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Now, don’t get me wrong; I’m all for a break. But I feel like i’m at a loose end. I don’t quite know what to do with myself now that the session is over!
I guess tidying up the black hole that is my bedroom is probably a good start, right?
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I was a part of case study group eleven and I feel that we displayed primarily situational leadership rather than any other models discussed in the topic. The member that would take the initiative depended on our own individual lives and what we had going on. At times, we would be displaying transactional leadership, asking for each of our input, without much discussion (see Module Two blog post).
When I would engage with the case study content, I would be looking more at the practical aspects, rather than the theoretical. Much of the time, when working, we do not necessarily have the time to stop and think ‘what leadership model do I need to use here?’ but rather just go ahead and do what needs to be done in order to ensure that it all runs smoothly and the challenges are resolved. While I do reflect on what I personally do in my lines of work, I do not tend to break it down to the models that could have been used but what I could do well and what I could improve upon. One of the biggest challenges outside of curriculum change that teacher librarians face is with technology and ICT. With technology changing rapidly, we need to be able to adapt to what our students are using in their day to day lives and have the knowledge to support classroom teachers with it. Teacher Librarians are also facing additional levels of stress with more responsibilities and additional areas for leadership that put pressure on them. I have elaborated further on these areas within Module Three blog post. While I have only written and published a limited amount of blog posts I have learnt quite a bit during this topic. I would work through the modules and forget to write a reflection post. This is one area of professional practice that I aim to improve upon as I progress further. By highlighting my own short comings and making plans to improve them, shows that I am displaying good practice and am planning my own professional development. References
Digital environments are around us, regardless of our personal opinion of them. As classroom teachers and/or teacher librarians, we need to be aware of them and how they can impact our students. Digital environments encompass e-books, audiobooks and much more. The literature that is within these environments can involve graphics (both still images and videos), audio, as well as text and interactive user faces.
We – as classroom teachers and teacher-librarians – need to remember that the students we have a “digital natives”, and some concepts that are familiar to us are foreign to the students we teach (Module One blog post). At the same time, many concepts that our students are familiar with are foreign to us as teachers. We can learn a lot from each other about where the digital environments and literature started and where it has come to now. There tends to be an expectation that all schools are equal when it comes to how ‘digital ready’ they are when catering for their students; however, this isn’t the case. Some schools don’t have the facilities to accommodate for the students fully and also they may not have the knowledge of how to integrate the digital technology and literature into the curriculum. Accessibility has become a problem for many schools and students; firstly the infrastructure cannot keep up with the technological advancements and secondly, the students may not be able to afford new (or even second hand) devices. Having said that, generally, digital texts (in all of their varying forms) are easier to store in comparison to print ones (Felvegi and Matthew, 2012, p. 40), but one needs to keep in mind the amount of storage needed for especially large digital texts. Many classroom teachers or teacher-librarians still see digital environments and literature as ‘research only’ or for ‘free-time use’ only. This creates problems with trying to make them a more embedded part of the curriculum and everyday classes. I mentioned in the Module Two blog post that we cannot think of digital technologies as a tool to keep students occupied for five-ten minutes. We need to be able to use the digital technologies and literature to inform and enhance the learning already occurring, rather than detract from it. This can assist in students becoming active participants of the curriculum rather than just passive consumers. One aspect we can really thrive with (both within the classroom and the library) is the use of platforms such as Goodreads and Twitter. This platform allows for interaction between fans of the text around the world; as well as between the author of the text and the fans. This interaction can help to increase the understanding of the text and to help gain more knowledge, as mentioned in the Module 3 blog post. Many students are also using other platforms such as Instagram and YouTube to share their experiences with different digital technologies and literature. They are also using these platforms to share their stories and their life experiences (see Module 4 blog post for further elaboration). These different tools can open dialogue and enable students to be more digitally literate and more involved within the curriculum and each other. We need to be able to understand the environment that our students live in to be able to understand them. Many of the digital environments allow for greater authorship and ownership of a piece of work; as well as a larger and easier way to collaborate. Much of this collaboration can now occur in real-time which makes group assignments and the like much easier. However, with this ease of authorship and collaboration, we now reach the area of copyright and how we as classroom teachers and teacher-librarians manage it. Do we have a three or single strike policy or do we have a blanket “you plagiarize, you fail” policy? How do we cope with and understand where our students are getting their sources from? These questions can only be answered on a school-by-school basis and in collaboration with the school leadership team. However, it can be a chance for the teacher librarian to show their knowledge and leadership qualities and suggest any appropriate resolutions (Module Six blog post). Overall, the landscape that classroom teachers and teacher-librarians inhabit has changed dramatically and quite quickly. It is up to us to adapt to it and to bring our expertise to the school and the library. We need to be able to understand the digital technologies and the literature that our students are engaging with and we need to be able to do this in order to keep up with our students. References
This is my Digital Storytelling Project. The video belongs to the author and can only be used within a school environment. The context for my Digital Storytelling Project is a South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) Legal Studies class at either a Stage One (Year Eleven) or Stage Two (Year Twelve). This subject is often neglected in term of resources, especially in regards to digital resources that are up to date. This subject can be offered either as a semester or year-long subject in Stage One or as a year-long subject at Stage Two. The subject is divided into topics that are required to be studied and this Digital Storytelling Project is a resource for Topic Four: Justice Systems at both the Stage One and Stage Two level (SACE Board of South Australia, 2019).
The intended purpose of this Digital Storytelling Project is as an opening to the section on the Criminal Justice System. It is designed to have openings for students to be active learners and to ask questions within the class; including, but not limited to: “Why are the cases split between the courts?” “What cases are heard in the Supreme Court?” “How much could a person be bailed for?” “How long is the wait for a trial to start?” This enables the students to actively participate in discussions about a process that they may have to participate in. It is also short enough that students will remain engaged in the Digital Storytelling Project. The primary audience would be the Stage One and Stage Two students undertaking the Legal Studies subject; however, it could be used in other classes within the Humanities and Social Sciences stream. These include Australian and International Politics, Research Practices, Research Project and Society and Culture (“Subject search for teachers – South Australian Certificate of Education”, 2019). This can also be used within a Year Ten Civics and Citizenship class. This Digital Storytelling Project is deliberately factual and not a fictional recreation of a potential case within the Criminal Justice System not only to ensure that is can be used year after year; but also to protect the students from further trauma if they have had to be a participant within the Criminal Justice System. This can suit quite a few diverse learning needs, especially those with attention issues, who may have low attendance or are severely ill and unable to attend school on a regular basis. The value of this Digital Storytelling Project is that it is a relevant South Australian resource that can be used in a wide variety of subjects and is not restrictive. If the teacher does not wish to use this as a learning resource, it can be used as an example of an assessment piece that could be set to demonstrate their understanding of Legal Studies. Unfortunately, this is restrictive, in terms of the community utilising the Digital Storytelling Project. This Digital Storytelling Project is designed with students in mind, rather than a wider community purpose. During my practicums in 2018 and contract work in 2019 there was a distinct lack of resources available for Legal Studies teachers. In comparison, with my other teaching area of English, there are plenty of resources, digital and otherwise. It was my aim, with the creation of the Digital Storytelling Project, to create something that fills a need within the SACE curriculum and that can be used by more than one site and on more than one occasion. References
Word Count: 554 words Copyright protection has been expanded upon and changed to suit the climates and the technology that we have today. These are all important for us to acknowledge and to adapt our practice to suit.
The purpose of copyright is to protect the authors work, regardless of the form it takes. Some of the main issues with copyright is accessing appropriate documents or literature for our students. It also can affect how we may advance our students learning as well as how we may assist them in their capacity to innovate and be entrepreneurs. We need to be aware of the legislative boundaries regarding some digital literature, especially YouTube videos were many of it is seen as a ‘free-for-all’ and any person can download what they want. Making sure that we are abiding by the licensing requirements is more than just ensuring that we are paying attention to the AITSL standards, but also displaying best practice for our students. |
Note:The posts dated from 2019-2020 are direct from my Charles Sturt University blog; hosted on their servers. For my own record, I have chosen to re-post them here. Due to this, there may be some formatting problems and for that I apologise. Archives
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