About me

Hi, I’m Tania Sheko, and I’m a teacher and teacher librarian  at Melbourne High School, a selective 9-12 boys’ school,  in Melbourne,  Australia.

Currently I teach VCE English Language and Personal Development. People often lack a full understanding of what a teacher librarian does. I think if they knew, more people would want the role. The teaching in the TL role is limited only by imagination (and money, sadly). My teaching history included English, German, French and ESL (and a little Russian), so I can support students and teachers in these areas (at least), eg by providing proof-reading services to students, mini courses in things like academic writing, media literacy skills, student leadership interview practice, etc., as well as the traditional ‘library’ help with research, ethical use of online resources, citation of sources, etc.

I’m passionate about alternatives to grades in assessment and follow people like Jesse Stommel and Laura Gibbs who are experts in this field.

Some people say you can’t ‘know’ people online but my own experiences in connective MOOCs has convinced me otherwise.  Drawing from a community of people who are in the business of teaching, curating, or creating is a great alternative to googling when you want educational expertise.

My interests include the visual arts, music and literature. In my undergraduate Arts degree, I specialised in avant-garde German theatre (Max Frisch’s Graf Öderland), and I think that my interest in the avant-garde continues in the sense of a focus on the experimental and innovative. I like to reshape the way I do things.

If you follow me on Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook, you’ll notice my addiction to art, illustration and animation. I love being able to support art students by sharing my finds on my art blog, Art does matter.

The best part of writing a blog and participating in online networks is the connection to people and the resulting conversations. Please let me know what you think by leaving a comment or just introducing yourself.

You can see what’s caught my eye on Diigo.

You can follow me on Twitter @taniatorikova and also on Instagram.

Visit my art blog where I post eclectic inspiration for art students. My colleagues and I are developing e-resources in Libguides.

I am privileged to coordinate a great bunch of students who love to write  –  together every Friday at lunchtime. You can follow Melbourne High School Library’s blog and enjoy my students’ writing on their blog.

You can read about my collaborative global project on Flickr blog here.

If you like, you can email me tsheko1@gmail.com

18 thoughts on “About me”

  1. Have you had any success with Google Reader or Bloglines? We are having difficulty with linking them to our blogs. I have created accounts in both and managed to get Bloglines sort of linked to my account but am really struggling with GoogleReader. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

    My blog is at

    valmuir.globalteacher.org.au

    It’s not exciting or even relevant just a series of entries to go through the program.

    Thanks, val.

  2. Hi Val,
    Sorry to hear you’ve had trouble with your RSS. I’ve had trouble with everything actually. When it’s all up, nobody can tell how many gruelling hours have been put in, can they?
    I found Bloglines more user friendly than Google Reader. I’ve done something with Google Reader a while ago but have to have a look again. I don’t know about you, but after I’ve accomplished something, I immediately forget how. Some time this weekend I’ll have a look, and if I have something helpful to say, I’ll reply here.
    Don’t feel bad about the blog. I may have more time than you. I did a lot of it while I was sick at home.
    all the best,
    Tania

  3. Tania Sheko,

    I found your name on “Directory of Learning Professionals on Twitter” and wanted to reach out to you. I visited your Twitter page and read through the blogs.

    My name is Gomathi and I am the Market Development Manager for EnglishCafe. We are currently in beta and could use some feedback on the site. Will you help us out by giving us a quick peek or tweet? In the very near future, we will be launching a program where Tutors can make money on our site as well. I may circle back to you when that launches as well.

    Can we touch base soon?

    Gomathi Shankar
    Market Development Manager
    EnglishCafe
    http://www.EnglishCafe.com

    EnglishCafe is the premier English learning community for global professionals.

  4. Hi Tania,

    I just discovered your blog whilst checking delicious to see who had bookmarked my colleague’s (Adrian Camm) Physics website!

    I have only started blogging a few weeks ago and I am hooked.

    Your recent articles are very interesting and I am looking forward to reading all the rest of your blog over the next few days – keep up the great work.

    Jeff

  5. Hi Jeff, pleased to meet you! I’ve passed on Adrian’s website and your blog to our teachers. You’re doing a great job. Although I’m not a maths or science teacher, I really get into these subjects through blogs. Blog posts offer variety and make everything sound interesting.

    Thanks for your comments.
    Tania

    1. I found your ning last week and joined, happily. So many good things happening there. Thankyou for your kind comment, and see you on the ning.

  6. It is interesting to read about the education that you gave your own children. I often reflect on that issue of somehow around the early teenage years we seem to ‘kill’ or students lose that curiousity or thirst for learning. Their creativity also seems to disappear. That is where I found that uisng blogs, global projects and other web2.0 tools, students will go off on their own direction to seek out further information on what they have read or heard. What are your thoughts on the Montessori education program? Did your children continue to enjoy learning throughout their education?

  7. Actually, we moved, and the Montessori primary school was terrible, so we switched our kids to mainstream. My oldest had more Montessori education, and I think it really gave him a good start. I still think that if they had continued with a good Montessori education, they would have been more connected to learning, but there’s no way I can prove that. Montessori, like any kind of education, is only as good as its teachers. On the negative side, it can be misinterpreted or taught by uninspired teachers. We had some serious issues with our Melbourne Montessori before we took our boys out. I still love the philosophy and approach, though!

    What I loved about Montessori (and this was in preschool) was the choice given, the 3 year age range in a class, the prizing of independent and inquiry learning, and the celebration and reverence for the wonders of life. Thanks for dropping by, Anne.

  8. Congratulations Tania! Your site has been nominated in the ACCE Australasian Educational Media Awards. Visit the conference website to vote for your own site and leave a comment on other nominated resources. Friends and colleagues may also wish to support your nomination. http://acec2010.info/acce-edsoft-awards/gallery

    The two winning entries will be announced at the ACEC2010 Conference on Friday 9 April.

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