Musings, PD Courses, and Applying to Present at Conferences

Musings

What a sad, frightening, and demoralizing few weeks we have experienced. Our democratic process was challenged by insurrection and intimidation. Members of Congress questioned valid ballot verification, and insurgents terrorized the House and Senate. Conversely, we also witnessed members of both the democratic and republican parties unite in condemning the insurrection and confirming Biden’s victory. Many members in the House and Senate soundly condemned the malcontents that stormed the capital. Media literacy lessons are extremely important now, so we can help students make sense of this turmoil. Thank you, David for sharing Media Literacy lesson ideas last week.

Professional Development

There are so many wonderful Professional Development opportunities available to help us update our curriculum. Last summer, I participated in a three-week course through KQED/PBS that focused on new techniques for teaching some areas of media literacy, such as: lateral reading for resource evaluation, reliability, bias, media production, evaluating images, and more. Evaluating data and images with Javin West was probably my favorite section of the course. KQED offers Media Literacy PD courses throughout the year. Their instruction focuses on helping you create curriculum.

Professional Development courses can help us stay current, and abreast of the latest education and library research and techniques.

Conference Applications

We can share our knowledge we glean from Professional Development by providing PD for others through speaking at conferences and writing articles.

This year, I was on the ALA summer conference committee as a conference program reviewer. I graded conference applications using a reviewer’s rubric. There are a few suggestions/observations I would like to share with you.

  1. Have someone check your work.
    1. Members of the publication committee are available to help you proof and critique your application.
  2. Check you work for grammar, punctuation, and spelling mistakes.
    1. These types of mistakes will affect your grading on the reviewer’s report.
  3. Read the directions for each section “carefully,” before filling in the required information.
    1. For instance: Writing about how great your presentation content is doesn’t address how your presentation will benefit others. 
    2. Or, If you have chosen curriculum as a category, focus on how your idea will fit in the school or library curriculum. Provide examples of lesson plans, or curriculum collaboration.
  4. List your qualifications to present with the topic in mind.
    1. If you are presenting on distance learning list your experiences/expertise with distance learning.
      1. Example: I have been teaching online classes since March 2020 and have been attending courses through Explo Elevate and KQED on distance learning teaching techniques and strategies.
  5. Include specific examples about how you will interact with the audience
    1. Conferences are looking for presentations that will be engaging, and interactive.
      1. Plan an activity that supports the presentation concept.
      2. Mention current tools and techniques.
        1. Provide time to let the audience experience these current items.
  6. Is your proposal creative and innovative?
    1. You are unique, and your presentation should reflect how you uniquely apply the topic in your classroom curriculum, PD for teachers, etc.
    2. Do a little research before you apply to present.
      1. Look at what other schools are doing.
      2. List how your approach is unique and innovative.

Don’t hesitate to contact publication committee members. We want to help you with your writing and presentations.

The Publications Committee Members

Debbie Abilock dabilock@gmail.com

Tasha Bergson-Michelson tbergsonmichelson@castilleja.org

Sarah Davis Sarah.Davis@viewpoint.org

Christina Karvounis KarvounisC@Bolles.org

Cathy Leverkus cathyl@thewillows.org

Alyssa Mandel amandel@oda.edu

Writing Articles for the Other Areas of Expertise We Love

As librarians, we wear many hats including reading specialist, makerspace instructor, technology teacher, information specialist and social justice adviser. Share your lessons and expertise in journals targeted  for educators, collaborators, makerspace mavens,  technology teachers, humanities instructors, or any other fields you enjoy teaching, or researching.  

Always read one or more issues before you start the application process. When you write for an audience other than school librarians, recognize that the more you can “speak” their language and reflect their goals, the better your communication will be. Don’t forget to list your AISL membership in your biographical information.

 If your favorite journals aren’t in this list, you can look on their websites. A link to the writing submission instructions can often be found on the homepage. 

Are you attending AISL Houston? Come visit the The Publication Group Table Talk.  Wednesday April 1, 2020 1:00pm – 2:45pm Herman Park & Houston Zoo. We will be available to help you with articles and conference applications. 

Open your favorite journal link below and read the guidelines for writers. Periodicals like Educational Leadership list upcoming themes. Others, like Literacy Today, want you to submit a proposal before you write.

Instructions for Submitting Articles

ACCESSPOINTS (ATLIS – Association of Technology Leaders in Independent Schools)

Educational Leadership  (ASCD – Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development)

Independent School (NAIS – National Association of Independent Schools)

Independent Ideas Blog (NAIS Blog)

ISTE Publications (International Society for Teaching Technology in Education)

Kappan Magazine (Journal for Educators, members of Phi Delta Kappa)

Literacy Today (International Literacy Association membership magazine)

Teaching Tolerance (social justice teaching and anti-bias topics)

The Publication Group members are available to help you write proposals, refine topics, observe, brainstorm, organize, synthesize, and edit your writing. We look forward to hearing from you.

Debbie Abilock: dabilock@gmail.com

Tasha Bergson-Michelson: tbergsonmichelson@castilleja.org

Christina Karvounis: KarvounisC@Bolles.org

Sara Kelley-Mudie: sara.kelleymudie@gmail.com

Cathy Leverkus: cathyl@thewillows.org

Alyssa Mandel: amandel@oda.edu

Nora Murphy: NMurphy@fsha.org

Professional Journals Need You!

Professional Journals can not operate without authors writing articles. Share your talents. Each AISL conference, webinar, and institute introduces us to creative ideas from our members about social justice, information literacy, scope & sequence, collaboration, source literacy, project-based research, and myriad other unique topics. All of this useful information can be shared with other librarians, administrators, and faculty through journal articles. It is time to write about what you present. Share your knowledge with a wider audience.

Last spring the Publications Group wrote the blog Write for Your Favorite Professional Journal, which listed 14 different journals with hyperlinks to author guidelines. We would like to focus on a few publications listed in that blog and provide information about these periodicals and their writing guidelines. Journals are always looking for new material and are excited to hear from professionals that have not written articles previously.

Look at the publications and check their topic calendars for any subjects that you are interested in writing about. Check for submission deadlines. Deadlines for submitting articles are set long before the publication date.

Right now, NAIS is advertising for articles to be published in the Spring issue of Independent School. Information about submitting an article for this issue can be found at Reimagining Schools: From the Physical to the Philosophical. The application deadline is October 1, 2018. Have any of you recently renovated your library, or changed from a library to a learning common, learning research center, library makerspace, etc.? You should write about the experience for Independent School.  The Manuscript Submission Guidelines  list the rest of the themes for the year and author guidelines.

Teacher Librarian does not publish a list of topics for each publication. They do list the most popular subjects published by the journal: “learning commons, digital and multiple literacies, reading, professional collaboration, professional development, teaching and curriculum ideas, and makerspaces.” This is not an exclusive list. Teacher Librarian Submission Guidelines mention that the articles submitted for publication are, “more in-depth articles supported by research, personal practice and experience.”

School Library Connection Article Submission Guidelines is a thorough 9-page document, which does cover: illustration permission, writing style, grammar rules, etc.  The publishing Calendar lists themes for every issue. Some examples of themes from the publishing calendar are October 2018 “For Art’s Sake: Your New Best Collaborators,” November/December 2018 “We ♥Lit.”

Teaching Tolerance publishes three magazines a year and also publishes short articles on its website weekly. Librarians have presented at AISL conferences and Institutes on social justice, diversity, integration, and inclusion. These topics could be articles for the Teaching Tolerance website or magazine. Author guidelines are listed at Writing for Teaching Tolerance.

International Literacy association publishes The Reading Teacher, Reading Research Quarterly and Literacy Magazine. Each publication has a different focus. Literacy Magazine is a bi-monthly magazine that describes members accomplishments, instructional ideas, and reports on current topics, while focusing on personal teacher experiences. The Reading Teacher publishes evidence-based teaching tips and lessons. Reading Research Quarterly prints the latest research studies on reading. The International Literacy Journal Author Guidelines provide directions for  authors interested in writing articles for any of these three publications.

AISL has a cadre of gifted and talented librarians. Write for these publications, so that the world of education can benefit from your expertise. The publication group is available to  help you with the writing process.

The Publication Group
Debbie Abilock: dabilock@gmail.com
Tasha Bergson-Michelson: tbergsonmichelson@castilleja.org
Dorcas Hand: handd51@tekkmail.com
Christina Karvounis: KarvounisC@Bolles.org
Sara Kelley-Mudie: sara.kelleymudie@gmail.com
Cathy Leverkus: cathyl@thewillows.org
Darla Magana: Darla.Magana@smes.org
Nora Murphy: NMurphy@fsha.org

 

Write for Your Favorite Professional Journal

Is there a particular journal that you really enjoy reading? Your favorite journals are always looking for writers. Why not write an article, on a topic that you are passionate about, for that special publication?

AISL bloggers explore current library topics, entertaining lessons, intriguing displays, research, etc. Bloggers, you might want to turn one of your blog posts into a journal article. We have compiled a list of publications and their writing requirements, plus an article, Writing for Teacher Librarian: A Guide to the Process, which is an excellent resource to read before submitting your work to any journal.

Open your favorite journal link below, and read the submission instructions. For periodicals like Educational Leadership that describe upcoming themes, select one for which you can make a case for your expertise and a unique point of view.  Others, like Literacy Today, want you to submit a proposal before you write.

Always read one or more issues before you start the process.  When you write for an audience other than school libraries, recognize that the more you can “speak” their language and reflect their goals, the better your communication will be.

Instructions for Submitting Articles

ACCESSPOINTS(ATLIS – Association of Technology Leaders in Independent Schools)

Educational Leadership  (ASCD – Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development)

Independent School (NAIS – National Association of Independent Schools)

Independent Ideas Blog (NAIS Blog)

ISTE Publications (International Society for Teaching Technology in Education)

Kappan Magazine (Journal for Educators, members of Phi Delta Kappa)

Knowledge Quest (AASL)

Knowledge Quest Blog

Literacy Today (International Literacy Association membership magazine)

Rethinking Schools (social justice teaching and educational policy)

School Library Connection

School Library Journal

Teacher Librarian

Teaching Tolerance (social justice teaching and anti-bias topics)

The Publication Group members are available to help you observe, brainstorm, organize, synthesize, and edit your writing. Or, in design thinking terms we can help inspire, ideate, and implement your ideas. We look forward to hearing from you.

Don’t forget to list your AISL membership in your biographical information.

Our next blog post will discuss Editorial Calendars for the different journals.

 

Debbie Abilock: dabilock@gmail.com

Tasha Bergson-Michelson: tbergsonmichelson@castilleja.org

Dorcas Hand: handd51@tekkmail.com

Christina Karvounis: KarvounisC@Bolles.org

Sara Kelley-Mudie: sara.kelleymudie@gmail.com

Cathy Leverkus: cathyl@thewillows.org

Nora Murphy: NMurphy@fsha.org

Publications Group, Conferences and You

You have expertise. Yes, you! And there are librarians and classroom teachers out there who want to learn from you.  Perhaps you’ve considered writing a proposal to present at a conference. There’s a support group for that!

Similar to an author’s critique group, the Publications Group is here to help you as little or as much as you feel you need. We would like to encourage you to share your learning journey. The delightful surprise is that, by sharing, you have another opportunity to reflect on and learn from your practice.

Here are some steps to begin your conference presentation proposal:

  • Brainstorm topic ideas
    • What are you truly passionate about? What have you been thinking about or researching?  Chances are this will point to the expertise you can share with colleagues.
    • What conferences are you interested in attending in the next 24 months? If you have attended the conference before, what topic choices work based on the audience and speakers you’ve heard in the past?  If the topic is new, look at the previous year’s schedule and speaker presentations online to find similar presentations.
    • Brainstorm how you can express your idea so it dovetails with the conference theme. Just tweaking the title to tie-in with the theme can be important.
    • Adult audiences, just like students, like to be engaged and challenged.  What mini-inquiry questions or activities might serve your topic well?
  • Plan your application
    • Read requirements. Make connections between your topic idea and the call for proposals. Make sure that your content and format fits with the conference format.
    • Pay attention to deadlines. Proposals are due long before the conference happens, often several months to a year or more.
    •  A good title can organize our thinking about the presentation.  Sometimes when gathering resources the big picture emerges.
  • Write a focused, action oriented proposal (“Writing a Winning Conference Proposal”)

Here are some organizations that would benefit from your expertise at their conferences.

NAIS

AASL

NCTE

NSTA

ASCD

ATLIS

Don’t forget your State Association!

As you research possible venues for your idea(s), please feel free to reach out to one or all of us to help you refine ideas, review proposals, or simply discuss the process.

Debbie Abilock: dabilock@gmail.com

Tasha Bergson-Michelson: tbergsonmichelson@castilleja.org

Dorcas Hand: handd51@tekkmail.com

Christina Karvounis: KarvounisC@Bolles.org

Sara Kelley-Mudie: sara.kelleymudie@gmail.com

Cathy Leverkus: cathyl@thewillows.org

Nora Murphy: NMurphy@fsha.org

 

The Publication Group

 

AISL Publications Group

AISL Publications Group is a subcommittee of the AISL Board Communications Committee. The members of the AISL Publications Group are available to assist any members that are interested in creating a blog, writing for professional publications, applying to speak at conferences, or writing a book. If you are interested in any of these activities, feel free to contact one of the Publication Group members for help.

A recent AISL blog mentioned the number of private schools that are members of NAIS and the member count at AISL. One way we might be able to encourage more independent school librarians to join AISL is to write an article for Independent School the NAIS magazine.

Publications Group Expertise:

Debbie Abilock, School Library Connection columnist, speaker and education consultant, is the co-founder of NoodleTools, a teaching platform for student research. Recently she has been “noodling” on how to evaluate government information, why to teach data-rich infographics and when to collaborate with teachers using AASL’s new framework.
Contact: dabilock@gmail.com

• Matching your ideas to publishing venues
• Feedback on writing content

Tasha Bergson-Michelson is the Instructional and Programming Librarian at Castilleja School. Tasha presents at a variety of library-and education-related conferences on topics like data literacy, imagining sources, and engaging with news sources, with a preference for discussing targeted instructional strategies. She was a guest editor for Knowledge Quest and has also written articles for other library journals.
Contact: tbergsonmichelson@castilleja.org

• Writing conference session descriptions and proposals
• Planning conference sessions
• Brainstorming topics
• Editing feedback

Dorcas Hand has written articles for School Library Connection and Knowledge Quest, which will be published in Jan/Feb 2018 – as well as articles for non-library outlets including Independent School Magazine. She edits the TASLTalks blog (tasltalks.blogspot.com), and has practice editing all kinds of professional pieces. She also manages Students Need Libraries in HISD in support of local public schools, advocacy IRL. Personal Website: Strong School Libraries.
Contact: handd51@tekkmail.com

• Blogging
• Topic ideas
• Editing

Christina Karvounis has presented to her faculty on a range of topics relating to creating classroom blogs, writing for teaching publications and preparing documents for conferences. Publishing an article and/or presenting at a conference are in her 3 year goals.
Contact: KarvounisC@Bolles.org

• Brainstorming topics or flows
• Finding the right venue for your piece/research
• Editing content
• Blogging in all iterations

Sara Kelley-Mudie has worked at both boarding and day schools, and is currently the Director of Southworth Library at Thayer Academy. She has written articles for library journals and presented on creating collaborative relationships with faculty, question development, and ideas for sparking inquiry.
Contact: sara.kelleymudie@gmail.com

• Brainstorming topics
• Editing feedback
• Crafting presentations and slide decks

Cathy Leverkus is Director of Library Services at The Willows Community School and a member of AASL’s Publications Advisory Group. She coauthored the book Ebooks and the School Library Program: A Practical Guide for the School Librarian with Shannon Acedo. Cathy has written articles for library journals, and recently presented at AASL on collaboration.
Contact: cathyl@thewillows.org

•  Exploring the latest journal topic requests
• Brainstorming book ideas
• Finding book publishers

Nora Murphy, Librarian at Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, has recently presented on source literacy, the topic selection process, and using video blogs as a way for students to report research results. She has also written articles for library journals.
Contact: NMurphy@fsha.org

• Feedback on writing content
• Pre-writing/planning strategies
• Collaborative writing strategies
• Video Blogs

The AISL Publications Group looks forward to serving you.