Riddle me this, Lori…

In our last online meeting for ETL401, I threw the floor open to our students. What burning questions did they have for me as a practitioner that I could answer in a blog post for them?

It can be tricky coming up with fresh ideas to marry theory to practice for our students in a session (without seeming as though I’m repeating myself from year to year!). And our students sometimes just don’t have the opportunity to ask a practitioner about the “bigger picture” parts of a TL role. So this is a chance to do that.

Thanks to Chelsea, Melissa, and our two “Anon” contributors for today’s questions/conundrums. They’re pretty fulsome – I may not have enough room in my blog to go really in depth! I accept the challenge, so here goes…

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How do we prioritise the many roles we have and tasks that we have the freedom to do? Are we obligated to promote literacy, for example, over student wellbeing or is it acceptable to spend time promoting wellbeing and facilitating student clubs/safe space within the library as our main goal, and IL/ICT/Critical thinking somewhat secondary (though not neglected)?

These questions really resonate with me as a TL. I feel that you have to prioritise your role and the many “hats” that you wear according to the needs of your school community. It is not possible to be able to do EVERYTHING all of the time (see my post ‘All things to all people’). In particular, I think it’s one of our challenges to push back against “we only do books” perspective people have of our role, and you raise what is an important but often hidden aspect of the role of the library, the TL and the library staff in a school community: wellbeing.

It is actually possible to prioritise wellbeing alongside IL/ICT/Critical Thinking if you examine the needs of your community. Have a read of my ‘Library as Third Space: Supporting academic and emotional wellbeing in the school community‘ article. There are examples of what we do at my school from the library and how that’s supported by leadership.

What are some strategies to use with classroom teachers to develop their valuing of the library space and TL role for collaborative practice? I’m thinking particularly of my last high school where the majority of high school teachers viewed the library as unrelated to their subject areas.

I will be perfectly honest with you: I don’t think it is possible to convince EVERY subject area in your school to engage with the library or see its value in their space. It is key to analyse the curriculum, particularly the General Capabilities, find where you fit with each subject area, and then approach those who will be keen to jump on board. Go from there!

The other way to get an ‘in’ to start with is to be part of your school’s curriculum team and assessment team. Yes, it may add to your workload initially, but then you get input into how you can effectively support and influence ACROSS the curriculum. This demonstrates your whole of school lens as a teacher AND an information specialist to the heads of faculty/senior leadership who may be part of these teams, and give you another opportunity in each subject area.

I’ve also discussed how we’ve jumped into ‘non-traditional’ subject areas at my school in my ‘Value Adding‘ post. Well worth heading over to that to get more ideas of your possible influence.

What is the best advice you have for new TL’s? How on EARTH do you fit everything in? What did your BEST ever lesson look like?

1. Have a look at the ‘All things to all people‘ post I’ve suggested under the first question. Some great hints and tips there.
2. Tap into all the PLNs (professional learning networks) that you can and join your professional associations (ASLA and state/territory groups). Professional associations sometimes have mentoring programs that will connect you with more experienced TLs.
3. Watch and observe your school community to see how it operates. What is working well? What could benefit from your expertise in IL/ICT/ collection management/resource provision for classes/wellbeing support? Find your ‘in’.
4. Make time to go to morning teas, social events, faculty meetings, and have corridor ‘chats’. KNOW your staff and listen to what they might need from you (even if they’re not quite sure themselves yet!).
5. Make a connection with a broad range of students in the school population. Say hi when walking around the school, in the library etc. Ask them what they’d like to see from their school library.
6. Publicise library services and events in your school newsletter/blog/social media presence to connect to the wider parent community.
7. Find the strategic plan for your school and read it. Take note of system wide goals (ie for your state/territory education department) and understand how these influence your school’s strategic plan. Figure out where you and the services you provide fit in. Then make an appointment with your principal and share your ideas and plans with them, outlining how you can support and implement goals and actions from these documents.

Looks like a lot, yes? Don’t forget, this can be done over time, even over a whole year or two! Don’t rush in and burn yourself out or overcommit. I think finding your supports first and people connections are important and the rest will come.

Finally, my own mantra, which I developed after having an MEd (Teach Lib) student on prac 3 years ago. It’s simple but is something I come back to time and again. It only took almost 30 years of being a TL to come up with it. 🙂

When applying/looking for TL jobs, how do you get a genuine sense of the school so you know you’ll be a good fit with their values and expectations (besides reading their online school plan)? Do you have any tips on getting “inside information” on a school or whether a visit is worthwhile? What kind of questions would you suggest we ask the panel at an interview or on the phone, to really find out their beliefs?

I love the way you are approaching your TL job hunting. It is quite important that your values and expectations fit those of the school you hope to work for eventually. It is partly because you want to love where you work but also so you aren’t frustrated that your way of thinking (around curriculum, resource management etc) isn’t diametrically opposed to the school’s way of thinking.

Contacting the school directly for a tour and a chat is a great idea and puts a ‘name to a face’ when you eventually submit your application. Chat with the principal about the role of the TL, visit the library and have a chat to the staff, see how the staff and students interact with each other.

You can also “suss out” a school by being part of your local TL network and meeting staff who may work at the school already. Take care not to be swayed by those who have “heard things” but have no direct experience at the school.

Congrats if you get to interview when applying for a job!

1. If invited for an interview, ask at that stage if you will be provided the questions beforehand (either via email or given reading time 15 mins prior to the interview).
2. If this isn’t an opportunity that is invited, consider what you’ve learned about the school, and then what your personal philosophies are around curriculum, pedagogy, working with staff and students, connecting with the wider community, and have real life examples ready to go. If you’ve not worked as a TL, consider how your classroom teaching/other work might provide an insight into how you’ll work as a TL.
3. Always project yourself into the role and think WHEN, not IF. For example, as you answer questions: “When I am TL at your school, I will…”. It’s that confidence we’ve just discussed in Module 6 forums!
4. Questions you might like to ask (if not already made explicit in the job description, from the school website, or from your visit):
   • Are there opportunities to contribute at a whole school level to curriculum, assessment….?
   • What are your perceptions and thoughts about the role of the TL in the school community? What are your ideas around the place of the school library in the school community, and in teaching and learning?
   • Will I have a teaching load alongside my TL role?
   • What sort of admin support will I have?
   • What extracurricular expectations are there from me outside of core teaching and learning?

I hope my post is of interest and relevance to you as you leave ETL401 behind and continue on your TL journey. Join in the conversation below in the Comments section! If you’ve had an opportunity to work as or apply for a TL role, what advice do you have for your fellow students and their questions?

Information literacy gave me writer’s block

Sometimes you can plan and sometimes you just have to go with the flow.  Don’t worry about making it spot on, just do it and see what happens.

Feck Perfuction: Dangerous ideas on the business of life is a book I’m working through.  It’s easy to dip in and out of and I’m finding it challenging.  It’s because I’m so caught up in something needing to be perfect before I do it.  But that’s the way to stifle what could be and what could come of a spark of an idea.  This blog post (plucked from the wonderful No Tosh FB page) touches on this specifically in the context of schools.

This is pretty much what happened to me with this week’s post. I’m so keen to make my writing relevant to your theory each week, and was so worried that I couldn’t, that it led to writer’s block.  So I’ve taken a deep breath and am free forming. Wish me luck.

This week, you’ve been introduced to the concept of information literacy, information literacy models, and touched on information fluency, digital literacy and the idea of convergence. It’s a lot to take in but quite important to teacher librarianship and what we do in our teaching capacity.

You’ve been asked to read through the IL models presented to you and asked to think about what would work best in your school.  To be honest, we sort of operate without a model explicitly and we have no information literacy policy or framework in place.

I hear you all *GASP*!!!

Hear me out.  OK, not quite true. I think we perhaps operate somewhere between the NSW ISP, Kuhlthau’s ISP (for social and emotional tracking), and Crockett’s Information Fluency (some great ideas for implementation of this in Literacy is not enough).

LTC Library has just started working with our feeder high schools to see what skills and IL/DL knowledge our students are bringing with them (and to figure out their libraries are used…if they have one that is regularly open).  Our Keys to Success program was created about five years ago to address some of these issues. It morphs and changes from term to term and year to year according to student need and their feedback on content we deliver.  There are whole sessions we no longer deliver because the content is no longer relevant.

(Want to know more?  Come along to the National Education Summit’s Capacity Building School Libraries Conference in Brisbane, May 31-June 1, where I will be running a workshop about our K to S program and how you can consider setting something similar up in your school.  Register here.)

As a whole, our school is identifying the General Capabilities that are being addressed within each Faculty and subject area and starting to map this on a big wall in what used to be a deputy principal’s office!  The Curriculum Futures team that I belong to is using this to work closely with our Assessment team to find where everything meets and how we can improve our course offerings across the board for students and our wider community.

We are also working with our Academic Life team (they oversee Year 11 & 12 package checks, scores and grades, and counsel our students on course and subject choices).  Our hope is for the Transition Team to identify students who require transition support in the form of academic and research skills, and LTC Library work with them specifically at the beginning of their first year with us to ensure future success at Year 11 and 12.  Still in discussion but fingers crossed.

So, if you look closely, we’re kind of coming to a convergence of information literacy and General Capabilities across the College.  This probably indicates that we’re moving closer to information and digital fluencies for our students.

I had to do some further reading to really get my head around fluency vs literacy.  I came across this post from CORE Education (I am mindful that this is from an education consultancy but the references used to create the post seem solid).  It focuses on digital fluency but uses visuals to demonstrate how fluency is “broader” than literacy.  I thought you may find this of interest.

Over and out from me.  I’ve really enjoyed reflecting on what is happening in my workplace in the context of your learning – thanks for the opportunity.

 

 

 

At the crossroads (or a crossover!): Introduction to Teacher Librarianship (ETL401) and Teacher Librarian as Leader (ETL504)

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Welcome back to the second half of session for students from both subjects! Week 8 of session finds both subjects exploring the concept of leadership in different ways.  ETL401 students are looking at collaborative practice and curriculum design, and ETL504 students are learning to lead in the 21st century and what this looks like in a school library.

This will be quite a long post, but I’m keen to share how all of this could look with practical examples from my own experience (one that is currently ongoing and material from my workshop with Emma Cox from the recent ASLA conference).

So grab a cuppa, get comfy, and let’s get started…

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Those of you who follow my blog and are doing ETL401 know how much fun my colleague Holly Godfree and I have working together.  Yes, she is now THAT Holly, of the ASLA TL of the Year Award fame (I will now have to scream with joy when I see her and faint just being in her presence. Our Mondays together might be a bit awkward for a while… 😀 ).

Sharing only one day a week together and collaborating via email and online the other four days doesn’t deter us.  We seem to “share a brain” and be on the same wavelength about all things TL in our day to day service provision and working with staff and students.  We almost finish each others’ sentences!

Our teachers happily interchange our names when they speak with us because I believe they think we are the same person, such is the seamless service provision and our both being up to date with teacher needs.

I guess what I’m trying to say here is that in everything that you do, you need to remain visible and keep communicating with staff, students, leadership and parents. You’ll hear that A LOT during your study.  It’s true.

“Collaboration is centred on people and how they relate to one another. It relies on transforming tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge. It has the capacity to break down knowledge silos in workplaces. It relies on nurturing both creativity and criticality. It needs time and it needs trust – trust to be able to shun the veneer of politeness and to cultivate and celebrate creative dissonance.” (Langford, 2009,1, bold font added to original)

I’ve included Langford’s quote from ETL401’s Module 4.2 because it really speaks to everything about being a TL. Our work can’t happen fully if we don’t know how to work with others.  We can’t make a difference to our students’ learning outcomes if we operate in that “silo” of the school library and never venture out.  For some of us, that means finding a way to get out of and draw others into a totally separate building (this is what we work with every day as a shared use library – public and college).

Ten years on from Langford’s article, Tracey Ezard‘s comment during her keynote address at the 2019 ASLA conference about “moving out of silos to make a collective impact” still resonates with me.  She was talking about teachers also needing to move out of their “faculty silos” and working across faculties and with the TL.

The perfect way to do this is to highlight your ability to work with Fullan’s 6Cs, the New Pedagogies. It aligns so well with our ability to address, implement, and resource the General Capabilities in the Australian Curriculum – “so hot right now” (spot the Zoolander quote!) amongst teachers.  We are particularly suited to work with Critical and Creative Thinking, Ethical Understanding, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), and Literacy.

An example of this is the work we’re currently undertaking with our English teachers on an oral presentation task around Protest.  It is the first time in the almost 7 years I have been working at my school that we have had the opportunity to embed ourselves from design of assessment task, to curation of content, to delivery of content (including information and digital literacy skills, moderation and marking of the task, and (hopefully) feedback to students alongside the teachers.  We are incredibly excited about this opportunity!  (In the past, we’ve only been embedded in a program of learning by doing ‘just in time’ information and digital literacy skills and providing resourcing).

How did this look in the lead up?

One of the English teachers brought a draft of their task to us after making an appointment to consult.  We looked at the language and scaffolding of the task, explored the assignment verbs being used, and asked the teacher about the learning styles of the students across all five classes undertaking this task.  We also explored the resources available and created a shared document in Google Docs to share with the other teachers on the team (which was eventually shared with all students and grew with their suggestions and choice of social protest they wanted to research).

The General Capabilities covered:

• Intercultural Understanding (other points of view alongside their own, shaping of identity, culture and belief)
• ICT (access to resources; demonstration of oral presentation tools available)
• Ethical Understanding (empathy for others and their cause), and
• Critical and Creative thinking (reasoning, developing an argument, and drawing conclusions)

There was also embedding of “just in time” information and digital literacy skills, including:

• Smart Searching Strategies
• Evaluating Websites
• Referencing
• Effective Oral Presentations (hints and tips)

Each teacher chose the sessions that would best suit the needs of their specific class and booked a series of lessons in the lead up to the presentation of the tasks in Term 2.

We were invited to all five Google Classrooms so we could easily upload resources and handouts where necessary.  It was also handy when classes had a relief teacher who didn’t have access, because we could then share this with them and there was no discontinuity for the students.  We were the ‘constant’ in the room if they had a question about the task.

During delivery?

As well as delivering just in time skills, we were on hand in the classroom to:

• work alongside the teacher in assisting students to get started on their research
• work with the student to start developing their presentation
• suggest other angles students could explore within their chosen protest form and event

Sometimes classes came across to the library and we experimented working with them in the open space and then in a classroom space with couches and bean bags. To maintain focus for the majority of the students, it was decided in consultation with the teacher that the classroom was the best space while in the library.  Too many distractions from passing students to work in the open area with these particular students.  Some students chose to work in a study carrel to maintain focus as well.

In Term 2, we will have the opportunity to sit with the teacher as students present their tasks to moderate and mark the work.

What’s happening after the task is marked and returned to the students?

• We hope to speak with the team of teachers and arrange to be part of a feedback session with students when they return students’ work
• Holly and I would like to gather some data to see if our involvement made a difference in quality of work from students;
• We would also like to gauge if students found our ongoing presence useful
• We also want to find out if our colleagues felt our collaborative approach made a difference (to their practice but also to student outcomes)
• We think to really get a clear picture, we will probably have to repeat the same involvement with the same classes in the second half of the year and compare/contrast evidence from each to reflect on our impact.

Challenges that you may encounter…

• As teacher librarians, we’re used to working with others all the time. Some of our classroom colleagues feel vulnerable and think we may judge them and how they teach/develop their tasks etc
  • This couldn’t be further from the truth! I enjoy watching the way the different ways my colleagues approach their teaching and often have one or two takeaways to improve my own teaching (even after over 20 years as a TL).
  • I love seeing many and varied assessment tasks – like seeing different classroom practice, it exposes you to some new and innovative ways of delivering assessment that is engaging (and that you can suggest to others e.g “I recently saw that X tried this….”).
  • I ask my colleagues to provide feedback on my own lessons and interactions with their students – encouraging a learning environment and breaking down that vulnerability and fragility around sharing practice with others.

• You may encounter a colleague who has never worked with a TL before or who has had an unpleasant experience with TLs in their teaching past.
  • Sidle up to them at morning tea with a useful resource you know would be useful.
  • Send them a friendly email noting that you’d heard they were working on ‘X’ assignment – did they know you could come in and assist with…?
  • Have other colleagues in their staffroom who have worked successfully with you share their positive experience at their faculty meeting.

How do you develop your collaboration across the school?

• We send out regular emails to staff: sharing a new website, ed tech tips, upcoming professional learning that may be of interest, new resources
• We curate resources using Oliver, our LTC Library website
• We have a “For Teachers” tab on our LTC Library website, that also includes a list of titles in our Professional Reading library with annotations.
• Holly shares both new resources and current intriguing resources from our collection with colleagues at Friday morning tea each week and takes her laptop along so they can borrow on the spot!

Do you work with teachers to integrate ed tech?

• The running joke with Holly and I is that I’m the “digital” TL (I love playing with new tools and following various groups on social media in this space) and she is the “analog” TL (keeping up with book titles and grounding us in the latest fiction and non-fiction).
• Essentially, we’re still working on this with our staff.  It’s really a case by case basis when a teacher is looking for assistance or wants to know what they can use for a particular lesson.
• Something we do is share hints and tips with our staff by email.  I like following Richard Byrne’s Free Tech 4 Teachers blog, Google’s latest releases/updates around the time of the new school year in the Northern Hemisphere, and am part of the Connected Educators of the ACT FB page (closed group).

Other practical ideas 

Emma Cox (a TL colleague of mine in the ACT) and I presented Embedding the library and the TL in your school community at the recent ASLA conference.  We were keen to share with others how you could “lead from the middle” by sharing what we did in a primary and secondary/senior secondary context.  Much of what we do involves communication and collaboration.

Ideas we shared included:

• Working and leading from the “sweet spot” between Professional Knowledge, Professional Practice, and Professional Relationships (Australian Professional Standards for Teachers)
• “Speed planning” with staff once a term
• Regular emails to staff and leadership
• Regular newsletter contributions to keep contact with parents
• Ongoing contact with parents through Seesaw: sharing snapshots of learning
• TL and library as part of the preservice teacher program when they are on observation rounds or prac (sneaky, ninja like ways of advocating for a TL and school library – “the library is your friend!” – which they take to their next schools!)
• Emails to new staff starting at your school at the end of the previous year – showcase your service and welcome them to visit when they settle in

One part of the workshop that participants really like was doing an “environmental scan” of their influence in their school community.  This came from an activity Emma undertook when doing ETL504 last year using Coggle.  This scan can be done by you as an individual or with your library team.  It can identify the following:

• Professional pathways development
• A catalyst for discussions with your leadership team
• Professional learning requirements
• Gaps in your service provision

It is also important to note when doing this:

• Not everything will be activated all of the time.
• You may be on one team one year (depending on focus of school/your services), and another team another year
• There could be an ‘ebb and flow’ effect (ie services in high demand while assessment is being completed; but breathing time while work is being assessed and reports are being written).

If you’d like to do an environmental scan of your own school, make use of the resources we provided our workshop participants. This folder contains Emma’s map of her influence from the library across her school community and a template for you to download and use for your own scan.  PLEASE NOTE: Depending on where you are in your TL degree and experience, you may have a number of gaps – and that’s OK!

Still with me?  I hope you found this post useful in translating some of this week’s theory into practice.  Keep in touch and let me know if you did the environmental scan.  I’m also around if you want further information on anything in my post.

Email: lori.korodaj@ed.act.edu.au

Twitter: @LoriKorodaj

References

Langford, L. (2009). Collaboration or Co-blab-oration. Synergy, 7(2).

information. dissemination. influence.

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It is now Week 6 of Term 1 and I seem to be ricocheting from one meeting to another.  As a part time staff member, I think I have joined too many teams.  As a TL, I think I could join more in our school community.  The juxtaposition of the two doesn’t sit quite right, does it?

I sit on our Curriculum Futures team (looking at curriculum mapping of our course offerings), our Communications team, and our Professional Learning team (which also oversees and helps support our PLCs – professional learning communities). I’d sit on the Assessment team as well (which works closely with the Curriculum Futures team) but there aren’t enough hours in my three days a week alongside my teaching and working with individual students. 😀

A window into my afternoon:

• We were finishing up a meeting about our new Student Portal (I’m on board because of web design knowledge, study support content, and updating the ‘What’s On’ page).
• As it’s winding up, I’m completing the half finished professional reading email from earlier today to send out to our regional school libraries mailing list.
• While the email’s being completed, our school blog and Instagram co-ordinator (our amazing Photography teacher) is excited to show me the fresh design updates to said blog for re-launch (I will also be keeping an eye on the school blog alongside the school website).
• Just after this has happened, a teacher that has just sent through an email about updating some school website content has walked past, seen me in the room and asked about the content of their email…
• And simultaneously I’m setting up another meeting for next week with our Head of Student Services to discuss the design of the Student Portal as it emerges from its ‘beta’ stage.

All within 10 minutes and just for one team…Is your head spinning yet?

I’m really not following the last point in my TL Mantra, am I?  You are also probably asking why being on all these teams is important as a TL in my school community (I think part of it is the adrenaline rush that comes from the ongoing ‘ping’ of ideas and activity!).

Information. Whole school overview and influence. Pure and simple.

My job as a TL involves dissemination of information in many forms (part of the content of Module 2 for those playing along in ETL401).  Our library team finds information (in print and electronic form), assesses information (for use by staff and students), interprets and shares information (with staff via email and staff meetings; students via electronic communication and in person; parents via our blog); provides evaluation of information skills (for staff and students), and discards information (out of date, irrelevant for our school community).  In my role on the Comms team, it’s looking at information dissemination and communication that has meaning and relevance for all audiences in our school, in a format that suits each one: parents, staff AND students.

Most days, I feel like Dr Strange, but wielding and manipulating information rather than time and space (yes, I’m a Marvel fan. Sadly, copyright prevents me from embedding the perfect image into my blog post.  You can, however, feast your eyes on this wonderful image instead.  You’re welcome).

As TLs, we are in a unique position of being one of a handful of individuals within a school who is able to have influence over the WHOLE school community. My TL colleague and I choose to be part of the teams where we can have the most influence in teaching and learning, and embed best practice for information and digital literacy skills, as well as critical and creative thinking (the General Capabilities that are all of a sudden in the educational spotlight – our place to shine!).

So, while I may be on too many teams, I still think it would be great to be on more.  Such is the constant tension of the TL practitioner.

 

INF541 ASSESSMENT TASK 5: Critical reflection

Sadly, my engagement with INF541 has not been the same as with previous subjects.  Juggling an (unexpectedly) increased load at work, study, and family life this session has been quite difficult.  The content has been intriguing and I am disappointed that I was unable to connect more closely during the past couple of months.

Game based learning, through readings completed, have shown numbers of applications through problem based learning, connected learning, social and emotional learning, new media literacies, and 21^st century learning.  A recent report by the World Economic Forum (2016) actually discusses the positive use of educational technology (pp. 28-29) in social and emotional learning, and more specifically, the importance of strategy games within the curriculum and inquiry based learning (pp. 10-12).

The reflection on Module 1.1 provoked exciting ideas.  I could see so many possibilities to embed game-based learning (more specifically, Minecraft) into my teaching and learning.  On top of the usual Prezi presentation and written work, the group work assessment task for my Certificate II students could expand and allow them to create their 21^st century school library in a virtual environment.  It would foster critical thinking and collaboration (21^st century learning skills and also touching on SEL) within the group and provide demonstration of their digital devices competency for their VET outcomes.  An amazing opportunity to allow students to provide a ‘walkthrough’ of their perfect school library! Guidance from Gee’s article (2014) would be useful to ensure appropriate introduction and crafting of lessons around the curriculum in place.

It was quite enjoyable to identify GBL classroom applications against the General Capabilities of the Australian Curriculum. I surprised myself at how easily these ideas developed after consideration and reading from the modules.  High hopes were also had in this second INF541 blog post to immerse myself in Minecraft and investigate my personal thoughts around teacher reluctance (particularly in senior secondary) to take on GBL. After the readings undertaken this session, I’m still convinced that the two key factors aresocial constructionism and infowhelm. I believe there is still scope there to mount some action research but it will realistically have to wait until after my MEd studies are completed.

Social inclusivity and social and emotional learning are more prevalent pedagogies for educators to instill and incorporate in their everyday teaching.  They sit quite nicely alongside participatory and personalised learning as pedagogical constructs, and resonate with me in my current school, where our new school motto ‘Learn Thrive Connect’ drive this within our student population.  Dweck’s Growth Mindset theory is part of our positive psychology focus for Semester 1 and I can see great potential in embedding GBL as part of this focus.  I also see Jenkins’ New Media Literacies (2006), particularly those of Simulation and Collective Intelligence sitting strongly alongside this way of thinking.

Not being a gamer, the week of Ingress didn’t overly capture my interest.  At first, I was eagerly downloaded the app and searched avidly for portals in my immediate environment. I even stopped into a portal at the back of my children’s school as it was on the way back to the car after drop off.  After that, the fun wore off.

It was an excellent way to engage INF541 students in the possibilities of game based learning in the curriculum, however, and my mind fired with examples of subject areas where this could engage students.  I could see applications for outdoor education (particularly for orienteering and geocaching), geography (getting to know your local area through portal visits), PE (getting out and about rather than sitting on the couch at home),  team building (choice of team – Enlightened or Resistance?), Ethics (why choose a particular team? What are the morals and ethics around your choice?), written application to join a particular team (English – persuasive text), and even library orientation!  There was even connection back to 21^st century learning skills (the 4Cs) and a SEL core competency (social interaction) when reading through the Agent Protocol listed on the Ingress site.

 

 

References

CASEL. SEL Competencies. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.casel.org/social-and-emotional-learning/core-competencies/

 

Gee, J.P. (2005). Good video games and good learning. Phi Kappa Phi Forum,  85(2), 33-37. Retrieved fromhttp://dmlcentral.net/sites/dmlcentral/files/resource_files/GoodVideoGamesLearning.pdf

 

Gee, J.P. (2014). Games as well designed teaching and learning. P21 Blogazine, 1 (8). Retrieved from http://www.p21.org/news-events/p21blog/1511-gee-games-as-well-designed-teaching-and-learning

Korodaj, L. (2016, March 5). INF541 Blog task #1: are digital games being overlooked in ‘digital education’ reform? [Blog post]. Retrieved fromhttp://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/emusings/2016/03/05/inf541-blog-task-1-are-digital-games-being-overlooked-in-digital-education-reform/

 

Mojang AB. (2016). Minecraft. Retrieved from https://minecraft.net/

 

New Media Literacies. (2006). Create Circulate Connect Collaborate. Retrieved fromhttp://www.newmedialiteracies.org/the-new-media-literacies/

 

World Economic Forum. (2016). New vision for education: fostering social and emotional learning through technology. Retrieved fromhttp://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_New_Vision_for_Education.pdf

INF541 Blog task #2: how might games be used to develop a more socially inclusive classroom or workplace using Gee’s viewpoint?

There is an expectation that games in education should all be like Serious Games, where the outcome is a extension of the rote learning taking place in the classroom. Nothing could be further from the truth.

As discussed in INF541 Blog Post #1 (Korodaj, 2016), GBL and video games can effortlessly deliver on the General Capabilities in the Australian Curriculum.  In relation to social inclusion, the specific capabilities that address this in the classroom arena are personal and social, ethical, and intercultural understanding.

Social inclusion, as described in McDonald (2011), touches on four key domains of opportunity.  They involve societal participation through access to services, connections with family, friends and the wider community, capacity building for times of crisis, and the opportunity to have a voice heard.  Think of what a MMOG such as Minecraft could provide for a child who has trouble interacting with others in a ‘real world’ situation like the playground – an opportunity to engage with like minded individuals, crafting worlds that are of their own creation with their own input, at a time where they may not have control of circumstance in their own lives.

Elias (2014) suggests that a truly socially inclusive school is student-centred.  This supports pedagogical constructs such as participatory and personalised learning, something quite important in the digital world we currently live and interact within. Again, using Minecraft as an example, teachers can engage students in their learning through sites such as Massively@Jokaydia and the recent MinecraftEdu. Students are part of a safe community, actively engaging in rewarding quests and the ability to recreate famous battles, Wonders of the World, and much more in a co-operative manner (in the classroom and as part of a wider digital society).

Jenkins’ New Media Literacies (NML) (2016), coming more than 10 years after Gee’s article on video games and learning (2005), provide current day support to the notion of gaming to promote social inclusivity and skills for positive societal interaction (including the opportunities mentioned in McDonald’s resource sheet).

While Jenkins doesn’t support technology for technology’s sake in the classroom environment (2016, para. 2), there are specific literacies as identified by him and his team that can directly correlate to gaming use in the classroom:

Play: not only the literal sense can be addressed by GBL in the classroom.  Play allows students to experiment in a safe environment a number of actions or hypotheses, encouraging them to also take this behaviour into their everyday lives.

Simulation:  trying out complex ideas, situations, and systems with the ability to make mistakes.

Collective Intelligence: at a time where students contribute and participate in a wider digital ecosystem (be it through blogging, posting skateboarding videos, or social media), gaming and NML can be used to encourage a positive contribution to our wider digital ecosytem.

Negotiation: very closely tied to the ethical general capability, as well as the intercultural understanding capability, this NML through gaming encourages students to discern and respect multiple ideas and perspectives and live in multiple communities.

There has been concern in the media and fears amongst parents and the wider community in recent years about video games fostering violence in young people.  Banville’s recent article (2016) debunked that myth, with one of the researchers, Katherine Keyes, noting that children who played video games may not only be socially comfortable with their peers, but also comfortably integrated into their school community (Banville, 2016, para. 8).  It was also noted by the study that in support of the above mentioned General Capabilities and Jenkins’ New Media Literacies, some games reward cooperation behaviour that supported others (Banville, 2016, para. 6).

Despite the date that Gee proposed his ideas and wrote his article, his premise still stands well alongside current research and digital literacies in supporting the notion of a socially inclusive and participatory classroom.

 

References

Banville, L. (2016). New Research Finds Video Games May Boost Academics, Don’t Affect Mental Health. Retrieved from http://www.gamesandlearning.org/2016/03/10/new-research-finds-video-games-may-boost-academics-dont-affect-mental-health/

Elias, M. (2014). How to become a socially inclusive school. Edutopia. George Lucas Educational Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/how-to-become-a-socially-inclusive-school-maurice-elias

Gee, J.P. (2005). Good video games and good learning. Phi Kappa Phi Forum,  85(2), 33-37. http://dmlcentral.net/sites/dmlcentral/files/resource_files/GoodVideoGamesLearning.pdf

Korodaj, L. (2016, March 5). INF541 Blog task #1: are digital games being overlooked in ‘digital education’ reform? [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/emusings/2016/03/05/inf541-blog-task-1-are-digital-games-being-overlooked-in-digital-education-reform/

McDonald, M. (2011). Social exclusion and social inclusion: resources for child and family services [Resource sheet]. Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies. Retrieved from https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/social-exclusion-and-social-inclusion-resources-child

New Media Literacies. (2016). Create Circulate Connect Collaborate. Retrieved from http://www.newmedialiteracies.org/the-new-media-literacies/