School Library Association of Queensland

Presentations and photos

2008-09-29T17:55:00.000+10:00

Our SLAQ web manager has been busy and now you can find the following on the SLAQ 2008 conference website:

Web 2.0 technologies - Belinda Weaver
Landscape Your Library - Barbara Braxton
Some really exciting library landscapes - Fran Hughes

SLAQ 2008 Picture Gallery Day 1
SLAQ 2008 Picture Gallery - Conference Dinner
SLAQ 2008 Picture Gallery - Trade Fair

Enjoy the information and the pictures.

Strategic planning --- post-conference

2008-09-24T14:25:00.001+10:00

As the closing keynote speaker, Barbara Braxton focused on one of Stephen Covey’s 7 habits of highly effective people – Begin with the end in mind.

She encouraged delegates to develop a school library mission statement that correlates with the library, the school and the Standards of Excellence for Teacher Librarians. The school library mission statement must not be static but organic in nature.

From the mission statement one can then develop strategic actions, allocate responsibilities, and act on decisions that will achieve the mission statement.

Delegates were encouraged to reflect on the three categories of the Standards of Excellence in Teacher Librarians (professional knowledge, professional practice, and professional commitment) and identify short term, medium term and long term goals.

The next stage was to develop a personal plan:
· Promise – intent
· Purpose – why
· Strategies – what steps
· Timeframe – timing
· Support – professional learning and where from
· Success – needs to be measurable
· Celebrate & Share

Barbara encouraged teacher-librarians to identify their uniqueness...what is it that others cannot do?

Research based reference web links can be found on the ASLA website.

Guided inquiry

2008-09-24T14:03:00.001+10:00

There were a couple of sessions on guided inquiry so I thought I would provide some links to some of the resources mentioned where you can source more information.

Carol Kuhlthau – Information Search Process.

Kuhlthau, Carol C., Leslie K. Maniotes, and Ann K. Caspari. Guided Inquiry: Learning in the 21st Century. (Note: check the Guided Inquiry Ning below to be able to purchase a copy.)

Carol Kuhlthau and Ross Rodd – Guided Inquiry.

Guided Inquiry Ning

Will Richardson

A guided inquiry approach – the school library and the Victorian essential learning standards

Web 2.0 technolgies - Belinda Weaver

2008-09-24T13:36:00.001+10:00

For Belinda, Web 2.0 is about engagement. One aspect of user behaviour is “want to use it, pass it on and modify it.”

Belinda took us through a journey of Web 2.0 tools that have the following characteristics:
· Social
· Sharing
· Seamless
· Interactive
· Participatory
· Innovative reuse of existing content
· Free or near free
· Whenever, wherever
· Always in ‘beta’

Some principles to consider for Librarian 2.0
· Everywhere
· No barriers
· Invites participation
· Uses flexible, best-of-the-best systems
· Everything matters

The Librarian’s 2.0 manifesto may have provided us with some humour, but some home truths and important elements need to be considered.

If all the Web 2.0 tools really baffle you then Belinda suggested taking a look at the “in plain English” site, Commoncraft.

As there were lots of web links in Belinda’s presentation, she has offered to provide this to SLAQ. I will let you know when this is available via this blog.

During discussion time I mentioned a couple of 'Ning' environments - the ASLA Online and the IASL Meeting Place.

Teacher-librarian as curriculum leader

2008-09-24T12:45:00.001+10:00

Rod Chandler from The King's School, NSW, indicated teacher-librarians have a pivotal role in curriculum design, but the impediments for teacher-librarians are:

lack of clarity of what is effective curriculum
resource shortage, e.g. staffing, physical / virtual resources, buildings
trying to work in a school culture where the library is only viewed for literature
excluded from the decision making
limited perceptions of school libraries and teacher-librarians
uncertainty within profession of what is leadership
leading learning is not for teacher-librarians

He encouraged teacher-librarians to consider some key principles for the development of an effective curriculum such as, have desired achievements, begin with the end in mind, assessment (in part) to be formative, assess "for" learning, tap into the student's interest and previous achievements, differentiate to accommodate the different learning styles.

Rod praised teacher-librarians who are at the centre of student learning and acknowledged the research that strongly indicates profound improvement in student achievement because of the involvement of teacher-librarians.

He highly recommended Suzette Boyd's The connected library: A handbook for engaging. He considered the Standards of professional excellence for teacher librarians as outstanding and suggested delegates go back to their school and run a short survey, using the three categories (professional knowledge, professional practice, professional commitment) to see if the school staff believe the teacher-librarian addresses these areas.

The last part of his keynote address focused on "leading with soul" and he referred to a number of educational leaders and encouraged reading of Robert Greenleaf, The servant as leader (1970) and Joseph Jowarski, Synchronicity (1996.

Rod stated, "no other single person in a school has such influence over students as the teacher librarian."

Other authors referred to by Rod:
Michael Fullan, Hedley Beare, and Patrick Duignan.

Monday afternoon indulgences

2008-09-23T07:08:00.001+10:00

Presenters and conference delegates - don't forget to make some comments about the session you presented or attended. A chance to engage in more sharing and discussion.

Ms Joy Lawn -- STRAND: Literature

Children’s and young adult literature airborne
Discover the best of new and recent books and how to motivate your students to read them. Literature through the primary, middle school and secondary school years will be presented. Books for wide and close reading will be celebrated, with a focus on graphic novels. Teacher librarians will be inspired to share these ‘Airborn’ books with their students and colleagues.

Ms Janette Carter -- STRAND: Learning

Exploring the web for quality resources
A tour of what's new in the Edna website and suite of tools. Participants will learn how to find their way around events, resources, news, groups, lists and related sites.

Ms Marj Kirkland and Ms Mary-Elizabeth Nash -- STRAND: Leadership/Learning

Literacy is everyone's business
This workshop will outline the process whereby one school developed a Whole School Literacy Plan and accompanying Action Plan. It will promote a multi-faceted approach to literacy by:

* developing a workable Whole School Literacy Plan and accompanying Action Plan
* creating a reading culture through structured programs
* scaffolding and modelling written assignments across the Key Learning Areas (KLAs)
* addressing multi-literacies (including Information Literacy) across the KLAs.

Ms Cathy Oxley -- Session 1 -- STRAND: Learning

Wikispaces and Animoto: creating captivating content
Engaging students in the classroom and capturing their interest is always a challenge. This hands-on session looks at two web sites where you can create captivating content.

Wikis are a great way to involve students because they capitalise on what students already like doing - sharing information with others in a collaborative way. During 2008 Redlands College Library has used Wikispaces to develop a wiki for their RIB-IT reading scheme, and you will be able to add to this, or begin making your own wiki.

Animoto is a web site where you can upload phgotos and music to create engaging animated video clips showcasing student activities at your school.

Literature and learning sessions

2008-09-23T07:03:00.002+10:00

I'm hoping conference delegates will be able to enter some comments about any of the first concurrent sessions on Monday. I'm sure some gems or words of wisdom were shared. Presenters...don't be too shy either.

Ms Lucy Baker -- STRAND: Literature

Where to begin with verse novels
Verse novels are form and format identified, rather than the more obvious genre delineations. They are usually short, intensely emotional and deliberately written to appeal to readers rather than poets. This offers an option to librarians for less accomplished readers who are wanting more advanced stories and literature than what is usual in 'easy read' novels. By having a familiarity with the genre and an understanding of its strengths for young adult readers, librarians have yet another arrow in their quiver when it comes to serving the young adult community with enjoyable literature.

Ms Kirschty Birt -- STRAND: Learning

Starting a girls computer group can really take you places
Having taught in both the UK and Australia has given me a wide variety of educational experiences. As a digital immigrant who is basically self taught, I set about experimenting pedagogically and now my classroom looks very different from the way I taught 20+ years ago in a rural high school. To complement my own interests and those I thought were out there in my school, I set about starting a girls computer group. Results of this effort have been outstanding and I am keen to share my experiences.

Ms Vicki Palmer and Mrs Lee Fitzgerald -- STRAND: Learning

Guided inquiry. Just do it!!
Using one of Ross Todd’s favourite expressions as its title this session will be jointly presented by Lee and Vicki as each shares her experiences with the implementation of guided inquiry. Vicki will speak from an upper primary perspective and Lee will speak from a secondary perspective, using guided inquiries from both their schools. They will talk about what’s new and what isn’t new about guided inquiry, (including if there’s anything “misguided” about guided inquiry!) and about what has worked for them, and what has presented challenges.

Ms Helen Hall -- STRAND: Learning

Resources for the study of Queensland history
During this session I would like to:

* present my efforts to pull together a diverse range of resources and sources for the study of Queensland history
* call on the two presenters mentioned to discuss their work

Negotiated Independent Learning

2008-09-22T19:45:00.002+10:00

Pat Carmichael, Learning Centre Manager at Concordia Lutheran College and SLAQ nominee for the Australian Teacher Librarian of the Year 2006 says, "We want our students to become confident and motivated learners who are equipped with the skills that will enable them to be accountable for their own learning, compete in the information economy and so become life-long learners."

Pat shared with delegates the establishment of the Independent Learning Centre where an IL unit of work is an elective of choice for one semester. Students are encouraged to pursue their personal interests. They negotiate their own personal learning journey so that it is interest based, has intrinsic value and is futures related for them.

More information about the Independent Learning Centre

The seminal work of Csikszentmihalyi, 'Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience', provides a philosophical background to the ILC whereby students are "completely absorbed with the activity at hand."

Language is a funny thing

2008-09-22T19:41:00.001+10:00

Christine Harris entertained delegates with a mix of wit and slang....well, in the sense, and I quote, "Language out of context becomes humorous."

Christine's series Audrey of the Outback is about a girl living in the outback in 1930 and the books were released in the UK at the same time as Australia. Will British readers understand or even want to read Australian colloquialisms? And what of the time difference between Audrey in 1930 and modern young readers? What's a "sundowner" or a "ning-nong"? How far should a writer go in using language as it is spoken, rather than how it is formally written? Language has power. It is political and has cultural biases. Language can identify us with a special group.

According to Christine - "Australiana is worth preserving."

Struth and fair dinkum, when you are all laired up, flat out like a lizard drinking, happy as a pig in mud, your head over turkey, and you really need to hit the frog and toad...why not?

Don't forget to leave a message for Audrey on her diary -- check out Audrey's diary.

Author - Tristan Bancks

2008-09-22T19:38:00.001+10:00

Tristan Bancks is a well known actor and television presenter in Australia and overseas who is also a passionate writer and filmmaker. His short films have won a number of awards and have screened widely in festivals and on television.

Tristan has written a number of books for children and teenagers, include Mac Slater, Coolhunter series for Random House Australia and the Hollywood or Bust and Dream Racers series. Tristan is driven by the desire to pen inspiring, past-paced stories for young people and is currently writing more books in the Mac Slater, Coolhunter series.

Author - James Moloney

2008-09-22T19:35:00.001+10:00

James Moloney is a Brisbane writer who has published more than thirty books for children and young adults. Many of this novels have won awards and commendation both at home and overseas, including Swashbuckler and A Bridge to Wiseman's Cove, both of which were CBCA Books of the Year.

He is a former teacher and teacher-librarian and spends part of each year giving talks and presenting workshops to students and teachers. His most recent book for younger readers is Master of the Books and for teenages, Kill the Possum.

Author - JC Burke

2008-09-22T19:32:00.001+10:00

JC Burke was born in Sydney in 1965, the fourth of five sisters. With writers for parents, she grew up in a world of noise, drama and books, but she decided to become a nurse after her mother lost a long battle with cancer. Since she started writing in 1999, she has published a number of acclaimed books for teenagers and young adults, including Children's Book Council Notable Books White Lies and The Red Cardigan, Aurealis Awards finalist Nine Letters Long, The Story of Tom Brennan, Faking Sweet, and Starfish Sisters.

A rich array of authors

2008-09-22T19:29:00.002+10:00

With special thanks to the conference major sponsor, The Book House, delegates had the opportunity to engage with authors during the author panel discussion and at the book signing.

The Book House is a local Queensland owned and operated company. Rob Holt (grandson of the Hon. Harold Holt) is the owner and proud to be a leading primary and secondary school educational and school library supplier.

SLAQ thanks The Book House for the support to bring a rich array of authors to this conference event.

I will post some separate messages about the authors who joined in on the Monday events.

A morning with Stella Axarlis

2008-09-22T15:05:00.001+10:00

The Roy Lundin Memorial Address was presented by Stella Axarlis.

Stella loves to challenge her mind as makes an effort to read outside her interest areas to expand the borders of her learning at the time. She sees teacher librarians as playing a crucial role in inspiring young learners to look outside those borders. Lifelong learning has always been a focus for her family alongside change as a constant. She encouraged delegates to embrace both in their job.

Like an orchestra, Stella indicated the importance of working collaboratively with parents, colleagues, other teachers and the school community to deliver on the core aspects of what we do - curriculum leaders and information specialists, connecting students through learning, literature, information literacy, resource based learning and technology.

Stella considers the challenges facing education are:
globalisation and the knowledge based economy that will require a desire for lifelong learning so we stay ahead
education institutions to be the conduit between government, business and community
push for a seamless education sytem that requires a continuous dialogue better sectors and acknowledging different sectors
education institutions that will adopt fundamental strategic thinking to respond to the rapid change in the patterns of work
schools that are not afraid to reinvent themselves and build the capacity of students to acquire knowledge and life skills
vocational education and training crucial for alternative career pathways
motivate for lifelong learning to meet future challenges.

Stella encouraged us to revisit the Delors Report (1996) UNESCO Task Force on Education for the Twenty-first Century, especially the four pillars of learning.

At 4 and a half years of age at a family gathering she was keen to speak up and, whilst her brothers were trying to stop her from speaking, her father said, If she has the facts and can defend them, then she can speak. Sounds like very good advice for every teacher librarian as we invest to challenge the mindset.

People who help me engage

2008-09-22T14:01:00.001+10:00

Dr Lee-Ann Perry, Principal of All Hallows' School, welcomed delegates to the SLAQ conference. Dr Perry referred to teacher librarians as "those people who help me engage with resources." Within her school the school libraries are the hub of the school and vibrant learning communities. She recalled how 10 year ago they were discussing whether to go VHS or Beta and now its digital cameras, digital resources....everything digital. A major focus still remains on a healthy combination of print and online resources.

Wise words..."move beyond Google Search and Wikipedia".

Referencing and bibliographies for primary students

2008-09-21T19:58:00.002+10:00

Hilary Hughes from the Queensland University of Technology launched a new SLAQ publication - Guidelines for referencing and bibliographies for primary students. This text, compiled for SLAQ by Jennifer King with additional editing by Chris Kahl and Maureen Twomey, will be an invaluable addition to any school library.

The text compliments the secondary school version and provides a special focus for the primary student - lots of graphics and visuals, larger print and a range of resource referencing and bibliography samples relevant to the primary level.

A special feature is 'When should students begin writing bibliographies', which outlines the stages of development that a school might consider for their learners.

Orders for class sets can be placed...so visit the SLAQ website.

Welcome Reception

2008-09-21T19:55:00.001+10:00

Instead of entertaining her 'drive time' clients who tune into the ABC, Kelly Higgins-Devine provided SLAQ delegates with an insight into her day and some media tips. If you think a radio broadcaster's life is easy then begin your day scanning the newspapers, connecting online to news streams and sites, watching TV screens, preparing your scripts and wondering if you have enough for your 3 hour radio slot. Add to that a different location, such as a bus, from which to broadcast. BTW: Wikipedia is a source, but not for the serious stuff.

As a broadcaster Kelly gets to meet interesting and exciting people and to think about how to deal with the bombardment of requests to be included in the radio broadcasts. Kelly's tips: make sure it is something original, unique, an interest story, unusual, a real gem that has a grab, fascinating, new and adds to the conversation one may have had before. (So, what is unique about a teacher librarian...what makes us different...what makes us stand out in a crowd?)

Her job is to be the 'tapas bar of drive time' - little bits of this and that, short and sharp snapshots of the day - to help fill in your time as you drive home so you get a picture of the day.

Kelly's career advice - go regional. I think we can identify with that and I'm sure some of the schools in remote, isolated, country locations in Queensland would be keen to have someone going regional.

Venue-All Hallows' School

2008-09-18T13:26:00.001+10:00

The venue for the SLAQ 2008 conference is All Hallows' School, an inner city Catholic school for young women. The pre-conference tours - Tour of Literary Brisbane with Nick Earls and All Hallows' School Libraries - will help to get everyone into the conference atmosphere.

Kelly Higgins-Devine, ABC local radio broadcaster of the year, will welcome all delegates to the conference at the Welcome Reception on the Sunday afternoon.

Then it's serious conference business and into the program on the Monday. Stella Axarlis - "from teacher to internationally acclaimed opera singer" - will certainly provide an interesting opening keynote address for a teacher-librarian conference.

Enough for now...

Back for SLAQ 2008

2008-09-18T12:37:00.003+10:00

A little over two years ago this was the first message - "This blog has been established with the intent to discuss ideas and issues that are generated, initially, from the SLAQ 2006 conference to be held in Mackay, Queensland in September"

Well, I'm back for SLAQ 2008 and the message is very similar - This blog has been reinvigorated with the intent to discuss ideas and issues that are generated from the SLAQ 2008 conference to be held in Brisbane, Queensland commencing Sunday 21 September.

A reinvigorated SLAQ Blog....has a certain ring to it ;-)

Hope you can join in as I journey through the conference sessions, events and happenings.

Is Web 2.0 a threat for schools?

2006-10-13T13:03:00.000+10:00

Since starting this blog I have received some interesting comments from teacher librarians who indicate their school blocks access to many of the Web 2.0 environments - for example, MySpace and Flickr.
Is there a concern that students will not get access to relevant information?
Is there a concern that these spaces will provide another avenue for bullying and harassment?
Is there a concern the school network will not cope with the flood of traffic as kids get connected in a potentially technology-oriented teaching and learning environment?
Is there a concern the curriculum requirements cannot be accommodated within these new environments?

Or, is it easier to just do what we have always done?

I read an interesting article by Dale Spender (Brisbane-based writer and educationalist), entitled History consigned to history. The article provides an interesting perspective on the need to embrace this changing technology-oriented society and 'marry' it with our educational curriculums.

Harnesing technology in the library

2006-10-04T09:27:00.000+10:00

Jennie Bales from Tasmania presented a session at SLAQ 2006 that introduced a range of strategies to help harness traditional and emerging technologies to enhance library services and programs. Participants were challenged to consider how they can address the needs and interests of students and teachers at home as well as in the school environment.

With a focus on providing a range of pathways for learners to access information there was a hands-on component to explore the possibilities with podcasts, RSS feeds, blogs and a range of websites and web services. Participants were challenged to develop a program plan addressing one area to implement back in their schools.

Jennie provided a handout to explore web resources which included a large number of sites to explore and will keep many of the participants busy long after the conference is over.

How do you harness the technologies to enhance school library services? Do you provide access to podcasts? Do you use RSS feed to provide students with access to learning resources? Have you used a blog to support literature programs or other services?

Thank you SLAQ 2006 Conference Committee

2006-09-29T08:53:00.000+10:00

A special thank you to the conference organising committee. Two years of planning and preparation resulted in a very successful and highly professional conference event filled with quality presentations and workshops, plenty of social interaction and opportunity to explore the trade exhibition.

Thank you SLAQ and Mackay for a wonderful time....the weather was also a magic experience!

Post your reflections on the conference

2006-09-29T08:52:00.000+10:00

All conferences have to come to an end and many delegates indicated they had very large 'to do' lists - things they wanted to start work on once back at school. A number of delegates said they felt inspired and invigorated after having had the opportunity to talk with colleagues in the social times of the conference. Others thoroughly enjoyed the chance to spend time with trade exhibitors, gathering information and resources.

Here's your opportunity to share your reflections on the SLAQ 2006 conference.

What are some of the 'to do' items on your list that will make a difference to student learning in your school?

What were some of the most inspiring moments during the conference?

What new information did you gather whilst at the trade exhibition?

Streaming EdNA search services to your website

2006-09-29T08:24:00.000+10:00

Kerrie Smith (Communications Officer EdNA Online) conducted a workshop on how to establish an EdNA search facility on your website which would then allow your students to search the EdNA database to access information resources that are linked to the Australian curriculum. To add EdNA's Shared Information Services to your website you use The Generators toolkit. To embed the EdNA Search form in your website you use the EdNA Standard or Distributed Search section to generate the code to copy and paste into your webpage.

A second function covered in the workshop was adding RSS feed, with the focus of the workshop being to identify appropriate resources through a search and then have these linked to your website.

Throughout the conference delegates were hearing about RSS and this workshop provided an ideal opportunity to explore the dynamic function of RSS and Search facilities to provide students with access to relevant information resources.

Documenting your worth - professional portfolio

2006-09-29T08:12:00.000+10:00

Helen Reynolds from The Southport School presented a session on how their school library team prepared a professional portfolio which acts as a strategic plan, provides a framework for service delivery and development of appropriate policies and procedures, provides library staff with a vehicle to document their role and PD requirements, and provides school administration with a platform for productive staff appraisal.

This has been a long-term project commencing with identification of what they currently do, why it is done, who does it and how it is transacted.

Helen indicated the hardest part was identifying the main headings - for example, access to resources, promotion & marketing, physical environment, reporting & reviewing, information literacy, literacy, professional development, committees & networks, budget, and so forth.

From this point, through the development of a concept map, their school library policy was created and they are now working through the process of developing procedures to support the policy.

Helen shared how they use the policy document and how powerful this has been for gaining recognition within the school for library staff and the school library programs.

Listening to the students' voice

2006-09-27T09:24:00.000+10:00

Lyn Hay, from Charles Sturt University, delivered the Inaugural Roy Lundin Memorial Address.

Her address, School libraries and student learning: Our challenge is connecting with kids, presented research results that provide evidence of the impact of school libraries on student learning in Australia, using the 'student voice' approach methodology for data gathering (replication of the Ohio Study methodolgy).

Of the 6718 student voices, 99.4% indicated an overall result that the school library and its services helped them in some way, regardless of how much, with their learning in and out of school.

Take the time to check out the key findings and the student's personal comments - an affirming experience for those involved in school libraries.

An interesting finding is that connected kids (those with access to a PC and Internet at home) tended to rate the school library help lower and held a perception that school library support contributed less to their learning. Lyn indicated these students may be considered 'at risk' and challenged us with the following question:

How can school libraries and teacher librarians support the student in information seeking at home?

Running with the digital natives!

2006-09-26T12:47:00.000+10:00

Karen Bonanno's presentation transported delegates into the world of Web 2.0 and digital natives. After introducing a range of digital tools such as MP3 players, PDAs and technologies such as Blogs. Wikis and Chat, delegates were challenged to consider how these can be harnessed to connect students to their school library.

Karen emphasised the need for current policies to be further developed to address the use of Web 2.0 technology in the school. Of special consideration is safe, legal and ethical use; netiquette; and dealing with disputed materials within an ICT oriented environment.

Some big questions to consider:

How can Web 2.0 technologies enhance current library services for the primary user?
How can TLs develop and deliver relevant resources via Web 2.0?
How can we engage the students in developing the library services that are crucial to them as users - allowing them to have input in the decision making and content development?

Literature connection

2006-09-26T12:29:00.000+10:00

SLAQ 2006 workshop, A tale of two libraries: Reading success in secondary school libraries by Helen Reynolds and Marj Kirkland.

Jenni King said, "What a wonderful presentation, which absolutely showered delegates with a myriad of ideas for increasing library-based reading in secondary schools! These teacher librarians must be 2 of the state’s most passionate, experienced and knowledgeable in the field of children’s and young adult literature, particularly in ways of devising and promoting how to get kids to connect with it.

They consistently make the point that an integral part of the role of any teacher librarian is to read widely and well, as without this background it is impossible for TLs to fulfil one of their primary roles: fostering a love of free voluntary reading, and thus undoubtedly improving students’ literacy levels".

Activate your students.

2006-09-26T12:09:00.000+10:00

Sharon Rushton presented a session at the conference on Inquiry Learning with particular emphasis on engaging students in the planning of their classroom units to develop ownership for the learning outcomes.

Sharon states, "Inquiry Learning where students form questions about a topic then explore the options for determining answers, can be successfully paired with integrated curriculum where all areas or strands of the curriculum are planned under one theme or topic."

She encourages teachers to "get students out in the field, such as the school's garden, and give them jobs such as measuring, collecting data, gathering samples, to keep them focused and involved."

Sharon's books, Healthy Waterways, Weatherwatch, and Pet or Pest are available from Curriculum Corporation, and are environmental units aimed at upper primary and middle school levels.

Up close and personal with interactive whiteboards

2006-09-25T23:01:00.000+10:00

Chris Kahl's personal experience in using IWBs at Enoggera State School explored possibilities for their use in the libary and the classroom. The session covered a range of relevant information from the practical basics in terms of infrastructure to the pedagogical implications for teaching practice. Some clear guidelines emerged to assist in school-based decision making when considering the introduction of IWBs into a school.

For example:

A carefully considered plan that reflects a shared vision needs to be a priority as successful integration of the technology requires far more than a budgeting commitment to cover the infrastructure in terms of hardware and software.

Staff committed to the exploration of the technology and a clear direction in regard to staff professional learning in exploring the technology and how to imbed its use into program delivery are also essential.

For those who have journeyed down this path, what school-based decisions have you put in place to integrate IWBs into your school?

School tour conference events

2006-09-25T15:14:00.000+10:00

Jodie D from Sunshine Coast has come to the SLAQ 2006 and spent an informative afternoon at two local schools - Mackay West SS and St Francis Xavier.

Mackay West State School was one of the partners in the award winning IASL / Softlink Excellence Award.
Quick tips - after hours return facility (hole in the wall next to front entrance), all Outcomes Based Education documents are colour coded to match the information on the school's website and the documents are available to borrow .

St Francis Xavier - famous for its displays, including a mural in the front entrance and skilful use of space available in a small library.

Promoting the school library through visual displays, either physical or virtual, is an important advocacy activity.

How do you promote your school library to your school community?

Slow down you move too fast!

2006-09-25T15:09:00.000+10:00

A concern is emerging among some users of IWBs that lessons can sometimes move too quickly for some learners.

Is quality of learning more important than the twitch-speed delivery of our technology oriented tools?

How crucial is the placement of the IWB within the classroom?

Would you consider these are valid comments?

How to shrink your school library?

2006-09-25T14:42:00.000+10:00

SLAQ 2006 has commenced with Dr Karen Brooks presenting an opening keynote entitled Honey, I’ve shrunk the library. Issues included:

the social and cultural impact of technology on the future of the school library; the literal and symbolic shrinking outcome;
the school library users drift from television-centred to computer centred interaction with the screen as info-tainment, edu-tainment and entertainment;
adults losing the art to distinguish between quality and ‘not so good’ quality information in line with the interests, passions and desires of our potential library user;
how young people are demonstrated in popular culture, and the negative imaging and myth of a 'morally rudderless' youth;
media literacy as crucial essential for survival;
overcoming the perception of the library being negative and a forced experience, compared with pleasure and fun - library as a fluid space.

Brooks challenged the audience to consider how they would engage their primary user in the future development of the school library.

Here's one question for you to consider - To what degree are young people involved in the library's textual choice?

Confessions of an 'infant' blogger

2006-09-17T13:36:00.000+10:00

I have to confess I'm looking forward to catching up with Ann Gillespie at SLAQ 2006. Ann is presenting a session on Blogs and blogging, so I hope to pick up some tips.

Setting up a blog usually doesn't take a lot of time....it's the tricky bits that require some attention. For me the following were important:

needing to understand the impact of spam, hence the verification for posting comments,
drawing on html skills to twig the template,
needing to set up moderatation as I really didn't want 'interesting' comments hitting the blog - in fact, I did not have this set up originally and had to re-set the whole blog to remove the 'interesting' comments,
needing to understand the importance of RSS feed - thank you to those who posted comments encouraging me to get my act together.

The time to maintain the blog is the main factor to consider - posting messages, moderating comments, keeping the ball rolling. Originally, I was a team of one! I now have a colleague, Jennie Bales, on board to help me out with uploading images that we hope to capture whilst at the actual conference. Need to draw in some skills and expertise, so I hope some of my SLAQ colleagues will come on board after the conference so I can let Jennie get on with the Tassie Blog. The next challenge I wish to set myself is having the SLAQ Blog hosted on the SLAQ website.

I have a feeling that this 'digital immigrant' is on a steep learning curve ;-)

Criteria for a good reading program?

2006-09-12T15:04:00.000+10:00

A number of presenters at the SLAQ 2006 conference will be offering sessions on reading programs and reading promotion.

How do I know a good reading program when I see one?
What criteria do you use to identify a good reading program for your students?
How do you promote the love of reading in your school?

Any takers.....

Web 2.0 and 'digital natives'

2006-09-07T16:10:00.000+10:00

In 2001 Marc Prensky coined the phrase digital natives. He argues that the students of today are not like us (for example, the Boomers) -- they think, behave and process information very differently.

I would be really interested to know how you are using Web 2.0 tools and programs to reach the student users of your school library.

For example, Instant Messaging, Blogs, Podcasting, Wikis, Web communities.

Choosing a citation style for referencing

2006-09-01T15:06:00.000+10:00

Jenni King, teacher librarian and author of the SLAQ publication, A guide to referencing and bibliographies: For secondary school students will be presenting a session at the SLAQ 2006 conference - Citations made easy: How you can stop worrying and learn to love the referencing and bibliography process.

Conference delegates will have the chance to purchase their copy from the SLAQ Booth at the Trade Exhibition.

I'm sure many of you have had moments when you need to guide students through the citation process for assignments. I would be interested to hear what your experiences have been - the good, the bad and the challenging.

Technology as a tool for teaching and learning

2006-08-27T08:13:00.000+10:00

At SLAQ 2006, Chris Kahl, a teacher librarian from Queensland, will be presenting a session on Interactive Whiteboards in your library.

The IWBNet website, an Australian based portal for IWBs, states, "Interactive whiteboards, used wisely by skilful teachers, have the capacity to dramatically enhance the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in all facets of school life, and in turn to markedly improve the quality of teaching and student learning."

To unpack the statement - What are the attributes of a skilful teacher? How are IWBs used to dramatically enhance the integration of ICTs? From your experience, are IWBs improving the quality of teaching and student learning?

School Library 3.0

2006-08-24T16:47:00.000+10:00

A number of presentations for SLAQ 2006 will cover the Web 2.0 technologies and implications for teaching and learning.

So, are we at School Library 3.0? Some thoughts - School Library 1.0 was the heady days of library automation (post low end technology of a manual nature), providing access to and management of the school library collection via LMSs; School Library 2.0 embraced Web 1.0 and extended our school libraries beyond the four walls. So, does School Library 3.0 provide us with the challenge to integrate Web 2.0 to develop virtual social and information networks for the digital native, also referred to as millennials?

Library 2.0 Theory: Web 2.0 and its implications for libraries provides a definition and theory for Library 2.0. Web 2.0 will have a significant impact, but are we ready for the paradigm shift?

Literature - Book Week focus

2006-08-21T09:12:00.000+10:00

The Courier Mail, August 19-20 edition, published a couple of sections on the CBCA book selections (p. 5, and ect supplement, pp. 18-19).

It was interesting to read the books editor comments about a CBCA list full of dark themes, and brooding images. Is this a reflection of our life realities or simply just fiction?

The Book in 2 Book Week blog is designed to get kids involved in discussions for Book Week. Also, the Mackay Libraries, (Mackay, Queensland, our location for SLAQ 2006) has established the Mackay Book Bandits blog.

SLAQ 2006 presenters

2006-08-18T12:32:00.000+10:00

SLAQ is pleased to welcome Dr Karen Brooks, Lyn Hay, Narelle Oliver and Michael Bauer as major presenters for SLAQ 2006 - Moving beyond - decisions and surprises: School libraries, teaching and learning.

Simon Higgins will be the conference dinner speaker and involved in our program on Tuesday.

The conference strands will cover information, literature and management.

Conference registration

2006-08-18T12:20:00.000+10:00

Registration for the SLAQ 2006 Conference, Moving beyond - decisions and surprises: School libraries, teaching and learning, will close on the 7 September 2006. A completed registration form, together with full payment, must be received by the Conference Secretariat by the close date.

Check out the program for SLAQ 2006, and the accommodation offerings that Mackay, Queensland can offer you.

Make your visit to Mackay a family event.

Welcome to the SLAQ Blog

2006-08-17T13:50:00.000+10:00

This blog has been established with the intent to discuss ideas and issues that are generated, initially, from the SLAQ 2006 conference to be held in Mackay, Queensland in September.

It is hoped this discussion environment will extend beyond the conference to allow teacher librarians and other interested parties to continue the dialogue.