Standard 3.1 Efficient and Ethical Information-Seeking Behavior
Candidates identify and provide support for diverse student information needs. Candidates model multiple strategies for students, other teachers, and administrators to locate, evaluate, and ethically use information for specific purposes. Candidates collaborate with students, other teachers, and administrators to efficiently access, interpret, and communicate information.
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Reflection
The media center is the information hub of a school. The media specialist is responsible for organizing all of the print and digital resources to ensure that teachers, students and community members can access information efficiently and ethically. SLM505 Information Sources taught me how to create a website that organizes a school’s research tools and provides patrons with the skills necessary to access the information.
Before beginning this website, I used MCPS and AASL guidelines to develop my selection criteria. Then, I used these criteria to determine which resources were most effective in supporting diverse student information needs in my school. I organized my resources into online databases, websites, print resources, and additional community-based websites. However, I knew that simply including the resources would not ensure that patrons had strategies to actually use them. I solved this problem by creating video screencasts to model strategies for locating, evaluating and ethically using the information within various resources.
Grade level teams often need resources specific to their current curricular needs. By collaborating with teachers, I can understand these needs and organize resources to support their instruction. For example, the fourth grade team asked for support with a unit on weather. I created a research pathfinder with videos, website links, magazines, books and online databases to support students’ information needs. By also including a link to this pathfinder on my library website, I ensured that students had access to the resources during school and at home.
This process taught me that it is not enough for me to understand how to access information as a school’s media specialist; I also need to provide my students, teachers, and school community with tools to use the resources independently. By doing so, I can empower my entire school community to become ethical and efficient users of information.
This process taught me that it is not enough for me to understand how to access information as a school’s media specialist; I also need to provide my students, teachers, and school community with tools to use the resources independently. By doing so, I can empower my entire school community to become ethical and efficient users of information.