Volume 33 Nº 1 - February 1997

A teacher-librarian's perspective of implementing the internet at Kilvington Girls Grammar

Grace Kinch

At Kilvington Girls Grammar, a pre-prep to Year 12 school of 435 girls, the acceleration into the computing technologies age came with the arrival of our new principal, Di Fleming, in Term 3 of 1993. A major part of this acceleration was the decision by the principal that the school would implement the internet as a learning tool.

Key features of the computing technologies and learning organisation age at Kilvington have been:

• the use of laptop computers by teachers and the students in Years 5 - 12;
• the appointment of an IT Support person who is employed part-time to maintain the laptops and the internet network, and to assist staff and students with computing problems;
• a Computing Technologies co-ordinator overseeing the implementation of computing technologies in the school, including staff training, and the development of the Kilvington Home Page on the World Wide Web.
• the integration of information services into the curriculum - notably the use of CD-ROMs, laptop computers and on-line services as learning, information and communication tools;
• recognising the library's transition from a static to a dynamic learning environment by officially changing its name to the Information Services Centre, or ISC.

The internet

The internet network consists of a fileserver and a local area network located in the Information Services Centre. For ease of access, the IT Support has his office in the ISC. Six PCs and nine Xircom adaptors for laptops provide access to the internet in the ISC. In 1996, the network was expanded to provide access for laptop computers, from all classrooms in the Middle and Junior School and staff work areas in these Schools. In 1997, access for the Senior School (which is on a campus across the road) is planned.

Our ISP (Internet service provider) is Schoolsnet. We have a permanent modem connection, allowing access at any time of day.

Implementing the internet

The implementation of internet services has been a shared responsibility between key people: the principal, the Computing Technologies co-ordinator, the IT Support and the ISC Director. We have worked together to develop the ways in which the internet can be used across the curriculum. This is why it works! The fact that the principal is a visionary, meant that the internet was made a priority and funding was provided to enhance its use in a learning environment.

The world our students will enter on leaving school will be dominated by on-line information services and communication tools, and computing technologies as yet unknown.

The Computing Technologies co-ordinator and I work together to enhance the use of the internet across the curriculum as an information, learning and communication tool. We have developed our home page as a vital information service. This site changes continually. We lead by example - the Computing Technologies co-ordinator, for example, co-ordinates a science competition through our home page, while I have organised a Year 8 'Book Rap' using e-mail through the teacher-librarians' electronic mailing list, OZTL_NET.

The IT Support is the 'technical wizard' who maintains the internet at Kilvington. He and I share workspace, as well as ideas, and support each other in ensuring that the network is up and running.

The teacher-librarian: approaches and ideas

When I returned from eighteen months family leave at the start of 1995, 'internet' was only a word to me but, realising that the ISC was to be the hub of the internet network and that I had a key part to play in implementing it effectively, I made developing my skills and liaising with the IT Support a priority. As soon as I felt confident in my new skills, I began 'marketing' the internet as part of the learning program to the teachers and principal.

My key area of focus have been:

Helping teachers access the internet as an information source. I see my role as being a link to reliable information sources on the internet. I assess internet sites, as I would books. I have an in-house publication called The Internet: Useful Sites Arranged by Subject which I continually update - many of these sites being accessible via the Kilvington Home Page. I forward to staff, sites that I believe are appropriate information sources in their curriculum fields. This can act as an incentive to teachers to integrate the internet into their classes as they haven't had to do the searching which is the time-consuming aspect. It also assists with showing them that I am keeping an 'eye' on their subject area.

Helping students: If there is a site relevant to current research topics, I integrate that site into my resources talk when the students are booked into the ISC. It becomes part of their information pathfinder. Teachers appreciate this because it means that their students will maximise the classtime allocated to research: they can access a site immediately.

I assist individual students, too (not that they really need it!). In 1996 a new initiative for students in Years 7 - 10 was the Computing Showcase. Part of this showcase developed and enhanced internet skills. This will continue with Year 7 students in 1997.

Professional development: Through the OZTL_NET electronic mailing list, I am able to share e-mail with teachers (eg interactive projects they can participate in; e-mail penpals for students). I also learn about sites to explore and recommend.

I maintain a noticeboard near the internet network in the ISC where I highlight 'good' sites. I also share 'good' sites with parents via the parent newsletter as I know increasing numbers of our families are connecting to the internet at home.

How the internet can be used in schools

There are five categories into which the internet is utilised as an information source and communication tool at Kilvington:

• World Wide Web sites: As teachers gain confidence using the internet, some are formally incorporating its use in information retrieval tasks. For example, an assignment in Year 10 Physical Education had the students exploring a specific site to gain answers to questions and a Year 10 Religious Education assignment asked students to recommend a site suitable for use in the unit, 'Religion and Identity'.
• Electronic mail: All staff and most students in Years 5 - 12 have e-mail addresses.
• Interactive projects: The Computing Technologies co-ordinator manages a science competition which originates from the Kilvington Home Page. Any student who accesses the competition can enter. The winners and their solutions are published on the Web. I am involved with some Year 8s in a Book Rap project in which discussion about a particular novels takes place via electronic mail.
• Image and promotion: A Home Page allows a school to create a reputation on the internet. The Computing Technologies co-ordinator manages its development, but I work with him to create various links for our students and others. This is a dynamic way of publicising things our school is doing. You can see what we have done athttp://www.kilvington.schnet.edu.au. I have an ISC page and a Book Reviews Section. I have also supplied most of the links on the Home Page - the subject categories have been decided by me whilst the Computing Technologies co-ordinator has attended to the hypertext markup language (html) coding. The work we do together is challenging and satisfying. We communicate to our school community what we are doing here to ensure that students are using the assistance we have provided. We also wish to show that information that they might expect in one format can also be found on the internet.
• Information superhighway elective: In 1996 this elective was offered for the first time to students in Years 9 and 10. Most of the classtime is spent in the ISC using its network.

I believe that what we are developing at Kilvington is in accordance with the position expressed by James Henri in his recent ITEC Virtual Conference paper:

If schools are serious about information literacy; if they want to forge a school community where both teachers and students are comfortable and competent in using a wide range of information services and products, they will place a priority on the effective use of teaching and learning methodologies that equip learners with the skills of knowledge construction.

Advice to internet newcomers

Exploring specific sites is often the easiest way of seeing the positives of the internet. Using the search engines of the internet can be frustrating initially, and should be relied on when you are more familiar with the internet.

Exploring what the internet can offer your school should be a shared responsibility between key people. If you are 'on your own', convincing the administration and teaching staff that you need to incorporate use of the internet into the curriculum can be difficult. Fortunately, at Kilvington, we did not have to concern ourselves with this!

The people responsible for computing technologies should have a key interest. Enlist their support. Establishing, then maintaining the internet (both hardware and software) requires an annual commitment from the school budget.

To utilise the internet's features fully, discussion needs to take place about who can be responsible for promoting/integrating what. Technical support is vital to ensure it is working when you need it - and here, I must admit that the more you get involved, the more you learn about the technical side!

Plagiarism and copyright

Because it is easy to plagiarise electronic information sources, (CD-ROM and the internet) and to download to disk, teachers need to be vigilant when correcting drafts and final copies. During 1996 I updated our guidelines for compiling bibliographies and citing footnotes to include the internet and e-mail.

Closing remarks

The internet has made an impact as an information service, learning and communication tool at Kilvington; but books, periodicals, newspapers and CD-ROMs still play an important part in the total information service. Our aim has been to incorporate the Internet in an effective and efficient manner. The fact that the Computing Technologies co-ordinator and I come from different perspectives of the information continuum has only enhanced our school's position.

Reference

Henri, James 1996, 'The Internet & the TL's role in the school: Possible, probable & preferred futures: A point of view', ITEC Virtual Conference, 5 June.