Reference Resources- Digital Age- Information Literacy- To Weed or to treasure?

Riedling states an almanac is “a resource that provides useful data and statistics related to countries, personalities, events and subjects” (p.125) and notes that when “ a single figure or fact is required, the almanac can be very useful. Students enjoy facts and trivia; therefore almanacs are wonderful sources for browsing as information seeking”(p.38).

I have to agree that students love looking at these types of books- especially boys! Boys seem harder to motivate than girls says but perhaps the reference area is an area that can cultivate curiosity- or already does. I imagine the science and technology reference collection and Almanac’s are well used if children are given the opportunity and time to look at them. Anything with facts and figures, reliable or not, seems to intrigue children. I think having these books is important, maybe it's osmosis that will occur as students flip the pages but the internet is a "go to" place for specific information, students who browse our library shelves for pleasure need choices. Choices that may be accessible online, but also bound with old fashioned page numbers and that musty book smell! At Seaforth the students can check most reference books out which has increased circulation. There is the aspect of damage to consider but that has not been an issue for this school (yet...). I am not sure I have ever consulted a special dictionary, but that is not to say they are not important. I didn't know such things exist and in the school library I evaluated I don't think there were special dictionaries. I would love an animal dictionary for my son, he would enjoy a book specifically on animals with no mumbo jumbo to distract him. 

Reading my classmates posts there is a real push to spend time, money and energy on digital/online resources. Perhaps I don’t feel I have the skills to navigate the online revolutions- is there a TL course that covers only online resources- reference, fiction, non fictions, picture books etc.? Perhaps there is an I will be taking it in the future. With them changing so often I imagine a course of that nature would be hard to keep current. 

Rielding’s evaluating dictionaries and encyclopedias had some good points. The general evaluative guide Riedling suggests is authority (publisher), format (print- materials, arrangement of text, readability etc. but in addition to print the electronic dictionaries and encyclopedias contain links, maneuverability should be considered, and graphics should be evaluated. Perhaps another section called online sources should be written and additional evaluative tips should be outlined.

One classmates posting stated how her students enjoy using Worldbook online because it was reputable, reliable, and saved time in general because it was a one stop shop. She said they key was teaching them how to use the databases. I agree. Worldbook kids is a great start and I also like National Geographic for kids. My 2 year old is fascinated with the animals and loves to watch my searches. It’s scary but he knows how to click his way to the next screen. 

Reality Check- Reference Sources

With all the technologies available in our current global world, why are reference services still needed? They are required to determine among the tons of information, the ounce necessary and useful for the student. They are required to assist students in learning how to access, organize, evaluation, and use information –learn how to learn, become information literate. Ironically, technology has actually increased the student’s need for assistance and reference services. (Reidling, p.12) 

Starting assignment 2 was a very interesting process- evaluating a reference collection and improving it. First, I should explain I have never worked in a SL before and I am currently on maternity leave from a non enrolling position I held for the last 5 years so curriculum/learning strategies are a bit dated or foggy for me. Having said that, I have kept as current as I could and I have just been matched with a mentor to give me access to a school library and support my learning- so nice to have!

I met with my district mentor and she gave me a full tour of her reference and general collection. She explained that she extensively weeded everything when she started a few years ago.  In the reference collection she has kept the encyclopedias, dictionaries and geographical sources together and organized them subject based. Everything else has been put back into the general circulation (sports almanacs etc. ) because she said that the readability of the school reference collection is almost unusable by students independently and that so many books were not appealing to students, outdated or not a collection that needed to be contained because of the types of skills and processes taught.

She is interested in inquiry based learning and promoting a collection that can support this. She would like to see less reference and more collections of information based materials that students can use for applying their reference skills. I will be creating a plan that focuses on building a readable, current, interesting reference collection in French and English. The english collection is currently more developed partly because of availability, partly because bulk purchases are made in English.

Rereading the text was a good exercise for me to think about how I would shape my own library and the importance of reference collections- it is not my job to change her mind but perhaps my assignment will cause her to reflect on the importance of building a current, readable, interesting,  reference collection for the dual track school.

Can you tell which part of the collection is used and which part the TL is just unsure what to do with?

 

Cooperative lesson planning- Generating Interest with your staff

How I can help- and integrate technology!

At a staff meeting I would say I am interested in supporting teachers and working with students to improve information literacy.

I would say if you do not have a information literacy skill of choice we could start with some mini lessons on using text features gr. 1-7 using a variety of resources (print and electronic (if available) on a topic of their choice.

The primary team might pick the topic apples or community; the intermediates might pick Canada or Egypt. It doesn’t matter about the topic- the role is to support students developing information literacy and teach them how to use text features. I would show the staff the below learning outcomes and have a sign up sheet circulating.

Learning Outcomes:

Grade one: English Language Arts Curriculum

(Reading and Viewing Section)

B10            after reading and viewing, develop their understanding of the meaning conveyed in texts by

– rereading or “re-viewing” for clarification - describing their understanding of the text –  discussing their ideas with others –            using text features (e.g., diagrams, headings, bold and italicized words, diagrams, drawings, chapter titles) to locate information

Grade seven: English Language Curriculum

(Reading and viewing section)

B8            analyse how the following structures and features convey meaning:

–            literary elements (e.g., plot, tension, conflict, character, setting, climax, resolution, theme) –            literary devices (e.g., personification, imagery, irony, hyperbole, simile, metaphor, alliteration, onomatopoeia, rhyme, rhythm)- visual/artistic devices (e.g., space, colour, sound) –            text structure and organization (e.g., topic sentence, development of ideas with supporting details, central idea) –            text features (e.g., table of contents, headings, diagrams, sidebars, pull-quotes) –            form (e.g., sonnet, business letter, advertisement, debate) –            genre (e.g., essay, article, documentary, web page, short story, graphic novel, poem)

Learning outcomes are from the site:

http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/subject.php?lang=en&subject=Literacy_Foundations

(Please note these are Literacy Foundations English Language Arts 2010) 

Connecting with fellow 467 coursemates

I wondered if I had opened a can of worms when I posted about the reality of paper/pen at work, technology at home but atleast I posted something others replied to! That seems to be the trick with online courses, synthesize quickly, apply concisely and ponder out to others.

It was refreshing to see several interesting replies to my question about what is really going on in schools.

I had reflected: " As I support information literacy development I want to jump up and down and shout "Show me the resources"! And then asked, " What is actually going on for TLS? Is there an ideal and a reality? Are there schools that are technologically up to date and have wireless laptop carts available for use by the TL?"


The responses echoed my thoughts that technology in public schools is not quite user friendly yet with regards to useable working equipment in a timely manner. Although people have repeatedly referenced Livingston in Vancouver (the smart board school) as being up to date- it might be a good field trip when I get into the system if I work at a school with resources. 


I am thinking about the coursework with a bit of a different lens, I am not going to approach it as a Utopia resource rich world, that would not be helpful, so I will look for lessons that can connect students with research skills they can apply to paper or electronically. Also for Change a Teacher I will be thinking of it as Support a teacher. Change seems to imply there is something "wrong" or "can be different" with the way one is doing something, which implies time- I think support will seem a bit more approachable for the staff I work with:)