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The IASL 2008 Conference

Sunday Workshops -- 3 August 2008

Registration for the workshops can be completed on the registration form.

Sunday morning: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

A. ACCEPTABLE USE POLICIES: IS YOURS READY FOR WEB 2.0?
Led by Carrie Gardner
Internet access is almost a necessity in the education of our students. Yet there is no standard for acceptable use policies, also known as Internet use policies or computer behavior policies. Many schools drafted these policies during the Internet's "1.0" era, a time before Blackberries, cell phones, and Web 2.0 tools. This workshop will look at commonly found components in policies and their impact on student access to online information, as well as the directions in which schools have taken -- if any -- to educate students and parents about the benefits and concerns of internet use. Participants are welcome to bring examples of internet access policies for students, and sample policies will be provided. Interactive time will allow us to examine and discuss real life issues faced by school librarians who offer internet access.

About the Presenter: Carrie Gardner is an assistant professor at Kutztown University, Pennsylvania (USA) and active in the area of intellectual freedom. She has served as chair of the American Association of School Librarianship (AASL) Intellectual Freedom Committee, the AASL SIRS Intellectual Freedom Award, and spent over 10 years as chair of the Pennsylvania School Librarians Association Intellectual Freedom Committee.

B. CAN TEACHER LIBRARIANS REALLY COMPETE WITH GOOGLE? YES! HERE'S WHY AND HOW
Led by Doug Achterman and David Loertscher
Learn (and practice) how you can help teachers compete with Google. We won’t divulge the content, but you will be delighted with the applications you learn here.

About the Presenters: Doug Achterman is the library media specialist at San Benito High School in California (USA) and a library and information science doctoral candidate at the University of North Texas. He is the co-author of Increasing Achievement Through the Library Media Center: A Guide for Teachers (Hi Willow Research and Publishing, 2003) and his Teacher Librarian article, "Beyond Wikipedia," is included in Toward a 21st Century School Library Media Program (Scarecros Press, 2007). He is an adjunct instructor in San Jose State University's School of Library and Information Science profram, where he was recently honored as on of forty distinguished alumni in the program's forty year history. David Loertscher is a professor at San Jose State University in California (USA), publisher of Hi-Willow Books, and the author of many books on school libraries and technology. His most recent book, co-published with Robin Williams, is In Command!, focusing on how students can create meaningful online information spaces to organize their learning.

C. BOOKTALKING WITH STUDENTS
Led by Rosemary Chance and Teri Lesesne
Children and young adults are eager to read. When they enter a school library, they may be intimidated by the thousands of books. How can they possibly choose the books that meet their needs for information and entertainment? Only the most avid and sophisticated readers know exactly which authors, genres, and titles they want to read. For everyone else (and even for those eager readers), regular advertisements for great books can help them choose just the right book for their individual needs. The best sort of advertising is booktalking! An enthusiastic booktalk by the librarian can increase circulation, establish rapport between students and librarian, and help satisfy the reading needs of students. In the first stage of the session, the presenters will demonstrate types of booktalks for both elementary and secondary students. In the second stage participants will divide into small groups and practice brief booktalks. In the third stage participants will each deliver a brief booktalk that will be critiqued in a light-hearted manner by Chance, Lesesne, and other participants.

About the Presenters: Rosemary Chance is an assistant professor in the Department of Library Science at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas (USA). She has experience as a high school English teacher, a middle school and high school librarian, and currently teaches children’s and young adult literature and school library administration to graduate students. Teri Lesesne is a professor in the Department of Library Science at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. A former middle school English teacher, she currently teaches children’s and young adult literature. She is the author of two books and conducts seminars in YA literature across the country.

Sunday afternoon: 1:00 p. m. – 4:00 p.m.

D. SEEDING THE OYSTER: LEADERSHIP THROUGH DIALOGUE
Led by Marilyn Kimura and Debbie Abilock
"School is about practicing to wrap one's mind around real and complex ideas, those of fundamental consequence for oneself and for the culture." --- Theodore Sizer
You’ll recognize the names of these discussion groups: Socratic seminar, Literary Club, Harkness Table, deliberative dialogue, professional study group. Yet few librarians have used them as advocacy tools to build learning communities in support of literacy and collaboration. We will provide an opportunity for you to experience several types of inquiry discussions using provocative texts, photographs and film clips. As you learn discussion, reflection, and facilitation skills, you will see how nurturing inquiry and intellectual dispositions can seed your leadership in the school community.

About the Presenters: Marilyn Kimura is a school librarian at Nueva School in California (USA). Editor of Knowledge Quest, the journal of the American Association of School Librarians, Debbie Abilock has over 25 years experience in education as a teacher-librarian, director of a unified Library, Technology and Curriculum Department, curriculum coordinator and school administrator.

E. BEYOND "BIRD UNITS": MODELS FOR DEEPER RESEARCH PROJECTS IN SCHOOL LIBRARIES
Led by David Loertscher
Tired of research projects where student inquiry is limited to finding simple factual answers to questions, like, "How many eggs does this bird lay?" or, "What color are this bird's feathers?" We call these low-level thinking projects "Bird Units." In this workshop, we will look at a variety of strategies for co-designing research projects that call on students to select the best information and synthesize it in a meaningful way.

About the Presenter: David Loertscher is a professor at San Jose State University in California (USA), publisher of Hi-Willow Books, and the author of many books on school libraries and technology. His most recent book, co-published with Robin Williams, is In Command!, focusing on how students can create meaningful online information spaces to organize their learning.

F. USING PODCASTING TO GIVE VOICE TO STUDENTS IN SCHOOL LIBRARIES
Led by Kristin Fontichiaro
Looking for a way to motivate students and give them an authentic audience? Consider podcasting, the Web 2.0 tool that brings audio recordings to the Web with free or inexpensive tools. After talking about a variety of podcasting tools and learning the basic how-tos of podcasting, we'll turn our attention to the many types of podcasts that can be integrated into school library learning. Audio tours, book talks, dictation for special needs students, radio broadcasts, commercials, radio plays, and more can help students synthesize their learning in meaningful, creative ways. This is a hands-on workshop in a computer lab, though participants are welcome to bring their own laptop computers or cell phones.

About the Presenter: Kristin Fontichiaro is the author of Podcasting at School and Active Learning Through Drama, Podcasting, and Puppetry. A former arts education specialist, she is an elementary school library media specialist for Michigan's Birmingham Public Schools (USA). She is the blogger for School Library Media Activities Monthly and a frequent contributor to its magazine.

If you have any questions about these preconferences, please send an email to Kristin Fontichiaro, Programme Committee Chair.

Last updated 29 February 2008 (KSB)