Reflective
Practitioner
Being a reflective practitioner is an
important component for all education professions, because it focuses on growth
and responsibility. As a library media specialist, I have to use best practices
in working in library. Some best practices include the following: communication
skills, resources, information literacy, and knowledge about teaching library
skills. In addition, as a library media specialist, I have to know how to
communicate effectively with teachers, students and parents. I need good communication skills, because part
of being a reflective practitioner requires have good collaboration with
teachers, students and parents. To
continue, reflecting on best practices such as up-to-date resources will help
me to better assist teachers with the necessary resources for instruction. For
example, teachers and students should be able to come to me to receive information
about books, materials, hardware and programs use. As a library media specialist, I have to reflect
on literacy and technology skills in which I am knowledgeable, and then share
and teach this information to students and teachers. Also, reflecting on my library media best practices
will help me to assist students how in finding research information from print,
electronic internet resources and visual media.
To continue, as a reflective practitioner, I learned ideas, management
skills, procedures, responsibilities and duties of media specialists during a library
field experiences I did. In other words,
from this field experience, I learned a wealth of knowledge and skills such as
cataloging and Dewey System that will be useful for me in becoming a librarian
media specialist in the future.
Therefore, being reflective practitioner will
help assist me in assessing my own best practices, and making necessary
adjustments to become a better librarian.
A
Changed Agent
Yes, I am and must definitely be a changed agent. Schools, children, and society have changed
as the world move toward the 21st century. As a librarian media specialist, I have to
play an important role to become better prepared through knowledge of
technology and literacy skills, so I can inform teachers and students how to
meet these challenges of the 21st century. In other words, I have to be a changed agent
in the information world, since students
today are so tuned and involved in computers and many technology gadgets.
To continue, as a changed agent, I think of the Old
Librarians versus the new librarians. For example, Scheeren
(2010) discussed the changes of the librarians working in libraries across the
United States. During the 1960’s, the
library resources that were used consisted of film, filmstrips, projectors,
records and record players. To continue,
card catalogs were used to locate books and/or novels. On the other hand,
today, much emphasis is now on advance resources, such as e-books, audio books,
animated books, interactive books, digital cameras, and new and innovative
software programs, web pages, etc.
In 1998, the mission of the school
media library program was to provide access to materials in the library,
instruction to stimulate interest in reading, using and viewing ideas and
information and working with other educators to create learning strategies to
meet needs of individual students (Woolls, 1998?). These goals continue to be a focal point of
the importance of librarian media specialists’ standards and best
practices.
Therefore, it is important that I am a
changed agent, so I can help others to improve in their own lives to become
better researchers and readers.
Life
Long Learner
Just as any professional, it is vital that I continue to be a lifelong
learner, so that I can progress growth and become more knowledgeable in all
phases of life. Since society has
changed so much, I have to develop better leadership qualities and become more
apt to become a leader in all phases of my life. From the point of view of a
librarian media specialist, I have to be more susceptible for change and to be
more willing to move forward to keep up with new advancements in technology and
librarian standards of best practices.
To continue, I will attend conference
and events on library leadership. I want to know more strategies on how to
operate the library effectively. I will attend professional development
(conferences and workshops) related to library issues. I will take more classes
on using technology. I want to continue to learn about technology resources
that I can teach and students. I want teachers to know about technology
resources that can assist them with teaching lesson. As a library media
specialist, my job is to teach teachers how to integrate technology into the
curriculum, use new hardware and software. In addition, I will join
professional organizations that are for library media specialists. I want to
know about library services available, grants and great websites for students
to use in the library. I want to network and collaborate with other library media
specialists. It is good to know what other library media specialists are doing
in the libraries. This will provide me with ideas and changes I need to make in
the library.
All in
all, as a library media specialist I will continue to grow and improve in
technology. I will take more classes in technology. I will teach students about how to use
technology in their everyday life. In addition, I will share technology skills
with teachers. Teachers can use the skills that I share with them in teaching
their lessons. Some technologies I will use in the library include the
following: E-books, laptops and Noble Nook. Furthermore, I will share and
exchange ideas with other librarians by posting blogs, wiki and Google pages on
the Internet.
Bibliography
Woolls, B. (2008).
The School Library Media Manager.
Librarian Unlimited, Westport, CT.
Scheeren, W.
(2010). Technology for School
Librarians, Theory and Practice. Santa Barbara,
CA: ABC-CLIO,
LLC.
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