Our distinguished thought leader, author, and practitioner looks at how the forces of change, and emerging waves of interest associated with these forces, inspire and invite us to imagine a future of learning that is as powerful as it is optimistic. By exploring play, innovation, and the cultivation of the imagination as cornerstones of learning, Brown shares his vision of learning for the future that is achievable, scalable, and one that grows along with the technology that fosters it and the people who engage with it. A new form of culture in which knowledge is seen as fluid and evolving is one in which Internet Librarians can excel and support learning with content, connections and conversations.

The California Campaign for Strong School Libraries is a public awareness campaign that seeks to inform the public and policymakers on the importance of a strong school library in increasing student academic achievement. The campaign promotes the new Model School Library Standards and works to “change the story” of what a school is. California School Library Association’s Siminitus and Williams showcase a number of major outreach efforts including an audio journal; bus ads; Illustrators Galore @ LIBRARY STORE; leveraging library vendors as advocates; plus how to design and offer their free, online tutorial for teens, “Tools2Create: Summer 2.0 Fun.”

Ebook circulation at libraries and schools is taking off, having increased 200% in 2010. Discover from Brian Gurewitz, an ebook industry insider, how you can take advantage of this surge in popularity as he introduces the latest enhancements from OverDrive.

Do your students know the difference between a discussion list and a wiki? How should they regard a newspaper article that is also a blog entry? Getting students to think critically about the range of resources they encounter on the web can be tough! So bring your lesson ideas, because in this actively participatory session, Bergson-Michelson and Seroff take on the challenge to develop more effective and exciting lessons that help teach students to identify what they are accessing online.

Should your school consider implementing student eportfolios? How can you as a librarian be a part of the process? This session explores different avenues schools have taken to incorporate eportfolios into their curriculum. Geiger and Arriaga outline the essential elements of an eportfolio as well as hosting options such as Google sites. Join them as they share their experiences and lessons learned while implementing eportfolios.

Teaching library and research instruction—essential skills such as basic research, source evaluation, digital citizenship, avoiding plagiarism—is vitally important. Students need to learn and retain these skills now more than ever, but it seems the school schedule gets tighter and tighter. In this session, hear how Tong and Daniel have revamped their program to provide skills instruction at the point of need in the “location” best suited to the situation. Learn from their successes (and mistakes!) as they discovered what skills to teach face-to-face, or as interactive, online modules. They also discuss how the library staff has integrated with the 9th grade history  curriculum to provide specific, hands-on research instruction.

Learn from high school librarians Dettling and Gorman how to transform the student research paper into a project that utilizes absolutely no paper! With the use of a digital notebook, such as Evernote, teach students to take notes, gather research, and effectively organize their information in a paperless format, all accessible from any computer—a laptop at home, a desktop at school, or a mobile device such as an iPad, iPhone, Android, or BlackBerry. Then learn how to use Turnitin.com to not only collect electronic versions of student work, but also to assess and provide descriptive feedback at both the formative and summative stages. Lisa and Toni show how to use technology to get students enthusiastic about the research process and to support your school’s Green Initiatives.

Rainie discusses the Project's latest research about how people use the internet, smart phones, and tablet computers to get, create, and share information. The new media environment is a Petri Dish for community formation as every book, every blog, and every Facebook feed can foster group engagement. Join our popular speaker as he explores how libraries can serve those who are creating new kinds of communities and enriching traditional groups.

As school librarians and educators, you teach your students tricks and tips for using online tools effectively for research. But today’s students are digitally connected in all aspects of their lives, and there is reason to be concerned about the persuasive distraction of technology. As educators, you are in a unique position to encourage awareness of just how your students are using all that ubiquitous technology. In this session, find out from Shaw how a 1:1 laptop school—with guidance from its librarian!—has integrated mindfulness education into its culture.

Students are savvy about using the internet, but they often don’t understand how their internet usage today impacts their lives tomorrow. In this session, learn from school librarian Nockowitz how to help your students create and maintain a positive digital footprint. She discusses how social networking, content creation, and social media are shaping students’ online personae and offers specific steps teachers and librarians can take to guide students in the right direction.

Emerging technologies are constantly shifting the ways school libraries function. Whether making changes in the way content is viewed or allowing the curriculum to be taught in entirely new ways, school libraries must stay current. In this hour-long session, Renazile and Johnson, librarians at the School at Columbia University, talk about the practical ways they are using iPads and e-readers in their school library starting in kindergarten. Here are some of the discussion topics: How can iPads and iPods be tools for recommending books? What are some of the management issues of using iPads in the library? How can Twitter increase comprehension and conversation in book clubs? Next, technology director Ramig weighs in with more on iPads in her Seven Hills School program, where she finds them to be “super-portable, instant-on, $500 devices that are perfect for school libraries.”

As libraries emerge into technologically based spaces, the connection between the technology department and the library/media center becomes vital. How do we collaborate and share best practices in both fields in order to make our students thoughtful and creative users of information? Thomas, lower school technology coordinator, and Ingham, lower school librarian, at Oregon Episcopal School, share stories and ideas about how they make their partnership work in the face of daily schedules, student and teacher demands, and the challenge of balancing interests and different personal/professional skill sets.

The new millennium has been filled with changes, many of which are downright scary. Consider the current threat level set by Homeland Security, the latest natural disaster news trumpeted by the media … Meanwhile the economy lurches along. For educators at all levels, things can look bleak. Forget new equipment, enrichment experiences for students, travel to conferences. Many of us are just praying to hold on to our jobs. In this closing session of the Internet@Schools track, Professor and sage Bell speaks to this climate of unease, specifically offering ways to address the following “techno-fears”: 1. Fear of allowing our youngsters access to internet information by imposing draconian filters. 2. Fear of communication as well as information—fear that causes many to recoil from any sort of online “social networking.” 3. Fear of letting our youngsters out of our virtual supervision for even a minute or two. 4. Fear of allowing students and kids have and use the devices that they all use so expertly. Mary Ann sends you off feeling fortified, if not fearless!