Several GSLIS students and alumni presented at a series of mini-conferences held by the Illinois School Library Media Association over the past month.
The following presentations and workshops were given on April 20 at Westfield Middle School in Bloomingdale, Illinois:
"More Than Just a Handsome Face: Male Protagonists in YA Literature and Their Struggles with Body Issues"
Leanne Brown (master's student)
This presentation provided a comprehensive, thematic list of young adult fiction and nonfiction that feature a male protagonist who has some type of physical struggle—a speech impediment, a birth defect, or weight issues, etc.
"Tumblring Storytelling"
Mary Dubbs (master's student)
Tumblr can be used to collect and organize storytelling ideas and experiences, as well as connect with other relevant storytelling Tumblrs for inspiration and networking. This presentation was based on a final project for a storytelling course: http://minnestory.tumblr.com/.
"Exploring Anti-racism in School Libraries: Contributions and Gaps"
Miriam Larson (M.S. ’12; C.A.S. student)
During this workshop, participants examined existing scholarship about racism in librarianship and then looked at several scenarios and discussed how librarians might play a role in working towards racial justice. This workshop was based on Larson’s masters’ thesis project.
"Using Visual Primary Sources"
Jeanné Lohfink (M.S. ’00)
This workshop taught participants how to utilize an analysis tool created by the Library of Congress, learn two ideas on how to bring primary sources that use pictures into the classroom, and where to find them.
The following presentations and workshops were given on April 27 at Charleston High School in Charleston, Illinois:
"Maximizing the Monarch"
Peggy Burton (MS ’03) and Jennifer Muzzy
Burton and Muzzy announced the 2014 nominated titles for the annual Monarch Award list. Concrete activities to tie books to genres, author studies, the Common Core and more were also presented.
"Pin It! Mark It! Tag It!"
Gretchen Zaitzeff (master's student)
This presentation examined social bookmarking sites like Pinterest, Delicious, and Diigo and strategies to help students enhance their personal and academic research.
"Reeling for Literature: A Media Specialist Teaching How to Watch Films in Class"
Anna McClellan (master's student)
In this workshop, participants learned the basics of educating students on film techniques. By having students analyze lighting, angles, and framing as they watch, an educator can combine critical thinking skills with the students’ interests in multimedia.
"What's Happening in the Library?!!?"
Gretchen Zaitzeff (master's student) and Latrice Ferguson
5 BIG programming ideas—one for each day of the week—to draw students and faculty into the library were presented.