Avoiding work with...more work.

Needing a break from my ETL504 assignment, I've started working on my second ETL501 assignment. Yes, I am a bit weird!

For ETL501 I have to create an electronic pathfinder - "a tool used by teacher librarians to create an annotated list of relevant, mediated resources for a specified group of students on a curriculum related topic". I also need to write a critical reflection of the process of creating the pathfinder. So prepare to hear a lot about how I'm going with my pathfinder!

What have I done so far? My first step was to choose a curriculum related topic. My background is as a mathematics teacher, so for my earlier assignment I evaluated mathematics websites related to graphing. For the record, I believe that maths teachers rely far to heavily on the old "chalk and talk" and the good old textbook. Far fewer people would say "I'm no good at maths" or "I hate maths" if we broadened the range of resources and teaching and learning activities for maths. But for this assignment I'd like to try working with a different subject area.

I've been looking at the Science syllabus for Stages 4 and 5 (Years 7 - 10). I'd like to try something related to either 4.9.3 the structure of the Earth, 4.9.4 the atmosphere, 4.9.5 the hydrosphere, or 4.9.6 the lithosphere. It sounds interesting to me, and I can see the potential for relating the content to current environmental issues. I did a quick search using the keyword "earth science" on the NSW State Library online catalogue, and there seem to be plenty of print resources with potential. I've also found Geology.com , which seems like a good place to start in terms of electronic resources. So I'm on my way!

Secondly, I had to decide on a platform to use to create my pathfinder. I've started something on pbworks, but don't get too excited. So far all it has is a heading. My pathfinder will be a wiki - perfect for a teacher librarian wanting to work collaboratively with teachers.

So that's as far as I've gotten so far, and if you know of any fabulous resources relating to earth sciences, then let me know!

Assignment Overload

For the past week or so, I have been focusing almost exclusively on my next uni assignment. I find honing my academic writing the most challenging thing about my M Ed. Our assignments all have very strict word limits, and we are given detailed marking sheets with sections like "responds to", "uses evidence", "demonstrates analysis" and "addresses learning objectives effectively". It is so difficult to adequately cover everything expected of us within the word limit! Not only that, we are constantly reminded to be critically evaluative in what we write.

I find myself rewriting and editing over and over, as I try to find the elusive combination of words that will demonstrate my grasp of the issues, critical reflection, and original thought!

I'm now at the point where I feel like I wouldn't have a clue whether what I have written for the current assignment is rubbish or genius! I'm too close. I may have to take a break and work on something else for a day or two then come back to it.

Despite my complaints, I do find the academic writing enjoyable and challenging. But the time between submission and receiving results can be a little stressful!

Beyonce sings to Chelsea in Sydney

Have you seen this? Makes me cry every time.

Share the Love

Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou Miss R! Hugs and kissed to you XOX

The lovely Miss R at Miss Remmer's Review has passed on this wonderful award to me, designed to reward and show gratitude to those that have awarded you in the past.

As usual, I'm not too good at sticking with the rules for awards, and I'm kinda doing my own thing here. I've decided to pass this award on to some blogs that I've only recently discovered.

1. Sara at Sara's Blatherings.

2. Nely at All About {n}.

3. Nina at J'adorehappyendings.

4. Paradox at Paradoxical.

5. Ulat Buku at Ulat Buku in the City.

6. Emma at Yes, I Have a Different Book Everytime You See Me.

Enjoy, everyone. Please check out the blogs above - they are worth visiting!

School Library Websites

Topic 6 of ETL501 is concerned with the provision of information services to the school community through the school library website. There are many benefits to developing a school library website. In short:

• A school library website provides access to the catalogue and online reference sources from anywhere within the school and from outside the school.
• A website provides a venue for improved communication between the library and the school community.
• A website provides an opportunity for easy access to a variety of learning tools including pathfinders and scaffolds.
• A website can act as a virtual filing cabinet for teaching and learning materials and can be used to showcase student work.

Silvennoinen, A. (2005). Virtual St Mary's: A journey to cyberspace. Access 19(3), 19-22.

Silvennoinen says that the greatest benefit of having a school library website is that it is a library without walls or constraints, extending the use of the library to 24 hours a day every day of the year. She also notes the encouragement of computer and information literacy skills, and the appeal to the modern technology-oriented teenager. And the fact that the website is a great marketing tool for the library's services!

A WebQuest About School Library Websites by Joyce Valenza is a fabulous resource for evaluating school library websites, or to use when designing your own. It is extremely thorough, considering both content and design aspects of the website. I won't even try to summarise it here - you just have to go and see it for yourself!

Best practices in school library website design by David Walbert also provides some very good practical help for librarians venturing into website design. He recommends focusing on what your clients need, and how to best serve them, while keeping the actual website uncomplicated. According to Walbert, accessibility is number one, and every effort should be made to ensure maximum accessibility by using images sparingly, always providing alternate (text) content, and making sure that the font and font size are readable. He also recommends making sure that your website functions as expected, and that navigation is clearly labelled so that it is clear which links are internal and which are external to the library website. Keeping design and navigation consistent across all web pages also helps avoid confusion. Considering the intended audience of the website is also important. All in all, content is king, design should be clean and simple, and everything should be ORGANISED!

Walbert recommends using a blog for your school library website! The blog and hosting are free, the design is already done for you, and site navigation and contents are created automatically for you. You can post and edit content, and there are plenty of opportunities for customising and creating labels etc. Keeping a blog also helps you to learn some basic HTML, which you could use later to build your own website.

I must say, reading all this has caused me to think about my blog as a website, and to consider whether or not it is effectively doing what I want it to do.

Love generously

Live simply

Love generously

Care deeply

Speak kindly

Leave the rest to God...

(author unknown)

Dead to the World

I have just finished reading Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris, the fourth book in the Southern Vampires series, and my fourth book for the Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

I have enjoyed all the books, but so far this one is my favourite! Warning - SPOILERS!

From the back of the book:

"...when she comes across a naked vampire on the way home from work, she doesn't just drive on by. He hasn't got a clue who he is, but Sookie has: Eric looks just as scary and sexy - and dead - as the day she met him. But now he has amnesia, he's sweet, vulnerable, and in need of Sookie's help - because whoever took his memory now wants his life..."

Now I was the first to applaud when Sookie took a vow of abstinence (from vampires) at the end of Club Dead. I cheered her on for deciding to put her own health and safety first for a change. But all along I knew neither she or I could last for long without a little vampire action in her life! Cue Eric, all scared and sweet and in need of a little TLC...

What I love about this book:

Good old Sookie - gotta love her! She's too responsible and helpful for her own good, always ending up in the thick of any trouble that's going around.

Shapeshifters and vampires working together...just like Twilight, but different!

URST. Now bear with me here. I am a strong believer in the concept that for any long-standing series to endure, there must be URST (un-resolved sexual tension) between two main characters. Right back to the days of Remington Steele (loved that show!), I have watched and enjoyed TV series in which I sooooo wanted the two main characters to get together. (Think Bones). The same thing applies in a book series. Now those of you who have read Dead to the World may be wondering where the "un-resolved" part fits in here. But that's the beauty of the amnesia device used in this book. Because if the sexual tension is resolved, but you can't remember it, then it doesn't count!

What wasn't so good about this book:

The cheesy sex scenes. I think Charlaine Harris writes these with her tongue firmly in her cheek, but they're still a bit cringe-inducing.

Dead to the World is thoroughly enjoyable and highly recommended. I have the next book on reserve at the library!