AASL - Top 10 Takeaways

This week we are excited to have a guest post from one of our HVLA scholarship winners, Christina Karvounis!

The week of November 13-17, I attended the bi-annual American Association of School Librarians conference in Hartford, CT. This was my first library conference and it was outstanding. I attended 1 pre-conference leadership workshop, 8 topical workshops on topics ranging from choosing multicultural titles to utilizing iPads in the library to guided inquiry in research and beyond, visited with many booksellers and vendors, and added many new professional contacts to my #PLN.

TOP TEN THEMES/THINGS LEARNED AT AASL13

10. Only 10% of books published in the last decade were authored by people of color - be aware and continue to be a champion for change.

9. Consider creating a MakerSpace in your library. Or become one.

8. Curiosity and creativity are essential 21st century skills - deepen them - offer opportunities for students to deepen them - in your library.

7. Create/cultivate a culture of collaboration!

6. Scaffold opportunities for regular, meaningful, reflective inquiry.

5. Create library centers: Lego poetry, read to self, puzzles, word building, draw an ad for a favorite book, bookmark creating.

4. Essential Applications: Scratch, Animoto, VoiceThread, iMovie

3. Rudine Sims Bishop: "Mirrors, Windows, Sliding Glass Doors" is a must read.

2. Keep ear to the classroom for 'just in time' learning.

and the top theme I gathered from AASL13 was:

1. Jump in with both feet! Try new connections, technologies, styles, collaborative techniques, applications for sharing -- challenges always present themselves; get going!

I came home energized by the experience but also concerned about ways to implement ideas. At Brooklyn Friends School, Kathy and I work together in the PS/LS library - and we've already implemented many of the strategies we learned at the conference and are in conversation on others. It was an excellent conference and I highly recommend it!