This is the second of a series of blog posts I am sharing on the concept of Teacher Librarian as Leader. The content has been inspired by my recent work as a Learning Designer, working on the design and development of a new online MBA for the University of Southern Queensland. If you missed the […]
Author: KayO
Teacher Librarian as Leader: Lessons from the Literature
As you may be aware, my recent experience as a learning designer contributing to the development of a new, fully online MBA being offered through USQ has led me to consider how Teacher Librarians (TLs) might take advantage of leadership literature emerging from the field of business to enhance their own professional practice as leaders. […]
Finding your tribe: Think-alikes or think-abouts?
As Brisbane enters its second day of a three day lock down, I have been thinking about how much more we have come to rely upon our online tribe since this time last year. Although here in Queensland we have been fortunate to (so far, touch wood) avoid a long stretch of lockdown, having experienced […]
The value of narrative in online learning
We were always moving towards providing more formal learning experiences via online media, but the lockdowns of 2020 gave online learning an almighty push. While blended learning opportunities, where students has the option of attending on-campus lectures as well as accessing learning resources online have existed for some time, the concept of entire courses being […]
Putting theory into Practice: How Networked Learning Transcends Disciplines – updated with slides
2020 has been quite a year for everyone. I won’t bore you with my personal story of how 2020 has turned my life upside down, because I am sure you have your own! However I will say that I am writing this blog post from a completely different perspective than I would have expected in […]
Why this survey might be the most important thing you do today
It is a sad, and well known fact that the role of the Teacher Librarian is in decline in many countries, and library staff often hold the perception that their role and the school library is not valued compared with the work of other educators (Merga, 2019) . In Australia, there is now only one […]
Supporting students through the Research Process
Returning to a K-12 school environment after several years’ teaching at a Masters’ level at University has given me interesting insights into the way younger students engage with the research process. At different stages through their Primary/Elementary years, students are given fantastic opportunities to develop a variety of research skills – they are explicitly taught […]
Covid 19 has changed everything…
The speed at which the Covid 19 Pandemic has transformed our everyday lives is perhaps one of the most overwhelming outcomes of this global event. In a matter of months, economies have been devastated, health systems challenged beyond measure, our lifestyles have become unrecognisably different and technology has become a focal point. We rely upon […]
Privacy – Even more important in 2020
**Disclaimer** The majority of this text was written in 2016 in this blog post. I have added updated information, but what I shared then was even more important today, and so I have reposted it here for Privacy Awareness Week – take time to Reboot Your Privacy!. When I was nine I had a diary […]
Open pedagogies: Transforming and empowering learning
The open movement has been defined as: An informal, worldwide phenomenon characterised by the tendency of individuals and groups to work, collaborate and publish in ways that favour accessibility, sharing, transparency and interoperability. (Couros & Hildebrandt, 2016, p.145) A feature of the open movement which is gaining increasing exposure, is the concept of open educational […]