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Blog 3 - Reference Resources Beyond Google.

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Introduction At the start of this course I wasn’t really sure what to expect. At first, I was thinking well Reference material is Reference material, not much else to it. Boy was that a misconception. I knew right from defining some of the introduction terms that I would be learning a lot about Reference resources. My first stop was to my school's current Teacher Librarian (TL). Personally I had not really thought about using reference resources, as I usually jumped right on google to find the answer to my questions. I found that our current Library Learning Commons (LLC) had a reference section that was tucked away in the teacher area and all the resources were more than 20 years old. Our school isn’t even 20 years old. My takeaway from this theme is that Google is not the only place to get information and that there is still a need for students to be exposed to physical reference materials. I am not currently a TL but this course and many of my others have done a fabulous job on ...
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Evaluation Plan of the LLC Reference Section

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  Introduction The transition from a traditional school library to a Library Learning Centre (LLC) is allowing students and teachers to use the space in a whole new way. The re-designed curriculum needs the LLC to be a place where the school community can come and do inquiry, collaborate and feel supported in their learning journey. Is our current LLC ready and able to guide the community to answer their burning questions? Analysis Our current LLC has not seen any changes to the reference section for over 5 years. All of the physical reference materials are in a back room that students do not have access to. The resources are outdated by more than 15 years and the reading accessibility would only be suited for our more proficient readers in the school. Our district subscribes to many digital reference resources such as, World Book Kids, National Geographic Kids, EbscoHost, Canoe and Tigtag. The school community has full access to these resources while at school, and some of them ev...
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Assignment 2 - Evolving effective use of reference resources through collaboration

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  Reference resources have evolved and changed over the years. I remember doing research projects in elementary school and fighting over a specific letter of a World Book I needed in order to find the information I was searching for. In the Leading Learning document one rationale has stuck with me, “ A myriad of new technologies, the explosion of digital information, and the potential of collaborative work spaces and networks are driving pedagogical changes to school curricula.” (Getting Started). I think that this is a key point in the use of reference resources for the school curriculum. How are teachers and students using reference materials? Where are they finding these reference resources with an LLC that does not have current print resources? Below I follow the CBAM and SAMR scales to take a deeper look into the use of reference resources by two teachers at my school.  Teacher A - Mrs. C has been teaching for 25+ years. She is less than 5 years away from retiring. She ha...
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Theme #2 - What does a Teacher Librarian actually do?

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My thoughts and opinions have evolved over my journey to achieve my Teacher Librarian (TL) diploma. Before I started the program I was like “Oh, how nice it would be to have groups of students come in, read them a book and help them sign out books.” Little did I know what the whole scope of a TL position entails. Now that I am on my final course I have a far better understanding of the role of the TL. Not only are TL’s responsible for creating a welcoming environment for the school community, they need to ensure that the Library Learning Commons (LLC) is a place where the school community can come for help to find appropriate resources, lifelong literacy skills, support in answering questions, and access to a wide range of topics and ideas.  Managing the Library Learning Commons This theme held lots of great information about how a TL should run a functional LLC.   I am a daydreamer, so I sat with this information for quite a while planning out my LLC and how I would like to “...
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Assignment #1 - Evaluation and Replacement of a Referaterial

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  Part One The Library Learning Commons (LLC) I will be using for this assignment has a population of about 500 students. It is located in an elementary school that ranges from kindergarten to grade 5. In the LLC the physical reference section is housed in a small back room. As a current grade 3 and 4 teacher I choose to look at a reference collection called Wildlife of the World published by the Marshall Cavendish Corporation.  Vol. 2 front cover, Wildlife of the World Content Scope: Wildlife of the World is a 13 volume collection that introduces 300 different animals from around the world. Every animal featured gets at least a full double page describing the animals habitat, behaviour and adaptations. The content aligns quite well with the curricular content of elementary school children. However, the curricular competencies state that teachers should focus on the local environment and adding First Peoples perspectives and that content is not included ( BC curriculum ) Acc...
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