Celebrate Choose Privacy Week May 1, 2013
Posted by Jen Habley in Committees, Intellectual Freedom.1 comment so far
Posted on behalf of the AASL Intellectual Freedom Committee
Today marks the beginning of Choose Privacy Week, an initiative started by ALA to give library users the opportunity to learn about and discuss privacy rights in the digital age.
Privacy has become an increasingly important issue to discuss with students of all ages. Many students do not realize the possible implications of their public digital life, and freely share photos and information on the Internet every day. It is our job as librarians to educate students about how to safely engage in communications through social media and other outlets, how to keep their information such as passwords and bank accounts private, and how to avoid situations like cyber-bullying while online.
ALA has put together many resources for librarians to use including videos, handouts, and position papers. Go to chooseprivacyweek.org for more information on how you can celebrate. Let’s start the conversation with our students.
Get Involved – Plant a TEER April 22, 2013
Posted by Jen Habley in Check this out!.2 comments
Posted on behalf of Barbara Stripling, Assistant Professor, School of Information Studies Syracuse University and Melissa Jacobs-Israel, Coordinator of Library Services for the New York City Department of Education
What would happen if every volunteer made it a goal to maintain their continuity of service to the profession by recruiting a new volunteer? This Earth Day think about your responsibility to maintain and “grow” service by nurturing younger participants.
Melissa Jacobs-Israel
Benjamin Franklin once said, “tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” This describes the mentoring relationship I had with Dr. Barbara Stripling for the eight years we worked side by side in the New York City Department of Education Office of Library Services. Mentoring for Barbara meant involving me at every level of work, sharing the projects she was a part of, inviting me to present at her side and granting me the opportunities to create my own professional knowledge and mark on the library world. She listened, guided and helped me develop my own strengths with support, professionalism and friendship. Not only did she help me grow as a coordinator for library services, but she modeled how a mentor can impact professional growth and development. As such, I have taken those lessons and used them to involve my own mentees and new librarians entering the field of school librarianship.
Barbara Stripling
The other side of any mentoring relationship is the professional growth of the mentor. I am sure that I learned as much from Melissa as she did from me. Mentoring is a partnership, an interaction, with equal parts of sharing and listening. I not only learned how to navigate the world of social tools (at least as much as Melissa could get into me), but I also found that Melissa’s perspective on issues gave me fresh insight into solutions and strategies. We learned together about new ways to design instruction, teach, develop assessments, implement mini-grants, plan and host conferences, and deliver workshops. Mentoring offers powerful professional development for both the mentor and the mentee. More importantly, mentoring leads to friendships that last a lifetime.
Special events this year at the AASL 16th National Conference & Exhibition:
- The “Students to AASL” reception offers a networking opportunity exclusively for Library and Information Science (LIS) students and their mentors.
- Celebrate Conference, the first-timers orientation, will offer opportunities for first-timers to network with members of AASL’s Retiree Special Interest Group (SIG).
Sharing Research in Our Field April 17, 2013
Posted by hmlang in Committees, School Library Research.add a comment
The AASL Research and Statistics Committee continue to share new articles and research in the field of school librarianship. We hope that you have enjoyed past posts so far. If there is an article that you would like to see included please list the title in the comments and we will discuss it in upcoming posts.
Myhill, W. N., Hill, R. F., Link, K., Small, R. V., & Bunch, K. (2012). Developing the capacity of teacher‐librarians to meet the diverse needs of all schoolchildren: Project ENABLE. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 12(4), 201-216. doi:10.1111/j.1471-3802.2012.01240.x
School Libraries in the United States are required to ensure that school children and school staff with disabilities have equal opportunities to use library facilities and information services under federal law. However, evidence indicates teacher-librarians (TLs) often lack the training, knowledge and skills to provide appropriate programming and services that meet the needs of students and staff with disabilities. Project ENABLE (Expanding Nondiscriminatory Access by Librarians Everywhere) was created to respond to this shortfall by designing professional development in New York State. In this article self-reporting, questionnaires, librarian self-assessment, and pre/post workshop data are reported. This paper presents some findings/themes found in Project ENABLE. A very enlightening read on teacher librarians and special education.
Genevieve Hart. (2012). Teacher-librarians leading change: Some stories from the margins. School Libraries Worldwide, 18(2), 51-60.
In this article a panel of five teacher-librarians, all working in disadvantaged circumstances, which was broadcast to schools across the Western Cape Province, South Africa, with the purpose of motivating schools to set up libraries, is the focus. The article focuses on their challenges and successes which are delivered throughout each librarian’s narrative. The panelist’s discussions are themed and coded in this article and much is to be gained from their conversation. Though these teacher librarians are based in South Africa there is much to learn from them in this very interesting read.
Houston, C. (2012). Digital natives, 21st century school libraries, and 21st century preparation programs: An informal affirmation of Branch and deGroot. School Libraries Worldwide, 18(1), 138-143.
Research shows that school librarians are often not integrating Web 2.0 tools into their school programs, while students are regularly using these tools outside of school for accessing and sharing information. MLIS programs must help future librarians master these tools so they can be leaders in their schools in online Web 2.0 tools. This paper discusses issues related to Web 2.0 integration within online graduate programs of school librarianship and offers examples of Web 2.0 activities that can be used in graduate courses.
Heather Moorefield-Lang: AASL Research and Statistics Committee Member
School Library Media Day at Juan Morel Campos Secondary School April 5, 2013
Posted by Jen Habley in Check this out!, School Library Month.add a comment
Posted on behalf of Susan Hess, school librarian
Originally published in Spring 2005 to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of School Library Media Month. Italics added Spring 2013.
“You change lives for the better.” With these words, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan addressed school library media specialists and inaugurated the first national School Library Media Day on April 1, 1985. Moynihan continued, “I want to thank you for what you do. I hope you know how important your work is.” (www.ala.org/aasl/slm)
For 17 years, the Juan Morel Campos Secondary School (JMCSS) Library Media Center has been making a difference in the lives of NYC students through its annual School Library Media Day celebrations. JMCSS is located in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. The community is home to many ethnic groups, including the Satmar sect of Hasidic Jews, Hispanics from South, Central and Latin America, Italians, Asians and African Americans. The mission of the library program is to provide our students, sixty-five percent of whom read below grade level, with resources and learning activities to ensure that they become discriminating users of ideas and information.
At our 17th Annual School Library Media Day, JMCSS students will demonstrate exactly how they use ideas and information. The theme for this year’s event is “Wired to the World: The Circle of Life.” Student projects will examine the interdependence and interrelationships among all living things. Judging from the attendance and feedback from previous events, and the vast array of planned projects, this year’s celebration should be our best ever. For our students and staff, Media Day is a school-wide “Show and Tell,” the day when students become the teachers, explaining their projects to peers, parents, Department of Education officials and other invited guests.
Because Media Day is a highly anticipated annual event, preparations for it begin the first day back to school in September. I speak to teachers at grade and department meetings, telling them about the wonderful collection of resources that are available for their use with students and showing them how to incorporate the latest developments in educational technology into the curriculum. Most teachers are eager to participate when they see how using technology, along with the library’s traditional print resources, motivates and enhances student literacy. Of course, students are always eager to participate in school-wide events, especially in Media Day. I think it’s because we give out such great T-Shirts. Our theme each year, “Wired to the World,” is based on the idea that in the library, students can make connections with people and places around the world. Someday soon, I think we might have to change our theme to “Wireless to the World.” During the months of April and May, students work hard to complete their projects, some in the library others in their classroom and at home. The last few days before Media Day are extremely hectic but once the first guests arrive, we know that we are on the way to another successful event.
The Juan Morel Campos Secondary School Media Day is a local example of a national program, started by a local school library leader, Lucille Thomas. The first New York School Library Media Day was held in 1974, initiated by Dr. Lucille C. Thomas, then President of the School Library Media Section of the New York Library Association. Beginning with Governor Malcolm Wilson, the governor of the State of New York has issued a proclamation each year honoring School Library Media Day. In 1983, the president of the American Association of School Librarians appointed Dr. Thomas to chair a committee whose charge was to “establish the rationale, objectives and design for a nationwide program for the first observance of School Library Media Month in 1985.” Thomas convinced Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York and then Representative Olympia Snowe of Maine (she is a senator now) to present similar resolutions authorizing the President of the United States to issue a proclamation declaring April as National School Library Media Month, calling upon people to celebrate with fitting programs, activities and ceremonies. Gathering ideas and suggestions from prior state and local library celebrations, the School Library Media Month Committee compiled a 52-page guidebook for the first national celebration. The theme of the first School Library Media Day was “Where Learning Never Ends: The School Library Media Center.”
Media Day at Juan Morel Campos Secondary School brings that theme of continuous learning to life. This spring you will again see kids empowered by their learning – excited chatter, but very professional presentations to teachers, parents and guests who join in the discovery about a variety of topics – from the Holocaust to the rooftop weather station! Collaboration among students is evident in the shared work, the shared learning and the shared presentations. Students take pride in being the experts, and even the shyest student has time to shine.
*The theme for this year’s School Library Month, the 28th annual celebration, is “Communities matter at your library.” If you think of community as a place where people with diverse backgrounds come together to share similar ideas, interests and common goals, what better place to build new and lasting relationships and create experiences that lead to lifelong learning than at your school library
To learn more about School Library Media Month, visit the Website of the American Association of School Librarians: www.ala.org/aasl/slm
April is School Library Month April 4, 2013
Posted by cstarkey in AASL News, Advocacy, Check this out!, School Library Month.add a comment
Every April school librarians are encouraged to create activities to help their school and local community celebrate the essential role that strong school library programs play in a student’s educational career. The 2013 celebration marks the 28th annual AASL-sponsored School Library Month and the SLM committee has developed new videos, advocacy activities, and suggestions that are available on the SLM 2013 page.
Carla Crews and Carolyn Starkey, librarians at Shades Valley High School / Jefferson County IB School / Shades Valley Technical Academies in Alabama, not only wanted to highlight the “communities matter @ yourlibrary” theme but take the opportunity to advocate creatively for their program.
Having been busy teaching the Freshmen Studies classes to analyze data and create infographics with it, Carolyn and Carla devised a series of designs that utilized data from their library and posted them on a hallway bulletin board along with photos from throughout the year.
Individual infographs highlighted:
Communities connected directly to the library….
Services offered….
Expenditure of librarians’ time…
Items owned and total dollar investment in library…
and finally, visitor statistics.
Let us know what you are doing for School Library Month 2013. We’ll post it on the blog!
Ideas for Using AASL Best Websites: Learn it in Five March 25, 2013
Posted by Donna Baratta in Best Websites for Teaching and Learning, Check this out!.1 comment so far
Want to embed technology in instruction? Working to introduce your students or colleagues to cool and useful online tools? Overwhelmed by the constantly evolving array of Web 2.0 resources? Pressed for time? Learn it in Five < http://learnitin5.com>, featured on the AASL Best Websites for Teaching and Learning 2012 list, provides a library of five-minute (or less) how-to videos on Web 2.0 resources. The resources are selected for their educational value.
The Learn it in Five videos are organized in seven categories:
Social Media for Teachers
Classroom Video Tools
Classroom Blogging
Wikis for Teachers
Classroom Podcasting
Web 2.0 Lessons
Videos for your Class
The Search for the Right Tools:
The categories are an excellent starting point when searching for potentially valuable resources. Use the videos to start screening resources before setting up accounts or trying to figure out “how they work.”
Tip: Send students to Learn it in Five to look for alternative ways to produce and publish their original content.
Professional Development:
In addition to using Learn it in Five as a resource for quick introductions to online resources, teachers can investigate the Digital Classroom Strategies section of Learn it in Five for ideas on implementing digital resources.
Tip: Use Learn it in Five’s subscription feature for daily updates. Having information sent to you is a great time management tool.
Instruction:
Finally, just as the site’s title suggests, you can use Learn it in Five videos for quick how-to introductions to online tools.
Tip: Have students create their own “Learn it in Five” videos based on the models provided.
Sharing Research in Our Field March 22, 2013
Posted by hmlang in Check this out!.add a comment
The AASL Research and Statistics Committee continue to share new articles and research in the field of school librarianship. We hope that you have enjoyed past posts so far. If there is an article that you would like to see included please list the title in the comments and we will discuss it in upcoming posts.
Barth, P. (2013, March).Virtual schools: Where’s the evidence? Educational Leadership, 70(6), 32-36.
Online learning at the university level has been available for students for many years. Recently, there has been an explosion of virtual schools at the K-12 level that have also become available. Even though these programs have a potential to increase student learning, very little research has been conducted to measure the impact of virtual instruction on student learning. This article describes the current research that has been conducted and indicates the research that is missing. This article is a good overview of the current status of research in the area of virtual learning.
Perez, L. (2013, March/April). Master librarian: Mentoring teachers to win the technology wars. Knowledge Quest, 41(4), 22-26.
In order to stay current in today’s schools technology and technology integration is an essential key. This is where school librarians come in as a crucial resource for teachers. This article goes through the process of establishing relationships, collaborating, and becoming a technology mentor for educators in schools. Examples in the field are also discussed, along with gaining administrative support and maintaining mentor roles once instructors start working on their own. This is a good article to read on establishing collaborative relationships in the area of technology.
Johnson, L., & Donham, J. (2012, December). Reading by grade three: How well do school library circulation policies support early reading. Teacher Librarian, 40(2). 8-12.
Johnson and Donham’s article covers the results of a longitudinal study involving nearly 4,000 students that shows that those who do not read proficiently by third grade are four times more likely to leave school without a diploma than proficient readers. This piece looks at the connections between early reading and school success. Higher circulation in libraries, connecting to more reading, which in turn link to higher achievement.
Heather Moorefield-Lang: AASL Research and Statistics Committee Member
2013 AASL Candidate Videos March 19, 2013
Posted by cstarkey in AASL News, AASL Officers, ALA Council, Check this out!.add a comment
Voting opens today for the 2013 ALA and division elections. Candidate statements and credentials for ALA candidates can be viewed in the ALA election guide.
Candidates for AASL and its section offices presented their platforms during the Candidates Forum at 2013 ALA Midwinter Conference in Seattle, WA. Candidates not present at the conference were given the opportunity to submit videos for inclusion in this post. The presence or absence of videos does not imply endorsement of any particular candidates. To view, you will need QuickTime if you do not already have it. Due to the traffic on the blog, it may take several minutes for each video to download.
Candidates for AASL Board
President-Elect
Note: Although the candidate videos for president-elect are somewhat dark due to the podium’s location in the meeting room, the audio is fine. You can also read candidate statements from Ann and Terri in the Jan/Feb 2013 issue of Knowledge Quest.
Ann Ewbank
Terri Kirk
Member-at-Large
Jody Howard
Steven Yates
Region 6 Director
Lori Bush
Carlyn Gray
AASL Division Councilor on ALA Council
Valerie Edwards
Paul Whitsitt
No Video
Bio
Candidates for AASL Independent School Section
Chair
Stephanie Light Eames
Kerrie Roeder
No Video
Bio
Secretary
Sarah Levin
Sheila MacDowell
Candidates for AASL Educators of School Librarians (ESL)
Chair
David Loertscher
Rebecca Morris
Secretary
Maria Cahill
No Video
BioDeborah Parrott
Candidates for AASL Supervisors Section
Chair
Mary Keeling
Paul Lanata
No Video
Bio
Representative to the Board
One of the candidates for SPVS Representative to the AASL Board of Director, Eva Efron, passed away on March 20, 2013.
Eva Efron
Devona Pendergrass
Secretary
Jacqueline Rose
No Video
BioAmy Short
AASL Best Websites for Teaching and Learning: Comic Master February 17, 2013
Posted by Donna Baratta in Best Websites for Teaching and Learning, Check this out!.Tags: Comics; Comic Master; AASL Best Websites for Teaching and Learning; Reading
2 comments
In today’s blog post we will take a look at Comic Master, one of the AASL’s Best Websites in the Digital Storytelling category. This sleek-looking, interactive site lets students create original comic books and graphic novels. Comic Master is part of the Reading for Life literacy advocates program. A banner at the top of the site’s work area proclaims “Reading isn’t only books, it’s everywhere!” Educational resources are provided and target boys ages 11 – 14. Recent box-office hits have demonstrated the popularity of comic book superheroes. Entice reluctant readers to get involved in creative writing as they create their own superheroes and stories with Comic Master.
The site is easy to use as it is very intuitive. The single flash-based work page uses simple pop-up windows to guide students through the step-by-step creation process by first having them select cell layouts and backgrounds. To these they add characters, props, captions, and speech and thought bubbles. The simple click-and-drag elements make the creation and design stage effortless, along with editing and revising their own original content. The final product is a completely colored comic strip that prints out beautifully. You do not have to register or provide any kind of information to create and print your story; however, if you want to save a story to work on later, registration using an email address is required. Most of my students needed more than one session to finish.
Using Comic Master in the classroom to allow students to craft original stories cultivates important 21st century learning skills in communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking. Creative writing activities using this site can address many of the English Language Arts Common Core State Standards in the production and distribution of writing strand. Students can work through the writing process using this new approach as they consider the assigned task, their purpose and audience. Using the website’s technology they can collaborate with partners to produce and publish their work.
Comic Master can be used across the curriculum in grades 3 and up. Members of my school’s student council have produced and published comic strips about drug prevention that were distributed during Red Ribbon Week and also about anti-bullying for school counselors to use. After demonstrating Comic Master to our teachers, I collaborated with several to re-design existing projects to incorporate this website. ELA teachers included the site in creative writing assignments focusing on a literary genre . Students wrote their own mystery stories demonstrating their understanding of the genre’s characteristics and specific vocabulary. Students retold events from the American Revolution using a superhero slant for a social studies assignment. Some of our middle school math classes had lots of fun writing and designing comic strips that incorporated a list of math vocabulary words.
Fun, easy to use, and so versatile! Give Comic Master a try in your classroom. Find it here: http://www.comicmaster.org.uk/
Elizabeth Poole Dumas, Committee Member, AASL Best Websites for Teaching and Learning
Sharing Research in Our Field February 15, 2013
Posted by hmlang in Committees, School Library Research.add a comment
The AASL Research and Statistics Committee continue to share new articles and research in the field of school librarianship. We hope that you have enjoyed past posts so far. If there is an article that you would like to see included please list the title in the comments and we will discuss it in upcoming posts.
1. Moeller, R., & Irwin, M. (2012). Seeing the same: A follow-up study on the portrayals of disability in graphic novels read by young adults. School Library Research, 15, 1-15.
To follow up on the very popular January/February issue of Knowledge Quest based on Graphic Novels this article is a great one to discuss for this month’s blog post. In 2010 Irwin and Moeller pursued a study looking at whether individuals with disabilities were represented in graphic novels. This article is a follow- up to their 2010 study looking at various aspects of disabilities and their portrayal in graphic novels. Questions asked include do the graphic novels include individuals with disabilities, what are the most common disabilities featured, are the portrayals positive or negative and much more? With graphic novels being so prevalent in our libraries this is an incredibly important and timely read.
2. Jonker, T. (2012). The fun of “found poetry.” Children & Libraries: The Journal of The Association For Library Service To Children, 10(3), 64.
This is a short article based on writing poems from the spines of books but it is a great practical piece that is very timely with National Poetry Month coming up soon. Your students will love pulling books with fun covers and spines, they will enjoy creating poetry from the titles, and it’s a fun idea brought to us by Jonker the creator of the blog 100 Scope Notes.
3. Todd, R. J. (2012). Visibility, core standards, and the power of the story: Creating a visible future for school libraries. Teacher Librarian, 39(6), 8-14.
In this article Todd speaks on the power of the story when documenting the importance of the library in schools. Visibility and making sure that as librarians we are seen in our schools is of vital importance. Todd speaks on librarians, their vision for schools, partnerships with teachers, administration, and the school as a whole. The librarians in this article see themselves as co-teachers in the school. Read the article to see more about their story.
Heather Moorefield-Lang: AASL Research and Statistics Committee Member
