Program -- Wednesday 27 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.

Wednesday 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.

W2 - 11.30 am to 12.30 pm | W3 - 1.30 pm to 2.30 pm

W1 - 8.00 am to 9.30 am -- Literary Breakfast with Narelle Oliver and Michael Bauer to be followed by an optional history walk to the college

W2 - 11.30 am to 12.30 pm

W2a -- Michael Bauer
Michael was born in Brisbane. After surviving school, he attended the University of Queensland where he enjoyed the social life while making brief and half hearted appearances in a variety of courses. After completing his Arts degree with a triple major in English Literature, Michael enrolled in a Diploma of Education and has taught English and economics at a number of secondary schools in the Brisbane-Ipswich area. In 2004 his first novel for young adults The running man was published and subsequently won the 2005 Children’s Book Council of Australia Older Reader’s Category. It was short listed for the 2005 NSW Premier's Award. His second novel Don't call me Ishmael! was a comedy set in an all boys' school.
From notion to novel* (Literature strand) To be repeated W3a
A discussion about the process of writing The Running Man and Don't Call Me Ishmael! from the original inspiration through to publishing. Michael will talk about what he learnt as a first time writer, problems he encountered, how storylines develop and change, how real experiences find their way into the story, the process of cover designs and all the other minutiae of writing and publishing.

W2b -- Narelle Oliver
Narelle grew up in Toowoomba in a family who spent every spare moment pursuing interests in performing or visual arts. Her childhood trips into unusual countryside to gather ideas for artworks continue to inspire Narelle's exploration of natural environments in her picture books.
Her majors in design and printmaking for a Bachelor of Education degree, ensured her committment to the world of contemporary children's pictures books. Original illustrations from Narelle's books - including Baby bilby, where do you sleep? and Sand swimmers: the secret life of Australia's dead heart - have been exhibited nationally in group and solo shows. Narelle now lives in inner-city Brisbane.
Behind the scenes... (workshop W2b)
Narelle provides an expose of the process of creating a picture book from first thoughts and inspiration through to research, storyboarding, editing, final writing of text and completion of illustrations. Following this, Narelle will discuss the many considerations and influences which affect decisions at every step of this process - market focus, visual interpretation skills of children, requirements of editors, and moral dilemmas (to name a few).

W2c -- Helen Reynolds
Helen is the Senior Librarian at The Southport School, a boys day/boarding school on the Gold Coast. Although her main passion is ensuring that TSS boys develop a love of reading she also acknowledges the importance of developing and maintaining a professional portfolio for herself and her staff.
Documenting your worth: how one library went about developing a professional portfolio (Management strand)
After attending a SLAV in-service titled Skilling up the staff, TSS library decided to produce their own portfolio. This involved the documenting of all aspects of the library programme, developing individual role descriptions and providing comprehensive supporting evidence. In this session delegates will be involved in looking at a number of different styles of portfolio and beginning the process of developing their own.

W2d -- Laurel Shaw
Laurel has taught in Queensland schools for 20 years and has had a particular interest in using picture books to improve student us of higher order thinking skills. As a teacher-librarian for the past 10 years she has developed strategies for developing top-level structure, Six Thinking Hats, and other higher order thinking skills through the use of picture books in the primary school.
Using picture books to develop higher order thinking skills in the primary school* (Literature strand)
Picture books provide many opportunities for use as a medium in the introduction of higher order thinking skills. Over the past 10 years Laurel Shaw has developed activities to help introduce skills to primary children. In this hands-on seminar the ideas developed will be explored with participants.

W2e -- Jenni King
Jenni is the Head of Information Services at St Margaret's Anglican Girls School in Ascot, Brisbane. She is a very experienced teacher-librarian, having worked in the state, catholic and independent systems, and recently completed a Masters degree in teacher-librarianship at Charles Sturt University. Because of her commitment to this profession and the vital work it does, Jenni is currently a member of the SLAQ Executive, and has donated her referencing booklet to SLAQ in order to assist as many students as possible.
Citations made easy: How you can stop worrying and learn to love the referencing and bibliography process!* (Information strand)
Choosing a particular citation style and ensuring its whole-school application is often problematic, especially when there are so many styles to choose from. Jenni King and SLAQ decided that students would benefit from a booklet which outlined and advocated one preferred standard for Queensland schools, and so have published the booklet A guide to referencing and bibliographies for secondary school students. This guide is a comprehensive and clear presentation of the elements of the increasingly popular ‘Commonwealth’ Harvard style, with particular emphasis on electronic sources. Participants in this workshop will learn the basics of this style, and have the opportunity to practice its application.

W2f -- CAL and ESU and copyright (Management strand) To be repeated in W3g
The session will focus on: Copyright and education (with a particular focus on digital copyright); Who is Copyright Agency Limited (CAL)? -- How we work and who we represent; The what, why and how of monitoring digital use of copyright works in schools (CAL's Electronic Use System).

W2g Trade Fair * -- take an individual leisurely tour through the conference trade fair.

W2h -- Tour to Artists' Books Mackay City Library * (walk)
An opportunity for delegates to see this unique collection. Mackay hosts an annual international conference on artists' books each February.

W2i -- Tour to Farleigh Sugar Mill Tour *
Never seen a sugar mill in operation? This could be your lucky day. The tour is dependent on numbers.

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W3 - 1.30 pm to 2.30 pm

W3a -- Michael Bauer
Michael was born in Brisbane. After surviving school, he attended the University of Queensland where he enjoyed the social life while making brief and half hearted appearances in a variety of courses. After completing his Arts degree with a triple major in English Literature, Michael enrolled in a Diploma of Education and has taught English and economics at a number of secondary schools in the Brisbane-Ipswich area. In 2004 his first novel for young adults The running man was published and subsequently won the 2005 Children’s Book Council of Australia Older Reader’s Category. It was short listed for the 2005 NSW Premier's Award. His second novel Don't call me Ishmael! was a comedy set in an all boys' school.
From notion to novel* (Literature strand) A repeat of W2a
A discussion about the process of writing The Running Man and Don't Call Me Ishmael! from the original inspiration through to publishing. Michael will talk about what he learnt as a first time writer, problems he encountered, how storylines develop and change, how real experiences find their way into the story, the process of cover designs and all the other minutiae of writing and publishing.

W3b -- Narelle Oliver
Narelle grew up in Toowoomba in a family who spent every spare moment pursuing interests in performing or visual arts. Her childhood trips into unusual countryside to gather ideas for artworks continue to inspire Narelle's exploration of natural environments in her picture books.
Her majors in design and printmaking for a Bachelor of Education degree, ensured her committment to the world of contemporary children's pictures books. Original illustrations from Narelle's books - including Baby bilby, where do you sleep? and Sand swimmers: the secret life of Australia's dead heart - have been exhibited nationally in group and solo shows. Narelle now lives in inner-city Brisbane
Burrowing bilbies, boom-cha-chas, and a flicker of feathers (workshop W3b)
A smorgasbord of hands-on learning experiences for primary students based on the real-life processes of writing and illustrating a children's picture book. Over the past 20 years, Narelle has written and illustrated 11 picture books (a number of these award-winning). With a Bachelor of Education and early teaching experience at the Queensland School for the Deaf she has also conducted countless writing and illustrating workshops for students in places as diverse as the Fremantle Children's Literature Centre, under a bark shelter in the desert at Harts Range, NT, Elcho Island off Arnhem Land, and Tanglin Trust International School, Singapore. In this session she shares some of the activities she has developed to assist and inspire students in areas of thinking, writing and visual literacy.

W3c -- Kerrie Smith
As the Schools Information Officer with EdNA Online for over four years, Kerrie has established a wide range of contacts in the Australian school community through extensive workshop and conference presentations. She was named South Australia's Computer Educator of the Year in 2000, ACCE Computer Educator of the Year in 2001, and South Australian ICT Leader of the Year in 2004. In her spare time she puts her energies into online and face-to-face reading and book groups.
Moving beyond deadlinks: streaming EdNA search services to your site (Information strand)
How much time do you spend searching for and organising website links for students and teachers? How many of these sites have to be checked each year? Multiply this effort over 1,700 Queensland schools and you realise there must be a better way. This hands-on workshop demonstrates two key functions of EdNA Online that make life easier for school library staff. Sharpen your search skills and locate highly relevant, selected, safe digital resources for use in bibliographies, intranet pages, online curriculum modules or learning quests. Say farewell to dead links and learn how to let EdNA Online stream news and new resources to your website, intranet, learning management system or desktop.

W3d -- Berenice Wright
Berenice is a former teacher and is passionate about Mackay's local history. She is involved in many local associations including the local history group and Friends of the Library. She is involved in several Mackay schools - organising and developing their archives. She has a very deep knowledge of the people and places of Mackay.
Archives for beginners* (Management strand)
Mackay local historian and former teacher Berenice Wright will conduct a workshop on beginning your school’s archives. Berenice is involved in the archive collection of St Patrick’s College Mackay and Mercy College Mackay.

W3e -- Lainey Argent
Lainey has been the library coordinator at St Francis Xavier Catholic Primary School in West Mackay for over six years. She is passionate about kids enjoying the library, kids loving reading and always having a welcoming library for teachers and students. She will be accompanied by Fiona Camilleri.
Designing your library displays* (Management strand)
This workshop will allow participants to gain an idea of how St Frances Xavier School puts together its imaginative displays at minimal cost.

W3f -- Denise Tarlinton
Denise is currently curriculum support teacher at Kurwongbah State School. She was a member of the school team from Kurwongbah State School that was awarded the inaugural Brian Bahnisch Award in 2004 and was the state nominee for the Australian Teacher-librarian of the Year Award in both 2004 and 2005. She is a casual lecturer in teacher-librarianship within the School of Cultural and Language Studies in Education at QUT.
Popular culture: It’s “fully sick!” (Literature strand)
Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon, TMNT, Buffy, Power Rangers, Barbie, Bionicles, Xbox, Computer game play, popular music, youth magazines… Why is popular culture often left at the school gate? In this practical workshop, participants will explore why it is important for curriculum programs to connect to students’ lives and literacies through popular cultural texts. Participants will investigate a number of contemporary popular texts and develop ways to use them in meaningful ways within unit planning to engage and motivate students.

W3g CAL and ESU and copyright (Management strand) A repeat of W2f
The session will focus on: Copyright and education (with a particular focus on digital copyright); Who is Copyright Agency Limited (CAL)? -- How we work and who we represent; The what, why and how of monitoring digital use of copyright works in schools (CAL's Electronic Use System).

W3h -- Tour to Whitsunday Anglican School P-12 & Mackay North State School P-7 *
Whitsunday Anglican School provides a single library facility for their P-12 population. Each year in July they also host Whitsunday Voices a Youth Literature Festival. Mackay North State School provides an integrated learning environment where the teacher-librarian is also the curriculum coordinator.

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W4 - 2.30 pm to 3.00 pm -- Reviewing the scene (Delegates will be randomly assigned to a group)
W5 - 3.00 pm to 3.30 pm -- Closing ceremony and handover to the SLAQ 2008 conference committee

Last updated 30 May 2006