KASL

Call for Proposals

To be considered by KASL program planners, select "School Libraries" in the Track Type category.  Proposal forms and submission information can be found:

http://kslibassoc.org/2014Conf/proposals.php

Questions?  Contact:  Nancy McFarlin 

 

ALA Summer Conference

 

 

 

2014 Kansas Library Conference

  

 

 

October 29-31, 2014, Wichita Hyatt

KASL Luncheon author: Rebecca Johnson

Zombie Makers:  True Stories of Nature's Undead and 

Journey into the Deep: Discovering New Ocean Creatures

 

Logo by Candace LeDuc, State Library

Award Winners!

Cindy Pfeiffer, Vision Award; Sheri Roberts, President's Distinguished Library Media Specialist Award

Photo by Marla Lambert

Conference Photos

Feel free to share any photos you have via the listserve or by emailing them to me.

Marla Lambert's Photos

Jack Gantos, Carmaine Ternes

Jeff Kober

KASL Display

Photos provided by Carmaine Ternes; Editing by MHouse

Conference Thanks from Gwen Lehman

Sadly, I was unable to attend most of the Kansas Library Conference this year, but I did get to attend the Friday Luncheon.  Before and after the luncheon, I heard numerous friends and colleagues comment on the great breakout sessions they attended.  Driving home yesterday, I thought about everything that goes into making any conference a success and there are a few people I would like to thank for their efforts on this conference and numerous other conferences in the past and hopefully the future.

 

First, I would like to thank Nancy McFarlin for the job she performed in soliciting presentations from a busy group of people.  Having been in Nancy’s position a couple of years ago, I know first hand the challenge of encouraging and coaxing school librarians to share with their peers.  I don’t think it’s a matter of not wanting to share, but rather the feeling of not having anything valuable to share or maybe even the timidity about presenting to their peers.  As the one responsible for securing presentations, you have to help some people realize they have something valuable to share and that they are capable of sharing.  Once she obtained the presentations, Nancy had the next fun task of scheduling the dates and times for all those presentations.  While this can be a fun logic puzzle trying to spread out the topics and audience types so you are not heavy on elementary or technology during a particular session slot, it is a time consuming task - not one you complete in a single afternoon.

 

Secondly, I would like to thank George Blume for the hours he dedicates in securing our vendors for the Exhibitor Area.  One would think vendors would be banging on the door to have time to visit with the folks who purchase their products, but you have to admit we are a tough crowd.  I know I’ve been guilty of taking freebies from the vendors, but not giving them the time they desire to talk to me about their product.  Somehow though, George manages to convince several of these vendors to come back year after year in an effort to promote and sell their products.  I don’t know how many years George has been filling this position, but I do know it’s longer than I would have survived in that position.  Even though the conference for this year has ended, I know George is diligently sending out thank you notices and trying to secure commitments from the vendors to return again next year.  By January, he will be putting together a new contract for a new venue, figuring the cost of items in an effort to give the vendors the best deal he can while trying to help the conference make a little money.  He will spend time contacting vendors via email, on the phone and even in person.  He will take on the role of a vendor himself in an effort to get them to purchase a spot at our next conference.  The day before the conference begins, George will make sure the exhibitor’s hall is set-up with the correct number of booths, carpet, electrical outlets and any other requested items from the vendors.  During the conference, he will make sure the vendors are happy and encourage those of us at the conference to stop in and see the vendors.  You know, I don’t even know if George ever attends any of the sessions himself when he is working with the vendors.  When the time comes for the vendors to pack up, George is on hand to assist any way he can and to provide a warm “Thanks” to the vendors for their continued support.  Then he starts all over again for the next conference.  Of course, George does have a great set of helping hands in his wife Sheila.  Shelia assists with the tasks to be completed, but more importantly serves as an anchor and soundboard for George.

 

Finally, I would like to thank Barb Bahm for her success as the conference treasurer.  Over the past several years, Barb has handled the financial end of the conference including registration.  Barb assists in making decisions on the conference expenses keeping the rest of the planning committee in check when we talk about spending money.  She’s the sensible voice in the background asking if we really need that added expense or if a more economical solution is available.  She also has the joy, actually a headache in my mind, of receiving and confirming all our registration forms.  She works with our school districts when they send in purchase orders to pay our conference fees and sadly she plays the role of collection agent when our fees haven’t been paid.  She welcomes us at the registration table during the conference.  Like George, I don’t think she attends many sessions at the conference as she continues to assist the conference committee with any tasks to be completed.  You may have seen Barb setting up table displays prior to a luncheon, assisting presenters who were having technical difficulty or collecting our forgotten items so we could retrieve them again before leaving the conference.  Barb’s role as treasurer will not end for several months after conference as she will still be writing checks for conference related expenses and balancing the conference budget - all just in time for the beginning of the next conference planning meeting.

 

I know there are several others who work hard to plan and organize the conference each year, but these three individuals really stood out to me as I worked with them on the planning committee this year.  Thank you George, Barb and Nancy for all your time, commitment and dedication to the members of KASL.

 

Gwen Lehman

KASL Immediate Past President

Bruce Hale

The reluctant reader

10/19/2012

It takes guts to stand in front of an audience of school librarians and tell them you hated books as a child. But that's the way Bruce Hale felt growing up.

"I thought books were boring," he said.

So how did Hale turn out to be a bestselling children's book author with more than 25 published books to his credit? It's there in the title of his keynote speech: "Dream Big: How the Right Books (and Right Librarians) Turned a Reluctant Reader into an Author."

"When I started working on my dream of being an author, I knew it helped to have a home to support that," said Hale, who was raised just outside of Los Angeles. "And for me that was the public library."

Hale, who lives in Santa Barbara, Calif., was the guest speaker Thursday at the Kansas Association of School Librarians statewide conference at the Salina Bicentennial Center.

The conference, which continues today, brought together about 180 elementary, middle and high school librarians from throughout Kansas to attend seminars and workshops dealing with library-oriented subjects ranging from new technology to programming ideas.

"They're given professional development they won't get in their own schools," said Gwen Lehman, president of the Kansas Association of School Librarians. "It's a good opportunity for them to connect with other librarians from around the state, ask questions and see how things work in other districts."

The librarians are joined by members of the Kansas Association for Educational Communications and Technology and the Kansas State Department of Education for the joint conference.

'My best friend was the TV'

Hale writes and illustrates books for young readers that range from picture books to a book series featuring a lizard-like detective called Chet Gecko.

As a small child, Hale said his imagination initially was fed not by books but by television.

"My best friend was the TV," he said.

Hale said that after watching a pirate show, he wanted to be a pirate. That is, until he found he would have to set sail on the ocean and risk seasickness. Then, after watching a western with Clint Eastwood, he decided to be a cowboy.

"But my parents refused to buy me a horse," he said.

Then he saw Kirk Douglas play a dashing gladiator in "Spartacus" and decided the gladiatorial ring was his destiny. When Hale's dad said he might have to fight wild tigers and lions, Hale reconsidered his career path once again.

'Tarzan of the Apes'

Then Hale discovered a book his dad was reading: "Tarzan of the Apes." The classic story of the English nobleman who was raised by apes and became king of the jungle instantly captured Hale's imagination.

"I've said that all it takes to make a reader is the right book at the right time," he said. "The book 'Tarzan' turned me into a reader. Then my dad told me the book was written by Edgar Rice Burroughs. I never knew a real man wrote that book, I thought it came out of a machine.

"After I found that Burroughs had created 'Tarzan' from his imagination, I decided being an author would be a cool job."

Those great librarians

That led Hale to his nearby public library, which, he said, was an old 1920s building that inside smelled like old leather.

"Those great librarians guided me to other books that had a similar adventurous feel as 'Tarzan,' " he said.

From then on, Hale said, libraries and librarians always have had a significant place in his heart.

"Not only do I still use the library, I travel to a lot of libraries to speak," he said. "Authors and librarians are like best buds, because we support each other's work."

-- Reporter Gary Demuth can be reached at 822-1405 or by email at [email protected].

©Salina Journal

Conference Highlights

 

Beverly Buller and John Sheridan






Photos Submitted by Carmaine Ternes

Award Winners

Photos by Carmaine Ternes

KASL KAECT, KSDE Fall Conference 2012 Notes

AASL President Dr. Susan Ballard  [email protected]

Developing the Brand – Taking Charge of Program Identity

www.ala.org/aasl/aboutaasl/aaslgovernance/aaslpres/presidentspage

 

Digital Learning Consultant, Author, Digital Storyteller, and Educator Dr. Wesley Fryer [email protected]

Media Matters – Learn about the iPad Media Camp, Video Games, and More!

http://www.wesfryer.com

 

Author & Illustrator Bruce Hale [email protected]

Story Power: Inside Bruce Hale’s Writing Workhop  http://www.brucehale.com

Librarian Tribute Lyrics http://www.brucehale.com/librarysong.htm  & Song http://youtu.be/lQDaTnUX6NE

 

Author Elizabeth Eulberg  

Take a Bow:  The Publishing Process   http://elizabetheulberg.com/

 

• Amanda Davis  & Cristy Bolton  

iPads, Ideas!  @  http://bvwlmc.libguides.com/kaslipad

 

• Professor David Pownell  & http://leadteachlearn.org

Using the iPad with Bloom’s Taxonomy @ http://you-learning.org/

 

• Lianne Flax  [email protected]

Free eBooks, Technology, and State Library Resources @ http://www.kslib.info/digitalbooks.html

 

• Heather Braum  

Tools for Managing Professional Information Overload

Open Educational Resources and Collaborating with Teachers for Student Success

 

• Abby Cornelius  

Tired of the OMG, LOL, BRB!? Student Communication in the 21^st Century Classroom

http://tiredoftheomg.edublogs.org/

 

• Jennifer Burns I Renaissance Learning  

Common Core State Standards  

Renaissance Authors and Advisors  

New STAR Spanish 

Renaissance Learning   

 

• Professor Noreen Templin 

The Inside-Out Classroom[1]: Vicissitude for Blended Learning

VIEW THE VIDEO: http://youtube/U24B-20EXOk 

As an instructor, I want to engage students in the subject of economics, so I must take a more collaborative approach with the students. The improved technique is to change the class from a traditional lecture class to an interactive blended learning class through the experience of absorb, do, and connect.

A blended learning approach combines face to face classroom methods with computer-mediated activities to form an integrated instructional approach. In the past, digital materials have served in a supplementary role, helping to support face to face instruction.[2]

Turning the classroom inside-out into a blended learning environment entails reorganizing the class structure. The students absorb the material before class, actively engage the concepts in class, and then connect the material after the class.

The traditional lecture format in the classroom now moves outside the classroom to the online environment. In addition to reading the material, he lectures or content portion can be recorded by the instructor. This allows students to have the opportunity to absorb the material prior to class through listening or watching the lecture content online.

Once the pre-work of lecture content has been completed, the classroom time can be used for activities to engage the students.  The best active learning for economics is for students to participate in economic experiments. Experiments necessitate the student to make a decision versus watching a simulation. For example, using supply/demand scenario, the student must make a decision on how much he/she would need to be paid to shave their own head (supply) and what the student would pay to see someone shave their head (demand). With this data, the instructor can derive a graph of these numbers. By having to make a decision, the students have actively engaged in learning supply and demand.

After the class, the work again goes outside where the students must connect the information. This involves application with discussion questions in an online forum or observation short answer questions. In the supply/demand example of shaved heads, the students read the article ““Fake cancer woman starved herself and shaved hair for two years to con friends and family out of thousands dollars”[3] and answer questions on observation and decisions. What dollar amount would you shave your head? Why did you choose that amount? Would you give money to this woman? Why or why not?

The inside-out classroom gives students and the instructor an interactive engaging learning environment by changing the class experience to absorb, do, and connect.

 

[1] Richardson, L. (2012, May). Turning your classroom inside out. NEA Higher Education Advocate, 29(3), 6-9.

[1] http://weblearning.psu.edu/blended-learning-initiative/what_is_blended_learning

[1] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1312245/Woman-admits-faking-cancer-collect-thousands-dollars-charity-donations.html

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 Provided by Carmaine Ternes