jump to navigation

The personal learning of ALA July 3, 2008

Posted by maharlan in : Check this out! , add a comment

I am back from the ALA conference in Anaheim.  Conferences are an interesting event as the experience is both personal – what did you learn, do – and communal – the opportunity to share, discuss, and collaborate.
This year at ALA I only attended a couple of sessions – a presentation by Judi Moriellon and Deb LaPlante about collaborating to teach reading strategies.  This session was of particular interest to the elementary librarian as most of the strategies discussed were piloted with elementary school students.  What I appreciated about Judi and Deb’s approach is that they were advocating moving beyond reading promotion to teaching reading.  As a former middle school language arts teacher the strategies were familiar, and usable at all three levels.  More information can be found at Judi’s website.
I also attended a presentation on youth involvement in legislation through teen advisory groups or youth council.  Two teens, the director of Oakland Public Library and the coordinator of teen services (brand new) spoke.  The teens emphasized how their participation in Oakland’s Youth Leadership Council had made them more self-confident and improved their public speaking ability which is a pretty cool thing for a library program to be able to provide, particularly the self confidence.  The teens represented the library and local and state legislative events, talking to state representatives, city council and the library board.
Mostly I attended meetings, which is a great way for me to make new connections and see old friends.   I met someone in the throes of her doctoral thesis, a content analysis of popular titles using adolescent development traits, which I am very interested in seeing the outcome.  I put faces to the names of people who post on this blog, who I have never actually met.  And I enjoyed myself . . .
There were a number of interesting events: a videoconference with teacher librarians at NECC,  Newbery/Caldecott dinner, an Advocacy workshop, and  other interesting presentations that I missed.  I hope to hear more about people’s ALA experiences.

AASL News July 2, 2008

Posted by mjones in : AASL News , add a comment

AASL honors the work of Daniel Callison, SLMR editor from 1997 to 2007
At AASL’s Board of Directors meeting during the ALA 2008 Annual Conference, Daniel Callison was honored for his work as School Library Media Research’s (SLMR) editor from 1997 to 2007. During his tenure, Dr. Callison transformed the peer-reviewed journal into a top-ranked scholarly online publication. In 2004, SLMR was ranked 16th out of more than 70 journals in the library and information science field by the deans and directors of ALA-accredited MLS-degree programs in North America. SLMR was the top-ranked journal related to the school library media field and is the only online journal that ranked among the top twenty. Current co-editor for SLMR Jean Donham says, “Dr. Callison has set the standard for SLMR as a respected and rigorous peer-reviewed publication. As co-editor, I am committed to continuing his tradition.”

Read the press release.

AASL’s second longitudinal survey explores the use of social networking tools in schools
Selected questions from AASL’s second longitudinal survey focused on the use of social networking tools by school library media specialists and their teacher collaborators in elementary and secondary schools. The questions asked specifically which social networking tools schools utilized in preparing their students for learning in the 21st century. Preliminary findings from the study show that elementary, middle, and high schools are using social networking tools to prepare students for the 21st century. Final results of the 2008 survey will be released in August 2008.

Read the press release.

ALA/NECC Videoconference July 1, 2008

Posted by jfreeman in : Conferences , 1 comment so far

Today a connection was made, in more ways than one. A videoconference was held between the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) in San Antonio and the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim. Separated by 1,181 miles, two rooms of teacher-librarians, distance educators, and technology educators discussed and experienced the power of videoconferencing. The theme was that teacher-librarians should be the proponents and caretakers of this web 2.0 technology that brings collaboration to a new level.

With the two conferences often overlapping, teacher-librarians feel they have to choose between ALA and NECC. Each has its appeal, yet it is difficult to attend both and feel as if you are truly a part of the conference. It is easy to feel a traitor to one side of your job, librarian vs. technology educator, when you choose.

We often feel that need to be in two or more places at once. We cannot be in the library and also in a classroom fixing a computer at the same time, but we can be at two conferences at once if these connections continue to grow. Many of the NECC sessions are available via podcast or video on the NECC or ISTE website, but face-to-face discussions are so powerful.

Be the leader in this collaborative effort to do videoconferencing in your school. Use the video equipment sitting in your back room or see if your district has equipment you can borrow. Start small, even within your own district. Last year my sixth graders filmed a claymation version of a myth and another school across the district had done the project, so we connected via video and my students asked them questions: What did they find difficult, how did they divide the work, etc.

The success of this year’s videoconference was a positive step towards future connections between librarians who spend their lives trying to be in multiple places at once. Aren’t we the main proponents of collaboration? Be the voice for using videoconferencing for professional development, student collaboration, or connecting teachers with other teachers.

Let’s fill the next group of Emerging Leaders with school librarians June 27, 2008

Posted by wstephens in : Check this out! , add a comment

School librarians and media specialists made up less that ten percent of the last Emerging Leaders cohort. If you’re looking for a way to increase your involvement in ALA, consider applying for the 2009 program. It will put you in touch with with ALA leaders and on the fast track to committee participation as you work on exciting projects with an experienced mentor. More information is posted on the ALA website, with requirements outlined below.  The application deadline is July 31.

To qualify for the Emerging Leaders program, you must:

  1. Be under 35 years of age or be a new librarian of any age with fewer than 5 years post-MLS experience
  2. Have a recent MLS degree from an ALA or NCATE accredited program or be in an MLS program currently
  3. Be able to attend both ALA conferences and work virtually in between
  4. Be prepared to commit to serve on an ALA, Division, Chapter or Round Table committee, taskforce or workgroup upon completion of program
  5. Be an ALA member or join upon selection if not already a member.

About a third of the 100 or so Emerging Leaders in the cohort will receive funding in the amount of $500 from divisions or other ALA or state library and media organizations to defray travel expenses for each of the two annual conferences.

Don’t miss this opportunity to increase the voice of school librarians within the organization.

AASL News June 25, 2008

Posted by mjones in : AASL News , add a comment

AASL seeks proposals for 2009 National Conference
AASL is currently seeking proposals for preconferences at the AASL 2009 National Conference in Charlotte, NC. The theme of the conference is “Rev Up Learning @ your library.” Submitted proposals should be for half-day workshops that will be presented to school library media specialists November 4-5. Each proposal should address at least one of these themes:

The deadline for proposals is 4:30 p.m. CDT on Monday, September 15. Proposals can be submitted electronically to Kelly Bishop, manager of professional development, at kbishop@ala.org, or by fax to (312) 280-5276. They can also be submitted in writing to Kelly Bishop, Manager of Professional Development, AASL, American Library Association, 50 East Huron Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60611.