Issue 24

Bruce, L. 'Setting up effective research assignments for students'. Scan. 16(4), November, 1997, 22-24.

Lorraine Bruce, Teacher Librarian at Pennant Hills High School and Cherrybrook Technology High School, Sydney, suggests that Teacher Librarians should be assisting teachers to set assignments that deal with more than mere content. By incorporating facets of Bloom's Taxonomy, learning styles and information skills into research assignments students will have the " opportunity to become independent learners, ~ 'with the ability to synthesise and interpret information. The article includes examples of these concepts.

Brady, L. 'Searching the Internet'. School PC Australia. November, 1997, 13-14.

This concise guide to Internet searching techniques has been compiled by Laurice Brady, Technology Librarian at St Kevin's College, Melbourne. Starting with the more basic concepts and procedures for Internet searching, the article progresses through to impressive checklists for effective search strategies. Brady includes other tips and techniques that would be beneficial to Teacher Librarians and students in order to maximise results and minimise time spent searching the Internet.

Thomler, J. 'Porn filters & net blockers'. internet.au. January, 1998, 50-53.

Parents and schools are aware that no Net filtering/monitoring system offers complete protection from objectionable sites. The only way to offer complete protection is for parents and teachers to surf the Net with their children. However there are several effective filters that are commercially available. The author of this article rated the six most popular software packages via their ability to block offensive/ inoffensive material, ability to add/subtract search phrases, and if they log sites accessed. The author also points out the negative aspects of using Net filters.

Debowski, S. 'Managing technological change'. Access. 11 (4), November, 1997, 30-32.

The changes that Teacher Librarians and school libraries face in the near future are addressed in this article by Dr Shelda Debowski. She outlines the two key issues facing Teacher Librarians as 'the function of the school library as more electronic resources are integrated into the collection, and second, what will be the role of the Teacher Librarian'. She offers valuable strategies to cope with the challenges faced by Teacher Librarians, especially in relation to the merging of roles and responsibilities between Teacher Librarians, computer teachers and IT specialists. It is in this context that Teacher Librarians need to distinguish and re-evaluate their role.