AASL seeking presenters for 2011 ALA Annual Conference

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), is now seeking presenter proposals for the 2011 ALA Annual Conference. The conference will be held June 23 – 28, 2011 in New Orleans, La. The deadline to submit a proposal is 5 p.m. CDT on May 21, 2010.  Go to the press release for full information.

ALA | AASL seeking presenters for 2011 ALA Annual Conference via kwout

GALILEO Scrapbook Takes A Look

We are excited to announce the availability of a new GALILEO community forum as part of the GALILEO 15th birthday celebration: the GALILEO Scrapbook, which highlights GALILEO in the everyday lives of the schools, libraries, homes, and the people of Georgia. Pictures, posters, clippings, slideshows, videos, and other GALILEO and library-related items through the years are already available for you to see at http://scrapbook.galileo.usg.edu. Take a look at our community and help build the scrapbook in any of the following ways:

• Add your pictures to the scrapbook! Submit your best wishes, memorable pictures, stories, or quotes about GALILEO in your library or GALILEO history.

• Participate in the GALILEO Life Contest: make a video, poster, PowerPoint, or fan showing the importance and use of GALILEO in your school or library.

• The “Where I’m From in GALILEO” lesson plan is a great way to work with students to create a submission. All submissions will be displayed in the GALILEO scrapbook. Upcoming and archived webinars on the lesson plan are also available: http://help.galileo.usg.edu/librarians/training/online/

We will be adding your submissions and new content on an ongoing basis – you will find the scrapbook in both the About GALILEO and Help sections of GALILEO. Please be a part of it and submit and visit regularly.

Save the Dates!

The week of July 12-16 the University of Georgia Educational Technology Center will teach a workshop for both in-service and pre-service media specialists at our Gwinnett campus in Lawrenceville. Participants can earn 5 PLU credits or 3 credit hours if currently enrolled in the UGA SLM program.

The purpose of this course is to provide opportunities to engage in practical, hands-on applications of modern technologies. In this workshop, participants will work in a collaborative setting to learn about technologies and create products they can use to operate their 21st-century media program.

The workshop topics for 2010 are currently being planned. Topics from the past include social bookmarking, Google for educators, GALILEO, blogging, podcasting, RSS, Georgiastandards.org, Web 2.0 tools, free tools, MS Word tips and job aids, interactive whiteboards, student voting systems, digital visual presenters, bluetooth wireless slates, digital still and video cameras (Flip included), LCD projectors, Movie Maker video editing software, photo editing and publishing, professional development tips, and lots of lesson ideas.

For more information, please visit: http://etc.coe.uga.edu/media. Please note the website is under construction and will be changing as the workshop dates approach.

What would you like to see offered at this year’s workshop?

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Emily Hodge

Instructional Technology

UGA ETC

ISTE 2010 in Denver

You are invited to experience ISTE 2010, the premier professional development event of the year for anyone involved with educational technology. ISTE 2010, formerly known as the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC), is the annual conference produced byISTE, the International Society for Technology in Education.

Hosted this June in Denver, Colorado, the conference offers a unique, media-rich, experiential learning environment.

You will have an opportunity to represent your affiliate and region, and share your accomplishments with educators from around the globe. More than 60 countries are represented, adding to the excitement and collaboration that make this conference a truly life-changing experience.

The Most Valuable Professional Development Opportunity of the Year

• More than 15,000 educators from around the globe.
• The most sought-after experts sharing innovative and effective best-practice instruction.
• An exhibit floor—the size of FIVE football fields—to explore the latest tools and resources.
• Hundreds of hands-on demonstrations, fascinating people, and a nonstop stream of ideas and inspiration.

The ISTE Connection

A discounted ISTE membership for affiliate members is included with your conference registration, but benefits reach far beyond the conference. You can continue learning and sharing year round by accessing:

• a variety of networking opportunities
• professional development
• updates of critical news and ed tech developments

For more information about membership, visit Member Central.

Register Today

Visit ISTE 2010 to view the conference schedule and sign up. Because of your affiliate’s connection with ISTE, the special super early-bird lowest rate is available for you until May 1. But don’t wait! We recommend you register as soon as possible for the best selection of workshops, special event tickets, and housing options. Be sure to also check out the ISTE Connects blog to meet fellow attendees, plan your trip, and follow up-to-the-minute chatter about ISTE 2010.

We look forward to seeing you in Denver, Colorado, in June!

Leslie Conery, PhD

Helen Padgett, PhD

Trina Davis, PhD

ISTE’s annual conference and exposition (ISTE 2010)
Presented by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE®)
180 West 8th Ave., Suite 300, Eugene, Oregon 97401
1710 Rhode Island Ave NW, Suite 900, Washington, DC 20036
conf-info@iste.org • 1.800.280.6218 • http://www.iste.org/iste2010

Road Trip! Teaching with Historic Places

Here is a great suggestion for your history/geography/social studies department. It is called Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) and has awesome lesson plans for teachers with full details about exciting locations across the United States. All topics covered in TwHP come from properties listed in the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places. The Teaching with Historic Places program was launched in 1991, the result of an effort between the National Park Service’s Heritage Education Services Office and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Over 130 classroom-ready lessons are immediately available and include a section on the purpose of the instruction, an inquiry question, historical context, maps of the various sites, readings, many images of the site, and activities that put everything together. A healthy list of supplementary resources are also included.  Step by step instructions for how to use a Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson are provided: from getting started, to locating the site, to determining the facts, to visual evidence.  Plans are all linked to National Standards for History and Curriculum Standards for Social Studies. Lessons cover mainly middle school, but are also related to early grades and high school levels.  Pictures are outstanding, and activities are engaging and relevant.  Every lesson plan includes links to the site/event under discussion, if one exists.

Details about how you can create your own lessons following the TwHP format for possible inclusion in the database are included, which makes this a tool that can be customized and expanded as needed. The site contains professional development opportunities for learning about teaching through historic places and includes workshops with agendas, publications and videos, instructions on how to locate information on particular topics, PPT presentations, and an online travel itinerary for developing a unit.

This is indeed an awesome tool, and I urge you to go check it out and SHARE these exciting lessons!

Teaching with Historic Places home page

Phyllis R. Snipes,
University of West Georgia