Scan Journal

This is the first of many grateful acknowledgements of the help of our school teacher-librarian. In the midst of my feelings of being overwhelmed by the expectations of the course, her enthusiasm and kind support are proving invaluable. The first thing that Lyn did was put me on the "posting" list for "Scan", the librarians' journal. This will be invaluable she said. Sure enough, in the first edition I received (Vol 29. No. 1 February 2010) there were two especially appropriate articles. The first is by Jane McKenzie, "Teacher librarians: leading, connecting and innovating"

McKenzie lists the key attributes of Teacher librarians. She says that they are experts in: their knowledge of curriculum, their understanding current teaching pedagogy such as Guided Inquiry, their ability to lead and develop collaborative teams, their ability to incorporate the use of cutting edge ICTs and work in a connected environment.

She suggests some helpful resources for teachers to explore: TaLe, The Learning Federation and Sites2See. She suggests the use of wikis in IBL (Inquiry-Based Learning). I'm pleased to say that I began to explore this possibility, setting up a wiki for a unit based on "The Cay".

The second article is on School Libraries in the 21 Century and it is by Lyn Hay and Ross Todd, both of whom feature prominently on our reading lists. It's a summary of the findings of a NSW DET report on School Libraries.

It introduces yet another piece of educational jargon, "pedagogical fusion". The authors explain it as being "where pedagogy underpins the decision-making behind a school's information architecture – where technology infrastructure and support services and provisions of access do not restrict innovative and flexible use of space, resources or expertise". (page 34)

The school library provides "a common place across the school for investigating and experimenting with information, examining multiple perspectives, in an environment where students are guided by professionals and given appropriate instruction to effectively utilise information and the most appropriate technology tools to support student achievement." (page 32)
"The school library becomes an important zone of intervention and socialization process for learning how to function effectively in the complex informational and technological world beyond school." (page 32)

I know that I should translate all of that into my own words. I'll do that if I need to in my assignments. In short, it says that the library remains at the heart of the provision of information resources and services and the teacher-librarian is a key contributor to the students development of skills and attitudes that will enable them to become information literate and lifelong learners.