Who wants to be a Teacher Librarian?

I don’t want to be a teacher librarian. Teaching has never been my forte. I remembered teaching my sister how to drive and it drove (no pun intended) both of us crazy! I spent most of the time stressed and screaming at her and poor Eleanor must have been so distraught. It’s amazing that she has not been traumatized by it all and is a normal human being and happily driving I must say.

So maybe there is more to teacher librarians than teaching – time to put my investigative hat on. I have managed to speak to a real live teacher librarian at a local private school here in Hobart. His name is James and he told me that he was one of the people that started the teacher librarianship course at the CSU. Amazing! What a small world. So hopefully, I’ll meet him on Monday and I’m ready to ask him all sorts of nonsense questions.

I’ve also been reading some of the submissions (one of which is practically the answer to the first assignment) in the ‘Inquiry into school libraries and teacher librarians in Australian schools’: http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/edt/schoollibraries/subs.htm

Also, been looking at some school curriculum programs one in particular is the ACT one: http://www.det.act.gov.au/teaching_and_learning/curriculum_programs just to get the feel about the type of programs schools are offering.

Hmmm, there might still be a chance to convert me to a teacher librarian.

Resource Based Learning

It’s all about learning isn’t it? It’s all about the process of acquiring knowledge. I know from my experience if I needed to know something I would first ask questions in my head then outwardly to my immediate surroundings (that is the walls, my mug, the computer screen – no just kidding. I usually bombard and harass (don’t worry he likes it) my partner with the whys, how’s and whats then I think about my friends and family – would they know the answer to my questions??) and if none of them have any clue (although some might be able to give me some ideas on how to tackle it) I then go to my computer and do a quick search. Isn’t the Internet fantastic?

For example, I want to set up a company so I type ‘register’ and ‘company’ in the box and voila I get links to the ASIC (Aust Securities and Investment Commission), Australian govt business portal and a private company where you can register your company in an instant. Within those websites are an array of information about starting up a business, tax requirements etc. So I take the information I need, organize them and present them in a way to help set up my company.

The difference between my experience and that of a student in a school environment is that I sought my information independently whereas the student has the teacher/librarian facilitating his/her information seeking process. But how did I acquire my information seeking skills? Mostly from trial and error. To be honest, teachers or teacher librarians have not had any significant impact on me when I was learning or doing research at school. Perhaps it’s because it was so long ago that I don’t remember any of it. Or maybe I just didn’t know that I was being taught information literacy.

I love the Internet – it’s instant, it’s there 24/7. So why would we need school libraries if we could access information via this new technology? Because human beings are social, tactile and physical creatures. My 18 month old son loves our local library – I set him loose in the kiddies area and I tell you if he had his way he would spend the whole day there. He picks out books, takes them to the beanbag and sits there reading like a real grown up-it’s so funny. And even though he doesn’t know how to read yet, he is learning that the library is where books (which have so many wonderful pictures) are kept and other people/kids hang out. So the answer to the second question of this discussion is no, the nature of RBL hasn’t changed with the advent of new technologies.

Week 1 of ETL401

Just reading all the students’ postings on the forum, I am blown by the amount of teacher librarian professionals studying ETL401 at the Charles Sturt University (CSU) this session. Wow! You guys have nothing to worry about – you’ll ace this subject. I should be the one shaking in my boots! I know nothing of the school community. Hopefully, you can give me some pointers as I’m going to need all the help I can get.

By the way, if you’re still concerned about the subject, the following are some suggestions:

Join the CSU Learning Skill Forum where you can post anything relating to study skills. The study skills people are quite prompt in answering plus some students may have already asked questions that you have and all you have to do is read the responses. You can access the forum via your mycsu page: http://mycsu.edu.au

The following are some links that could help you with techniques and strategies for studying smarter not harder:

http://www.wikihow.com/Study

http://www.how-to-study.com/

http://www.howtostudybetter.com/

Ok I hope this helps. I’m off to take heed to some of the advices given here.

One last thing, if you’re looking for resources relating to this subject in the CSU library just click on library catalogue: http://unilinc20.unilinc.edu.au/F/TUBQN55LG7JQ4MXVHJN1VGJDK4GYQB258AQYFFFEFXM9ATMD42-28841?func=find-b-0&=&local_base=l25xx&pds_handle=GUEST

And type ETL401 in the box then click on ‘Check Availability’. There are so much information out there-just a matter of sifting out the good ones.

First Time Blogger

I must say, setting up this blog account wasn't as hard as I thought. This is the first time I'm 'blogging' and so far so good. Of course, in the true sense of the word I have been 'blogging' since I was 16 years old - the only difference is the technology being used - compare pen and paper to keyboard and screen...and also the fact that this journal entry will be seen and read by thousands if not millions of people - I'm hoping anyway!

I am currently studying my Masters in Information Studies at Charles Sturt University and one of my subjects is called Teacher Librarianship. It sounded interesting so I signed up for it. Prior to this I am unaware of what Teacher Librarians (TL) do. I'm still waiting for the subject modules and forum to appear in our thingamajig (see how techno savvy I am??) then I'll start reading what you guys do out there and the challenges you may have. From my research it seems like lack of funding - but what's new? Most libraries suffer from that. I studied library marketing in the last study session and perhaps effective marketing programs may be needed to improve the library's financial situation. But then again there may be other obstacles that TL's are currently facing, perhaps in relation to current education policies - I don't know at this stage but be sure I will find out.

The Armchair Librarian manages information remotely.