e-pd

Bite of the Mango

2009-07-12T20:25:00.003+09:30

The bite of the mango by Mariatu Kamara and Susan McClelland is an appalling story of the atrocities in Sierra Leone and is definitely for older readers. This semi autobiography tells of one young girl, Mariatu, who when trying to hide from the terrorists, is found and her hands are cut off to prevent her voting at the election. The story of survival after that treatment will bring tears to the eyes of the most hardened senior reader. Reviewed by Fran Knight

See more about this book on LibraryThing

Blogging 101

2008-08-09T13:34:00.003+09:30

At Eynesbury today 25 library staff spent their Saturday learning about blogging. With the help of Kate Sinclair and Helen Kwaka we each created a blog, spent a long time making it look great and some people even made a post.
The topics of our blogs are diverse, and we learned lots.

SLASA @ ASLA XX

2007-10-11T22:44:00.002+09:30

Hearts on fire: SLASA booth at ASLA XX Adelaide Convention Centre, 2 - 5 October 2007.

ASLAXX Registration online

2007-04-30T12:08:00.001+09:30

The secure online registration form is available NOW. It is really easy to use: https://secure.conferenceaction.com.au/ei/getdemo.ei?id=428&s=_1K40QQPYO

The hard thing is choosing which sessions to attend. Check out the conference program which links to the full descriptions of each session.
http://www.asla.org.au/pd/conference/program.htm

Just look at the sessions on offer on Wednesday morning (3 October) as a starter!
http://www.asla.org.au/pd/conference/program-wednesday.htm#one

Session 1: 11.15 am
W1.1 -- Catherine Beavis, Associate Professor School of Social and Cultural Studies In Education, Deakin University, VIC. and Meg Mappin, Screenwriter & Project Manager: Delivering Australia’s moving image heritage to the classroom
W1.2 -- Di Laycock, Teacher Librarian, Barker College, NSW: Graphic novels: Trash or treasure?
W1.3 -- Jill Abell, Director of Information Services (IT, Libraries & Archives), The Hutchins School, TAS: Leading professional learning and mapping organizational change
W1.4 -- Jeanette Davies, Administrative Officer with the ICLT Team, Catholic Education Office, Wollongong, NSW: Inclusive Technology and Podcasting
W1.5 --Val Baird, Perth Modern School, Perth, WA: Just Google it!
W1.6 -- Suzette Boyd, Head of Library and Information Services, Scotch College, VIC: Transforming research tasks to avoid plagiarism

Session 2: 12.15 pm
W2.1 -- Anne Camfield, Manager, SCIS, Curriculum Corporation: Cataloguing for 21st century curriculum search
W2.2 -- Pauline Crawford, Coordinator Resources and Information Literacy, and Kevin Nelson, Australian Science and Mathematics School, SA: Picture books and senior students
W2.3 -- Anne Girolami, Convenor, ALIA/ASLA Policy Advisory Group: Effective Partnerships
W2.4 -- John Chisholm, Children's and Youth Services Librarian, Alice Springs Public Library, NT: Their ghosts stalk the shelves: the information seeking behaviours of the millennial generation
W2.5 -- Richard Dearden, Morris Miller Librarian, University of Tasmania, TAS: Sharing the passion for information literacy and lifelong learning
W2.6 -- Patricia Carmichael, Independent Learning Centre Manager/Teacher Librarian, Concordia Lutheran College, QLD: An Independent Learning Project that can change the culture of learning in your school

Or spend a session trawling the trade exhibition, or even head off down North Terrace to tour the State Library's treasures. See you there.

Technorati Tags: aslaxx

Accommodation in Adelaide

2007-04-15T17:27:00.001+09:30

The ASLA XX Conference programme is finalised and registration opens next week. It all looks really exciting, and we thought interstate and overseas delegates might appreciate some ideas about booking accommodation. The conference is after a long weekend, and the first week of the school holidays, so we encourage you to book as early as possible so you get somewhere close to the Convention Centre.

Please note that there are some exciting preconference events planned for Tuesday 2 October including a full day seminar with guest Howard Rheingold, and a gourmet literary tour to the Barossa Valley region with author Rosanne Hawke. The welcome cocktail party commences at 5.00pm. So make sure you choose a flight to give you maximum time to enjoy all that is on offer.

Keynote speakers and invited guests will be staying at the Stamford Plaza Hotel on North Terrace, Adelaide: http://www.stamford.com.au/spa/
For discounted rates on accommodation, please mention that you are a delegate of the ASLA XX Conference. Ask for a riverview room for a fantastic view over the Festival Centre, the River Torrens, Adelaide Oval, St Peter's Cathedral and out to the hills.

The Mercure Grosvenor http://www.mercuregrosvenorhotel.com.au/ is less luxurious but right across the road from the Convention Centre. With this packed programme you won't be spending much time in your hotel room!

Coming with a group? Try Miller Apartments in Hindley Street for 1, 2 and 3 bedroom options.
http://www.holidaycity.com/miller-apartments-adelaide/

Some budget options are listed in this document from UniSA and HERDSA. Note these will usually mean a 5-10 minute walk to the Convention Centre, but there is also a free city bus service around Adelaide.

BUDGET ACCOMMODATION IN THE CITY
http://www.unisa.edu.au/educationalintegrity/conference/docs/budget%20accommodation.pdf

Please feel free to ask us for local assistance!

Call for Abstracts: Learning strand

2006-11-13T21:12:00.000+10:30

ASLA is calling for innovative, practical and researched papers in all topics of interest to school library staff, particularly those exploring the conference strands: learning, literature and literacies.

Strand 1. Learning: sharing the passion for teaching and learning
* Engaging learners through collaborative teaching
* Building dynamic learning environments
* Contributing to student learning through evidence-based practice
* Learning and leading as information specialists

So who do you want to meet or hear from at ASLA XX? Send in your abstracts, or ideas for sessions and presenters so we can get the call for abstracts to the right people.

The deadline for submissions is 11 December 2006.

ASLA XX: Hearts on fire

2006-11-07T19:34:00.001+10:30

Well - it's happening! ASLA XX in Adelaide from Wed 3 - Fri 5 October 2007.

South Australians are looking forward to welcoming teacher librarians, library staff and academics from every state and hopefully other countries.
Adelaide is beautiful - at its best in October - relaxed, affordable and an ideal meeting place for thinking, talking and tasting.

Our marketing says it all: 'South Australia: a brilliant blend' - be that wine, food, culture, art, architecture, literature or lifestyle.

The call for papers is out, so it's time to pluck up the courage - write a proposal and send it in. If there is someone you would like us to approach send ideas in so we can make this a programme that meets your needs.

--------------------------

Thanks to the friends who lit the ASLA XX flame, and to all who have kept it alive thus far. We look forward to the opportunity to share the passion of 'Hearts on fire' and celebrate learning, literature and literacies!

Technorati Tags: ASLAXX

SLASA 2006: Libraries Now!

2006-07-10T21:30:00.001+09:30

Monday 10 July 2006

What we learned today:

School Library 2.0 Rachel Salmond & Yvonne Murtagh

Greg R. Notess (Reference Librarian, Montana State University) uses the term 'The Terrible Twos' to refer to Web 2.0, Library 2.0, etc
http://www.infotoday.com/online/may06/OnTheNet.shtml

Yvonne prefers: 'The Terrific Twos' and challenged us to 'subscribe rather than search'.

Library 2.0 meme map
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42538191@N00/113222147/

Our deli.cio.us tag is slasa2006

Chicklet is not just a form of chick lit for pre-adolescents.

suejnews: November 2005

2006-02-01T22:27:00.000+10:30

suejnews: November 2005
Just updating this blog to check out how to do it!

Global Education, Canterbury

2005-07-23T21:15:00.000+09:30

Walking around the wall of Canterbury we came across a Global Education Centre at the back of a car park and were welcomed in. The tiny room was piled high with books, videos, kits etc looking other than the size like most Global Education centres I have known. It was great to exchange ideas and information with the co-ordinator, and there were many similarities with the situation in Australia although they receive no government funding. She had a lovely set of 5 large cloth dolls which were the result of a funding submission and were used in classroom work on cultural diversity.
They work more with the Religious Education curriculum than we seem to in Australia, and in Canterbury there is a connection with the Cathedral’s education centre
http://www.canterbury-cathedral.org/schools.html
(itself staffed by 2 fulltime teachers + administrator).

Connectivity UK

2005-07-23T21:11:00.001+09:30

We found the Notting Hill / Bayswater area of London full of hotels (some of them reasonably priced) and full of young tourists. As well as the availability of the usual wireless hot spots in Starbucks, Macdonalds etc there was a Notting Hill Gate broadband wireless network which meant it was possible to sit outside and watch the world go by while online.

La Salle College, Hong Kong

2005-07-23T20:59:00.001+09:30

As an ex-La Sallian teacher it was interesting to visit La Salle College Kowloon on the final afternoon of the conference. The De La Salle brothers had been active in other areas of Hong Kong previously, but this school was established in Kowloon in 1979. It caters for 1800 secondary boys with a primary school only slightly smaller across the road. It is a selective school but funded by the government and very competitive to get in to. The day we visited was the day enrolment offers had to be accepted and there were many parents, grandparents and boys there petitioning the Headmaster for one of the very limited places. Built around a large central garden with swimming pool, huge soccer field, and gym, its sporting facilities were very impressive, due partly to a very active and influential past students association. A data projector ceiling mounted in every classroom seemed accepted practice but other than that classrooms had 40 desks and chairs in rows and no desktop technologies. The library technology was similar to many Australian school libraries, and they used Alice for Windows as the automation system, but expressed a desire to move to a total self-service card-based system for physical access to the library as well as circulation.

The School Librarian who hosted us had been at the school for 25 years and managed an incredible load of English teaching, library classes and cataloguing, plus overseeing a team of 150 student librarians. Working in the library is an extracurricular activity on a par with music or a sport team and all students must be involved in a number of activities each week. This group is responsible for all the non-professional work of the school library on a roster system, and while we were there 10 boys were in during their holidays undertaking the stocktake. The incoming Chair of the Library Board who showed us around spoke of this role with the pride of an incoming school captain.

How many schools have an entry in wikipedia?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Salle_College

Student learning in the information landscape (NZ)

2005-07-11T13:49:00.001+09:30

A session in a computer lab means I can blog this in real time! Hopefully it will read OK and not as poorly organised as my notebook usually is after a session.

How well are schools supporting student learning in the information landscape?

A really useful alert from Cilla Corlett of the Education Review Office of New Zealand about their evaluation undertaken in NZ schools in three areas:
* information literacy
* developing lifelong readers
* the school library
The findings and report will not be available until Sep/Oct 2005.

To Do:
Keep an eye out on the What's New page of ERO to pick up this report and other very useful evaluations
Email: cilla.corlettatero.govt.nz

The NZ 3 C's:
1. connection
2. content
3. capability and confidence

The School Library Guidelines (National Library of NZ, 2002) were used in conjunction with ERO indicators for schools and e-learning evaluation, 2003/2004 to develop indicators for the evaluation. 13% of primary schools and 8% of secondary schools evaluated and involved interviews with school leaders, teacher librarians, and students plus observations and reference to documentation by Review Officers. Examples of effective and less effective practice were aggregated nationally, and ERO intends to publish good practice examples and initiatives when report is released.

To Do:
Check NZ government for updated ICT policy documents.
Obtain NZ school library guidelines.

IASL 2005 Conference in Hong Kong

2005-07-09T16:40:00.001+09:30

I plan to use the experience of blogging a conference as part of my report for SLASA regarding the International Association of School Librarianship (IASL) conference in Hong Kong. I hope to record thoughts, new learning and ideas for future conferences or professional development activities.

Opening Ceremony
The Opening Ceremony for the 34th IASL Annual Conference was at 6.30pm on Friday, July 8 at the University of Hong Kong.
The presence and comments of Mrs. Fanny Law, Permanent Secretary for Education and Manpower for Hong Kong SAR presented a picture of a government very committed to information literacy and school librarianship: "Since 2001 all schools in Hong Kong have a school librarian". The large number of local delegates funded to attend the conference by Education and Manpower was further evidence of this support. Moral education was listed as one of the 4 priorities for HK education.

** To Do
Check out details of the Hong Kong schools bibliographic database used to enable resource sharing between schools.

Other speakers included: Prof, Mark Bray, Dean, Faculty of Education HKU speaking about the university, its international focus and decision to teach in English language, and Luk Hok Hei Livesey, Hong Kong Teacher Librarian Association. Local awards were presented to 100 educators, individuals, and schools including awards for school library volunteers, student librarians and supporters of school libraries, in addition to teacher librarians.

** To Do
Check out details of the award criteria and process, and consider recognition of volunteers and student library monitors at state level.

The IASL flag ceremony represented the 31 countries attending the conference, and entertainment included the Lion Dance performed by the Kowloon Technical School Chinese Boxing Club, and 'It's a Small World' in 3 languages by violinists and choristers from the Tsing Yi Trade Association Primary School. Plenty of Australians (80 delegates) to catch up with at the reception although only Pat Pledger, Pauline Crawford and Cathy Riedel (Concordia College) from South Australia located so far.

Summary Description of e-pd project activities 2004

2004-11-29T07:48:00.001+10:30

An e-pd package was written by Project Writer, Pat Pledger during Term 1. This kit provides an introduction to online ICT tools available to teachers to enhance their professional learning opportunities, with an emphasis on literacy.

Pat then conducted three workshops on the package, the aims of the project and outlined the tools to be used in Term 2 of the project. Three face-to-face workshops were held during May, at Barmera Primary School (4 May), Technology School of the Future (6 May) and Port Lincoln Primary School (13 May). A total of 29 teacher librarians participated in these workshops.

Experiments with a blog developed at: http://slasaepd.blogspot.com/2004_05_01_slasaepd_archive.html.

Many participants then joined the slasae-pd, slasanet and/or oztl_net email discussion lists, and the Eyre Peninsula facilitator started a new email list for teacher librarians in her region.

At the workshops participants were encouraged to take part in the ASLA Online conference ‘Constructing communities of learning and literacy’ held 15-31 May: http://www.asla.org.au/onlinecon.htm.
There were 27 SA participants in this online conference.

On 9 September the e-pd project participated in an online chat in conjunction with The Network, Department of Education and Children’s Services Literacy, entitled: Literacy and ICT connections in learning.
Guest facilitators were the Literacy and ICT Policy & Programs Officers, DECS. Archive: http://forum.edna.edu.au/uploads/edChatLog_659_29Sep2004_10_30_57am.htm

Another online chat took place on 17 November to discuss the new Choosing and using learning materials guidelines from DECS. Archive: http://forum.edna.edu.au/uploads/edChatLog_690_18Nov2004_11_51_03pm.htm

Ongoing contributions and feedback from facilitators and participants in this project have been collected and will assist the association address some of the issues surrounding online professional development.

Experiment

2004-06-07T21:14:00.001+09:30

Hi ePD Boggers,
I'm experimenting with what I need to do to post a legitimate message. (By that I mean is posting my intended message!)

When this Blog was created, I was busy getting my head around the ASLA online conference so I may have missed out on important messages on 'how to do it.'

As I'm keen to get my head around this, I'll use my preferred learning style and use intuition and trial and error rather than seeking out the instruction manual!

After all that, I hope the post gets through as I'd like to learn more about this communication format.

Cheers,
Kathy Sergejevs

Issues with blogging

2004-06-07T19:35:00.001+09:30

I have just noticed that there have been no posts on this blog for a few weeks, and have been considering the implications. Obviously, for a blog to be successful, there needs to be a commitment of time, daily or at least twice weekly to keep it up to date, and obviously you need to have something of importance to say. At the moment, the e-pd project is in a small lull, maybe because of organisation for the SLASA and ACEC conference and certainly because I have been away to the Western Teacher Librarians conference in Dubbo, and a hub group in Mildura.
However, more of an issue for me has been the fact that my email has been out of commission for over a week, and likely to last at least for another week, because of a computer problem. I have been using http://mail2web.com/ to get my mail, and send some emails, but it is not as efficient and quick to use.
Three points for successful blogs from my point of view:
Have something of importance to say
Try to keep it up to date
You need reliable email and internet connections.

On-line conference

2004-05-16T23:06:00.001+09:30

The ASLA on-line conference has begun.
If you have registered for this you are now able to join in the discussion groups.
To help familiarise yourself with the process join the orientation list before moving on to the strands.
Sue J

Visit to Port Lincoln

2004-05-15T15:50:00.001+09:30

On Thursday, 13 May, Alle Goldsworthy and I flew to Port Lincoln for a teacher librarian hub group meeting. Alle spoke about the Premiers Reading Challenge and I gave Workshop 1 of e-pd. We had a very successful day. One great outcome was that the group decided to use the EdNA Online discussion list feature to start a discussion list of their own. Many thanks to Kathy Sergejevs who organised the day. Pat

2004-05-06T18:40:00.001+09:30

12 people attended the e-pd at TSOF in Adelaide. Pat

Riverland e-pd

2004-05-06T11:28:00.001+09:30

It was great to visit the Riverland on Tuesday night for the first e-pd session. Seven people came to the Barmera Primary School library and we went through online conferences and online discussions. It was a good night. We are now hoping to have a discussion on the e-pd slasa discussion list . Pat

Discussion list archives - oztl_net

2004-05-01T00:02:00.001+09:30

Discussion list archives can be a useful source of professional information, especially if they are searchable.
OZTL_NET's searchable archive at http://www.csu.edu.au/cstl/oztl_net/arch.html is unfortunately currently (April 2004) unavailable.
There is a month-by-month archive of postings (OZTL_NET has around 500 posts most months).
This is available at: http://listserv.csu.edu.au/pipermail/oztl_net/
To browse posts about literature and literacy:
Open a month by Thread, and use your browser's function (Control F) to search for CH LIT.

RSSReader

2004-04-30T20:51:00.001+09:30

The e-pd blog works fine now in RSSReader v.1.0.88.0 which means it will be easy to keep track of new postings as soon as they are made by participants in the SLASA e-pd project.
If you would like an example of an RSS feed to add to an RSSReader, there is a new noticeboard available from EdNA Online which highlights Conferences and Events for Library and Information Services staff. It is not restricted to school library conferences and events, but does list a significant range of events of interest to the school sector.
Add the following feed to your RSSReader: http://service.edna.edu.au/service/noticeboard/5372 and see if it works for you.

RSS

2004-04-30T16:38:00.001+09:30

After trying different RSS feeds, I found that the feed from Blogger, using the aggregator, Bloglines was the easiest, and probably should be the one that we introduce people to. There is a feed up now for e-pd weblog and it can be subscribed to from the right hand margin. It won't work in all aggregators, but will be enough if we use Bloglines as our tool. As we all learn, we can add others. P.Pledger

Introduction

2004-04-30T10:38:00.001+09:30

Thanks for setting this up Pat. The email invitation you sent worked well.
The biggest problem was finding a username which hadn't already been used. Sometimes it would be helpful to have a very unusual name or regular log in. Now I am going to have to work out a way to remember this unusual username.
Hint to self:
1. Send an email to myself (at home and at work) now which includes my Blogger username and password.
2. Create a Blogger entry in my Outlook address book and include the url for this blog and my username and password.
3. Set up this blog as a favourite in my browser (at home and at work).
4. Write it down on my notes for the e-pd project.

2004-04-30T09:12:00.002+09:30

The first of the e-pd sessions will be at Barmera on the 4th May. We hope that this blog will give people the opportunity to reflect on the professional development and well as trying a new technology. Pat Pledger