Group items tagged

AASL site. This page has links to their definitions and statements. The first is a definition that is the new position statement, "Definition for an Effective School Library Program," published by AASL as guidance for administrators, school boards and school librarians in the implementation of ESSA. It provides the elements of an effective school library program as a fundamental component of college, career and community readiness.

"The Australia Library and Information Association (ALIA) said there is a positive outlook on employment prospects for library and information professionals over the next five years, but the job market will remain tight. This is one of the conclusions in a new report ALIA LIS Education and Employment Trend Report 2014 today (18 Sept 2014) launched in Melbourne by ALIA President Damian Lodge at the Association's National Conference."

"Those who do not learn how to utilize social media strategically run a great risk of encountering obstacles when seeking employment or admission. Research has been clear that social media can serve important professional purposes, such as personal branding, self-promotion ad impression management (Chen, 2013; Jackson & Lilleker, 2011; Labrecque et al., 2011; Zhao et al., 2013), and we encourage its intentional positive use. We suggest that all youth (and young adults!) work extra hard to do great things at school and in their community (e.g., making the honor roll, volunteering, extra-curricular activities, etc.) so that when one does search for them, they find evidence of hard work, integrity, and civic-mindedness."

Digital citizenship is (or should be) about positive behaviours and needs to be an essential topic that is addressed in the classroom. Often dire warnings and trying to restrict student access results in the opposite effect to what you're trying to achieve. Teachers need to find a way to integrate digital citizenship lessons within the school day. post with ideas and links

A reflection about one school library faculty's goal of creating a positive learning environment with space that would help students and teachers develop real-world connections and the approach they took to creating it. The ideas for the space included housing the collection, helping students and teachers collaborate, being a hub for learning with a flexible floor plan and supporting newly developing areas in educational technology. The school decided to create a learning commons to move beyond traditional thinking about libraries and respond to what the kids and teachers really needed. The faculty envisioned their environment to be developmentally appropriate for their young students, as well as to foster a sense of creativity, inspiration, and encourage dialogue and a sense of community. The new learning commons library offered more space for stacks, added conference rooms and a lounge area, but the learning commons concept informed more than the library. These design changes increase opportunities to be inspired by student work and performances and create stronger interpersonal connections among students and faculty.

The role of the school librarian is to guide students and fellow educators through the intersection of formal and informal learning. The instruction the school librarian offers is integral to a well-rounded education. As educators and instructional partners school librarians are critical to teaching and learning in the school community. The school librarian plays a prominent role in instructing students, faculty, and administrators in a range of literacies, including information, digital, print, visual, and textual literacies. As leaders in literacy and technology, school librarians are perfectly positioned to instruct every student in the school community through both traditional and blended learning.

The American Association of School Librarians supports the position that an effective school library program has a certified school librarian at the helm, provides personalized learning environments, and offers equitable access to resources to ensure a well-rounded education for every student

"As schools seek to become Future Ready, it is necessary to identify and cultivate leadership beyond district and building leaders. School librarians lead, teach and support the Future Ready goals of their school and district in a variety of ways through their professional practice, programs and spaces. If properly prepared and supported, school librarians are well-positioned to be at the leading edge of the digital transformation of learning."

Based on US situation but still applicable to Australian situation. "Despite the increasing emphasis on technology as a learning tool in the classroom, many school districts still aggressively filter the Internet that teachers and students can access. While the federal Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) requires that schools filter for pornographic images, many districts are over-filtering, blocking sites that can be used positively for education. There are a lot of myths about how tight these required filters must be."

"Qld govt resources designed to assist primary and secondary schools to promote discussions about the importance and power of positive online behaviours and protecting your digital footprint, the department has designed eye catching poster resources."

"QLD Ed Dept. The Digital footprint resources assist schools to promote discussions about the importance of positive online behaviours and protecting your digital footprint. Several areas: Cybersafety resources provide a range of resources for use by school staff from Prep to upper secondary. Cybersafety policy provides information for schools about developing school policies regarding the use of technology. Managing incidents. BECTA (UK government) resources"

"Teaching about identity theft in the classroom will help strengthen students' positive digital citizenship. These surprising facts and stats will help to open kids eyes and make them more aware of the need to keep information safe on the web."

ool Australia promises to make learning about our natural world exciting while making the teacher's role easier. We bring sustainability into the heart of the curriculum by incorporating themes such as Energy, Water, Waste and Biodiversity into learning activities and units of work across the entire curriculum. "Cool Australia empowers students to construct their own vision of a positive future. Cool Australia is for all teachers especially those who thought that sustainability was not in their brief or was too big to tackle."

"While you want to encourage teenage students to develop a healthy sense of independence and make their own decision, you also want to protect them from the dangers in the world. In order to make sure their experiences with social media are positive, consider the tips in this post "

A discussion about how the setup in a classroom can impact on how students think. The gist of it is - If you design learning with physical space and interaction in mind, it absolutely can have a positive impact.

A good post from Common Sense Media about where teens are with social media today. The questions "Are teens totally over Facebook? Or are they using it even more than ever? are asked and an answer is attempted. From reports it is evident that there are many and varied social media being used by young people. Teenagers are dividing their attention between a sizeable number of apps and tools. These all allow them to write, share, video-chat, and even shop for the latest trends. The advice is:"You don't need to know the ins and outs of every app and site that's "hot" right now (and frankly, if you did, they wouldn't be trendy anymore). But knowing the basics -- what they are, why they're popular, and what problems can crop up when they're not used responsibly -- can make the difference between a positive and a negative experience for your kid." A few of these media are discussed in light of this.

By Ken Haycock - Published in 'World Libraries' Vol 19 2009 "Although a popular focus for librarians, advocacy is often misunderstood and rarely evaluated. It is not publicity, public relations, messaging, marketing, or lobbying alone. It is a planned, deliberate, and sustained effort to develop understanding and support incrementally over time. Greatest success comes through positive relationships, employing proven strategies for social influence - consistency and commitment, reciprocation, authority, liking, social proof, and scarcity."