concepts of literacy - YES


• Literacy is an act of semiosis - every act that records symbols of human communication outside the human body is a type of literacy and every act of communication evolves around the encoding and decoding of information - Not quite


• Literacy is fuelled by information and hence all literacy is information literacy - YES to a point


• Australian definition of literacy: to be able to function well in society which entails the ability to read, used numbers and to find information and use it appropriately. YES - this is simple and easy to understand.


• The concept of information literacy is relatively new - I think the LABEL is new, but the concept is not. I think info literacy is an evolution of the concept of literacy, the inclusion of information used to emphasise "meaning" and "understanding".


• Information literacy - a philosophy (COULD BE), a phenomenom (DEFINITELY NOT), a mere frolic with semantics. (NO WAY!)


• There is considerable support for viewing literacy as a continuously evolving concept allowing for a more liberal understanding and hence development of the initial ideal of the universal right to be able to read and write. YES


• How is information literacy defined? In terms of skills (YES), Behaviours/attitudes (YES), learning library/research skills (NO - more than that!), think critically (YES - this is a skill and an attitude), does it relate to an isolated subject (YES it is related to all subjects), an independent notion (NO), an umbrella phrase that has many parts that when meshed into a pedagogical framework, contributes to the holistic development of the individual, ...pathway to function well in society, empowered to learn independently/interdependently (Owen 1996, Kuhlthau 1995) - YES YES YES!


• A new literacy ? NO


• Still the basic literacy mirroring the expanding information needs of society (Brevik 1993) YES!


• Doyle - attributes of a person - NO


• An attainment of skills, that relies on a process. Takes on many approaches depending what part of the curriculum is in focus. YES


• Info literacy concerns itself with the mastery of processes, is a learning tool, and is also something to be learned - YES


• A lifelong goal - YES


• Knowing how to learn - YES


• Understanding of info literacy to be broadened to be inclusive, that is become the key competence for individual and societal development in Australia. YES YES YES


• We need a definition that can be interpreted universally in terms of processes and outcomes - YES


• Is it more appropriate to see this concern as a fundemental issue for all learning communities whereby each facilitator works towards the prime goal - literacy - YES but I would say the prime goal is Information Literacy.


• What needs to occur is a continuous development in educational circles to shape and deeply instil the pedagogy of info literacy as essential for the information society and hence, the learning society - YES


• It is removed from everyday classroom practice - NO not totally but teachers dont really see it as the key outcome


• Time to redefine literacy (and hence info literacy) - NO not redefine it but there is a need to give it extra PR to push it as the main aim for all programs - so it becomes an embedded practice, the natural or basic practice of teachers.

Information Literacy

Quite long but lots of great information.

The Role of Libraries and Librarians in Information Literacy

View more presentations from PLAI STRLC

The Herring Article

It sounds quite austere, doesn't it - "The Herring Article". For anyone not doing ETL 401, this chapter by James Herring (2007) "Teacher Librarians & The School Library" is from "Libraries In The 21st Century" edited by S. Ferguson. The information provided falls under the headings of:

• The learning and teaching context of school libraries;



• The school library mission;
  


• Standards for school libraries;



• The role of the teacher librarian;



• Information literacy in schools;



• The school library website and school intranet.
  

It's like a set of guidelines for the school teacher librarian. An extremely useful document. Every section I found interesting and packed with valuable information. I particularly liked the section on the school library website and school intranet. With the growing amount of resources available online this is one way the TL can select and group together suitable resources for students who could access them during school or outside school. As a parent and a teacher and a TL-to-be, I love the idea of teachers/faculties have their own webpages. Students would no longer to say they lost their homework/assignment sheet or didn't know when something was due, or couldn't find the info for it. Easy access - I love it!

Cool Tools

I had been looking for some organizational tools to sort my ideas for Assignment 1 on TL roles and I came across the following:

http://cooltoolsforschools.wikispaces.com/

This is an amazing site! It's full of free internet tools you can use for presentations, organisation, drawing, writing, mapping etc. I used http://bubbl.us/ from organisation tools which is a brainstorming tool that helps you organisation your ideas, move them around the page, save and print. It would be fabulous on a smart board with a class as well. There are heaps of other great organisers to check out as well.

Leadership

Leadership seems to come up in just about every article to do with the role of TLs and there are even whole articles devoted to the topic. In a nutshell, TLs show leadership to students, staff and parents. They provide leadership as a teacher, as an information specialist, as an instructional partner, and as a program administrator. Importantly, they need to show leadership in advocating information literacy as an essential part of students' education and in making it a whole school focus. In my opinion, this is the most important leadership that a TL must show. All TLs know how necessary information literacy is in today's society. Now we've just got to get everyone else to realise it too.

Getting Started

As I am about to start reading about the information profession and the history of school libraries, I feel I need to reminisce on what the library was like when I was at school.

I remember my primary school library fondly. It was the early 80s and the library was newly built. There were lots of odd shaped windows and many nooks to settle into for a quiet read. It was new and exciting and our librarian "Mrs Barnhill" was an enthusiastic motherly figure with a soothing voice. I don't remember much about library classes, however.

In my junior highschool library "Mrs Lewin" taught us about using the catalogue to find books and we did some basic research assignments. I remember feeling a bit disappointed that there were not many fiction books but at the time I didn't realise that most students used the library only for research.

I went to boarding school for years 11 and 12 and the library there was more like a classroom with a few books in it. We had to go there during our "frees" and our names were checked off to make sure we were there. Then there was silence - absolutely no talking! I don't recall the librarian helping us find information, and the collection of books was not really adequate. More often than not we would visit the town library to hurriedly scrawl down extra information.

There were no computers then. Even when I was doing my teacher training at uni there were only a few computers. They were used as word processors - for typing up assignments - there was no internet. Things have certainly changed in the twenty or so years since then.