November 8, 2015 · 12:28 am

Inquiry #5 – Reflection of Inquiry Learning

The process of inquiry and the composing of blog posts have been a challenging, yet fruitful journey of learning for me. It is a challenging because I am currently not, and have never been a teacher-librarian. I have learned a great deal of new ideas through reading others’ blogs or scholar articles. However, they stay at the knowledge level as I could not put them into practice. There is always a teacher-librarian at my school who I only meet once at the beginning of the year. As we are both part-time at the school, our days of work do not coincide. I am eager to put my learning into practice, but I have to be caution that I do not “step on someone’s toes”.

On the other hand, as I had mentioned above, I learned a lot from others’ blog posts and from the readings during my inquiry process. It is time to reflect and summarize my learning for the past couple of weeks.

Fostering reading culture at school

kids-reading-in-library

Photo in courtesy of http://theharriedmom.com/tag/reading/page/2/

“Drop Everything and Read,” hidden prized in library books, rewards for reading program, creative catalog system and signage are all useful and practical ideas that I have learned to foster students’ reading at school. My takeaway from this inquiry is that the methods we use is not a matter to our students, it’s the interpersonal relationship that matters. It is important for students to feel that we are interested in what they are reading. Even a simple conversation on the content of their reading would spark their interests in reading more and share more with you.

social-sharing

Photo in courtesy of https://readingstrategiesthatwork.wikispaces.com/Putting+the+Pieces+Together

When I have my first assignment as a teacher-librarian, I would like to start up a reading club at lunch and school reading club blog using Blogspot or Edmodo. My goal is to provide a platform for students to share their reading, as well as a way for me to know what my students are reading.

Building personal learning network

Personal learning network (PLN) is a new vocabulary that I have learned in the inquiry process. My colleagues and I would share our ideas or teach collaboratively. I also connect with colleagues from my previous schools via social media such as Facebook and Twitter. I did not realize until recently that I have been building my PLN through socializing with colleagues after school as well as connecting with others using social media. During this phase of inquiry, I experienced ideas sharing through blog posts, and was introduced to Digg which I think is an awesome tool helping me in organizing the blogs that I am interested in and would like to be notified when there is a new post. As I reflected on my work during the last few weeks, I realized that I started this phase of learning with active participation in commenting others’ blog posts. Unfortunately, I was not consistent in my participation and soon was back to my “old self” – silently reading others’ blog posts without leaving a comment. I will continue to push myself out of my comfort zone of being an “observant,” and participate more actively in discussions on blogs or social media.

Being an educational leader

I am always anxious in being a leader, especially an educational leader. I always question myself and consider others’ ideas are better than mine. I am an novice in information communication technology (ICT) and mostly like is the one who need help from others instead of providing help to others. However, I learned from my own inquiry and others’ sharing in their blog posts, being a leader does not mean you have to be an expert on everything. A leader would have a good interpersonal relationship with other staffs at the school, an awareness of the needs of the others and would be able to provide recommendation of resources that would fulfil the needs of others. Moving forward, I would be more aware of colleagues’ work in their classes and provide suggestion of possible resources, such as iPad apps or printed resources, that would enhance learning. Moreover, I plan to join the professional development committee and help in planning school-wide professional development event. I would be more aware of professional development opportunities outside of school, such as local conferences or online resources, and make recommendations to other staffs at school. I would take small steps at a time and work towards being an educational leader.

Mobile devices use in developing literacies in developing nations

I was amazed in discovering how people in developing nations could learn literacy through the use of mobile devices. The mobile devices allow people to get access to English resources, but also resources in their mother language which are rare find in printed format. Through inquiry process, I could concluded that most organizations, whose goal is to develop libraries in developing nations, encourages the use of mobile devices. In the meanwhile, in our school communities, educators are concerning privacy issues with the use of mobile devices. Furthermore, educators might question or worry that technology might replace our practice of teaching, and eventually, students would learn independently with the use of mobile device rather than from a teacher. While I was composing this blog post, a colleague of mine shared a blog post titled “Will technology replace teachers?” on Facebook. The photo below basically provides the answer to the question.

technology-will-never-replace-teachers

Photo in courtesy of http://www.coolcatteacher.com/category/education/teaching/

This marks the end of the phase 2 of my inquiry learning. As we move into the next module in which we will be sharing our “Vision of the future” project, my goal is to be a more active participant in commenting on others’ blog posts, as well as responding to others’ comments on my own blog posts. I believe that I would learn more through discussions with my fellow classmates in my group.

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October 31, 2015 · 6:02 pm

Inquiry #4 – Developing Libraries in Developing Nations

Whenever people think about ways to help the people in developing nations, most of the time, the first thought that came to mind would be making a donation to charity organizations which mission is to provide the people in developing nations with necessities such as clean water, food, clothes, medicine, farming animals, etc. Do people think about donating books? Frankly, not that I have heard of till my work on the inquiry topic “Developing World Libraries.” Due to the influence of the commercials being put on broadcasts by the charity organizations, my perception of the people in developing nations is that they are striving to survive with the basic needs of daily life. Books, literacy skills are seemed to be the least essential on the list of needs. However, Hamilton’s (2013) post titled “Stamping out Poverty as Well as Books? How Libraries Can Support Development” has shown me a different perspective on the matter. Hamilton pointed out that people are required to connect and communicate with others in order to improve lives through developing business, or accessing information on health. Hamilton stated the important role of the public libraries in providing public access to internet and technology devices, as well as trained staffs to provide advice. In his post, he had mentioned the IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations, Twitter @IFLA) initiative “Beyond Access.” Beyond Access conferences were held to communicate with donor community regarding the work that the association is doing in developing public libraries in developing countries. This connects to another article that I found and read online, Katz’s “Libraries, Literacy and Technology: A New Training Module for Public Librarians in Developing Countries Targeted at Integrating Libraries into Literacy Programs.”

Katz (2015) also mentioned “Beyond Access”, however, the Beyond Access that he mentioned was managed by the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) and was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It is believe that teachers in developing nations are lack of skills and resources to foster children’s literacy skills, and librarians (from the public libraries) “can become literacy-resource people who can support struggling teachers.” Therefore, Beyond Access is committed to train and equip “librarians with the basic skills and knowledge to start integrating their institutions into literacy programs.” The training module was done for the first time in Bangladesh in May 2015, and Katz stated that “more information based on the behavioral changes of librarians after the training will be available in several months.” I look forward to the follow up report on the effectiveness of the training module.

After my reading of the above mentioned post and article, I narrowed my research on free or low cost online resources for the public libraries in developing nations, and organizations that provide donations and support in developing libraries in those nations.

Online resources:

  1. African Digital Library (ADL): According to Sharma (2009), the ADL was opened on November 1st, 1999. Its mission is to provide African learner with digitalized full text resources. It is free of charge to the residents and institutions of Africa.
  2. Resources for Developing Country Researchers: I came across this PDF format of lists of free or low fee access online resources that provide full-text peer-reviewed literature. I have not check the resources on the list, however, I think the resources are valuable to public libraries.

Organizations:

  • Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: Besides funding the “Beyond Access” initiative, the foundation also has its own work on “Global Libraries”, which aim to provide technologies and training to public libraries in developing countries. Below is a photo of the community information centre in rural Kenya retrieved from the website. GL_InternetAccessKenya_450x300
  • Worldreader: The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation provides grant to Worldreader, which is a literacy organization that is piloting the use of mobile devices, such as smartphones, and Kindles in public and community libraries in Kenya. The below video is on the homepage of the Worldreader website, it is a powerful testimony of a woman who was illiterate, but benefit from the pilot program and now becomes a committed literacy teacher.

  • Book Aid International: I enjoy reading the blog of this organization. They definitely have done a lot in developing libraries in developing nations. The organization also trains librarians as well, please check out this post: http://www.bookaid.org/librarian-training-in-cameroon/
  • Books for Africa: I have not explore this website or inquire additional information on this organization. However, one thing that caught my attention on this website is the option of making online donation. You could choose to donate to a particular project, donate a book, or even donate a computer!

In conclusion, through my inquiry, I have learned that as the use of mobile devices becomes widely use in education, books donation becomes a secondary options. Training librarians and donating mobile devices become the focus on building public libraries in developing nations. However, as Sharma (2009) had pointed out, the one barrier is sufficient funding. Not only the developing nations are facing the challenge of inadequate funding for new technologies, developed nations (such as our own school communities in Canada) also face the same challenge. Governments of different nations might put their financial resources to matters other than education, which makes it difficult for educational section to catch up with the fast growing development of new technologies. A possible solution is to allow patrons (such as students at schools, users of the public libraries) to “bring their own devices” (“BYOD” policy). I tried to search for guideline on “BYOD” provided by the Canadian Library Association, but was unsuccessful. However, I discovered a policy book on “Libraries and Mobile Technology” published by the American Library Association. The policy book agrees that mobile technologies provide patrons 24/7 access to information, however, it also raised a concern on patrons’ privacy. It is also a concern that schools have in allowing students’ to bring their own device. My school allows students to bring their own devices, but students are only allowed to use it with teacher’s permission and under teacher’s supervision. Students are not allowed to use their devices during recess and lunch breaks. Will this school rule need amend in the future? Maybe, but at this moment, the administrator, teachers, and students at my school are comfortable with the school rule in placed.

 

References:

African Digital Library. 2014. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.
Link: http://www.africandl.org.za

Books For Africa. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.
Link: https://www.booksforafrica.org/index.html

“Global Libraries.” Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.
Link: http://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do/Global-Development/Global-Libraries

Hamilton, Stuart. “Stamping out Poverty as Well as Books? How Libraries Can Support Development.” The Guardian. 12 Mar. 2013. Web. 29 Oct. 2015.
Link: http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2013/mar/12/libraries-power-global-development

Katz, Ari. “Libraries, Literacy and Technology: A New Training Module for Public Librarians in Developing Countries Targeted at Integrating Libraries into Literacy Programs.” (2015). International Research & Exchanges Board. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.
Link: http://library.ifla.org/1205/1/118-katz-en.pdf

“Librarian Training in Cameroon.” Book Aid International. Jenny Hayes, 14 Apr. 2015. Web. 29 Oct. 2015.
Link: http://www.bookaid.org/librarian-training-in-cameroon/

“Resources for Developing Country Researchers.” http://www.idrc.ca/EN/Documents/resources-for-developing-country-researchers.pdf. IDRC Information and Research Support Services, 1 June 2015. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.

Sharma, R.N. “Technology and Academic Libraries in Developing Nations.” (2009). Monmouth University. Web. 28 Oct. 2015.
Link: http://crl.du.ac.in/ical09/papers/index_files/ical-38_236_520_1_RV.pdf

Vollmer, Timothy. “There’s an App for That! Libraries and Mobile Technology: An Introduction to Public Policy Considerations.” (2010). American Library Association. Web. 29 Oct. 2015.
Link: http://www.ala.org/offices/sites/ala.org.offices/files/content/oitp/publications/policybriefs/mobiledevices.pdf

Worldreader. Web. 30 Oct. 2015.
Link: http://www.worldreader.org

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October 23, 2015 · 10:46 pm

Inquiry #3 – Being a “coach” rather than a “leader”

The world is changing, the technology is changing, the ways that students learn is changing, and so as the role of a teacher-librarian (TL). Almost all of the resources, i.e. books, articles, etc., that I have read stated that the teacher librarian is expected to take up the role of “curriculum leadership.” Scheirer (2000) had included a list of professional competencies for TL in her article, two of the competencies really stood out “BIG” to me:

  1. places a priority on staff relationships and leadership in the implementation of change
  2.  provides leadership.

DIY Professional Development_thumb[3]

Photo in courtesy of:  http://www.rakisradresources.com/2015/01/where-to-find-your-own-professional.html

At my last post, I shared that I was a beginner at building my personal learning network (PLN) using one or more tools mentioned in the above photo. I am still “lurking” on social media, while my colleagues are more knowledgable on tools mentioned than I am and are possibly sharing their experience in teaching actively via those tools. I would question myself: Who am I to provide “leadership”? I guess if I HAVE to be an educational leader, I COULD push myself forward and “force” myself into the doing. However, as being a person who does not like to be the center of attention, I would be pushing myself into doing something that I am uncomfortable with and I do not think the thrust would last for long. As I was researching for ideas on how could I fulfil the role within my capability, I came across the video below: 

The video suggests supporting teacher’s professional development by working alongside with the classroom teacher. This echoes with the quote that catches my attention in the article “Librarians as Leaders in Professional Learning Communities through Technology, Literacy, and Collaboration.”

“As a school librarian, the goal should be to look at what students are learning and what teachers are teaching in the classroom and see where your knowledge and skills can fit into that plan.” (Dees et al., p. 11)

From my research, I have learned that being a educational leader does not mean that I have to be “ahead” of everyone in current educational issues, to be an expert on technology, nor being a professional development workshop speaker. I could be a support staff working collaboratively with teachers, suggesting technological tools which are applicable to the teachers’ teaching and students’ learning. In another word, I could be an “educational coach.”

A few staffs at my school have decided to try the FreshGrade program as an alternative for parent-teacher communication tool. As I had attended a summer professional development workshop on the program, I approached those staffs who would like to try and offered help in troubleshooting if they have any questions. This is the first time I made myself “visible” in new technology, and I am glad that I was able to help a few colleagues and assist a colleague in presenting a workshop on FreshGrade. I do not consider myself as an “educational coach” yet, but I think I had made a big leap in the role.

What can I do differently, or new, this year that better support the staff at my school?

I am currently not a teacher-librarian at my school. Imagine that I am, I would set the following goals for this school:

  1. Be proactive in building a relationship with the individual staff at the school. Collaboration is built on a relationship with trust, and only through collaboration that I would be able to know “what students are learning and what teachers are teaching.” With that knowledge, I will then be able to suggest educational readings, professional development opportunities, or digital tools that would enhance the teachers’ teaching.
  2. “Crack out of my shell” – Instead of continuing to lurk on social media, I have to try sharing my own ideas. If I do not share or tweet, how could I encourage other staffs to do so? I have to extend my personal learning network, so that I could share my experience with others and encourage others to build their own PLN.

Two goals would be my limit for this year, as I had mentioned in my last post, I have to slow down and take small steps at a time. I think I could achieve these two goals even being a music teacher (not a TL) this year. Hence, this would be a good start.

References:

Dees, Dianne, Alisande Mayer, Heather Morin, and Elaine Willis. “Librarians as Leaders in Professional Learning Communities through Technology, Literacy, and Collaboration.” Library Media Connection 29.2 (2010): 10-13. Web. 22 Oct. 2015. Link: http://coekate.murraystate.edu/media/professors/files/koren/LibrariansLeadLearnCommunities.pdf

Raki, Heidi. Raki’s Rad Resources. Web. http://www.rakisradresources.com

Scheirer, Bev. “The Changing Role of the Teacher-Librarian in the Twenty-first Century.” (2000). University of Saskatchewan. Web. 22 Oct. 2015. Link: http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/802papers/scheirer/scheirer.htm

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October 16, 2015 · 7:08 pm

Inquiry #2 – Need way(s) to organize overflowing new information

Every year, we are given days for professional developments. For the first few years of my teaching career, attending conferences, workshops, and sharing sessions are the major components of my professional development activities. Since about two years ago, I started my study of the teacher-librarianship diploma at UBC (University of British Columbia). Academic reading as well as composing assignments have been my self-directed professional development activities. I also connected with the TL that I worked with at school, and one of them suggested me to attend the BCTLA annual conference to extend my PLN.

I have heard a lot of the abbreviation “PLN” lately. I am not sure whether it stands for “Professional Learning Network” or “Personal Learning Network,” but I think either one is applicable. I have a brief idea that PLN is about using ICT (information and communication technology) to build a network for learning. In order to get a more concrete idea of what PLN is and how to build my own, I searched the term “educators PLN” in Google Scholar and found the website “The Educator’s PLN.” I explored the site and discovered the following video which provides me with a clear concept of what PLN is and how to start my own PLN.

After viewing this video, I realized that I have been building my own PLN without even knowing it. I used to visit colleagues after school to share ideas, email friends and colleagues with questions or seek advice. With the use of social media and “smart technologies,” I connect with colleagues through Facebook, in which a colleague of mine shared the video that I included in my last post.

Through a few UBC courses, I have learned a number of online tools to extend my PLN, such as: Twitter, Symbaloo, Digg Reader, and Google+. However, I have only learned the basics of each tool and have not been using those online tools extensively.

Twitter – I follow professionals and associations that I am interested in via my Twitter account. However, I do not check my Twitter on a regular basis. I think it is a great path for me to know the most updated issues, only if I make checking Twitter a regular habit.

Symbaloo – It is one of my UBC course’s assignment that I used Symbaloo to organize my online resources. I had put a few things in my grid, but seldom go back to it. It is a useful tool, but I found using the Safari’s bookmark is more convenient.

Jackie's Symbaloo 2015-10-16 at 6.42.39 PM

* Screen shot of Jackie’s Symbaloo

Digg Reader – I love this tool! I like how I got updated on new posts of the blogs that I am following. The layout is user friendly, and with one click of the post title, I will be directed to the original blog where I could leave comments. Now I am using Digg Reader not only for my course work, but also for my children’s class blogs.

Google+ – I joined Google+ only a few days ago, I have not have a chance to explore this tool. However, I realize that there are other online tools, such as Symbaloo & Blogger, offer sign in to Google+ account. I wonder if I sign into all of those tools with my Google+ account, will I be able to organize all the information from different tools at one place? I will explore on that in the near future.

There are so many tools that I could use, so many updates I was informed through those tools. There are lots of times that I feel overwhelmed with all these overflowing information. David Warlick has included a diagram “Many PLN Paths” in his article “Grow Your Personal Learning Network: New Technologies Can Keep You Connected and Help You Manage Information Overload.” which provides me with a clear overview of what PLN is.

Many PLN Paths

*Screen shot of the diagram in Warlick’s article.

I know I am at the “infant stage” in building my PLN using ICT. As people always say, “one step at a time.” I already feel overwhelmed with all these new digital tools that I have learned, hence, I am slowing down my pace and will take a small step at a time. I have confidence that one day, I will have built an organized personal learning network.

 

Reference:

Warlick, David. “Grow Your Personal Learning Network: New Technologies Can Keep You Connected and Help You Manage Information Overload.” Learning & Leading with Technology: 12-16. ERIC. Web. 16 Oct. 2015.
<http://eric.ed.gov/?q=David Warlick&id=EJ831435>.

What Is a PLN – Marc-André Lalande’s Take. Dir. Thomas Whilby. The Educator’s PLN. N.p., 4 June 2015. Web. 16 Oct. 2015.
<http://edupln.ning.com/video/what-is-a-pln-marc-andr-lalande-s-take>

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October 9, 2015 · 7:25 pm

Inquiry #1 – Rethink Strategies and Modify

Reading and writing skills are essential to the 21st century communication. Emails, text messaging, blog posts…etc., they all require sufficient reading and writing skills. Teachers spend a lot of time and effort to ensure that students are equipped with the skills for communication. Fostering students’ love and passion in reading is equally important, and teachers spend as much effort to encourage reading as they could possibly do. As a music teacher who had been allocated to different schools for the last many years, I have the privilege to work in different schools in the district and observe different strategies in place to foster school-wide reading culture. There are two strategies that I was very fond of, with one that I think was quite effective, while the other one “faded out” as time passed.

Drop Everything and Read (D.E.A.R.)

One school that I had worked in for almost 5 years designated about 20 mins everyday after lunch as D.E.A.R time. Students were given 5 mins after lunch to come in and settle down after outside play, had one or few books ready for D.E.A.R. Then the office would put some classical music on through the PA system, and everyone, including students, staffs, office staffs and administrator, would drop their work and read. I found this strategy very effective as reading time was build into the students’ routine, and adults were role modelling . Everyone at the school are well-prepared for that time of the day and always have a book, or maybe a list of books ready for the daily reading time. Moreover, the classical music helped calming everyone down from all the excitement at lunch time. By the end of D.E.A.R., students were emotionally calm and ready to focus on their afternoon learning.

Reading for the Stars

One year, a teacher-librarian organized a school-wide reading event, “Reading for the Stars.” Everyone, including students and staffs, at the school would have their photos on a star. Students’ stars were posted on their classroom doors, while the staffs’ stars were posted on the bulletin board across from the office. Each time a person finished reading a book, he/she would go to the TL and get a sticker to put on his/her star. At the beginning of the year, everyone was excited and was reading and getting stickers on their stars. As the months go by, staffs and students got busy with classroom works, Christmas concert, sports activities, etc., leisure reading was slowing down. Eventually, it seemed like no one cared about the stickers anymore. I think busyness was not the main cause of the ineffectiveness of the strategy, but also there was no incentives to motivate readers. I think it is a terrific strategy to have a school-wide event for reading, but readers need motivation to participate.

My Inquiry

I have never been a teacher-librarian, therefore, I do not have any hands-on experience in promoting school-wide reading. Hence, I went to Google Scholar to search for resources: images, videos, blogs…etc. and I came across a YouTube video titled “Reading in School. Episode One: Elementary.” My first impression was that the video was done by a teenage girl who would like to be a “YouTube star.” However, the title drew my attention and I watched it to see what the girl had to say. It turned out to be a university student, Ariel Bissett, who loves reading and shared about her opinion on the four elementary school reading strategies that she had experienced. Ariel majors in English at university and likes to share online her passion in reading. Her opinion prompted me to re-think what could I change in my practice that would increase the effectiveness of a reading strategy.

1.Colour-coded levelled primary books

Ariel’s opinion: She thinks that only a few students in the class were eagered to reach to the highest level, but most of the students did not really care because there was no incentives for reading to the highest level.

What could I do?

Rewards. Incentives for reaching certain level. As I was googling about library reading program, I found this picture:

2013-Book Bingo-poster

Photo in courtesy of: http://www.thebedfordcitizen.org/2013/07/05/summer-activities-for-kids-at-the-bedford-free-public-library/

This book bingo not only provides an incentive to motivate reading, but also encourages students to read different kinds of books. Teachers could customize the bingo card according to student’s needs, or in general, different primary and intermediate level. If I were a teacher-librarian, I would definitely promote “Book Bingo” in my library.

2. Teacher Read Aloud

Ariel’s opinion: Students were not focused on what the teacher was reading.

What could I do?

Drama is another interest of mine. I love reading a story to class and ask the class to dramatize it. My students love it, it makes the story come to live and help students to think in the characters’ shoes.

3. Silent Reading

Ariel’s opinion: Teachers seemed to be not care if students were reading or not as long as they had a book in hand. There was no follow-up on what students had read during silent reading time.

What could I do?

Last year, one of the intermediate teacher at my school created an Edmodo group for her class called “Reading Club.” I joined the group and have been reading students’ posts on what they have been reading. I think social media is a great way for students to share about their reading. Maybe students could be allowed time after silent reading to write a post on a class blog, hoping this would motivate students to focus on reading during silent reading. Also, teachers could response and give comments on post to show that they do care about students’ readings.

4. Library time

Ariel’s opinion: Students were socializing instead of looking for books to read. Teacher-librarian would encourage students to find a book they like but did not help them finding one.

What could I do?

Creative catalog system would would make finding books easier for students.

Metis Classification

Photo in courtesy of:  https://lwplibrary.wordpress.com/tag/bisac/

If books could be shelf according to subjects, with the subjects labelled on the shelf, students would be able to find the books they like easier and faster.

In conclusion, Ariel stated that all strategies are good, but teacher’s involvement in students’ reading is the key to foster students’ love and passion in reading. I could not agree more. Program is not the most important, it is the interpersonal relationship that makes a program effective.

To end my post, I would like to share the following CTV video, which my friend shares on Facebook.  It shows how a teacher use ICT to encourage her students to read with others, to tweet about what they have read.  “Global Read Aloud” would be in my “must-try” list when I have the opportunity to be a teacher-librarian.

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October 4, 2015 · 6:29 pm

Reading Review Blog Post – Part C

For the last week, I have been reading the articles that I found on multiliteracies. I chose to read those that are teacher’s sharing of their experience in teaching multiliteracies in the classroom. As I was reading the articles, I questioned myself: the “multiliteracies” lessons that other teachers had done, sounded familiar and seemed to be what we had been doing on a daily basis without labelling it as “multiliteracies” lessons. For example, when we read stories to primary classes, we would direct students’ attention to the illustrations of the book (visual). We would also use multimodal format in teaching literacies. That led me to ask another question: Is “multiliteracies” a new pedagogy in literacy teaching, or only a “new term” for a basic but old pedagogy?

During my research, I also noticed that most of the work were done in between years 2010 to 2012. This raised my other concern: are there any recently published work on multiliteracies?

I searched online again but did not have any luck in finding recent academic work on the topic. Yet, I came across the name Kathy Hibbert a few times. Dr. Hibbert is a professor in the faculty of education at the University of Western Ontario. Multiliteracies is one of her research interests. I found and followed her on Twitter, moreover, I had visited her blog (The Salty Chip Blog, http://thesaltychip.edublogs.org) as well as the Canadian Multiliteracies Collaborative website (http://www.saltychip.com) that she had initiated to provide a platform for teachers to share ideas and learn collaboratively. On her blog, there are links to other website regarding “multiliteracies,” but the “Centre for Multiliteracies” and the “Multiliteracies Project” are no longer existed. There is a link to the “Emergent Multiliteracies in Theory and Practice” website which still exists, still, the works posted on the website were from year 2012 or prior. I had also checked on the Canadian Multiliteracies Collaborative website. Unfortunately, after I had registered and logged in, I found the lately post was done in 2012.

The research process up to this point was quite disappointing, but at the same time, raised the alarm if this is a current educational matter that I should focus on for my inquiry project. The BCTF (BC Teachers’ Federation) report on “multiliteracies” was one of my research result. I read it last and I agreed totally to the union’s view on it. The report includes a summary of a “Multiliteracies collaborative research project” done in partnership of the BCTF, UBC, and the Vancouver School Board. The report concludes, and I quoted from the report, that “a considerable number of teachers were engaged in multiliteracies pedagogy that they had initiated as autonomous professionals in response to student’s needs, local community composition, and with an awareness of technological, communication and media changes in society at large.” (p. 17-18) Multiliteracies is already existed in our practices because we, teachers, would modify our teaching according to the student’s needs and change in the world, not because we all have read and studied the “Multiliteracies Pedagogy.”

In conclusion, I am going to put a period on my research in multiliteracies. I am still interested in using multimodal format in teaching literacies, and perhaps, that would be my focus in my next inquiry.

 

References:

British Columbia Teachers’ Frederation. “Understanding the concept and evolution of the Multiliteracies literature since 1996, with a consideration of its relevance to a Canadian teacher union engaged in a Multiliteracies collaborative research project.” Web. 26 Sept. 2015.
http://www.bctf.ca/uploadedFiles/Public/Issues/21CL/MultiliteraciesNaylor.pdf

Barton, G., & Unsworth, L. (2014). Music, multiliteracies and multimodality: Exploring the book and movie versions of Shaun Tan’s ‘The lost thing’. Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 37(1). Web. 26 Sept. 2015

Biswas, Shampa. “How to Teach Multiliteracies?” The Canadian Journal for Teacher Research, 3 July 2014. Web. 26 Sept. 2015.
http://www.teacherresearch.ca/blog/article/2014/07/03/245-how-to-teach-multiliteracies

Dallacqua, K., Kersten, S., & Rhoades, M. (2015). Using Shaun Tan’s work to foster multiliteracies in 21st-Century classrooms. The Reading Teacher, 69(2), 207-217. doi:10.1002. Web. 26 Sept. 2015

Emergent Multiliteracies in Theory and Practice.
http://multiliteracies4kidz.blog.yorku.ca

Hibbert, Kathy. Website: http://www.kathyhibbert.com

Main, Kristin L. (2011) “Mapping Multiliteracies onto the Pedagogy of K-12 Teachers.” University of Toronto. Web. 26 Sept. 2015
https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/27590/1/Kristin_Main_PhD_thesis_2011.pdf

Natalie Cooper , Lori Lockyer & Ian Brown (2013) Developing multiliteracies in a technology-mediated environment, Educational Media International, 50:2, 93-107, DOI: 10.1080/09523987.2013.795350
Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09523987.2013.795350

The Salty Chip Blog. Website: http://thesaltychip.edublogs.org

The Salty Chip: A Canadian Multiliteracies Collaborative.
Website: http://www.saltychip.com

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September 28, 2015 · 1:58 pm

Reading Review Blog Post – Part B

When researching on “multiliteracies”, the first resource I would think of is the New Learning Online Website (www.newlearningonline.com). I was introduced to the term “multiliteracies” as the videos on the website were required resources for one of the LLED course I studied. As my inquiry focuses on the “how”: how to teach “multiliteracies”, I watched the video series “Multiliteracies in Actions” again to see examples of activities primary teachers used in class to foster multiliteracies.

Multiliteracies – Videos

http://newlearningonline.com/multiliteracies/videos

Thereafter, I googled the word “multiliteracies” and found a few academic articles with a focus on the practice of teaching multiliteracies in the classroom.

  • Biswas, Shampa. “How to Teach Multiliteracies?” The Canadian Journal for Teacher Research, 3 July 2014. Web. 26 Sept. 2015.
    http://www.teacherresearch.ca/blog/article/2014/07/03/245-how-to-teach-multiliteracies

Comment: Biswas had quote Newman’s (2002) suggestion of the four component in teaching multiliteracies:
– Situated practice: Teacher-led activities to encourage meaningful learning of primary knowledge.
– Overt instruction: Teacher guides students’ exploration of
learning using different tools and techniques.
– Critical framing: Teacher facilitating critical analysis of information.
– Transformation action: Teacher helping students in transforming information into personal knowledge.
This article is a quick read, and I found the four component could possibly be my guide in lesson planning.

  • Main, Kristin L. (2011) “Mapping Multiliteracies onto the Pedagogy of K-12 Teachers.” University of Toronto. Web. 26 Sept. 2015
    https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/27590/1/Kristin_Main_PhD_thesis_2011.pdf

Comment: It is a qualitative research of multiliteracies in teacher’s pedagogy. I
had a glimpse of only the abstract of the thesis, and I am interested in the teachers testimonies of their practice in teaching multilitereacies. This thesis is put into my reading list for later read.
I also did my research on the UBC library website, and found a few useful resources.

  • Lotherington, H. (2011). Pedagogy of Multiliteracies: rewriting Godilocks. New York: Routledge.

Comment: This is a book located in the UBC education library. I have only read the summary provided by the publisher. It is a classroom-based, 5 years research on the pedagogy of multiliteracies. I am interested in this book because “Godliocks and the Three Bears” is my favourite story that I used regularly for drama and sound effect creation using music instruments. I am expecting to get new ideas through the testimony of the teacher’s trial and error, new ideas that would help me in re-designing my lesson to foster multiliteracies.

  • Natalie Cooper , Lori Lockyer & Ian Brown (2013) Developing multiliteracies in a technology-mediated environment, Educational Media International, 50:2, 93-107, DOI: 10.1080/09523987.2013.795350
    Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09523987.2013.795350

Comment: It is a descriptive article on an educational program named “Making News Today.” The program starts with facilitating students in analyzing the presentation of news via different media types, such as television, print, online, etc. Eventually, the students were guided in producing their own news report. The table on page 6 shows a summary of activities in the program, and it works as a reference for me in my lesson planning.

  • Dallacqua, K., Kersten, S., & Rhoades, M. (2015). Using Shaun Tan’s work to foster multiliteracies in 21st-Century classrooms. The Reading Teacher, 69(2), 207-217. doi:10.1002. Web. 26 Sept. 2015
  • Barton, G., & Unsworth, L. (2014). Music, multiliteracies and multimodality: Exploring the book and movie versions of Shaun Tan’s ‘The lost thing’. Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 37(1). Web. 26 Sept. 2015

Comment: The above two articles show the study of multiliteracies using Shaun Tan’s work, either using the book or the movie based on his book. The second article has exactly what I was searching for: an analysis of the music track and the influence of music on visual interpretation. I have never read Shaun Tan’s “The Lost Thing” and have not watched the movie. Therefore, I googled “Shaun Tan” and found his website (http://www.shauntan.net) which has the movie versions of “The Lost Thing” and some other books of his (http://www.shauntan.net/film1.html).

 
Throughout my research, I have found some other interesting articles focusing on the teaching of multiliteracies, and also articles on music & multiliteracies. However, I think I should stop here, or else, my blog post would be too long.

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September 21, 2015 · 4:28 pm

Reading Review Blog Post – Part A

Since I was introduced to the term “multiliteracies”, I have been constantly looking out for opportunities to incorporate it in my music program. According to the website “New Learning: Transformational Designs for Pedagogy and Assessment” (www.newlearningonline.com), multiliteracies refers to two major aspect in nowadays literacy:

  1. The variability of meaning making in different cultural, social contexts.
  2. Multimodal communication using a variety of media such as audio, video, visual, gestural, spatial, etc.

In this 21st century, electronic devices are abundantly used. People communicate through emails, text messaging, audio messaging, and/or sending photographs or videos to each others. At school, we make sure that our students learn how to read and write. However, is that adequate for our students to communicate in this technological century? Please do not get me wrong, I am not saying that the ability to read and write is not important. In fact, it is the most important fundamental ability one needs to communicate with others. A person could not write or read text message or email if he or she does not know how to read and write. However, I think one would also need to have the ability to make meaning in multimodal communication. For example, understanding a person’s body gesture, or make meaning out of a person’s drawing. I have two children at home, they are very different in ways of communication. My 9 years old son likes drawing comics strips, therefore, you could find text as well as comic strips with conversation bubbles in his diary. My 6 years old daughter, on the other hand, likes taking photos and drawing picture. She asked for her own camera when she was 4, since then, she takes pictures of things that she treasures and places that she loves to go. As a parent (an adult), I do understand my children’s way of communication and would be able to make meaning of their contexts. However, I would question, how about their peers? Will they be able to understand by reading my son’s comic strips or looking at the photographs my daughter took?

Every year, teachers (including myself as an elementary core music teacher) have to write an overview at the beginning of the school year and submit to the administrator. Every year, I would slightly modify my overview so that students would learn the elements (beat, melody, rhythm, theory) through different repertoires and different ways. This year, as I was working on my overview, I tried to incorporate the new B.C. curriculum’s “Big Ideas” in my music program. Out of the blues, I had this crazy idea of throwing my “routine and regular” overview out the window, and commit myself in creating a brand new, unique music program that its goals are to teach the elements of music and to foster students’ multiliteracies through the study of composers’ masterpieces, dance or visual arts being inspired by music. I have presented the idea to my administrator and have her full support on it. I am given a projector along with an iPad and document camera to use in class, which allows me to use multimodal resources in my teaching. Now, I would inquire on HOW to teach multiliteracies in a music classroom.

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September 9, 2015 · 7:17 am

Welcome!

Welcome to Jackie’s very first blog!  Creating a blog is a new experience for me.  Please be patient with me while I am trying to find my way in blogging.  I will get the hang of it…..soon…..so stay tuned!

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