Professional Travel Grants for Graduate Students
2014-2015
Refreshing Ideas at the VAASL Conference
10 years
Stacy Hammer and Michelle Sanders
I had the great fortune of attending the Virginia Association of School Librarians conference in Roanoke this year. Needless to say, it was a lovely place to stay for a couple of days, and the conference was certainly educational. But what I loved most were the refreshing takes on the school library and education at every session I attended. Here are just a few:
- Kendra Albright discussed graphic novels written by incarcerated teens to educate other students. “AIDS in the End Zone” was written by a group of incarcerated young men who used their own lives as inspiration to write a graphic novel that could educate student readers about HIV/AIDS. Students who read the graphic novel instead of the CDC material on HIV/AIDS retained significantly more information. This makes me think of two immediate projects for the school library: 1) Be sure to acquire graphic novels that deal with nonfiction issues across the curriculum, and promote them with the staff; and 2) Creating a graphic novel would be a great way to assess students’ ability to synthesize and connect to researched information.
- Having a mock-Caldecott award competition was a great idea provided by Elyse DeQuoy. This would be a great way to ask students to think critically about why they like a particular book or illustration, while introducing them to a wide variety of new books. As a middle school teacher, I could do the same program, but with the Newbery Award.
- Author Kimberly P. Johnson was exactly the kind of presenter that I needed during Saturday’s third session. She said that we would feel rejuvenated after her session, and she was absolutely right. Keeping us on our feet, thinking quickly, and laughing with a variety of games, she reminded us that students need this stimulation to become engaged in their learning, and that it can be applied to the library- or, in fact, any educational setting.
My time at the VAASL conference was definitely well-spent. As well as packing my days full of inspiration and excitement about being a librarian, it was great to share that with my coworkers, professors, and classmates. I look forward to using all of these fresh ideas in my classroom and practical library hours, and eventually in my own library.
VAASL 2014 Conference
10 years
Farmer Minor and his precious pets were a hit in the Exhibitor Hall of the hotel. A good cup of coffee and a doggie kiss first thing in the morning…it doesn’t get much better than that. This was my first stop on a whirlwind journey into The Heart of the School. There were so many things to see and hear I felt at times I needed another set of eyes and ears. It would be hard for me to choose just one thing as my favorite. I came away from EVERY session with new information, ideas and a passion for my job. The sessions were moving and inspiring producing laughter, tears and times of reflection. The gathering of the Longwood alumni was a special time of making new friends. Thanks to all who gave their time, effort and energy to create an atmosphere of friendship, learning and fun. Thank you Longwood for making this journey possible.
Conference Candor
10 years
From the gorgeous weather to learning at least six new digital resources, I thoroughly enjoyed the VAASL conference in Roanoke!
My attendance at the conference had many high points. My favorite session was Project CPR: Bringing Life into Your School. Presenter Catherine Rolfe walked us through how to have the students create Vokis, Wordles/Tagxedo word clouds, Animoto videos, and image editing tools such as Tuxpi. The latter was something that I had not even heard of before. The presenter also shared her own examples of products that she herself made with these websites. I know that our English teachers will find all of these resources useful once I share what I learned with them in my brief visits to their planning meetings.
I also attended a session entitled “Interesting Literature Lessons at the Heart of Technology.” The presenters provided some great examples of how librarians can incorporate technology into lessons focused on fiction works that are taught in middle school, such as Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli. Our school is considering using this book next year for One School, One Book initiative, and I know our students will benefit from the project examples and templates they shared. I loved learning about how to use QR codes to create digital scavenger hunts where students use iPads to scan and answer questions!
From the gorgeous venue to the lovely, fall drive, the entire experience was wonderful! I have to say, my favorite moment, though, was listening to Dr. Church’s speech and seeing her grin in surprise when everyone raised their pink “Team Audrey” signs!! I have so enjoyed taking her super organized, informative classes, and so it was nice to see her relish this opportunity (and to get some recognition!)
VAASL Conference
10 years
![20141106_134208[1]](http://blogs.longwood.edu/gradtravelgrants/files/2014/11/20141106_1342081-e1416165150627-168x300.jpg)
Last week, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Virginia Association of School Librarians annual conference. It was a great learning opportunity for me as a student in the School Librarianship program.
Some of the things that I learned about were elementary library centers, creating a library that supports teachers, and how to better promote my library program. Hearing the keynote speakers was inspirational and really supported many of the things that I already knew about reading. The one point that Dr. Steven Krashen made that will stick with me for many years was the best way to close the achievement gap is to provide greater access to books.
The best part of the conference was the networking opportunities. I got to meet and make connections with librarians from across the state.
VAASL 2014
10 years
One of the best conferences was Top Ten Topics and Trends given by our own Audrey Church, Ph.D. She covered
- Augmented Reality
- Digital Curation
- Evidence-Based Practice
- Genreflectin
- Library Reports
- Makerspaces
- Professional Developmet
- Project based Learning
- Research
- Web
She talked at 90 miles per hour and gave so much information that I wish I had gone to this session twice!
VAASL Conference
10 years
Laura Robinson & Mary Ivory
I’m so happy that I got to experience the VAASL Conference. What a wonderful opportunity for librarians to share with other librarians (and librarians to be)! I attended some really great sessions. First I went to a session presented by Lynne Farrell Stover called The Contemporary School Story: A New Nemesis Appears. I heard this presenter at Longwood over the summer when she shared her lessons on Unspoken by Henry Cole so I knew I would enjoy it. She went through a few books that are now incorporating story lines with testing and data. She handed out lesson plans to go along with the titles she shared. I will be able to do some of these lessons in my own class and I’ll share them with the librarian in my school.
I also attended a session presented by Elizabeth Kyser and Rebecca Schneeberger called Virginia Readers’ Choice – Primary. These two presenters went through the newest list of Virginia Readers’ Choice books and talked about how you can use them in your classroom or library. I learned that the books on this list are not necessarily new. I saw titles that I’ve been using in my classroom for years. Uh, why did I not know that?
Dee Griffith and Marsha Stewart presented a session on Making the 2014 Elementary Connection: What’s New in Children’s Literature. This session was fast paced with book talks on a lot of new books! I feel like since I’m not using different types of technology in the library yet, I wanted to go to sessions on books. This one was perfect! Oh… the wish list of books I want to purchase!
The next session I attended was presented by the one and only Audrey Church – Top Ten Topics and Trends for 2014. I had told myself that I wasn’t going to attend sessions by our professors because they would most likely share this information in our classes at some point. But when I saw the title of this one, I knew Audrey wouldn’t be sharing this in class. This was another fast paced presentation on topics such as augmented reality, digital curation, evidence-based practice, genrefication, library reports, Makerspaces, professional development, project-based learning, and research. Wow! I plan on purchasing a few augmented reality books for my classroom. My students will love them. I also want to learn more about digital curation so I’ll be reading some of the articles Audrey gave us.
On Friday I attended NonFicton StoryTime by Gwen Lantz and Margaret Alger. The pair went through non-fiction books and talked about how they used them in the classroom. I got excited about using non-fiction and learned how to read this type of text to engage kids. The story behind Biblioburro: A True Story from Columbia by Luis Soriano was amazing. He had a library on his donkey!
I went to a session presented by Susan Morris called Reading Together: Parent/Child Book Clubs. She explained how book clubs are a great way to bring kids and parents together to enjoy good books. She went through the steps on how to start a book club and which books she chooses and why. I probably took the most out of this session because it’s something I’m going to do as soon as I get back to school.
I went to a session presented by a very animated Allyson Watkins (I wish she was my teacher/librarian when I was little) called The Math-literature Connection in the Elementary Library. Not only did we learn about good titles to use with math, but also her story about why she had to do so much math in the library was very interesting.
By this point in the day I was happily on information overload and went to relax in my room. The keynote with Stephen Krashen was uplifting, dessert with David Baldacci was very entertaining, and dinner with Neal Shusterman was moving. How lucky for me to be able to experience all this in just a few days! I am so looking forward to the next time we all get together as librarians and learn from one another. Fabulous!
Loving Libraries at VAASL
10 years
Stacy Hammer, Dorathy Winkler, Michelle Sanders
Last weekend I spent some time in lovely Roanoke at the VAASL 2014 Annual Conference at the Hotel Roanoke. Though I enjoyed the town, the shops, the hotel, and the restaurants, it was the conference that I enjoyed most of all. As a library student at Longwood, this conference was an excellent educational experience. Some highlights of the conference included:
- Destination Imagination with Kimberly Johnson- Kimberly shared activities that I was able to use in my classroom on Monday. She is full of energy and shared activities that suit the needs of students who are full of energy. I will be using her strategies now, as a classroom teacher, and in the future as a school librarian.
- AASL Best Websites for Teaching and Learning with Heather Moorefield-Lang – Heather is a great speaker and shared some of the best websites for teaching a learning. I can’t wait to incorporate these websites into teaching and student projects. From creating banners and infographics in canva.com to turning a quote into a masterpiece with recitethis.com, I think I’m going to be keeping myself and my students busy and entertained.
- Take 5 with Krista Hartenbach- Krista shared how she transformed the perception of the school librarian at her school with five minute presentations at every faculty meeting. By providing tips, addressing misconceptions and concerns, and sharing resources, Krista changed the way her school library was viewed and utilized. This was a beneficial session since I’ll be a new librarian at a school in the near future.
I learned so much at the conference that I can apply to life as a librarian, but what so impression was the sense of community and sharing that the conference offered. I’m excited for a future in School Librarianship.
VAHPERD 2014
10 years
My profession is lucky enough to have a state conference, VAHPERD, every year. This conference brings PE and Health professionals from far and wide to share their ideas and new stuff with anyone who wants to hear what they got to say. I’ve attended this conference once before two years ago. In 2012, I traveled with my whole undergrad group, but this year I traveled with my grad program! Although, our group was much smaller we still managed to have a blast! The conference started off with a Longwood Meet and Greet with current students and alumni of our wonderful university. I was able to see two people from my undergrad group who are out in the real world with their teaching jobs. It was great seeing them and hearing about their experiences during their first year of teaching. Later that evening, myself and two other Longwood PHETE people attended a glow in the dark night. We were given the opportunity to play all sorts of games, such as corn hole, kan jam, slam ball, and ladder ball. What made this event even better was that it was in complete darkness and everything was covered in glow sticks. This was a great and fun way to start off the conference weekend. My most memorable experience of this year’s conference was a session that I attended that was all about hula hooping. Now, you’re probably thinking hula hooping is no big deal or I could do it in my sleep. It was actually quite the opposite. The presenters were doing things with hula hoops that I have never seen before and they showed us how to make hula hooping fun for all ages! The energy during their presentation was infectious; it just made you want to get up, participate, and laugh while doing so. I’m extremely grateful that I had the opportunity to attend VAHPERD this year. I look forward to attending VAHPERD in years to come as a LONGWOOD ALUMNI!!
VAHPERD Annual State Convention
10 years
During the VAHPERD Convention I was exposed to so many new possibilities to incorporate in my future classroom. I learned new and exciting games called speedminton, tchoukball, and spikeball. These games allow all students to participate at once in a classroom with few equipment pieces. I know if i thoroughly enjoyed these three activities my students will too. In addition to learning new and exciting activities, I also was able to attend two sessions with the sports physiologist from Duke University who gave me great insight on how to coach. I plan to coach baseball on the high school level along with teaching health and physical education and from this session I learned the importance of how to become an efficient. effective, and respected coach. Lastly, during my weekend at the VAHPERD Convention, I attend a few adaptive physical education sessions that really gave me a hands on perspective of how students perform task in a classroom with certain disabilities. I highly respect all adaptive physical education teachers for what they do and really believe those two sessions will allow me to reach the needs of all students in my classroom by incorporating inclusion into my future classroom.
Joshua Barmoy
VAASL Conference
10 years
Had a great time at my first conference, and was happy to sit in on informative sessions that are relevant to what I am doing with my library. Heather Moorefield-Lang demonstrated some of AASL’s best websites and made me want to rush home just to try them out. Of course they don’t seem quite as easy as when she demo’d them, but after a bit of practice I’ll get it. I heard about popular books for middle school students, how to flip the library so students are more self-sufficient and how to use a program to track library usage (LibraryTrac). Knowing how important data is these days, having numbers to back-up why and how often the library is being used is a good way to show school administrators that libraries truly are the heart of the school.