Competency Nine: Internet

Using Google, I located and chose the American Associations of School Librarians. This site has a lot to offer not only current school librarians, but students like me as well. There are links for continuing education classes and conferences for the veterans and resources for the school librarian students. The ALA and AASL's guidelines and standards along with explanations are provided too in addition to a section on current issues and trends specific to the school library. Finally, two online journals are available: Knowledge Quest and School Library Media Research, a peer reviewed journal.

I chose this site because as a student in the MLS program, this site offers a lot of resources for me. I was drawn to this site after locating the online journal, which looks to have a lot of interesting research articles. Rather than zone in on the journal, I wanted to see what else was available from the AASL/ALA and as stated above, there is a lot of useful information to be found.

Competency Eight: Research visual/Multimedia

This is not a clear image, but the chart is a rubric for forming research questions. Students cannot begin to research until they have defined the question they would like answered. As is often seen with my eighth graders, students have a difficult time forming a research question that is neither too broad or too narrow. This chart will help direct them in the right direction. As a teacher librarian, I can use a chart like this to guide my students.

Image resource:

Mueller, J. (2008, November) Assessing skill development. Figure 6.4. Library Media Connection, 27(3), 18-20. Retrieved August 5, 2009, from Education Research Complete database.

Competency Seven: Image

This image was located in the Google Images database using the search terms BANNED BOOKS. The image is from the Virginia Library Association's web page on a Banned Book Week contest. The image is a 'play' on the eye chart seen in the eye doctor's office; the difference is rather than a series of unpatterned letters, it sends a coherent message about the effects of banned books. I like this image because it is familiar to most students, but interesting enough for them to actually read it. I also like the message that it sends about banned books, not just that banning books is bad, but why. This could lead to some interesting conversations with my students.