Program -- Tuesday 26 September 2006

Moving beyond - decisions and surprises?: School libraries, learning and teaching

This conference aims to bring together teacher-librarians, school library personnel and other people interested in school libraries, to provide opportunities to confront, discuss and critically analyse the challenges and issues for those working in the field.

Tuesday 26 September -- Presenters, topics and abstracts

Any session title followed by an asterisk * will be of interest to library assistants. The only sessions listed are those for which you are required to make a choice. You will be automatically listed for keynote sessions.

T1 - 10.05 am to 11.05 am | T2 - 11.35 am to 1.15 pm |T3 - 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm

T1 - 10.05 am to 11.05 am

T1b -- Karen Bonanno
Director of KB Enterprises (Aust) Pty Ltd
Karen is the Director of private company, providing administration, management and clerical services to not-for-profit professional associations. The Australian School Library Association (ASLA) and the International Association for School Librarianship (IASL) are two major clients. Karen is a qualified teacher-librarian and has work experience in private and public secondary schools as a teacher, teacher-librarian and administrator. She has held executive positions in SLAQ and ASLA and was awarded the ASLA Citation in 2001 in recognition of her contribution to teacher librarianship in Australia. Her professional interests are information and knowledge management within professional groups, and information literacy in the learning community. Karen recently upgraded her qualifications in teacher librarianship and graduated, in 2005, with a Master of Applied Science (Teacher Librarianship) with Distinction. She was awarded the Capra Ryan Australian Teacher Librarianship Prize for the student with the highest grade point average for this course.
Information management and emerging technologies * (Information strand)
Students of today are the natives of a digital, hi-tech, virtual environment that entertains and informs. Personal Digital Entertainment devices (PDEs), MP3 players (iPods), Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, laptops, TabletPCs, USB memory sticks, gaming devices, digital cameras are, for some, a digital toolkit. These devices allow them to access and/or create Blogs, Chat, email, MUDs, MOOs, MUVEs, Moblogs, Photoblogs, Podcasts, SMS, Wikis, Vlogs and VoIP. This presentation will focus on issues of information management and policy development as essential preliminary areas requiring immediate attention.

T1c -- Lorraine Todd
In December 2000, Lorraine was a member of the team that created the school's website, which she now maintains. It consisted of seven pages and has grown to approximately 150. It includes Cyberville, a site created specifically for students that contains relevant evaluated sites. In September 2004, she was profiled in Education Queensland's Education Views for developing a site that informs, educates, promotes and publicises. All elements of the Productive Partnerships program are documented on the website so that schools can implement any aspect of the program if they wish. Her role has evolved in the 13 years she has been with Mackay West Primary School to include: teacher-aide, administrative assistant, library assistant, web pilot and, more recently, EMag creator. She has presented at several conferences as a member of the Productive Partnerships team. Lorraine also works at Cathy's Fine Arts Gallery.
How to produce an EMag using Microsoft Front Page* (Information strand)
Websites and magazines can be expensive to produce when outsourcing to other organisations. This workshop will provide a tried and proven format, using Microsoft Front Page, for setting up an electronic magazine for your school. Power Point presentations, digital movies and animated graphics add a new dimension to the magazine. When viewing the magazine created for Mackay West State School, one student commented, “It’s better than cool!"

T1e -- Pru Mitchell
Pru has been a teacher-librarian and past vice-president of ASLA. Since 2002 Pru has divided her working life between EdNA Online and the University of Adelaide library. She has responsibility for the AusAID Global Education website and also support the Australian teacher-librarian community through EdNA services. Her previous 20 years were spent in schools, TAFE and university libraries across South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia. Her professional interests, at present, include teacher professional standards, search technologies and use of wikis in education.
Standards of professional excellence portfolios (Management strand)
Move beyond the theory of professional standards and create a map of your personal and professional learning journey. This workshop will use the ALIA-ASLA Standards of professional excellence for teacher- librarians as a model, and participants will investigate online tools and strategies for developing their own portfolio, and documenting a path towards excellence.

T1f -- Christine Vale
Christine was a primary teacher and secondary teacher for many years before becoming an educational consultant and then going into educational publishing. She has a BA, Dip Ed, Grad Dip and MA in Education and loves to see kids enjoy and become enthusiastic readers.
How can teacher-librarians work with classroom teachers to help motivate students to read * (Literature strand)
When some students select books from the library they may not pick books that fit their level of reading development and so they become disenchanted with reading. The Lexile Framework is a computer-based resource that assists with matching books to students for middle primary students and beyond. It provides reading levels for students and some library books to help take some of the guesswork out of finding the right books for kids to read. Many schools across Australia have found it very helpful in motivating students to read, especially boys, and found that borrowing from the library increases. This session will examine how some schools have used the Lexile Framework to support their reading programs and the results that they have achieved.

T1g Trade Fair * -- take an individual leisurely tour through the conference trade fair.

T1h -- Tour to Local History Collection Mackay City Library (walk)*
The local history collection at Mackay City Library is quiet extensive and provides a unique opportunity to look back at this area's local history.

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T2 - 11.35 am to 1.15 pm -- This triple session will allow delegates to hear/experience three X thirty minutes sessions from the trade fair suppliers. This is a unique opportunity to hear more about products and services available in the trade fair in more depth than a lunchtime visit would allow. No bookings are necessary. A timetable for these sessions will be available in all delegates' registration bags and you will be asked to book on Monday for the session/sessions of your choice.

During this time the Trade Fair will be closed.

T3 - 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm

T3a -- Lyn Hay - minor keynote
Lecturer The School of Information Studies Charles Sturt University Wagga Wagga NSW
Lyn began her career as a teacher librarian in NSW Department of Education and Training central and high schools in the mid-1980's before moving into academic life in 1994. Lyn's teaching, research and writing has focused on the role of the teacher-librarian in developing an information literate school community; principal support; integration of ICT in organisations; information leadership in schools; and information policy issues. Lyn has written a number of journal articles, book chapters and papers, and presented at numerous conferences both nationally and internationally. She is also the recipient of a number of professional awards including the ASLA (NSW) John Hirst Award and the IASL/SIRS Commendation Award.
Smart information use in schools: Concepts and practice (Management strand)
This workshop presents findings from a recent research project by Eyre and Hay on Smart Information Use (SIU) and suggests we will shortly be seeing the need for a super-literacy, which subsumes the multiple literacies, such as media literacy, visual literacy, digital and computer literacy, already defined in the literature under the umbrella of information literacy. We are about to see the rise of a new generation of information citizens who are able not only to function effectively in the era of wireless and converged technologies, but to harness and manipulate these tools to derive maximum benefit from the multiplicity of information sources surrounding them. This research defines a smart information user as possessing a cocktail of personality traits, skills and knowledge to handle the challenges on an information- and technology-driven world. This workshop explores the implications of SIU for teacher-librarians and schools.

T3b -- Jennie Bales
Jennie works in the Education Department of Tasmania as a Senior Education Officer for Professional Learning. She supports schools and teachers in implementing a new curriculum area of Being information literate with a focus on the embedded use of ICT as a part of classroom programs. With many years of experience in teacher librarianship she has also worked as a Curriculum Officer, ICT resource teacher and as a lecturer in the field of teacher librarianship. In 2005 Jennie was named the Australian Teacher Librarian of the Year and has recently been the recipient of the IASL/Softlink Excellence Award. Jennie is currently undertaking doctoral research with Charles Sturt University.
Harnessing technology to move beyond traditional library programs and services (Information strand)
This workshop focuses on the potential of information technologies and tools to support an enrich library programs and services with an expected outcome of an action plan for participants to implement in their own library. Participants will be introduced to a variety of practical applications of technology in the library environment with a hands on opportunity to explore a range of electronically delivered information and communication services available to Queensland educators and students. Time will be provided for individuals or small groups to identify areas of need and to strategically plan for ways to introduce, promote and use an identified information tool or product to improve library programs and services.

T3c -- Simon Higgins
Simon Higgins is a best-selling, internationally published author of speculative fiction, thriller and adventure novels. He has published 8 popular books for young readers including Thunderfish, a 2000 Australian bestseller and a Children's Book Council Notable Book of the Year. As well as conducting professional development sessions for educators, Simon runs writing workshops for both kids and adults, plus does public readings of his work. Passionate about preserving literacy skills in the 'way too visual 21st Century' Simon is delighted that many of his novels are studied as class texts in schools and colleges throughout Australia and appear as excerpts in English textbooks. His meet-the-author talks for all ages are a lively, inspirational blend of personal adventure stories and creative writing techniques.
A literature offering - further details available soon (Literature strand)

T3d -- Pru Mitchell
Pru has been a teacher-librarian and past vice-president of ASLA. Since 2002 Pru has divided her working life between EdNA Online and the University of Adelaide library. She has responsibility for the AusAID Global Education website and also support the Australian teacher-librarian community through EdNA services. Her previous 20 years were spent in schools, TAFE and university libraries across South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia. Her professional interests, at present, include teacher professional standards, search technologies and use of wikis in education.
Global education: the challenge of moving beyond ourselves (Information strand)
Where can I take students and teachers to work with quality resources supporting Australian government priority areas such as global education (with an Asian Pacific focus), civics/citizenship and values education within a strong information literacy framework? The AusAID Global education website project works to raise awareness and understanding among Australian school students of international issues, development and poverty, and prepares them to live in an increasingly globalised world as “active citizens shaping better futures”. This workshop will provide a hands-on introduction to accessible, teacher-friendly curriculum materials including learning quests built on the information process, resources for the International Year of Deserts and Desertification, thinking skills templates and a quiz builder tool.

T3e -- Annie White
Annie is the Director of the Resource Centre at Saint Stephen's College, which is a P-12 college on the Gold Coast. She believes that libraries should be vital and dynamic places that stimulate a child's imagination. Her own library has been through countless transformations featuring pirates, pyramids, princesses, spacecraft, and chocolate factories. A talented artist herself, Annie has a host of simple but effective ideas and practical tips that can take any library from mundane to marvelous. Annie has recently taken up the position of President of SLAQ Gold Coast.
Putting the WOW factor back in your library* (Management strand)
Libraries should be stimulating, exciting places that invite inquisitive minds to explore and imagine. To me, libraries are the guardians of dreams, the nurturer of creativity and the passage to exploration. Turning shelves and empty spaces into visual worlds is actually quite simple. This workshop will provide you with countless examples of transformations that are all very achievable. Hands-on practical work plus a ‘show-bag’ of tricks will be available to all participants.

T3f -- Ann Gillespie
A teacher for ten years followed by sixteen years as a teacher-librarian. Ann has a strong interest in the way digital technologies are reshaping our roles and the ways we, as teacher-librarians, can use them as communication tools. Ann has just completed two years leave from Education Queensland to undertake further study to broaden her knowledge by completing a Post Graduate in Information Technology and a Masters in Information Management at QUT.
Blogs and blogging* (Management strand)
What is a blog and exploring the growing blog phenomena? I will explain weblog structure and present statistics about who blogs and the worldwide growth of blogs. I will illustrate some of the uses of blogs, especially in a library and educational context. I will conclude with some tools to enhance blogs and some cautionary words of advice.

T3g Trade Fair * -- take an individual leisurely tour through the conference trade fair.

T3h -- Tour to Mackay State High School 8-12 & Mercy College 8-10 *
Mackay State High School is the oldest secondary school in Mackay and its library has been adapted over the years to reflect changes in technology and learning. Mercy College opened renovated library two years ago. The library was completely redesigned so that it reflected the learning culture of an 8-10 outcomes-based school.

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T4 - 33.35 pm to 4.30 pm -- Special Interest Groups (Refer to the session selection form to make your choice).
T5 - 5.30 pm -- Cathy's Fine Arts Gallery

Last updated 30 August 2006