AASL News May 14, 2008
Posted by mjones in : AASL News , add a commentAASL announces 2008 NSLMPY Award recipients
The recipients of AASL’s 2008 National School Library Media Program of the Year (NSLMPY) Award are Luella Elementary School in Locust Grove, Georgia, and Simsbury High School in Simsbury, Connecticut. Luella Elementary School is a four-year-old K-5 public school whose staff recognizes its library media program as the center of the school and community. The Luella program uses a strong collection of books and materials to support the curriculum, professional development of the staff, parenting skills, and pleasure reading. Simsbury High School is home to the Joe Townsley Library and Media Center. Simsbury’s primary focus is implementing the school’s academic expectation that students use creative and critical thinking to conduct inquiry-oriented research. The award, sponsored by Follett Library Resources, will be recognized with a $10,000 check given to each school at the AASL Awards Luncheon on Monday, June 30. In addition, staff from Follett Library Resources will travel to each school site sometime in the fall to present the crystal obelisk, the symbol of the highest achievement in school library programming. Read the full press release.
School Librarian’s Workshop Scholarship winner announced
AASL is pleased to announce that Charisse Nicole Byers has been awarded the 2008 School Librarian’s Workshop Scholarship. Currently a library science student at the University of Southern Mississippi as well as a kindergarten teacher with Atlanta public schools, Byers has held intern positions with the Peace Corps and the University of Michigan Population Fellows Program, studying and reporting on the effectiveness of HIV/AIDS prevention programs overseas. The Kappa Delta Pi – International Honor Society member has also held various volunteer positions with Teach for America, Hands on Atlanta, and SisterLove, Inc. The scholarship is donated by Jay W. Toor, president of Library Learning Resources, and will be given to Byers during the AASL Awards Luncheon during the 2008 ALA Annual Conference. To learn more about the Awards Luncheon and AASL at ALA Annual Conference, visit www.ala.org/aasl/annual. Read the press release.
Online registration for AASL preconferences ends Friday, May 16
AASL invites you to join us in Anaheim, California, on Friday, June 27, for preconferences during the ALA 2008 Annual Conference. The four preconferences—Reading and the Secondary School Library Media Specialist; Standards for the 21st-Century Learner; Eating Elephant 2.0 One Bite at a Time: Using the Read-Write Web in Classrooms and Libraries; and E-Books, E-Kids, E-Flat! Three trends schools and libraries will ignore at their peril—are designed with the school library media specialist in mind and offer the opportunity for learning and sharing in a fun and collaborative environment. Join first-class presenters and other school library media specialists for the ultimate opportunity to gain knowledge, network, and share, and leave with guaranteed tools to help your school reach its goals in education and literacy. Depending on membership, tickets range from $79 to $269. It is not required that you register for the ALA Annual Conference to attend the AASL preconferences. To learn more about these and other AASL events at the ALA 2008 Annual Conference and to register, visit the AASL @ Annual Conference Web page at www.ala.org/aasl/annual.
21st Century standards and Blooms May 12, 2008
Posted by Debbie Stafford in : Check this out! , add a commentI was reading this article from techlearning Bloom’s Taxonomy Blooms Digitally. The article covers the original Bloom’s Taxonomy and Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy then goes on to discuss a Bloom’s digital taxonomy map looking at many web2.0 applications and where they would fit.
Then I was reading through the Standards for the 21st Century Learner in Action also mentioned elsewhere on the blog.
It then occurred to me to see if the two documents would match up. In a fast review it seems to me that creating, the top of the taxonomy isn’t there while remembering and Understanding are well represented.
Any other thoughts?
AASL News May 7, 2008
Posted by mjones in : AASL News , add a comment2008 Award recipients announced
AASL is pleased to announce that it will recognize the following individuals at the AASL Awards Luncheon on Monday, June 30, during the ALA 2008 Annual Conference in Anaheim, California:
ABC-CLIO Leadership Grant - Su Eckhardt, Colorado Association of School Libraries (CASL), Lakewood, Colorado
Collaborative School Library Media Award - Ronda Hassig and Kathy Hill, Harmony Middle School, Overland Park, Kansas
Distinguished Service Award - Nancy P. Zimmerman, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
Frances Henne Award - Sarah Prielipp, Lakeview Elementary School, Gillette, Wyoming
Intellectual Freedom Award - Kristie Michalowski, Magill Elementary School, Loganville, Georgia Innovative Reading Grant - Barbara Powell-Schager, Big Shanty Intermediate School, Kennesaw, Georgia
The fee to attend the AASL Awards Luncheon is $49. Special guest speaker for the event is award-winning author Wendy Mass. For more information about this event and more AASL programs in Anaheim, visit the AASL @ ALA 2008 Annual Conference page.
Emerging Leaders - Action Requested
Forwarded on behalf of the ALA Office for Human Resource Development & Recruitment (HRDR).
Time is fast approaching for the 2009 Emerging Leaders program process to begin. This year HRDR wants to go “live” with the online application prior to Annual Conference. Please let Beatrice Calvin <bcalvin@ala.org> know as soon as possible if your affiliate will be sponsoring an individual(s) this year. As with previous classes, sponsorship implies that you will provide monetary support at a minimum of $1,000 (support of travel to both Midwinter and Annual). HRDR needs to know of your decision immediately. Replies should be sent to bcalvin@ala.org.
Recap of SLMM events in Second Life
Thanks to all who joined AASL in Second Life (SL) to celebrate the importance of school libraries! The Friday evening dance featured funky music, fireworks, and exciting visuals by AASL members and staff! Wednesday evening’s podcast and discussion led by AASL Web 2.0 Committee member Lisa Perez, featured a podcast by AASL Executive Director Julie Walker followed by a brief discussion. If you couldn’t make it to the event, be sure to listen to Julie’s podcast.
[PREVIOUS POST] AASL Seeks School Library Presentations for ALA 2009 Annual Conference
AASL invites proposal submissions for 1-1/2 hour concurrent sessions or half- to full-day preconference professional development programs to be held during the ALA 2009 Annual Conference from July 9 to 15, 2009, in Chicago, Illinois. Submissions will be accepted through May 26, 2008. The RFP and presentation proposal submission form are available on the AASL Web site.
Congratulations! May 3, 2008
Posted by Laura Pearle in : ALA Council , add a commentThe following AASL members were voted seats on ALA Council:
Mary Biblio
Linda Friel
Carrie Gardner
Dee Gwaltney
Margaret Kirkpatrick
Stephen Matthews
Toni Negro
Barb Stripling
Linda Underwood
Lisa Von Drasek
Ann Weeks
Think about adding your name to this list next year.
Invitation for public comment: Standards for the 21st-Century in Action May 2, 2008
Posted by Kathy Lowe in : Hot Topics, Standards , add a commentThe AASL Learning Standards Indicators and Assessment Task Force invites you to review and critique the first draft of Standards for the 21st Century Learner in Action at
http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslproftools/standardsinaction/standardsinaction.cfm
After releasing Standards for the 21st Century Learner in October 2007, AASL charged the task force “to develop a document to expand and support the new learning standards” with “indicators, benchmarks, model examples, and assessments.” Standards for the 21st Century Learner in Action provides support for school library media specialists and other educators in teaching the essential learning skills defined in Standards for the 21st Century Learner. It presents Action Examples for putting Standard 1: Inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge, into practice in Benchmark Grades 2, 5, 8, 10 and 12+.
This is the first draft of Standards for the 21st Century Learner in Action. It will be revised based on input from AASL members. A second draft, expected to be posted for comment in September 2008, will include Benchmarks and Action Examples for Standards 2, 3 and 4. You are encouraged to thoroughly examine and critique the contents of this document. Please email your comments to StandardsInAction@ala.org with “Comments” in the subject line, before June 6, 2008.
If you are attending the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, plan to attend the Open Forum on Saturday, June 28 at 9am to provide your input to the task force members in person.
You are also invited to contribute to Standards for the 21st Century Learner in Action by completing the blank template included in the draft with your own sample tasks and assessments. Examples you provide will be considered for inclusion in the final publication of Standards for the 21st Century Learner in Action. Please email your completed template(s) to StandardsInAction@ala.org with “Sample Tasks” in the subject line.
We encourage you to forward this invitation to your school library colleagues and to distribute it widely through your state and local school library listservs and blogs.
We look forward to reading your comments!
AASL Learning Standards Indicators & Assessment Task Force:
Katherine Lowe, Chair, Massachusetts School Library Association
Cassandra G. Barnett, Fayetteville High School Library, AR
Melissa P. Johnston, Silver City Elementary, Cumming, GA
Barbara K. Stripling, New York City Department of Education
Dr. Violet H. Harada, University of Hawaii
Frances Glick, Baltimore County Public Schools, MD