The AASL National Conference is the only national conference devoted solely to the needs of school librarians. In 2019, concurrent sessions focused on AASL's National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries, giving school librarians and other educator attendees an opportunity to dig deep into the guiding document of the profession. Click the icons below to discover sessions related to the corresponding Shared Foundation.
Collaborate! To Build Influence
Preview Available
Credits: None available.
Let’s explore the school librarian’s unique opportunities to influence teaching and learning in our schools. Using the School Library Evaluation Checklist, participants will engage in a collaborative process for shoring up key “collaborate” behaviors that lead to maximizing the effectiveness of partnerships. As empowered school library leaders, participants will leave the session with strategies and tools to co-lead alongside administrators and other educators to transform learning communities.
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Escape the Ordinary with Digital Breakouts
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Credits: None available.
Escape room type activities have become popular in our schools as inquiry based lessons, collaborative activities, and to reinforce content knowledge. Whether or not you have access to breakout kits (complete with a variety of locks), you can create your own digital breakout activity for free! Join us to learn how.
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Future Perfect: Standards as Authentic Practice
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Credits: None available.
Stay calm and don’t get “tense” about where our profession is heading! We will explore how school librarians (and their learning communities) through progress being made on the alignment of effective, research-based practice and norms with other education standards and initiatives, can achieve Future Perfect libraries. Presenters will share insights from their involvement with Standards development/implementation and take a lively look at how to improve current practice and plan for the future.
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Inclusive LGBTQIA+ Education: Why It’s Important and How to Be an Advocate for Change
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Credits: None available.
Creating safe and inclusive educational settings for LGBTQIA+ students is an ongoing struggle for many school librarians. This presentation will focus on the importance of inclusion for all students and will provide examples of what various forms of inclusion looks like in both school libraries and the classroom. Common implicit biases when evaluating LGBTQIA+ literature will be discussed, and advice for working with colleagues and administrators to promote change will also be provided.
Learning Objectives:Credits: None available.
We usually think of reading as a solitary activity, but new technologies are changing that. Explore how we can leverage technology to promote reading in formats suiting different learning styles, enhance the reading experience, and make it more interactive and collaborative with other readers and even authors. Discuss innovations in reading formats, reading websites, social media options, virtual book clubs, and more to grow interest in independent reading and facilitate collaborative learning.
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Step Up to the Plate: Are You Hitting a Home Run in Your Support of Campus Library Programs?
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Credits: None available.
As a district leader, are you rising to the challenge? Join three administrators as they share how district level administrators can support campus libraries as they establish key commitments, align to campus and district priorities, and shift perspectives to emerge as the focal learning environment of the school.
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ALA's Ready to Code (RtC): Roundtable Discussions
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Credits: None available.
Come be introduced to ALA’s Ready to Code Collection! Join cohort and faculty members in roundtable discussions to learn more about this new resource that is available to you! This collection provides resources and strategies for coding and computational thinking activities that are grounded in research, aligned with library core values, and support broadening participation.
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Collaborate, Evaluate, Advocate: Tales from the Trenches in Assessing Readiness for Change!
Preview Available
Credits: None available.
Ready to implement change in your library or district? This presentation will assist you on your way to implementing positive change.
Topics include:
Come learn about the panel’s successes and obstacles overcome during the change process.
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Literacy in the Making
Preview Available
Credits: None available.
Though often associated with STEM activities, makerspaces and maker programming offer an exciting opportunity for collaboration and literacy integration. The school librarian has the resources and experience to lead this endeavor. This session will provide multiple options for integrating transliteracy skills and making, including low and no-cost strategies. Join us to explore the transformative power of the making and literacy connection.
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Picture Books and Primary Sources
Preview Available
Credits: None available.
A picture book that focuses on an event, individual, or place can introduce students to a piece of history. Layering in primary sources allows for different types of engagement and understanding. This session, led by the author of the Picture Books and Primary Sources blog posts on Knowledge Quest, will focus on how the pairing of primary sources and picture books can enhance the awareness of a historic event or individual and also the author’s or illustrator's interpretation of history.
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