The 2020 recipient of the School Library Association of New South Wales John H Lee Memorial Award is Beth Wilson. Beth is currently the Head of Information Services at Knox Grammar School, Wahroonga, Sydney. The John H Lee Memorial Award is presented to an individual or a school team in recognition of innovation in learning and teaching practice in a school or schools through learning technologies.

Beth Wilson has designed and constructed online portals for her senior school libraries using LibPaths in the Infiniti Library Management System. When COVID-19 restricted the opening of physical libraries, Beth redeveloped the portals to cater for the remote learning needs of students and staff, with particular attention to increasing easy access to digital resources including databases, pertinent websites, ebooks, audiobooks, options for entertainment, and teaching and learning tools. Beth also developed guides for teachers to assist them in using a variety of technology platforms in their teaching.

While there has been a significant increase in the use of online learning in education and the application of micro credentials and online badges in the tertiary sector, Beth has taken this a step further by applying tertiary online learning and micro credentialling approaches at the secondary school level through the school library. She has developed a series of tutorials in various aspects of Information Literacy, using iSpring Page, which can be counted towards micro credentials for students in her school. In recognition of the value of this work, her school is now including these online tutorials as an option for students to gain credit towards a new “Certificate of Global Competency” as a form of digital portfolio of student achievements throughout their time at the school.

Beth Wilson's recent leadership within her school community in terms of the design and implementation of learning technologies into teaching and learning to facilitate information and digital literacies clearly meets the criteria for the John H Lee Memorial award.  Members of the School Library Association of NSW congratulate Beth on receipt of this award.

This award will be presented at The Laureate & The Literacy Leader Professional Learning Summit on March 13th, 2021.