Fantastic website

www.arkive.org

I am working hard on my assignments still, extension and all, but had to share this website - it is amazing, and you realise just how amazing it is when you watch the promotional video. You also realise that is has great potential as an educational tool. I look forward to using it in the classroom, or helping/encouraging others to use it. It has received a positive evaluation from me for my ETL501 assignment.

ETL501 Assignment 1

Brain. Dead. Hardly started and I don't know what to do, where to go.

Search strategies

Apparently I have a lot to learn about search engines and strategies to use with them. I have to admit I'm a Google user, and don't know enough about alternatives and their advantages at this stage to get the best search results. The strategies I use to search for things using a search engine are also limited.

Herring suggests this is something that teacher librarians need to constantly work on, and that we need to research and read reviews on different search engines on a regular basis. He makes a good point - as an information specialist, we should be more than competent at searching for information, and should be able to support teachers and students in doing so. How can we be the people they turn to for help if we do not know much ourselves in this area?

Wikipedia

There has been some really interesting points made on the ETL501 forum about Wikipedia.

Personally, I support the use of Wikipedia - I would be a hypocrite if I did not. I refer to it on a regular basis if I need to quickly find out a piece of information. I do not however support its use as the sole source of information when it comes to important matters - and I think it should always be used with a degree of caution, and the awareness that it may not be correct. I believe teachers should have expectations of their students that Wikipedia can be used as a starting point, but multiple references are needed to support a fact or argument.

On the forum Chenelle suggested discussing Wikipedia with students carefully, looking at the following web page: 'Wikipedia: Researching with Wikipedia'. She also suggested the creation of a wiki as a class, so that students become aware of just how easy it is for people to change the information - I think these are both great ideas. Glad she is in my group for ETL504!

ETL501 Making a start

Finally making a proper start on this subject! The week my assignment is due. Once again I have focused on one subject (and that not very well).

In the forum, Bloom's taxonomy and Gardner's multiple intelligences have been linked and students have suggested combining them together in a table format for a variety of learning activities to suit students. Many had not seen this before and were surprised by it. It made me realise just how clever and on the ball my friend Amy was in third year uni - she created one of those tables for one of our group assignments. I think it is a wonderful way to cater for different learning styles and to take Bloom's taxonomy into account so that there is a focus on cognitive objectives as well as knowledge gain.

Jenna suggested this website as a good resource on the forum - I think it is definitely a good start, though you may wish to come up with your own activities as Amy did all those years ago... well, three.

Multiple Intelligences and Bloom's Taxonomy Grids

Pending assignment doom

Once again things are looking grim. Once again the lesson I am learning is to be more organised, have more self-discipline, and to keep on top of my studies early instead of leaving things until the last minute and then going into panic mode. Problem is, I don't seem to actually learn these lessons, as I find myself repeating the same mistakes. My intentions are good, but I don't seem to be able to implement them properly. We can always hope for next time I suppose. Well, plan for next time!

I have done a bit of reading this week, starting to get a more well rounded understanding of the things we are learning about in ETL504 TL as Leader. I just worked on the PowerPoint for a while, and can see myself getting that done tomorrow. Problem is I also need to get part B of that assignment, as well as ALL my readings for ETL501 Information Environment done and Assigment 1 for that subject completed - all by Friday morning (when I'm going away to return Monday morning...). Four days (minus SES meeting, and tutoring including planning). It's times like this I am glad I do not have a full time job and have a supportive boyfriend who is willing to support me at these times - encourages me to focus on my studies and not worry about work if I need extra time for assignments.

Off topic... Okay, I will get a good night's sleep, get up early tomorrow and knuckle down all day. I will also blog about the things I have been learning in my readings tomorrow, about being a leader and working in teams.

Hugo Cabret

I just found out they are making the Invention of Hugo Cabret into a movie - and Jude Law is in it! Something to look forward to...

Lessons From Geese

Lessons From Geese

This clip was shared in the forum, and I find it a great analogy for how we should work in teams, and what leadership should be about. Thank you Maria for sharing this one and giving us something to read/watch that made us smile :)

The differences between Bennett and Tribus

For me, the Tribus reading was when I started to get a handle on things. I was one of the (possibly many) students who found the Bennet reading really heavy going - I found it really difficult to stay focussed on what he was saying, and therefore did not comprehend some of it, and did not retain much of it at all. I just so happened to try to read it when I was stuck in a car for 24 hours - what an opportunity to get lots of reading done! And because it was such a challenge, that opportunity was wasted (I mostly read my novel instead!).

The things that did stick out for me in the Bennet reading (my interpretation of them):

- p100: Process is as important as product (this is also highlighted in the Tribus reading as principle #3), interdependence within an organisation and how this can change (in a school, we can and should rely on each other and can get support and ideas from the staff around us), interdependence between organisations (Bennett highlighted this as meaning schools are restricted with what they can do, but perhaps it can also be interpreted as meaning that schools can and should communicate with each other for positive ideas and change).

- p106: Every person has the opportunity to have some kind of influence, how they use this opportunity is an important factor in what the working environment will be like.

- pp109-110: Hegemony and discipline. Hegemony comes about with 'coercion and consent', taking account of what is wanted and compromising whilst still ultimately leading towards the original aim. Discipline (I found that this was not as clearly defined) controls how individuals think as well as how they act (p110). It is obvious who is in charge and making decisions, individuals are not made to feel that they are having an impact on the decision as they are with hegemony.

- pp114-115: Deployment of power: Overt - direct/provisional, positive/negative; Covert - positive/negative.

It was a lot of hard work to drag those concepts out of the Bennett reading. Tribus on the other hand was more reader friendly I felt. The four principles that Tribus oulined and elaborated on did not take a huge effort when it came to applying them to education - I could see the relevance to the role of the TL and so was engaged in the reading.

My interpretation of the principles:

#1 The manager works ON the system trying to improve it continuously with help from the people IN it.
#2 Put quality first - think about how to solve all problems with quality.
#3 Put your attention on the process to improve the product.
#4 Set goals for the whole system, rather than for the individual.

I like these principles and can see how they would help a school to run as an effective organisation. Anyone in a leadership position could use these to ensure their leadership is effective, whether the principal as an obvious leader, or the TL leading from the middle. Communication would be an essential given as overall goals are set for everyone to work towards.

Bennett focuses on what leadership can look like, Tribus describes what he thinks it should look like. Bennet looks at organisations in general, Tribus focuses on schools. Bennet used bigger words and more complex structure in his language and made me feel inadequate, Tribus made me feel capable...

Now to get some more reading done.