Join us for an in-depth working session that introduces The Model Curriculum for Learners in PA School Libraries that aligns the 2018 AASL National School Library Standards and the 2016 ISTE Standards for Students with the PA Academic Standards. You’ll learn to use The Model Curriculum to: Identify the information and digital literacy concepts and competencies for learners--the “knows and dos.” Develop strategies to differentiate your instruction to accommodate all learners. Determine what you’ll see when learners demonstrate a competency. Create an action plan to help your learners develop their competencies.
Model Curriculum Team of the PSLA Leadership Institute for School Librarians LISL Team: Mary Kay Biagini, Sue Dahlstrom, Jayne Downing, Cathi Fuhrman, Deb Kachel, Nancy Latanision, Rita Saylor, Beth Shenefiel
Exhibit Hall is open; great time to talk with vendors and learn about some new products and books. Check out the Librarian's Playground for make and takes and demonstrations.
First time (or first time in a long time) at the PSLA Annual Conference? Not sure where to start? Don't want to get lost? Come to Conference 101 to learn all about what is NEW at Conference! There is a new Act 48 system in place, plus exciting new offerings in Poster sessions, Vendor presentations, and Makerspace exhibits. Learn how to use the Sched app and how to get around the Hershey Lodge! We'll share some great tips and tricks to make the most of your time at the conference. You will be glad you came!
Thursday April 30, 2020 4:15pm - 5:15pm PDT
Empire C/D
This hour long event will allow attendees to interact with the vendors it the exhibit hall. Attendees will earn professional development credit hours as they talk to vendors about how their products support the Model Curriculum for School Library Programs, flexible learning spaces, the maker movement and creating a culture of curiosity. Vendors will supply playing cards to attendees who engage them in conversation. At the end of the hour, prizes will be awarded based on playing cards collected.
Remember the good old days when you needed a student to program the VCR? Coding can be scary, but it doesn’t have to be. This interactive session will show educators some easy starter lessons to incorporate visual coding into content lessons. Programs such as Code.org, CSfirst, and Workbench will be used with just access to a browser which means they can work on any available student devices. Lessons can then be enhanced with simple robotic and STEM objects.
Think nonfiction is all about the facts? Sometimes the magic behind these books occurs outside the pages. Author, illustrator, and zoologist Jess Keating maps the diverse world of nonfiction. Explore the hidden psychological, social, and personal benefits of nonfiction reading, as well as why your classroom should strive to represent all types of readers.
This Is Us - Remember when there was no network? When our tools and ability to connect and create were less than amazing? Let’s take a nostalgic look back at our PSLA family. Join me on a trip filled with flashbacks and flash forwards--an exploration of where we were, where we are and a peek into our possible futures. What are the new digital imperatives and how should we prepare our next generation of school librarians to lead learning cultures?
Thursday April 30, 2020 7:15pm - 8:45pm PDT
Red Room
Access to an effective school library program is one example of information privilege. The absence of access is one is a symptom of information poverty. Information Equity often flies under-the-radar, but it is a critical element of social justice. For librarians, the recognition of information privilege–that one student has clear advantage over another–is a call to action, pointing to our responsibilities to reflect on the disparities in information access and information experiences present in our own communities, to raise awareness, and to work to close gaps. Joyce will lead a session of story sharing and solution building.
A super-powered library needs a super-powered collection, and this requires that we keep our collections both vibrant and viable. But how do we know when a book must go? We will explore questions to ask, policies to implement, evaluation tools to use, and mindsets to cultivate that will help us weed - and keep what we need! Whether you are a new librarian or a seasoned librarian, we will cover important steps that every librarian should use before throwing away that first (or thousandth) book!
Writer/illustrator Bob McLeod talks about how he developed his book Superhero ABC. A first time writer, coming from a long career drawing comic books for Marvel and DC, with no experience in children's books, he'll explain how he went about writing and editing the text, and the challenges of creating 26 new age-appropriate superheroes. He'll show some pages he decided not to use in the book, and show his method of illustrating the pages step by step. He'll also talk about the vocabulary in the book, and candidly reflect on some of the reviews his book has received, both positive and negative. Finally, Bob will do a demonstration drawing of one of his superheroes.
Does the literature we select, utilize, and promote fully reflect the diverse needs and identities of our students? Whose voices, experiences, and perspectives are normalized? Whose are missing or underrepresented? In this session, participants will explore these and other questions with the goal of developing a more culturally responsive approach to text selection, collection development, and instruction. Suggested texts and resources will also be shared.
Want to know how the Wild Robot came into being? Attend a Q&A with one of the winners of the 2019 Pennsylvania Young Reader’s Choice Awards. What would your students like to know about his writing processes, motivations and inspirations? Plan ahead and brainstorm questions with your students, and then take advantage of the opportunity to ask these questions in person.
Having super powers comes with great responsibilities. Create a super digital citizenship curriculum with Google's "Be Internet Awesome!" Using engaging lessons and gaming, the Google program provides you with everything you need to turn your students into cybersmart digital citizens. Join my session, and see how this program turns digital citizenship into an exciting adventure!
Fill your golden ticket and hand it in before 4:00 PM to be in the drawing for the GRAND PRIZE! The winner will be drawn at 4:15 and you must be present to win.
Come and see a Library Management System that does more than just allow you to circulate your books. Engage with your students and teachers with a system that allows you to catalog anything (and everything), makes it easy to find resources and it even integrates with your subscription databases! With our easy to customize interface, your patrons will love using Accessit in the library, in the classroom or from home. And librarians love using it because it automates so many day-to-day tasks. Current Accessit Library user Krystle-Dawn Willing-Tiedeman will be on hand to answer questions from a user perspective.
Stop by the Infobase booth to learn all about how our award-winning college and career database, Ferguson's Career Guidance Center, can be used to support Pennsylvania's PAsmart workforce development initiative. Ferguson's offers in-depth information on a number of STEM career fields students might be considering, including Aerospace, Engineering, Environmental Science, Mathematics, Space Exploration, and Telecommunications. In addition, students can research the best colleges to attend, the most promising financial aid offers to apply for, suitable internships and summer jobs to help them gain valuable experience, and organizations and online resources to support them on their journey. Ferguson's will also help future job seekers craft their resume and cover letter, prepare for the all-important interview process, and even find current job openings right within the database thanks to our partnership with indeed.
Remember the good old days when you needed a student to program the VCR? Coding can be scary, but it doesn’t have to be. This interactive session will show educators some easy starter lessons to incorporate visual coding into content lessons. Programs such as Code.org, CSfirst, and Workbench will be used with just access to a browser which means they can work on any available student devices. Lessons can then be enhanced with simple robotic and STEM objects.
Don't miss this opportunity to learn how the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) can fuel your superpower! AASL President Mary Keeling share the benefits of AASL membership while highlighting exciting and practical resources to help you in your career as a school library professional. Learn more about how your membership in AASL supports the profession and how you can get involved with the work of your national association. New and prospective AASL members are invited, and long-time AASL members are welcome to attend this great networking opportunity.
In this interactive workshop, attendees will learn how Follett’s newest offerings and improvements support all aspects of a school. Follett has long been the leader in educational materials. Attendees can learn how Follett has added even more and taken our current offerings and made them better. Several different areas will be touched upon including Destiny, Titlewave, Makers Space, Genrefication, Book Fairs and more.
Use your budgeting superpower to make dramatic changes in your library space without spending a lot of money. With cuts over the past several years, we all have become masters of stretching our budgets. With a little creativity and a lot of gumption, learn how to transform your library with what you already have.
Social Media. Our students use it daily for connecting, socializing, learning, and entertainment. Librarians can leverage this powerful tool to build community, advocate, educate, and to tell their story. In this session you'll learn, in 5 simple strategies, how I built a library Instagram my students & staff love to follow, grew our followers to over 1500 in two years, and accidentally became the social media expert in my district!
Secondary librarians are rarely teachers of record, yet students are held accountable for library curriculum standards. Implementing competencies into core curriculum is certainly a way to address some of the needs, but many students take their learning outside the classroom. Being able to acknowledge, track, and credit students who are gaining knowledge outside the classroom with digital and analog badges can provide students with holistic snapshot of their own educational journey.
What if your superpower is to help your students find THEIR superpowers? The Library and Learning Technologies Department at Kutztown University has developed a Petting Zoo that features new tools for engaging students in science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics. Come collaborate, explore, discover the impact that STEAM can have on empowering your students. You will have hands-on experiences with your choice of robots, circuits, animation, math, music, and coding adventures. Discover your superpowers!
Think you don’t have buying power for an ebooks & audiobook collection? Think again! Coordinated by a group of school librarians, the Connected Library Consortium provides literary resources to k-12 schools throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey at a very low cost. We’ll show you how you can join the consortium and demonstrate how the collections promote equity and access throughout our libraries.
Identify your “Kryptonite” and learn how to use your energy efficiently. Practice how to jump-start when recovering from burnout, and how to respond appropriately to prevent it. Regular recharging will ensure that even as your powers are exhausted, you are able to resiliently resurge your remaining power before you hit empty.
Upcycling is the art of repurposing trash into something beautiful, and the benefits of upcycled making in the library range from teaching students about conservation and using STEM skills to providing endless materials for maker projects. Teacher librarians will not only walk away from this hands-on session equipped with ideas for upcycling projects in the library, but they will also create their very own upcycled book page box! Get ready to get crafty!
#10M2M or 10 Minutes 2 Make is the perfect solution for a common elementary makerspace problem- no time in the schedule. Learn how to make use of time you already have in a fixed schedule to incorporate makerspace programming and philosophy into your library program. This update to the 2018 presentation will cater to varying budgets and provide time to interact with some maker tools and challenges. Capstone will also discuss some of their products used within the #10M2M program.
Want to experience augmented and virtual reality with a hologram you can physically hold in your hand? Find out what the Merge Cube mania is all about and gain a new superpower! This 3D cube is held in your hand and after scanning it, becomes an interactive wonder! The Merge Cube continues to expand, even adding “choose your own adventure” apps. Students can photograph, record video, and document their findings by app smashing! Cultivate the 4Cs by using Merge to curate content using CoSpaces!
School librarianship is a field that is largely white; how, then, can white librarians work to better understand the impact of whiteness and systemic racism in our schools and libraries? How can we work to identify our own biases and engage in critical conversations about bias, racism, and equity to better support our students and colleagues? Join two white librarians as we explore these and other questions, along with suggested texts and resources.
What’s your superpower? Reading, of course! Expose your students to the most exciting K-12 fiction, nonfiction, picture books, and graphic novels of 2019 with book reviews, book talks, curricular connections, giveaways, and more from the Super Librarians of PSLA’s Literature Review! Check out all of our reviews at http://pslamediaselectionreview.edublogs.org, and follow us on Twitter @PSLA_LitReview. Devices are encouraged for this session.
What can you do to get more teens into and using your high school library? I'll share what I've done to get students engaged and coming into the library. From social media marketing to in-library activities, games, clubs, book tastings, book talks, and more! Come share what you've had success with and what you'd like to improve upon.
Looking for ways to start “dipping your toes” into implementing components of personalized learning into your library instruction? Provide opportunities for your students to have a voice and choice in their learning, give them responsibility to track their own progress of their learning, and help them reflect on and set goals of that progress. Walk away with online activities you can use “as is” or adapt to meet the needs of your learners.
Have you considered dropping overdue fines and other barriers to your library’s resources? Join us on our middle school library’s journey toward removing these barriers to book and technology access through policy changes we have made over the past six years in our middle school library. Learn how we also addressed issues of socioeconomic equity by starting a take-come computer loaner program and Wi-Fi hotspot program to better meet the needs of all students.
Participants will leave with a burnout prevention plan, recharging resources, and a powerful reminder of the League of Librarians here to keep you going.
Teachers and librarians often use award lists to quickly find quality materials for use with classes or libraries. Most educators are familiar with awards such as the Caldecott, Newbery, or Printz awards, but there are an abundance of lesser known awards that can be used to enhance diversity and inclusiveness in educational experiences of students from birth-18.
How do we awaken the potential within every student and empower them to stand up to hate and intolerance? With knowledge of the Holocaust decreasing, and a rise in hate crimes, it is more important than ever to make students aware of current and historical injustice. Working with administrators and other colleagues, librarians have the opportunity to create safe space for student clubs and organizations. Beyond the school walls lie community resources that can speak to the issues facing our students. As librarians, what other areas can we take leadership roles? How can we aid our students and impact our communities? Through sharing stories, we can educate and empower students to prevent injustice in their communities and the world.
In many situations librarians are split between buildings or have other assigned duties that keep them out of the library. We will explore how to use technology to help librarians with the superpower of being in the room when they can’t actually be in the room. Examples of technology include Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Flipgrid videos, library web page, Google forms, and Goodreads.
The maker movement has exploded into education because of its ability to reach all students. Skills such as critical thinking and problem solving, communication and collaboration are just the start of what students will learn through problem-based projects. However, you may be overwhelmed with how to get started. Come learn about the pros and cons for different options and sizes. See how to leverage materials already in your school and go green by recycling materials that would otherwise end up in landfills. Help your teachers discover the advantages to projects that incorporate a cross-curriculum approach to learning.
The Unconference is your chance to meet and learn with your fellow librarians in an informal setting. Share ideas, ask questions or just come and observe-everyone is welcome!
Play a round of Goosechase! Check out the S.W.A.G.G.A -Stuff We All Get and Give Away! Try to Breakout from our digital Escape Room! Test out some Makerspace items and ideas! Stop by the Learning Commons-choose your topic of conversation! Interact with our Sponsor- Capstone!
Friday May 1, 2020 7:30pm - 8:30pm PDT
Magnolia ABCD
Can you build a "super team" with the other specialists at your school? Can you find ways to collaborate with the Art, Music, STEM, and PE teachers? Discuss connections and co-teach ideas for those who could be a source of untapped inspiration.
Struggling to get your students to ENJOY the library instead of simply use it for research projects? Looking for ways to fund author visits and field trips? Have you considered starting a Teen Advisory Board? Learn about how one successful Library Advisory Board functions in a high school library and brainstorm how this club could work in your school and give you the POWER to do so much more!
A.S. King explores her lifetime with school libraries, talks about writing and reading out students' trauma, teen literacy, and the power of SAYING SOMETHING both for educators and students. She will cover everything from how trauma blocks learning to how she wishes she could come talk to your school boards.
The Headlining History research project was developed collaboratively between the librarians and the Middle School Social Studies teacher. Participants will run through the research process as if they were students, experiencing the thrill of rediscovering 20th c. US history through an exploration of primary and secondary sources. The iterative design of this inquiry-driven project reinforces skills for the assessment and curation of information as well as establishing the basis for analyzing the events they investigate.
Do you love PYRCA titles, but sometime have issues thinking of ideas? Work with members of the PYRCA committee to learn new lessons ideas, brainstorm lesson ideas and figure out how to make the PYRCA program work in your library!
16 Developing Leaders, collaborating with their mentors, each developed and carried out a Personalized Learning Experience--a new program idea that creates positive awareness of the value of the school library. Join these leaders in a gallery walk to view their informative posters and discuss informally how they implemented their fresh, new ideas.
Learn about the power in advocacy and collaboration between school and public librarians. Despite overloaded schedules, connecting over ideas of advocating together as a team on educational and workforce development opportunities is essential for progress. We hope to inspire you to utilize the combined power of different types of librarians to affect positive change for the profession’s visibility and community impact. There will be time for participants to share collaborative and advocacy projects and ideas.
Do you struggle with developing student learning objectives (SLO) each year? Do you need new ideas for assessing your students’ learning? Don’t be afraid to utilize content you already share with students in your SLO process. This session will share three SLOs for grades 2, 4, and 6. These SLOs will include goals, objectives, guiding questions, targeted content standards, and resources to implement them successfully in the library at the elementary level.
No time in your day to teach SEL? We will show you how! We know teachers are increasingly busy and have limited time in the day to do anything “extra,” however, we know that teaching social-emotional learning (SEL) is an important aspect of education. This presentation will demonstrate specific ways in which teachers and library media specialists can implement SEL without adding any extra time to their day. From kindergarten to 8th grade, social-emotional competencies can be effectively integrated!
What happens when 7th grade science teachers team up with their middle school librarian to read Laurie Halse Anderson’s Fever 1793 and research the yellow fever epidemic? KA-POW! Students become engaged scientists investigating historical fiction through a scientific lens as they uncover the historical impacts, environmental conditions, progression of symptoms, and treatment of yellow fever. Participants will discover and strengthen their own collaborative superpowers as they interact with this project-based learning unit.
This session will showcase how students can consume and create Virtual Realities to enhance their learning & engagement. We will discuss why VR is relevant and unavoidable, how we chose the devices for our program, and show specific examples of use across content areas. Participants will experience student creations in Mirage Solo headsets first hand.
