Topic 6 : Improving Student's Web Use

My notes from topic 6 module's activities. 

How could you teach this to a Year 7 class???

a)      DEFINING  Concept maps.  Student directed activity: what is a mind map?  Why do you need one?  What should it have in it?  Show students a range of different maps to stimulate ideas.  Ask how do you group ideas on a mind map/distinguish between the different sections.  Students work in groups & share ideas with other groups to come up with an outline that suits their needs.  Relate to a tree/branches. Show students how to use an online tool such as bubbl.us to brainstorm/create concept maps.

b)      QUESTIONING  Ask them why they should ask questions (purpose).  Groups come up with ideas through a mind map.  Share with class to explore reasons.  From "Teaching Students to answer their own questions" : “When you ask the question, you feel like it’s your job to get the answer, and you want to figure it out.”  Use QFT (question formulation technique): See QFT Six Steps  - prompt, produce, improve, prioritize, decide, reflect.

c)      SEARCHING  Developing search strategies. Brainstorm "search strategy"/concept map, reasons for. Other ways: Use Boolify to get students to look at different ways to search, look at how search engine works/different search engines, practice searching/comparing engines using Search Tools for Kids.

d)      SELECTION/EVALUATION  Teaching students to be critical readers/what to look for.  Concept map- benefits of website evaluation, then share ideas.  Using the Web from Education Place-  contains good pointers for students. Kathy Schrock's 5Ws- easy for kids to understand. Credible sources count! - useful for showing the importance of credible sources.  Students could create concept map of different ways to take notes.  Look at positive/negative aspects of each. Use this summarization strategy to develop note taking skills.

e)      REFLECTIVE/EVALUATION Teaching students to be reflective web users.  Include this IN the assignment! Allow students to grade their own and/or another students research process using a rubric.  Base the rubric on Bloom using questions similar to The Reflective Student to develop deeper reflection.

ETL 503 Topic 5: Web 2.0 and The School Library

I have had the most amazing, busy week!  Monday I started my new position as Kindergarten teacher at a local school.  Finally I can put into practice all those ideas I have been pinning on Pinterest!  But it has also kept me very busy after school, not to mention tired.  So study was put on the back burner this week until the weekend.  The house may be a mess but I have ploughed through topics 5 and 6.  Here are my notes for topic 5 which I had to post on the forum.

Key Aspects of Web 2.0 - sharing ideas and info: between teachers, between teachers and TLs, between exec and teachers, between students and teachers, ....possibilities are only limited by creativity. Everyone from the school community can be involved.

Opportunities for TLs- foster collaboration and participation, greater student involvement in the learning process. Links between home/school.

TLs cannot ignore such a unique, useful, interactive learning platform.

TL Blog use - promote new books & library activities, links to author's websites, links and info about searching, evaluating websites, useful links for assignments....

Possible problems - time, finding new ways to encourage readers/interaction.

Wikis - exploring the research process with students, publishing students work, student collaboration, student/teacher collaboration,  teacher collaboration, professional development, use as a sharing platform as you would a blog.

Social bookmarking - used in school context to gather information on specific topics/areas for professional development, collaboration on topics, collating resources for student use/teacher use.

Possible issues - need to check regularly that info is up to date, are there any dead links, evaluate links as you would any library resource which takes time.

Other aspects of web 2.0 - I use flickr for my logging any creative stuff I make and ideas for classroom displays/craft, Picasa for sharing and storing personal photos.  Pinterest has been the most useful professionally for me, it's great for finding ideas and storing faves visually.  I also use twitter for keeping up to date and finding new/interesting happenings in the world of the TL.

Best Books of 2011

Check out NetGalley's Best Books of 2011 page. NetGalley has brought together "best book" lists from various publishers such as the New York Times, Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Thanks Jennifer for this link.

NetGalley is itself a useful website for TLs. Once you sign up (it's free), you can use NetGalley to read, request and review titles before they are published.

Tools for Teaching Students at the top of Bloom's Taxonomy

https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dhsgv8zv_4143np48dg

A fabulous slide presentation with links to internet tools.

Education Hashtags on twitter

This is an awesome resource for TLs. This guy "the Cybrary Man" has compiled a list of educational hashtags that educators can use on twitter to find great resources and info. I find twitter is a fabulous way to keep up with what's new and find interesting things.

http://www.cybraryman.com/edhashtags.html

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.

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!

Google Notebook

I have finally completed a thorough summary of the Herring article referred to in Topic 2 - The Role of the TL. Whew! So much information to get my head around. I had used http://bubbl.us/ for summarising info previously but it is only useful when summarising small articles. After a bit of a wander online I came upon http://www.google.com/notebook/ (Google Notebook). Very easy to use and most importantly FREE, it helps sort your info into sections with subheading and comments (notes). I'm sure it's not the only free note taking program available on the net but I found it helpful and will certainly use it again.

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.