What I learned from ETL401 Assignment 1

This assignment put on a nice front, asking for 1000 words less than the ETL503 one. The first 500 words though took a very long time. I actually felt like I had to drag the words out of me when talking about an 'information literate school community' and I am not convinced that the words I dragged out were very good ones.

I feel like the rest of the assignment flowed better, but as usual I am not confident in how I went (this does not mean I will not be disappointed if/when I get a mark that is below average).

In the assignment I discussed the importance of the teacher librarian in the creation of an information literate school community - I can definitely see the role that a TL can play, the potential that role has to make a difference. I can also see though that there are many obstacles in the way of TLs, particularly the one which I looked at in my paper - that of classroom teachers not realising the aforementioned potential of the TL. Perhaps classroom teachers do not realise the importance of information literacy (perhaps I should have mentioned that in my assignment....), but in the school I was looking at they definitely do not collaborate with the TL for resources, and for the units their students are working on. The students are not given library time to acquire resources for the unit they are working on either.

I looked at some solutions for this, including the TL approaching a small number of staff members and getting them to collaborate and use the library more effectively, with the idea that this would catch on with other teachers over the years. I wonder if this would work. I wonder if this would lead to the importance of hte library being raised in people opinions, and therefore more time and money being put into it in the long run - would this lead to a better library over all? I think many teacher librarians are in a situation where they feel overwhelmed by all the obstacles in their way to creating a better library environment and being the TL they have been trained to be and wish to be - but perhaps if as TLs we choose one obstacle to focus on and see where that leads us. Perhaps if we focus on the right things, the library could eventually become the heart of the school, as I believe it should be.

One of the interesting things I got out of this assignment, was understanding the implications of RFF a bit better, and thinking about how much blame can be laid on the RFF itself. Initially the TL I spoke to suggested the fact that she was an RFF teacher as being an obstacle. The more I discussed this (Roy was extremely helpful) and thought about it however, the more I realised that RFF was not necessarily the problem, but people's attitudes towards it. Every teacher has planning time, and at those times another teacher takes his or her class. Just because they are relieving the teacher does not mean they cannot play an important teaching role. Teachers should respect that role, and the TL herself should know inwardly and outwardly that she is playing an important part in the school community and the students' learning. Also, it does not prevent the TL from making some kind of difference to the information literacy of the students - it is still possible to collaborate with teachers, and for students to use at least some of their 'library time' working on their current unit, as I stated in my paper.

Hopefully this assignment will help me to remember in the future that I can play an important role as a TL, and that information literacy is an important goal for a school. Hopefully it will help me if I am ever in a situation where I am not respected for my knowledge and abilities as a teacher librarian, but am looked at primarily as an RFF teacher, to see myself as the former, and to slowly work on getting others to do the same.

We can make a difference.

What I learned from ETL503 Assignment 1

It has been a while now since I finished assignment 1 for ETL503. As soon as I finished it I had to move onto the ETL401 assignment 1, and then once that was finished I just ignored uni stuff completely for a while... I felt I deserved it... (I probably didn't).

I found the assignment experience rather a stressful one (not unusual at all for me). But I did learn from it. I learned about the selection and acquisition processes that I will need to utilise as a teacher librarian. Actually, I really only learned about the selection process, I am worried that I did not talk about the acquisition process enough... but that is not important now (at least not until I receive the assignment back with scribble all over it...).

Selection:
I learned that I need to make sure I get information from a variety of sources. When I am working in a school I will ensure I get ideas from students and staff, but I will also rely on some of the resources I started to discover when doing this assignment - bookshops/websites, reviews and bibliographies. I now have access to a few of these, and I am sure I will learn about more as time goes on. I know how to use them. I learned to check resources on multiple sites to ensure they are suitable. I learned that suitable means suitable for the context it is being acquired for - this needs to be taken into account at all times. Just because a book has a good review or is in a bibliography does not mean it is suitable for the age-group you are buying for for example.

The assignment allowed me to imagine what it will be like as a teacher librarian, having to be aware of what is lacking in the school's collection, and to carefully work out what resources will address that deficiency. It was quite exciting even imagining the collection I came up with, and the difference it could make - how good would it be to do it in real life one day!

I look forward to it....

Struggling.

I now have 6 hours to finish my ETL401 scholarly paper. I have felt weak and tired all day, finding it hard to concentrate. My motivation is low. I am not confident in what I have written, and what I am writing is coming slowly. I have about 800 words to go and worry that I will not get it done (certainly not to my satisfaction) in the time I have left. I am worried that the way I feel is going to be a continual thing that no one is ever going to be able to tell me how to fix - it is so subjective, all I have to go on is that I feel weak and shaky. I will continue to be careful with what I eat (sticking to low GI options where possible) and see if I feel better tomorrow. Though that will be too late for this assignment... I had better just try to focus on it and see if I can get it finished, even if it's not perfect.