All Sessions

After months of deliberation, the AASL Best Websites for Teaching and Learning Committee is finally ready to unveil the AASL 2012 Top 25 Websites for Teaching and Learning. Join the committee as they share 25 websites that best support the Standards for the 21st-Century Learner, inquiry learning and the curriculum.

Embedded librarianship is not a new term, however, for librarians being partnered with faculty in online classrooms it is becoming a critical job component. Attendees of the session will contribute a tip or frustration of embedding which will be integrated into the program. Following a brief history on embedding, a panel will discuss different types of embedding models as they involve the audience with interactive audience polling. This panel presentation, facilitated by Debbie Nolan, Dean of University Libraries at Towson University, will present embedded librarian models for distance learning at different institutions.

Panelists will give 20 minute presentations on the following topics:

Three’s Company
Kathleen Pickens-French, Public Services Librarian, Hamilton Campus at Miami University and Krista McDonald, Director, Regional Campus Library, Hamilton Campus at Miami University
Pickens-French and McDonald will describe the core model that their embedded librarians have used to create resources pages within their university’s CMS. They will explain the “Three Rule” of keeping content organized, students interested, and the library’s website where it belongs.

Going Beyond the Embedded Librarian: Creating Online Classrooms to Teach Teachers About Information Literacy
By Kathleen Anne Langan, Assistant Professor, Western Michigan University.
Langan will present a pilot program that was introduced to use e-learning technology to introduce information literacy concepts to university instructors and teach them to incorporate these concepts into their curriculum. This presentation will discuss this experience, the importance of using online classrooms as a means of communicating with instructors, and introduce best practices to create similar classes.

Direct and Repeated Interactions: The Regis Experience with Embedded Librarianship
Paul Betty, Distance Learning Librarian, Regis University
Embedded librarianship at Regis University incorporates collaboration between librarians, students, teaching faculty, and instructional designers. Betty will discuss the model the librarians in the Distance Services department have developed to lead to greater rates of “embeddedness.”

Many different underserved populations often don’t possess basic digital literacy skills necessary for 21st century work and life. How are libraries meeting those basic needs? What works and doesn't work? How do you identify patrons in need of remedial and basic computer skills training? How should differences in population be handled (Adult basic education, ESL learners, older adults etc)? Examples of successful programs, customization to fit specific populations' needs and funding strategies will be covered.

How can K-12 and academic librarians prepare learners to work successfully in information- and technology-rich environments so they will be college-ready? How can we librarians expand our focus from information literacy to incorporate all 21st Century skills that boost deep content understanding, and successfully collaborate with teachers and professors to truly integrate these skills? This program features school and academic librarians who met this challenge and succeeded in integrating information literacy into their curriculum.

A new library service model for children which provides hands on opportunities for science learning for children ages 3-12 in urban public libraries. Science in the stacks is centered around 36 Discovery Exhibits which provide experiential sience learning that is integrated with traditional library resources.

Do your students view social networking strictly as entertainment? Does the word “research” invoke yawns? This program examines the use of Web 2.0 tools as a way to foster critical thinking through collaboration. Students from multiple states share knowledge, evaluate information, draw conclusions, and learn about digital citizenship in engaging collaborative projects. Embrace 21st century learning styles as a gateway to higher-level thinking.

Many libraries want to introduce STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) into their programming to attract new audiences and help stimulate children’s interest in science and technology. Discover Tech is a new traveling exhibit for public libraries from the National Center for Interactive Learning/Space Science Institute. Find out about the exhibit, Engineers Without Borders, the Grand Challenges of Engineering and programs in robotics and green energy that will encourage aspiring young engineers and delight adults. The program will also discuss a new STEM Community of Practice for librarians and other helpful ideas and resources for engineering programs in libraries.

Some believe that engaging students in authentic learning can be challenging when presented with the ‘bells and whistles’ of technology, whether equipment or online resources, and they could be correct. But there are strategies and resources which offer the opportunities to do that. Use of student-owned devices and Web 2.0 resources will be discussed as will the ways to integrate the AASL "Standards for the 21st-Century Learner" into innovative learning opportunities.

Join a discussion that will challenge you to think strategically about the future of digital literacy services in academic, school and public libraries – and how libraries fit in a larger educational and community context. What do we mean by “digital literacy” and why do these definitions matter? Speakers will address key roles for libraries and present alternative strategies for addressing evolving and shifting literacies. This session kick starts a series of national conversations on this topic.

The "Standards for the 21st-Century Learner Lesson Plan Database" is an online resource providing school librarians a user-friendly way to create and share lesson plans with their peers.

How can you increase your chances of getting your lesson published? In this hands-on, bring-your-own laptop session, participants will be guided through the process of submitting a lesson. Those interested in volunteering to moderate submitted lessons will also benefit from this in-depth exploration the lesson plan template.

LIRT provides a forum for conversation and professional development in library instruction and information literacy, key components to lifelong learning. Critical thinking competencies are essential to this process. As librarians move beyond "how to" instruction sessions, incorporating educational principles and practices, such as critical thinking, will help leverage their collaborations with user communities. Join us as we explore how libraries can promote successful information literacy outcomes through theory-based instruction, practical critical thinking activities, and faculty-librarian partnership in pedagogy.

Audience involvement promotes learning. Explore tips and best practices for successfully igniting curiosity, promoting interaction, and engaging adult learners regardless of delivery platform: face-to-face, online, or blended. Discover how to effectively transform existing training into a different platform.

Many libraries want to introduce STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) into their programming to attract new audiences and help stimulate children’s interest in science and technology. Discover Earth is a traveling exhibit for public libraries which showcases earth science topics such as weather, climate, and polar ecosystems, and pulls together many effective resources to help librarians. Hear from public library exhibit hosts and learn about a Community of Practice for librarians and scientists who want to create innovative STEM programs in libraries.

What do we really know about learning styles? This program will examine the conventional wisdom about learning styles and lead us into deeper consideration of how we address learning styles in our online and classroom teaching. A moderated panel of speakers will investigate the relevance and validity of learning styles in relation to information literacy instruction, and lead participants in exercises to reflect on their perceptions of learning styles.

Learn how to embrace blogs, wikis, and other types of formerly taboo Web 2.0 resources as tools students can utilize to complete the research process. Presenters will provide instructions on how to develop a “learning hub” that will assist students in examining scholarly sources, taking annotated notes, organizing their research paper and producing a final multi-media project that will engage all students in a revitalized research process.

Picture books can be used as a scaffold to help students understand new or difficult concepts. A quality picture book engages the reader and listener, helps students to acquire critical thinking and questioning skills and promotes lively discussion in a classroom. This session will demonstrate how picture books can be used to develop Blooming Questions, serve as a bridge to activate a student’s prior knowledge and set the stage to integrate new content knowledge.

Adult learners are often tasked with overcoming the pressures of returning to college. Students can feel overwhelmed with schedules, studying, and advancing technology. As non-traditional students may experience anxiety from academic stress, a personal touch can help them through the process. This presentation will discuss the process of building relationships with adult learners. Attendees will learn ways to reach non-traditional students and address their research and technology needs.

This session is about the use of digital simulations in 21st century skills instruction. A digital simulation is a three-dimensional, computer-based, problem-solving situation that has many interacting variables and a landscape of information resources. Digital simulations are expanding the pedagogical possibilities for school librarians, and this session repositions digital simulations as additional sites for 21st century skills instruction by providing a functional level of interconnectivity among theory, research, skills, technology and grounded examples.

Ninety-six librarians gather to discuss College Readiness: How prepared are our high school seniors for college research? What strengths do they take with them during this transition? What can we do to help them achieve success? Public, private, and alternative schools from Kansas and Missouri were in attendance along with 12 academic librarians from area colleges and universities. And, it was free to attend! Learn about the event, the Wiki, and the evolving workshops.

The proposed program seeks to establish a dialogue between science librarians, faculty and students, focusing on the issue of preparing today’s students to become tomorrow’s science professionals. The discussion will explore the challenges faculty face as they seek to educate emerging scientists, new outreach models for working with faculty on creating information and data literate researchers, and the ways librarians can work with science students to support their goals of becoming science professionals.