2008 Networking Summit Sessions

Session One, 9:30 am – 10:30 am

A. Inspiring Learning With Digital Primary Sources – Cheryl Lederle-Ensign
Join staff from the Library of Congress to explore free multimedia primary source materials. Explore the Library of Congress Lifelong Literacy initiative; take a guided tour of the Library’s online resources including oral histories, poetry, Webcasts of authors from past National Book Festivals, digitized rare books, and more. Take a tour of teaching resources including lesson plans, themed resources, and ready-made primary source sets complete with analysis tools. Although the emphasis will be on language arts uses for the materials, cross-curricular connections are abundant, particularly to the social studies. Written and recorded oral histories from the American Memory collections provide personal insights into the past. Images, maps and manuscripts can bring historical fiction and informational texts to life. The Library offers both live and videoconference staff-development workshops. A Virtual Institute, currently in development, will provide an adaptive online learning community component and knowledge center.

B. Book Reports 2.0 : Wiki Literature Projects – Ernie J. Cox
Wikis are collaborative websites maintained by groups of people. Wikipedia is the most widely known, and controversial, example of this website type. This session will demonstrate the many ways wikis can be used in the classroom, with an emphasis on literature projects. Wikis are ideal environments for 21st Century students to cooperatively communicate the results of their literary explorations. Our conversation will consider how the media specialist can use wikis to connect the literature curriculum with the read/write web. Ernie Cox will describe the entire process of collaborating with language arts teachers to modify an existing literature unit on “From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler” into a wiki-based project. Handouts will be provided.

C. What We Wish They Knew When They Got Here”: An Academic Librarian’s Perspective, Updated – Bryna Coonin
Cynthia Levine, in a 1996 issue of North Carolina Libraries, wrote an excellent article called “What we wish they knew when they got here: an academic librarian’s perspective”. In this article Levine discusses what students could most profitably know about libraries and library research before coming to a university, to help ensure the best possible outcome for them as university students. The library environment has changed greatly since 1996, as has the teaching environment in our schools. This session will explore what we hope students will know about libraries when they arrive on campus, and explore the roles of both academic librarians and school media coordinators in engendering a successful graduating class.

D. Storytelling And Readers Theatre Activities For K-12 Classrooms – Elizabeth Briggs (Beth)
During the session, participants will be provided with resources to use in the K-12 classroom, will participate in some storytelling and readers theatre activities and will share ideas and experiences to help others facilitate the use of these activities in the classroom.

E. Reality Checks: Competition For Library Services – Larry Nash White
This session will provide an overview of the realities and factors driving the competition for library services and how libraries can respond to these competitive factors.

F. Forging Partnerships Between Schools And Public Libraries: Every Child a Reader! Schools and Public Libraries are Natural Partners – Nancy May, Emily Leachman, Pat Ryckman
Educators, media specialists and youth services librarians have common goals:

  • We want kids to develop a love for books and reading
  • We want to increase and insure student achievement

Since reading is the key to learning and achievement it makes sense for schools, library media centers and public libraries to work together.

This session will be an opportunity to explore and share ways in which schools and public libraries can collaborate to build strong partnerships that will benefit students, educators and families. Partnerships include elementary, middle and high schools – public and independent. Topics for discussion include: Why collaborate? How to establish and maintain school/library partnerships. How to design interesting, high quality and significant programs for students. How to develop a strong team of volunteer reading buddies and tutors. How an Adopt-a-School program can benefit everyone involved. Best practices in library/school collaboration. Share successes and insights! How to measure outcomes and evaluate success.

G. Future-Proofing Students – Authentic Learning – Gerry Solomon
Collaborative planning between teachers and media and technology professionals offers many opportunities to design and implement authentic learning activities for students that promote higher order thinking skills as part of 21st Century information and technology literacy. This presentation will cover strategies for selecting and implementing a student research process and project-based learning (PBL), starting with the youngest students.

Session Two, 10:45 am – 11:45 am

A. Inspiring Learning With Digital Primary Sources – Cheryl Lederle-Ensign (repeat session)
Join staff from the Library of Congress to explore free multimedia primary source materials. Explore the Library of Congress Lifelong Literacy initiative; take a guided tour of the Library’s online resources including oral histories, poetry, Webcasts of authors from past National Book Festivals, digitized rare books, and more. Take a tour of teaching resources including lesson plans, themed resources, and ready-made primary source sets complete with analysis tools. Although the emphasis will be on language arts uses for the materials, cross-curricular connections are abundant, particularly to the social studies. Written and recorded oral histories from the American Memory collections provide personal insights into the past. Images, maps and manuscripts can bring historical fiction and informational texts to life. The Library offers both live and videoconference staff-development workshops. A Virtual Institute, currently in development, will provide an adaptive online learning community component and knowledge center.

B. Traveling North Carolina At 1.5 Gigabytes Per Second: Integrating Grade-Level Specific Resources From The Web – Lesley A. Richardson
Wonderful North Carolina resources abound on LEARN NC! Whether you are looking for literature, art, history, biology, ecology or environmental resources, LEARN NC has just what you need to make your lessons great! This presentation will include a guided tour through the LEARN NC website, highlighting grade-level specific resources about North Carolina. Participants will receive handouts – a pathfinder template and examples of pathfinders for various grades and subjects.

C. If You Build It Right, The $$ Will Come: Strategies To Win An LSTA Grant From The State Library – Penny Hornsby
Session will focus particularly on School Library Collection Development Grants – for improving K-12 media center print book collections; learn from State Library staff and each other. How/where do you find out about the collection grants and other grant opportunities? What should you pay most attention to in the grant information? What kind of help is available when preparing the application? And, if you are funded, what preparation steps will help insure a trouble-free implementation?

D. Practical Tips For The Battle Of The Books Coach – Martha Blackwelder
This session will provide practical tips for developing and coaching a successful Battle of the Books team.

E. Elementary Battle Of The Books – Candace Sample
This session will be a round table discussion of Elementary Battle of the Books. Participants can ask questions, contribute ideas, and discuss what is happening at individual schools.

F. 21st Century Skills: What Do They Mean For YOU? – Frances B. Bradburn
The North Carolina State Board of Education has a new priority, Future-Ready Students for the 21st Century, and the state was the first partner in the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Obviously NC is moving headfirst into this focus. What does that mean for us as school library media coordinators? How does our job change as we move into this new way of teaching and learning?

G. Senior Projects –Pitfalls, Problems, Policies And Procedures: A Media Coordinator’s Perspective On The Process– Carla H. Shinn
What is Senior Project and what is the media coordinator’s role in the process? All high school students graduating in North Carolina in 2010 will be required to complete a Senior or Graduation Project. 12th grade English classes at Asheboro High School have been involved in Senior Project since the 2000-2001 school year. The implementation of the program has had a dramatic and mostly positive effect on the job of media coordinator and on all aspects of media center usage from scheduling, to print and electronic resources, to issues with technology. Senior Project can give the media coordinator new and expanded opportunities for school leadership, involvement with students and the community, and collaboration with faculty, as well as a new focus for collection development and technology needs. In this session we will get an overview of the four parts of the Senior Project (paper, product, portfolio, and presentation) and address questions about how the media coordinator can assist the students and support teachers and mentors in the process.

Session Three, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

A. GPS In The Classroom – Tim DeCresie
What is GPS and how are teachers using it? This session will provide educators with ways to successfully integrate the Global Positioning Navigation System into the school educational setting across the curriculum.

B. Know Thyself: Data Profiling For Grants And School Improvement – Michele Oros
Participants will learn where to locate online data about their school and community.

C. Electronic Helpers For Research Papers – Tiffany Mayo
Especially for high school librarians, tips will be shared for students looking for information for research papers and helpful tips about citing sources. Also, this will be a sharing time for research hints and tips.

D. Elementary Swap It Out – Wanda Broome
Come network with other elementary colleagues. Bring an idea or product to share with others. This session is formatted as a roundtable discussion designed to exchange valuable resources between media specialists. Some suggestions might be…working effectively with classroom teachers, updating collections, technology tried and trues, or new found resources.

E. Teaching About The Holocaust – Linda Scher
Participants of this session will explore middle and high school Holocaust resources for social studies classes (American history, world history and Eastern Europe) and language arts classes (teaching Diary of Anne Frank and other Holocaust literature) available through the North Carolina Council on the Holocaust. In addition, a copy of the resource guide, The Holocaust: A North Carolina Teachers’ Resource will be given to each session attendee.

F. Assessing Student Performance In The School Library Media Center – Cathy DuPre
This session focuses on empowering the library media specialist as a true partner in student achievement. Discuss and share your assessment tools, how you foster collaboration at your school and share what you know about formative assessment tools as well as summative assessments.

G. Future Trends for Libraries/Librarians Panel Discussion – Mary Boone, Frances Bradburn, Sandra Andrews
Panelists will be addressing your questions concerning trends in librarianship.

H. Why Do I Have To Do That? A Rationale And Guide To Weeding Collections – Gerry Solomon Maintaining collections is analogous to maintaining a garden – a necessary chore. The session will provide suggestions on explaining this aspect of collection development to administrators, teachers, etc., as well as an overview of the weeding process and guidelines.

Session Four, 2:15 pm – 3:15 pm

A. Digital Storytelling With Photo Story 3 – Sheila Mendoza
You will learn to create multimedia projects using language, imagery and sound. This easy to learn program can be applied to all curricular areas and learning styles.

B. Grantsmanship 101 – Michele Oros
An introduction to the art, science, and sport of grant writing.

C. What Every First Year Media Specialist Wants To Know…But Is Afraid To Ask – Donna Corbo
What Every First Year Media Specialist Wants to Know…But is Afraid to Ask will include discussion on collection, displays, signage, professionalism and SURVIVAL. Handouts will be provided which will include multicultural titles and lists of book series.

D. Secondary Swap It Out – Wanda Broome
Come network with other secondary colleagues. Bring an idea or product to share with others. This session is formatted as a roundtable discussion designed to exchange valuable resources between media specialists. Some suggestions might be…working effectively with classroom teachers, updating collections, technology tried and trues, or new found resources.

E. Where Are Graphic Novels Headed? Don’t Be Left Behind! – Mindy Tomasevich, Debbie Dupree Today’s students lead graphics-heavy lives, where graphics make up a big part of their communications, their reading, and their social lives. School libraries with graphic novel collections serve all readers, from reluctant to high achieving. Who is reading graphic novels, and why? What’s next? Come talk about recent trends, as books like American Born Chinese, The Arrival, and The Invention of Hugo Cabret have helped transform graphic novels from a niche to a part of every library’s collection.

F. Digital Photography For Library Applications – Joseph Barricella
Libraries increasingly need in-house expertise in digital photography. Shooting and manipulating digital images are essential for websites, promotional materials, displays and digital collections. This session is designed to provide a broad overview of digital cameras and digital photography for use in libraries. Topics covered will include types of digital cameras, camera functions, storage media, basic design, image editors and legal concerns.

G. Taking Web 2.0 To School – Deborah Goodman, Gail Holloman Holmes
The 21st century has ushered in a number of web-based tools for collaborating globally. How can teachers use these tools to motivate students in using higher-order thinking skills and problem-solving skills while mastering content being taught? Join us in this session to obtain strategies for taking Web 2.0 (Wikis, Blogs, Google docs, Skype, etc.) to school.

H. Primarily Electronic – Melissa Fields
Be ready to learn about many new (and not so new) innovative electronic resources that can be used to promote reading, literacy, and information skills for primary students. Learn creative ways to share these resources with teachers and students and how you can integrate them into your media program. Be prepared to share your favorite electronic resources as well. A webliography will be provided.