ETL 505

I’m on the home stretch now!  I was a bit nervous about getting my first assignment back from ETL 505.  The essay part was fine, although I did get a bit too much into the ‘historical’ background of information organisation and should have dealt with the role of metadata in a school context more. 

I actually enjoyed the RDA element of the assignment although I didn’t exactly nail it.  I did quite well on the monograph but could’ve done better on the atlas and videorecording.  It’s all a learning experience and the fact that I’m only one more assignment away from completing this subject and my Masters makes it all worth it!  So here we go again… this time it’s SCIS subject headings and Dewey Decimal Classifications!

ETL 505

Module 2

Internet activity – SCIS

Locate three catalogue records of interest to you and explore which elements can be searched on in this particular catalogue (Voyager software), and which elements describe a resource’s information content. It is best to search for current records (2012 on) to see recent examples of SCIS records.

1)     Using the title:  Pennies for Hitler, I searched SCIS catalogue and found the following information:

• SCIS no: 1557252
• ISBN:9780732292096
• Title:Pennies for Hitler / Jackie French.
• Main author:French, Jackie.
• Publisher:Sydney : Angus&Robertson, 2012.
• Description:327 p.
• Subjects:World War, 1939-1945 – Germany – Fiction. scisshl
  World War, 1939-1945 – Children – Fiction. scisshl
  World War, 1939-1945 – Australia – Fiction. scisshl
  Historical fiction. scisshl
  World War II. scot
  Living standards. scot
  Historical fiction. scot
  Germany – Social conditions – 1933-1949 – Fiction. scisshl
  Australia – Social conditions – 1929-1945 – Fiction. scisshl
  Germany. scot
  Australia. scot
• Call nos:F FRE a14
• Notes:Summary: It’s 1939, and for Georg, son of an English academic living in Germany, life is full of cream cakes and loving parents. It is also a time when his teacher measures the pupils’ heads to see which of them have the most ‘Aryan’ shaped heads. But when a university graduation ceremony turns into a pro-Nazi demonstration, Georg is smuggled out of Germany to war-torn London and then across enemy seas to Australia where he must forget his past and who he is in order to survive. Hatred is contagious, but Georg finds that kindness can be, too. The companion book for Hitler’s daughter, this book examines the life of a child during World War 2, from a different perspective.

2)     Using the Author’s last name I searched ‘Gleitzman’ and came up with too many records.  I filtered the search down to 2011 and after which narrowed my findings greatly.  I was then able to find the book After which was published in 2012 and is a CBCA shortlisted book this year.  I found two versions of this book each from different publishers:  Camberwell, Vic. : Viking 2012 and London: Puffin 2012.

Viking

Puffin

ISBN:9780670075447   Title:After / Morris Gleitzman.   Main   author:Gleitzman, Morris.   Publisher:Camberwell, Vic. : Viking, 2012.   Description:160 p.   Subjects:Holocaust, Jewish, 1939-1945 – Fiction. scisshl   Jews in Poland – Fiction. scisshl   World War, 1939-1945 – Poland – Fiction. scisshl   World War, 1939-1945 – Children – Fiction. scisshl   Orphans and orphanages – Fiction. scisshl   Historical fiction. scisshl   War stories. scisshl   World War II. scot   Jewish peoples. scot   Genocide. scot   Orphanages. scot   Children. scot   Historical fiction. scot   War stories. scot   Poland – History – 20th century – Fiction. scisshl   Poland. scot   Call   nos:F GLE a14   Notes:Summary: In the fourth part of Felix’s story, continuing his   adventures in World War Two, he faces perhaps his greatest challenge – to   find hope when he’s lost almost everything, including his parents. As Europe   goes through the final agonizing stages of the war, Felix struggles to   reconcile hatred and healing. He’s helped by a new friend, but if he should   lose her as well.

ISBN:9780141343136   Title:After / Morris Gleitzman.   Main   author:Gleitzman, Morris.   Publisher:London : Puffin, 2012.   Description:208 p.   Subjects:Holocaust, Jewish, 1939-1945 – Fiction. scisshl   Jews in Poland – Fiction. scisshl   World War, 1939-1945 – Poland – Fiction. scisshl   World War, 1939-1945 – Children – Fiction. scisshl   Orphans and orphanages – Fiction. scisshl   Historical fiction. scisshl   War stories. scisshl   World War II. scot   Jewish peoples. scot   Genocide. scot   Orphanages. scot   Children. scot   Historical fiction. scot   War stories. scot   Poland – History – 20th century – Fiction. scisshl   Poland. scot   Call   nos:F GLE a15   Notes:Summary: In the fourth part of Felix’s story, continuing his   adventures in World War Two, he faces perhaps his greatest challenge – to   find hope when he’s lost almost everything, including his parents. As Europe   goes through the final agonizing stages of the war, Felix struggles to   reconcile hatred and healing. He’s helped by a new friend, but if he should   lose her as well.

 

3)     I searched Nazi Germany to find a non-fiction book that might complement the two fiction stories based on experiences during the Nazi occupation and found a comprehensive list in the SCIS Catalogue.  I chose the following autobiography: Letter from my father by Dasia Black:

 

• ISBN:9781921556197
• Title:Letter from my father / Dasia Black.
• Main author:Black, Dasia.
• Publisher:[Blackheath, N.S.W.] : Brandl & Schlesinger, 2012.
• Description:212 p. : ill.
• Subjects:Black, Dasia. scisshl
  Black, Dasia. scot
  Poles in Australia – Autobiography. scisshl
  Psychology – Autobiography. scisshl
  World War, 1939-1945 – Poland – Personal accounts. scisshl
  Letters. scisshl
  Letters (Correspondence) scot
  World War II. scot
  Psychology. scot
  Autobiographies. scot
  Australia. scot
  Poland. scot
• Call nos:150.92 BLA a14
  150.92 BLA 23
• Notes:Summary: The story of a young child’s struggle to survive the loss of her parents, her name and her identity. dasia Black tells of her life’s journey from her childhood in Nazi-occupied Poland to Stuttgart in liberated Germany, then to her teenage and adult years in Australia. A letter from her lost father, provides the resilience she needs to move beyond bereavement and displacement to a purposeful life. (From book cover)

 I decided to base my SCIS searches on two of the CBCA shortlisted books:  Pennies for Hitler by Jackie French and After by Morris Gleitzman.  I searched the first book, Pennies for Hitler using the title of the book in which two results were listed:  the book and an electronic resource. 

I searched the second book through the author’s name: Gleitzman for which there were 241 results.  Far too many!  I then filtered the search from 2011 and after.  This narrowed my results to a manageable 13 resources.  The book After was the second and third result listed.  This was interesting as it showed a listing for two separate publications.  The most noticeable difference in these two publications is the number of pages in each book.  The Viking version has 160 pages and the Puffin – 208 pages.  This leads me to think that the Puffin edition has larger print which may be advantageous to individuals with impaired vision.

As both books were concerned with Nazi Germany during WW II, I decided to search for non-fiction books with similar content.  I used ‘Nazi Germany’ as my search term and found many records.  Again I needed to filter my search using 2011 and after. 

I found the autobiography Letter from my father, by Dasia Black. Using SCIS allowed me to successfully find, identify and select sources easily.  Obtaining them, of course, would be my next step.

Trove – National Library of Australia

Trove is basically a ‘treasure trove’ of resources from the National Library’s digital archives.  I’ve been accessing Trove for a while now, particulary when searching for primary and secondary sources to support the history curriculum.  Whilst on my placement at Genealogy SA I also discovered that family history researchers also use Trove’s online resources to search for Births, Deaths, and Marriage documents.  There are also photos, artefacts/objects and a wealth of digital records accessible through Trove. 

While at Genealogy SA I discovered quite a few digitised newspaper articles that mentioned my dad during his motorcycle Speedway racing days: 

 

EER 500 – Module 1

Module 1 Activity:

Discovering and retrieving the text:  Utopia, by Sir Thomas More

Elements and attributes useful in discovering and retrieving the book, Utopia, by Sir Thomas More:

First, I began by looking at the FRBR four levels of items, manifestations, expressions and works.  I was looking for an individual item, the book Utopia, the translated and edited edition.  The manifestation was the second edition by Norton; the expression was the translation by Robert M. Adams and the works is Utopia, by Sir Thomas More

The task of finding this particular book involved first, knowing what I was looking for.  Then identifying the assigned name of the book, i.e. Utopia, by Sir Thomas More, second edition, Translated and edited by Robert M. Adams.

In selecting the book, I need to consider certain attributes such as content, date of publication, form – in book form.  Also, I may like to consider some other attributes such as authorship, credibility, difficulty – will this translation be easy to understand and is it faithful to the original version?  Another attribute might be level of condensation – how much has the expression of the original work been changed through the translation.

I searched through both library catalogues and online bookstores and found the most comprehensive bibliographic information to be on www.bookdepositry.com :

·         Full bibliographic data for Utopia

Title

Utopia

Authors and contributors

By (author) Sir Thomas More, Volume editor Robert M. Adams

Physical properties

Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 272
Width: 130 mm
Height: 211 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight: 282 g

Audience

College/higher education
General/trade

Language

English

ISBN

ISBN 13: 9780393961454
ISBN 10: 0393961451

Classifications

BISAC category code: PHI012000
Dewey: 335.2
LC classification: HX810.5.E5
Nielsen BookScan Product Class: F1.1
BISAC category code: POL005000

Edition

2, Revised

Edition statement

2nd Revised edition

Publisher

WW Norton & Co

Imprint name

WW Norton & Co

Publication date

06 March 1992

Publication City/Country

New York/US

Main description

“Backgrounds” is designed to assist student readers in an appreciation ofUtopia by shedding light on the different points of view contemporarywith More’s work. Included are new selections from Saint Benedict and Tasso, as well as amedieval satire on the land of Cockayne. “The Humanist Circle”, a carefully chosen selection of letters, includesanother important contribution by Erasmus. “Criticism” includes five new thought-provoking essays by Alistair Fox,Edward L. Surtz, G. R. Elton, Northrop Frye, and Robert M. Adams. Also new are selections from two modern anti-utopias orquasi-utopias—Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and B. F. Skinner’sWalden Two—plus a selection from Edward Bellamy’s once futuristic butnow almost contemporary Looking Backward, which may be compared andcontrasted with More’s masterpiece. An updated Selected Bibliography is also included

FRBR four levels:

1. Items – an individual object – has a physical form
2. Manifestations – a version such as a particular printing – could be a single copy or thousands of copies depending on the printing.
3. Expressions – how the work is expressed, e.g. different languages in translation
4. Works – consists of content such as a novel, or could be an anthology – a series of works.

FRBR user tasks:

1. Find
2. Identify – sometimes a uniquely assigned number, assigned names
3. Select – need to consider particular attributes; sometimes these are considered when searching but not always; content is also a consideration, i.e. the currency of content, a date; the amount of content – how many words; the form of a work, i.e. a map, website, book, film etc.
4. Obtain
5. Navigate

Relevance criteria are the attributes used to select resources (Hider, p. 27, 2012):

• Aboutness
• Accuracy
• Aesthetic value
• Authorship
• Credibility
• Difficulty
• Diversity of content
• Importance
• Informativeness
• Interesting content
• Level of condensation
• Logical relevance
• Novelty
• Pertinence

A lot of new vocabulary and concepts to learn and understand!

Week 1 – Genealogy SA Professional Placement

Researching your family history from Lindy Kelvin Week 1 of my professional placement completed! The Genealogy SA resource centre is located on Unley Road in Adelaide in lovely heritage building. Within the four walls of the resource centre there is housed a vast collection of indexes, directories, newspapers, microfiche documents, reference books, family history books […]

Next…. Professional Placement

It’s been a long term.  I managed to survive ETL500 perhaps not quite as successfully as I would have hoped, but as Bev suggested, it is one of the more challenging of the subjects in the Teacher Librarianship program.  Nevertheless, I got through it; I gained valuable information about research and I have a new appreciation for the time, effort and commitment needed to undertake a research project.

The next step on the road to becoming a Library professional is my placement at Geneaology SA beginning Monday, July 8th.  The process of locating a resource centre/library that would take me on for the professional placement was a bit more challenging than I had initially anticipated.  I began with the notion that I would be able to choose from the larger information agencies in Adelaide such as the State Library, the University Libraries or even some of the public libraries in my area.  I spent many weeks making phone calls, sending emails and waiting for responses from prospective hosts.  Once I had made contact I soon realised that most of the agencies had existing agreements with either UNISA or TAFE library programs.  I was pleasantly surprised when I heard back from Geneaology SA.  I was relieved and extremely excited to hear back from Richard who has proposed two options for the focus of placement which are:

1.  systems and processes associated with data collection, data indexing and/or transcription, data entry checking, database operations, online publication including online searching.

2. develop a curriculum  and content for teaching activities, and help to set up something web-based.

Either prospect sounds interesting and an opportunity to add a different facet and dimension to my library and teaching experiences.  I’m looking forward to this new learning opportunity and am also quite curious to see if I can find out a little bit more about my own family history!

 

Assignments, PD and trying to keep up!

Yes, it’s busy! I’m currently in the midst of writing Assignment 2 for Educational Research but felt the need to blog as it’s been far too long since my last post. Getting my head around the research process has been a steep learning curve. Between the terminology, the designs, methods, paradigms etc. there has certainly been a lot to take in and digest. I was ecstatic to discover that Bev has offered an extension which means that we will have another weekend to complete our Research Design assignments which will be extremely beneficial considering the busy schedule I’ve had lately.
Last week I attended ‘8 Things to Look For in Today’s Classroom’ with George Couros. I must admit I wasn’t too keen to venture out on a Thursday night after work, particularly with an assignment looming, but I have to say it was well worth it. George Couros is an engaging speaker who has an enthusiastic and infectious attitude toward innovation in education. Much of what he shared with us was exactly what this course is about – innovating our learning environments to suit 21st Century technologies and attitudes. So, here are George’s ‘8 Things’: Critical Thinking; Problem Finders and Solvers; Connected Learners; Opportunities for Innovation; Self-Assessment; Reflection; Learning is Creating; Voice (I hope I got it right – that’s the way I wrote them down!!). So, dragging myself out of the house was worth it and to top it off it was nice to run into a fellow Canadian (George is from Edmonton, Alberta might I add!).
Back to the assignment writing for me! Yes, eventhough I have one more weekend to get this one finished, I do not want to squander my time by going on Facebook, Twitter or watching The Voice – Live Battles! Back to work!!

EER 500 – Assignment 1b Submitted

After a very long Easter weekend of reading, re-reading and writing this assignment I have finally submitted Assignment 1b with much relief. I wasn’t quite sure how to go about analysing the two Wiki posts at first. I felt like I had laboured over my original draft research question for so long that I didn’t really want to change it. It wasn’t until I re-read Bryman and looked at the criteria for a good research question more closely that I was able to dissect my question and reformulate it to something more clear and researchable. Once I had done this for my own research question the task for doing it to someone else’s became a bit easier. I’m happy to have one more assignment under my belt and look forward to a bit of a breather before embarking on Assignment 2.

EER500 – Research Topic Proposal

Research Topic or Problem To be a member of society in the 21^st Century requires an array of skills and capabilities unlike those of any generation before.  To be an active member of the information-age, technology is a fact of life, an expectation and a requisite tool by which we communicate, collaborate, create and share information.  In the review Building Innovation: Learning with technologies, Katherine Moyle suggests that social networking and other Web 2.0 technologies can ‘help develop literacy skills, critical thinking, teamwork and problem-solving skills’ (ACER, 2010).  On the other hand, Luckin et al. (2009) ask if Web 2.0 tools really enable opportunities to learning or are there only a minority of young people effectively using these technologies?  Developing innovative and creative learning environments is a fundamental to the goals of 21^st century education and an area which needs further investigation.

Draft Research Question

How has the emergence of Web 2.0 and social media expanded our view of new literacies and in what ways can teachers and teacher librarians meet the demand of rapidly transformational technologies whilst supporting participatory, critical and social literacies in digital texts?  

From Literature to Research Question and Practical Importance

Educators are constantly looking for opportunities to enhance student learning. Developing student literacy capabilities is a priority amongst teachers and teacher librarians both nationally and globally (ACARA 2013).  But are we as educators keeping up with the multimodal ways in which literacy is being consumed and produced? 

Teacher librarians can be at the forefront of this educational shift, according to Judy O’Connell, because they can ‘meet readers where they are’ by adopting ‘meta-literacy’ approaches whilst adapting to the digital needs of students (2011).  O’Connell maintains the notion that to be multi-literate in the 21^st Century means teachers need to rethink methods of instruction as well as the tools and technologies we are using as educators that connect us to our digital world (2011). 

‘Transliteracy’, according to Buffy Hamilton, is ‘the ability to read, write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media from signing and orality through handwriting, print, TV, radio and film, to digital social networks’ (2010).  Hamilton shares the view that students need to be heard, seen, and participate in a variety of multi-modal and multi-literacy activities including social networking and online communities.

A movement beyond developing traditional literacy skills and understandings in students requires teachers and teacher librarians to transform their own pedagogical practices that accommodate a generational ‘shift’ in the ways we teach and learn (Hay, p. 3, 2010).  Information literacy in the 21^st Century requires a new ‘mindset’ (Asselin & Moayeri, p. 2, 2011) that involves a movement away from complete consumerism and a giant step toward students becoming producers, participants and distributors of ideas, knowledge and information. 

The practical importance of the research question is that teacher librarians, in particular, are positioned to become leaders in the acquisition and dissemination of information literacy in all its forms and functions.  If teacher librarians are skilled with the right technological tools then they can be at the forefront of building the innovation.  How teacher librarians will meet the demands of the ‘digital reshift’ (Hay, 2010) and embrace the challenges of the expanding web of literacies presented through social networking and Web 2.0 technologies is an area of interest and importance particularly with respect to the ‘General Capabilities’ of the new Australian Curriculum (ACARA, 2013) and the transformational nature of the digital environment. 

 References

Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), (9 March, 2010), Social networking provides new opportunities for learning [Media Release].  Retrieved from http://www.acer.edu.au/media/social-networking-provides-new-opportunities-for-learning/

Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), (2013), General Capabilities, Retrieved from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/GeneralCapabilities/Overview/General-capabilities-in-the-Australian-Curriculum

Asselin, M. & Moayeri, M., (2011), The Participatory Classroom: Web 2.0 in the Classroom. Practical Strategies, Literacy Learning: The Middle Years, (19)2, 1 – 8.  Retrieved from http://ictandliteracy.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/practical-strategies.pdf

Hamilton, B. (2010), NJASL 2010 Keynote: Participatory Librarianship – Creating Possibilities Through Transliteracy, Learning and Linchpins. Retrieved http://theunquietlibrarian.wordpress.com/2010/12/03/njasl-2010-keynote-participatory-librarianship-creating-possibilities-through-transliteracy-learning-and-linchpins/

Hay, L. (2010),  Shift Happens. It’s Time to Rethink, Rebuild and Rebrand [online]. Access (24)4 pp. 5-10. Retrieved http://search.informit.com.au.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/fullText;dn=519376422465087;res=IELHSS

Luckin, R., Clark, W., Graber, R., Logan, K., Mee, A., & Oliver, M. (2009), Do Web 2.0 tools really open the door to learning? Practices, perceptions and profiles of 11–16‐year‐old students.  Learning, Media and Technology: Special Issue:  Learning and social software – researching the realities. (34)2, pp. 87 – 104.  DOI: 10.1080/17439880902921949

O’Connell, J. (2012), Learning without frontiers: School libraries and meta-literacy in action.  Access 26(1) pp. 4-7.  Retrieved http://www.asla.org.au/publications/access/access-commentaries/school-libraries-and-meta-literacy.aspx

Two subjects in the summer: What was I thinking?

Having finished all modules and assignments for ETL503 & INF506 I’m feeling somewhat relieved that I’ve gotten through them this summer.  I had thought, initially, that the summer would lend itself to a more stress-free time frame to complete these subjects.  In a way it was true.  School was about to finish.  Ah yes, there were those reports to get out but I managed to get that done without too much anxiety.  Then the assignments started!  I had begun my first ETL503 assignment in the middle of reports and managed to get on to it quite quickly.  I forcused on a topic, Australian Colonialis – Year 5 History, that I was going to be teaching in 2013 (although it wasn’t certain at that point being a contract teacher).  Researching and writing about a topic that was relevant to what I would be doing was beneficial.  I also made sure that I understood, exactly what the assignment was asking me to do.  This meant reading over the Assessment information meticulously, listening to podcasts/vodcasts several times, posting questions on the forum and reading posts from other students on areas that I too was unclear about.  As a Distance Ed. student, these things are imperative.  It is too easy to lose your way by not keeping up to date with all that is going on in the subject.

Over Christmas and into the New Year, I stressed about receiving my first ETL503 assignment back.  I went to Melbourne with friends and told them later than I was inwardly stressing abou the return of my assignment.  Well, my stress was unwarranted because I actually did quite well on that one.  I received a Distinction but only missed out on a higher mark due to my lack of including references other than those provided.  In hindsight, I did read other authors but the ones I used for the assignment (after a lot of culling) were from the modules.

INF506 is a differently structured subject.  Social Networking for Professionals is just that: it’s a training ground for those of us who have either used social networking for personal use or for others who have never used social networking at all.  As the former type of social networker, I was encouraged to start using a variety of different social networking tools on a professional basis.  My project, create a social networking group for an group or organisation, was designed to meet the curriculum resourcing needs of teachers in South Australia towards the Australian Curriculum.  I was optimisitic even though I was about to launch the Facebook group about a week before Christmas.  I knew I needed about 10 people to make it feasibly.  In the end it has proven to be very rewarding and professionally satisfying.  The group, as of today, sits at 89 members and is constantly growing through members inviting members and so on.  This is the true organic nature of social networking at play.  I have made a conscious effort to post regularly and always welcome each member as they are invited.  Although I am still waiting for more active participants (most are passive) I feel that this will just be a matter of time as individuals slowly get used to how the group works and are more confident in what they have to share.

After a good start to both subjects, life’s harsh realities took me into a tailspin.  News of one of my closest friend’s health decline and sudden passing has brought me to reflect much more deeply into relationships, management of time and keeping connected no matter how far apart we may be from one and other.  One begins to realize that time is precious with the ones you care for and love and keeping those lines of communication alive is extremely important.  Had it not been for social networking (Skype), I would not have had the opportunity to say these things to my friend.  I also used Facebook to communicate with her sister and her husband blogged to inform their friends from all over the world of her condition.  Because I couldn’t be in Canada for the memorial service, I also made a Slideshare in her honour and sent the link to her family.  I had never dreamed that social networking tools would ever be used in this way.  I have learned and experienced a lot througout this subject.  Some intentional and others by pure necessity.

Now it’s the waiting game.  Two more assignments to get back.  This is the stressful time.  I’m not completely confident in my Collection Development Policy as to this day I am still thinking of things I would add/delete/change.  I can see how beneficial it is to have a policy such as this.  The school where I am working does not have  a colletion policy so I’m hoping that what I have come up with could be adapted to suit the school in some way.  I’m not getting my hopes up but I hope it was good enough to pass with.

As for my Social Networking Evaluation and Reflection, well, all I can say is that I have learned so much. this subject has been well worth it.  Lyn Hay has been a wonderful leader and incredibly generous with her time and her amount of sharing.  I loved using Facebook as a means for communication with our group.  I found it to be much more conducive to discussions that flowed and actually went somewhere.  All in all, a very difficult, memorable, rewarding, and emotional summer; kind of what life is all about, I suppose.

INF506 – Reflection

INF506 – Part B – Reflective Statement

(The following reflection was copied from my Wiki from INF506 which was an elective subject in the Teacher Librarianship Master of Education course)

When looking over the Abstract of INF506 I was reminded that students would need to ‘immerse themselves within a range of social networking environments’ and ‘evaluate their learning experiences throughout the session as social networkers and information professionals’ (CSU, Handbook 2012). There is no doubt that what I have experienced over the course of this subject has been a complete immersion into the online world of social networking. There wasn’t a day that went by that I did not blog, Facebook, or check my ‘Daily Scoop’ to see what was going on in the information environment where I now reside. Although I had always considered myself to be a fairly regular Facebook participant I had not really capitalized on its ability to work for me professionally until the launch of my social network project. As I commented on the INF506 Facebook group page, ‘Seeing how my Facebook Group is starting to take on a life of its own, I can really appreciate how the social media ecosystem works now.’ (January 31st at 10:36pm). This statement was referring to Fred Cavazza’s article, ‘An overview of the social media ecosystem’ in which ‘conversations and interactions’ (2012) all become interconnected and grow organically. The growth and development of my Facebook group had clearly taken off about midway through January when other members of the group began to add members causing the group to grow exponentially. It became quite evident that to maintain a healthy ecosystem, the addition of ‘value-added content’ (Cavazza, 2012) was essential to keeping the ecosystem alive, active and sustainable.
Planning, developing and maintaining the Facebook group, The Share Network for the Australian Curriculum SA, (SNAC SA) has been a satisfying and rewarding professional experience. It has achieved exactly what was intended: to be an online environment where educators can ‘share resources, information and ideas about teaching and learning with the Australian Curriculum’ (http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/384597188300408/members/). As someone who is new to using social networking professionally, I am encouraged by its potential: the creation of collaborative environments that bring likeminded members of communities together. What began as an assigned project has now become a routine part of my day and something that I enjoy maintaining and developing for the benefit of teachers and students alike.
Utilizing social networking tools with students has led me to consider ethical and potential cyber-bullying issues at school. With the advent of one-to-one computers/devices and increased access to online learning there exists the potential for abuse and misuse of social networks. Being fearful and resistant of social networking is not the answer. Rather, a proactive approach is needed in conjunction with education of staff and students with the development and implementation of clear objectives in a social media policy (Cybersmart, 2013).
As a social networker I have expanded my horizons to include a variety of other platforms with which to engage. As seen by the concept map in my ‘Developing a Personal Learning Network’ post, my own social network has developed into an immersive, meaningful and informative web including Facebook, Twitter, Delicious, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Second Life, blogging and microblogging sites. PLNs have become the new wave of professional development and as Luca states, many teachers have ‘developed the fine art of sharing and benefit from the reciprocal generosity that pervades these spaces’ (2012). In my own school, this has also translated into becoming a more valuable member of staff; someone who can provide leadrship in helping others become professionally socially networked online. What has become evident over the course of this subject is that for every type of social need, be it sharing teaching resources, articles, recipes, favourite books, photos, there is either a social network or online community that can fulfill our human drive to share and build relationships in meaningful ways. This subject has lived up to its promise. It has allowed me to immerse myself in a variety of social networking environments and assisted me in my development of the information professional I aspire to become.

References

Cavazza, F. (2012), Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/fredcavazza/2012/03/12/an-overview-of-the-social-media-ecosystem/
Cyber[smart:] (2013), Retrieved from http://www.cybersmart.gov.au/Schools/Cybersafety%20policy%20guidance/Holistic%20approach%20to%20cybersafety.aspx
Department of Education and Child Development, (2013) Retrieved from http://www.decd.sa.gov.au/socialmedia/default.asp?navgrp=185
Farkus, Meredith, (2008) Retrieved from http://meredith.wolfwater.com/wordpress/2008/01/24/the-essence-of-library-20/
Fleet, David (2009). Social Media Policies E-book. http://www.slideshare.net/davefleet/social-media-policies-ebook
Hay, L. (2012). Library 2.0 and participatory library services [INF506 Module 3] Retrieved February 2, 2013, from Charles Sturt University website: http://interact.csu.edu.au/portal/site/INF506_201290_W_D/page/84cf677e-ec91-4f08-8080-0f7dd953df21
Luca, Jenny, (2012) Retrieved from http://splash.abc.net.au/teachers/blog?id=40029
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