The AASL Advocate 2011 Preview - (Page 2)

Advocate One Film, One Conference AASL 13th National Conference • Reno, NV 2011 NATIONAL CONFERENCE PREVIEW ISSUE • PAGE 2 Attend Screening of Digital Media onference attendees will have two opportunties to view “Digital Media: New Learners of the 21st Century – part of One Film, One Conference. The screenings are being held in conjunction with the appearance of Dr. Mimi Ito. The documentary explores how mobile and digital tools are changing the ways young people learn and showcases ways digital media is being using in education. Both showings will take place Thursday, Oct. 27, as a complement to the Exploratorium. Conference attendees will have two opportunities to view “Digital Media” and examine the work done by the Digital Youth Project, a three-year MacArthur Foundation funded research study. Through interviews and online observations, the project team discovered that youth are not only using online media to expand friendships and interests, but to also engage in peerbased, self directed learning. Through digital media, youth are discovering a degree of freedom and self-paced learning that they may not be finding in a traditional classroom setting. “One of the implications of Digital Youth’s Project’s study is that educational institutions need to keep up with the rapid changes introduced by digital media in order to stay relevant,” explains Carl Harvey, AASL president. “School librarians are uniquely qualified to meet this challenge. Not only do school librarians integrate digital media and social networking into curriculums, but they also collaborate with other educators to foster an understanding and appreciation of how these new tools enhance the learning process.” Get the Conference Mobile App! et your AASL National Conference info on the go! Scheduled for release very soon, the new AASL11 Mobile App will provide attendees access and updates to the conference agenda, session descriptions, exhibitor directory, local area info, latest AASL11 news and more. Plus, use the app to connect with AASL’s social media outlets, including Twitter and the AASL11 Ning. In addition, you can use the tool to build your own personalized schedule to help you plan your con- C One of the co-leaders of the project team appearing in the documentary is national conference closing general session speaker Dr. Mimi Ito. Dr. Ito, will close the conference with a presentation on how social network technologies are changing the way students learn, play, socialize and participate in the world. By viewing the documentary in advance of the closing session, conference attendees will have a unique opportunity to enhance their understanding of Dr. Ito’s program. In addition, all conference attendees will receive a copy of the documentary that will enable them to replicate these important conversations when they return home. Both Dr. Ito’s appearance and the availability of the “Digital Youth” documentary are made possible by the generous support of the Pearson Foundation. “Digital Media: New Learners of the 21st Century” was produced with funding from the MacArthur Foundation and the Pearson Foundation. “We are delighted to be given the opportunity to share the ‘Digital Media’ documentary with AASL national conference attendees,” said Mark Nieker, president and chief executive officer of the Pearson Foundation. “AASL and the Pearson Foundation share a common belief that access to information in its many forms is critical to 21st century learning. Digital media’s role in education is rapidly expanding. We hope that Dr. Ito’s appearance and the showings of the documentary will inspire school librarians and encourage them to incorporate some of the new approaches that the documentary showcases directly into their own local programs.” n G ference experience! The AASL11 Mobile App will be synced to a mobile website. Plan you personal agenda on your laptop or desktop at home and then access it via your smart device onsite. Or print it out to carry with you. The AASL11 Mobile App, developed by Boopsie, is a native application for smart devices (iPhone/iPad, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Palm OS). For older devices, non-smartphone and laptop users, the mobile website will be available. n Connect with Your Fellow Attendees Join the Conference Ning og on to the AASL Conference Ning to begin building community and network before arriving in Minneapolis for to the AASL 2011 Conference Ning. “The AASL Ning is a virtual learning commons where everyone can participate in conversations for learning and contribute to the conference experience whether you are attending in person or following the conference from afar,” said Buffy Hamilton, national conference social media chair. “The AASL11 Ning will be the premiere conference location to think, create, share and grow with L others from the school library profession nationally!” Registered members can engage in forum discussions, create and comment on blog posts, upload conference media, follow #aasl11 tweets, join groups and stay up-to-date on conference events and programs. Membership in the Ning is open to those attending national conference physically and virtually, offering attendees a chance to chat with others and dig deeper into material presented at conference sessions. Need a roommate in Minneapolis? Join the the roommate finder discussion on the Ning. n Closing Session ‹‹ from page 1 youth use new media funded by the MacArthur Foundation and is co-author of the book based on the study, “Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out: Kids Living and Learning with New Media.” The study explores how kids engage with and play with new media in their everyday lives and how digital technologies are changing the way young people learn, play, socialize and participate in civic life. Dr. Mimi Ito “Mimi Ito’s closing session offers a great counter to opening general session speaker, Nicholas Car,” said Ty Burns, AASL national conference co-chair. “One of the major findings of her study is that youth engage in peer-based, self-directed learning online. This lessens the anxiety that the overabundance of information on the Internet is hampering students’ ability to read and think critically.” Dr. Ito has researched a wide range of digitally augmented social practices, including online gaming and social communities, the production and consumption of children’s software and children’s play with new media. “Dr. Ito’s presentation is another exciting event we can add to the list for Minneapolis,” said AASL national conference cochair, Cheryl Steele. “Both general session speakers address a timely, relevant topic which attendees won’t want to miss. We’re looking forward to seeing, and learning with, everyone at conference!” The Closing General Session is sponsored by the Pearson Foundation. n The Exploratorium drew a crowd in Charlotte at the 2009 AASL Conference. Exploratorium to Showcase School Library Best Practices L earn more about the 40 individual learning stations that will be part of the Exploratorium, one of the conference’s popular annual events. The Exploratorium will be held from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 27. This two-hour educational session will showcase “best practices” from the school library community. Attendees can browse at their own pace, spending as much or as little time as they wish at each station. The Exploratorium provides a national forum to share school library successes from a school, district or state level and is open to all National Conference registrants. Attendees will have a chance to get first-hand knowledge of many new practices that are transforming the school library into the hub of the school. Topic areas include: eBook implementation, grant writing strategies, intellectual freedom, matching the right book to the right reader, preparing students for college, subscription databases available to K-12 school libraries and creating lessons for English Language Learners. n  http://www.aasl11.org/events/onefilm/ http://www.aasl11.org/events/onefilm/ http://www.twitter.com/#!/aasl http://aasl11.ning.com/ http://digitalyouth.ischool.berkeley.edu/ http://aasl11.ning.com http://www.aasl11.org/ http://aasl11.ning.com/ http://www.aasl11.org/programs/exploratorium http://www.aasl11.org/programs/exploratorium

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The AASL Advocate 2011 Preview

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