Tag Archives: Event

Academic, General, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

ALA Digital Literacy Series

News from the ALA Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP)….

“Our digital literacy task force is planning two virtual conversations around libraries and digital literacy.  Because we’re hoping to reach a wide audience, I wanted to share the blog post which describes the programs and a save the date email that we are sending out.  If you have colleagues in your networks that might be interested we would very much appreciate your help in getting the word out”

The series will explore the role of libraries in supporting and deepening digital literacy skills development for students, the general public and colleagues in other professions.

November 14: Creating a Culture of Learning: How Librarians Keep up with Digital Media and Technology

December 11: Assessing Digital Literacy: Outcomes and Impact

This looks fairly interesting, and it sounds like a Google Hangout will even be utilized for some of the programming!  Get all the necessary details including registration information  at http://tinyurl.com/8azwp6z

General, School Media Specialist

Green Schools Workshop

Presented by the Minnesota Department of Education, please join us for regional Green School Workshops for K-12 administrators, staff, teachers and anyone else interested in making schools more healthy, efficient, and effective.

Workshops will be held at Minnesota’s 2012 Green Ribbon Schools National Award Winners, and in our Central MN region, that is:

  • Kennedy Community School, Monday, October 29th in St. Joseph

See first-hand the benefits of green schools and learn about resources available in the areas of green buildings and energy, health and safety and environmental education.

Cost: Free. Clock hour certificates available.

Designed for school teachers, administrators, school business officials, buildings and grounds staff, school board members, informal educators, environmental groups, parent and community volunteers, legislators and local officials and anyone else that has an interest in making their school more green.

Delivered by green school experts, participants in the workshops will:

  1. –          identify ideas, resources, mentors and support in their efforts to implement green school initiatives
  2. –          learn about the Green Ribbon Schools (GRS) program, including the benefits of green schools and the three pillars of the program: Pillar One – reduce environmental impacts and costs, Pillar Two – improve the health and wellness of students and staff, and Pillar Three – provide effective environmental and sustainability education
  3. –          see Minnesota’s 2012 Green Ribbon Schools National Winners and hear from staff and students

The following agenda is planned for each workshop:

–          3 p.m. – Registration and exhibits open

–          3:30 p.m. – Welcome and Overview of Green Schools – GRS process and pillars, hear from 2012 GRS national winners

–          4 p.m. – Break-out sessions and school tours

–          5 p.m. – Exhibits and networking

–          6 p.m. – The End

Please register by sending an e-mail to Terry Alvarado at terry.alvarado@state.mn.us with the following information: Date and location of workshop attending, name of participant, school, position, e-mail and phone number.

For more information, please contact Jeff Ledermann at jeff.ledermann@state.mn.us or 651-582-8602.

Academic, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

October Library Events/Webinars

Free Library Webinars–October2012, http://webjunctionworks.org/mn/blog/?p=1075
Through the efforts of colleagues around the country, here is a compilation of free or low-cost online webinars relevant to libraries and staff at all levels from various sources.  Many of the webinars will be archived, so check the relevant site later if you can’t attend the live online event. If you have additions to the list of free webinars or the Minnesota calendar of events, add them to the comments field or let me know!
                ***38 free webinar opportunities in the list for this month!
 
 
 
Additional Learning Opportunities for the Minnesota Library Community:
·         For Minnesota-sponsored events, live and online, visit the Minnesota Library Community Calendar of Events (format change underway–stayed tuned), the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits Event Calendar, and the Minitex Event Calendar.
·         For lists of past “Free Library Webinars”, visit this search link at BlogJunction Minnesota,
·         For free, self-paced courses, sign in on the WebJunction Courses page, or Request WebJunction Course Accessto obtain an account, and then select from the course catalog. Without signing in, anyone can glance at the course catalog preview.
 
 
 
Special Events & Conferences:
·         Minnesota Library Association Conference, St. Paul (October 3-5), http://mnlibraryassociation.org/mlaconference2012/
·         Midwest Chapter, Medical Library Association, Rochester (October 6-8), http://blog.lib.umn.edu/lmcguire/hslm/2012/08/dont_miss_the_deadline_to_regi.html
·         Use your influence! Crafting your message to achieve awareness & support (October 9)
·         MEMO Conference, St. Cloud (October 11-13), http://memotech.ning.com/page/2012-fall-conference
·         Libraries and Access to Justice Webinar Series (September 13, 27; October 11; November 1) http://www.probono.net/librarywebinars/
·         LawHelpMN offers free, live, on-site legal information training sessions (Fall 2012),
·         MCCLL Annual Conference for Public Library & County Law Library Staff, St. Paul (October 26), http://webjunction.org/news/minnesota/article3.html
 
 
 
 
 
 
Mary Ann Van Cura
Library Development & Continuing Education Coordinator
State Library Services – D36
1500 Highway 36 West
Roseville, MN 55113
651-582-8632 voice   651-582-8752 fax
Public, School Media Specialist

Help With History Day Projects

 
Our friends at Minitex have been hard at work to create more History Day assistance. Check it out….
 
 
September 28, 2012
New Site to Support History Day Research in Minnesota
A growing number of middle and high school teachers across the state are leading their students through National History Day projects. National History Day is an extended student research project based around a yearly theme. Students choose a topic of interest to them related to the theme and conduct detailed research on that topic throughout the semester or school year. It’s a wonderful program that teaches students how to be good researchers and imparts important skills they will use in school, college, and throughout their lives.
Minitex Reference Outreach & Instruction has just created a new tool to support and guide students (and their teachers) throughout the History Day research process. Find the History Day Research in Minnesota website at https://z.umn.edu/historydayresearch.
History Day Research in Minnesota will walk students through the process of researching History Day projects. It provides guidance for the research process and recommends research sources available to Minnesota residents, including the Electronic Library for Minnesota (ELM).
The site is divided into six sections which can be viewed in chronological order or individually.
·         Understanding the Theme
·         Choosing & Narrowing a Topic
·         Background & Context
·         Gathering Sources
·         Bibliography
Use this site to help History Day students that you work with or share it with your teacher colleagues. History Day provides an opportunity to showcase the excitement of research, the importance of information literacy, and all that Minnesota libraries have to offer.
 
©2012 by the Regents of the University of Minnesota, University Libraries. The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.
Academic, Public, School Media Specialist, Special

E-Books Programming

Last Friday, I attended a virtual conference  called eBooks: Benefits, Challenges, and the Future.  The event was produced by Seflin, one of the multitype organizations  in Florida. The programming was just excellent and included big names like: Stephen Abram (Gale-Cengage Learning), Chad Mairn (Novare Library Services), Nik Osborne, J.D. (Indiana University), Jamie LaRue (Douglas County Libraries, CO), and Sue Polanka (Wright State University). If you don’t follow these people online, you should consider doing so. These people are doing the deep thinking and hard questioning about the current and  future state of e-books. What I appreciated most about the content was that it was a good mix of big picture thinking along with the down and dirty details of file formats, devices, and contract details too. We need it all!

I am hearing of interest in the Central MN region for programming around e-books, which we would like to provide in early winter. The challenge of such programming is finding the proper balance to meet the greatest need. Watch for more details and be prepared to respond to questions about your ebook needs.

As society conditions us to respond to the eight second sound bites, how do we slow ourselves down enough to still do the necessary deep thinking? Are we truly being reflective in our practice? I don’t know about you, but I am working on it, one day at a time!