In these exciting times of interconnectedness and rapid change in the online world there are so many opportunities for teachers and teacher librarians to implement innovative pedagogies using the internet, in particular Web 2.0 media. In fact, I believe that it is our responsibility as educators to provide 21st century learners with the skills to use 21st century technologies. These interactive technologies open up an enormous range of opportunities for sharing information, collaboration and creation of new knowledge. My professional goals to become a more connected teacher are outlined in this blog entry.
Dezuanni (2010) suggests in order for us to make changes in our practice we should decide on 2 or 3 things we want to focus on and work on implementing these, then choose 3 more, and work on these, and so on and so on. Similarly, the mantra, ‘evolution – not revolution’ is one that I adopted as a teacher early on in my career and one that I will continue to use in my future role as an innovative teacher librarian. In other words, make small changes and keep making them.
For me to enact these transformative practices I need a plan of what I want to achieve in a given time frame. To use some of my newly learned new media technologies I have set myself 3 goals that involve implementation of Web 2.0 technologies into my pedagogical practice.
Goal 1: Blogging a) Create and maintain a school library blog, and b) encourage blogging as a learning experience in the school curriculum (OK so that is 2 goals - but they are linked)
Creating and maintaining a school library blog would provide authentic Web 2.0 opportunities to many school community members. Teachers would have the chance to interact with library staff; students would have opportunities to upload book reviews, access referencing materials; parents would have a platform to view what is happening in the hub of their students’ school; and the library would have an interactive and participatory platform to promote itself to the outside world. There are many, many examples of great school blogs in the cyber world. One that I have been pleased to stumble across, Brisbane Grammar School is worth looking at. Ferriter, Ramsden and Sheninger state that blogs are often the safest social media starting point for schools as they allow easy moderation of conversations, opportunities to share authentic voices and chances for two-way communication (2011, p 72). As a bonus, creating my own authentic blog as assessment for this course has given me the knowledge, but more importantly, the confidence to venture into this new technology.
As well as creating a blog for the school library, I would like to use blogging in my pedagogical practice to engage 21st century learners. Blogs can give a voice to students. Blogging can give students an authentic audience and can provide a platform for them to be active participants in Web 2.0 media. The opportunities across the curriculum are endless and as a future teacher librarian I will have the opportunity to assist teachers in embedding these as learning experiences in their own teaching practice. Of course, there are endless online resources available to guide both me and the teachers I will support in the quest to use blogging in the classroom. And even better, there are teacher librarians that blog about blogging in the classroom, so the experts can show the novices (me included) how to engage in this participatory culture.
Goal 2: Continue discussions with my school administration about social networking and the education of students
Whilst we need to proceed with caution when it comes to social networking in schools, I feel we also need to be teaching our students how to act ethically in social networking situations. We need to be creating explicit educational experiences that can guide students through the ethical issues they are faced with as they participate in social media. If we are in the business of producing lifelong learners we need to teach the skills that students will continue to use after their formalised schooling ends. Options such as Twiducate provide teachers and students another option to the open world of Facebook by providing a closed place where the teachers have some control over the content, yet students still experience social networking in a safe environment.
What is Twiducate?
In the near future I would love to see a school Facebook page for communication – we need to be where the parents and kids are. Students use Facebook and other social networking sites so regularly it makes sense for schools and educators to engage in these technologies. Many other industries communicate with their clients via Facebook and other social media – it is only a matter of time before schools will be expected to do the same.
Goal 3: Embark on a mission to educate as many students as possible (and teachers) about social bookmarking
Whether we use De.lic.ious or Diigo, or another mode for collating information I believe that social bookmarking is a vital tool for teaching information literacy. Bookmarking helps students classify, organise and store relevant information. As students move towards the end of the secondary schooling, and prepare for tertiary education (in a lot of cases, not all) they will be better prepared for the information overload they will be faced with in their further studies.
Using social book marks as a teaching tool is another option to explore as I endeavour to include digital experiences in my pedagogy. Teaching Hacks shows how to incorporate bookmarking into the classroom. One of the simple ideas that could easily be used in any classroom is for students to share their research with others in their class using Diigo or Delicious accounts. This is a just one simple way for students to participate in this technology.
References:
Dezuanni, M. (2010). CLN647 Youth, Popular Culture and Text: Module 11 [Lecture Notes]. Retrieved from http://blackboard.qut.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_75617_1%26url%3D
Ferriter, W. M., Ramsden, J. T., and Sheninger, E. C. (2011) Communicating & Connecting with Social Media. Solution Tree Press: Bloomington, USA.
Image sourced from: http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2008/12/schooling-for-the-21st-century-balancing-content-knowledge-with-skills/
