Professional Travel Grants for Graduate Students
School Librarianship
A Student’s Experience at the VAASL Annual Conference
10 years
I had such a wonderful time at the VAASL Annual Conference! This was the first school librarianship conference I’ve ever attended and I am so excited to come back next year!
Although I was only able to attend for one day, I got to experience all the best that the conference had to offer. I sat in on informative concurrent sessions hosted by some of the field’s best and brightest (AASL Best Websites for Teaching and Learning with Heather Moorefield-Lang, Making the 2014 Elementary Connection: What’s New in Children’s Literature with Dee Griffith and Marsha Stewart, and Top Ten Topics and Trends for 2014 with Audrey Church). I spent time and made memories with my peers from the Loudoun cohort, perused the vendor hall, met up with my former library mentor Dee Griffith (here’s a picture of us from when I was in high school), laughed and ate more than my share of delicious deserts at the reception with David Baldacci, and was duly impressed by the overwhelming support for Audrey Church’s candidacy from the over 140 Longwood University alumni on Thursday night.
Most importantly, I felt validated that school librarianship is exactly what I want to do and where I belong. I truly felt like a member of not just a community of librarians all working toward the same goal, but a family. Everyone was so welcoming to a librarian student like me and I couldn’t be more grateful for helping to making this an unforgettable experience. (:
Brittany Biesecker (School Librarianship Program – Longwood University)
VAASL Annual Conference November 6 – 8, 2014
10 years
The Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center in Roanoke, Virginia was a great location for the annual Virginia Association of School Librarians conference. The hotel provided the space necessary for all the wonderful sessions and participants. There were so many presentations offered that I could not attend them all. The highlights of my trip included the Keynote speakers, Stephen Krashen and Paige Jaeger, both of whom I enjoyed so much that I attended their concurrent sessions. I was pleased to listen to Neal Shusterman discuss his novels, writing and favorite authors. Paul Barron taught valuable Google search methods, and librarians and teachers shared classroom ideas – many of which I will be able to incorporate into my own curriculum. The first timers breakfast was a treat, as were all the door prizes. The VAASL Annual Conference is definitely not to be missed!
Daisy, The Reading Pig, at VAASL
10 years
As a first timer at the VAASL 2014 Annual Conference in Roanoke, I was surrounded by my two favorite things: books and people that love books! I was shocked to discover that there was even a pig, a male pig, named Daisy, who loved sharing the joy of reading with kids. Farmer Minor, Daisy’s friend, was such a pleasure to talk to and I loved meeting his Pug Puppies and Daisy. Check out all of the great things Farmer Minor does at this site: http://daisyminor.com As you can tell from the tense smile in my picture, I was a little nervous about being so close to Daisy: not only was he sticking his tongue out at me, but he also gave a very angry sounding grunt just as the picture was snapped. No worries, Daisy just didn’t feel like being hugged and was letting me know it. I learned so much at the conference. I have already gotten my 6th grade English students hooked on Neal Shusterman’s book, Unwind. I have shared great presentation sites with my PLC from the “For the Love of Technology” session that I attended. My PLC and I will be using these sites for our PBL. I really enjoyed this conference and will try to attend again next year.
Librarian Conference 2014
10 years
Wow…I learned so much at the conference! I am really glad I was able to attend. Some of my favorite sessions were The Top 25 New Websites…the bookmark is a great tool. I will be making copies to give out at my next Department Meeting. I was able to share the Makerspace information with my librarian. The Art teachers in my building also have 3-D printers…they are so excited to get the information from the Makerspace Build it Will They Come? session. I also enjoyed the Dinner on Friday evening. The keynote speaker Neil S. was very interesting. I loved hearing his story about being the kid who was always in the hallway at school…One of my favorite speakers was Kimberly Johnson…she was fabulous….so full of energy and wonderful ideas for getting students involved with learning through so many different techniques. I am taking away a wealth of knowledge that will help me now and in the future.
VAASL 2014 Annual Conference
10 years
Mary Ivory with author Neal Shusterman
I attended the VAASL Annual Conference in Roanoke, VA from November 6-8, 2014. This was my first experience at a conference for librarians; however I have attended state conferences for middle school educators in the past.
After registering, I immediately began pouring over the conference guide to select the sessions to attend. There were so many great choices and I appreciated that many were offered more than once so that I could balance out a schedule. It was difficult making some of the choices because there was so much being offered that I could see being useful in my classroom now, and to keep in mind for my future role as a librarian. The best session that I attended was Middle School Medley presented by Dawn Farrell and Alicia Garbelman from Lake Ridge Middle School in Woodbridge, VA. I can see many possibilities for using what they presented right now as a classroom teacher and in the future as a librarian. Other great sessions included: 150 Best Websites Selected by AASL, Using Twitter in Your Library, Using Pinterest As a Tool for Organization in Your Library, and The Contemporary School Story which was about using different novels with students that relate to some sort of standardized testing in schools and how the characters handle taking those tests.
The opportunity to meet authors David Baldacci, Neal Shusterman, and Kimberly P. Johnson were high on my list of things to do. I am so glad that I signed up for these special events with these talented individuals.
I am so glad that I had the opportunity to attend this conference and I am looking forward to attending again next year!
School Librarians Rock!
10 years
I recently returned home from a weekend full of knowledge, great people, and inspiring ideas! I attended the VAASL Fall Conference in Roanoke from Thursday to Saturday, November 6-8. While at the conference, I leaned more about planning family reading nights, creating makerspaces in the library, current technology tools to use in the classroom and in the library, and top trends and topics related to libraries for the current year. I gained so many ideas for how to make my future library an exciting place where students learn to be critical thinkers and enjoy reading. Not only did this conference provide me with new knowledge and new ideas, but it instilled in me the desire to enhance every aspect of my library.
In the attached picture, we are posing with Daisy the pig who’s motto is to “pig-out on reading!”
VAASL Conference
10 years
Thank you for the opportunity to travel to Roanoke for the Virginia Association of School Librarians (VAASL) Annual Conference on November 8, 2014! It was a wonderful experience that included networking and informative concurrent sessions. I left with many ideas that will help me in my graduate classes and in the future as a school librarian. Some highlights of my trip were: acquiring several engaging 1st – 5th grade lessons to teach in collaboration with teachers; learning how to incorporate Web 2.0 tools such as bighugelabs.com, narrable.com, and animoto.com into lessons to make them interactive and fun; obtaining ideas for collaborating with classroom teachers; and learning how to have successful library-sponsored reading programs. I enjoyed seeing my Longwood professors and classmates, and meeting many school librarians who obtained their degrees from Longwood! I’m looking forward to attending again next year and many years to come!
VAASL Conference
10 years
Jenny Larson and author David Baldacci
I attended the VAASL conference on November 6th and 7th. This was my first state conference. From breakfast with other first-timers to dessert with David Baldacci, I enjoyed every minute of it. I found the presenters and attendees to be a happy, supportive, creative group of women (and a few men.) It makes me eager to be part of the “librarian club.” The conference was well organized and I was impressed with the quality of the sessions. I learned about taking literacy beyond the library walls, makerspaces, using nonfiction for story time, parent/child book clubs, using iPads in the library, library volunteer programs and more. There were so many sessions available, it was hard to choose! I feel I have acquired a wealth of knowledge and resources to support me in my future library.
VAASL Annual Conference in Roanoke, VA – November 6 – 8, 2014
10 years
I had a wonderful time attending my first VAASL Conference in Roanoke, VA from November 6-8, 2014. I acquired a great wealth of knowledge that I intend to share with teachers and students. As I listened and gathered information at the conference sessions, I was often reminded of my role and the contributions that I can make to the school-wide community. After attending the conference I will continue to take risks, be creative, and think outside of the box to help students be successful as they move through my school. Some of my conference session highlights are the following:
Bring on the Tech Tools – I learned about Animoto, Jing, Weebly, and eduCanon. These sites allow students and teachers to create book trailers, math journals with maps & artifacts, websites, and interactive videos.
Take 5 – I learned how 5 minutes of text, tips, and technology shared with teachers at faculty meetings can revolutionize your library program.
Making the 2014 Elementary Connection: What’s New in Children’s Literature that Correlates with the K-5 SOLs? – I learned about 2014 children’s book titles and their curricular connection to the VA SOLs. There are many new titles that I plan to purchase and add to my library collection that teachers can begin utilizing immediately.
For the Love of Technology – I learned about many tech tools including Haiku Deck and Prezi, presentation tools; Thinglink, a tool that brings images to life; Powtoon, a tool for presenting animated videos and presentations; SLIPP, a content messaging app for iPhone users at can be used for reminders, upcoming events, and review of materials; and Blogger, a free tool from Google that allows users to create blogs.
Family Reading Night: From Hot Mess to Sweet Success – I learned how to start and maintain a successful Family Reading Night once a month. The presenter shared her ideas and resources and how the reading night has reenergized her library program.
This conference has invigorated me and will allow me to continue the use of instructional technology to engage students and teachers, improve learning through the school library, strengthen both teacher and student connections, have dynamic and meaningful learning experiences for all, and encourage students to become critical thinkers and enthusiastic readers. I can’t wait to put my new knowledge to work.
Amy Miska VAASL Conference 2014
10 years
Amy Miska
I really enjoyed my time at this year’s conference! I attended my regional conference last March and I have to say that both conferences were so well put together and informative. As a library student the classes I attended and the people I met have paid great dividends! I look forward to using the knowledge gained in the years to come as I pursue my career as a librarian.
I arrived Friday for the lunch and the afternoon courses. I also was able to see the key note speaker, Paige Jaeger who gave her address, “Heart-to-Heart Talk for Librarians.” She discussed ways to reach the seemingly unreachable millennials.
On Saturday I was able to attend a few sessions as well. I thoroughly enjoyed the Makers space classes I took as I see this as a firm direction that I am leading toward. It is so important to give children a chance to discover, try, fail, try again and learn experience that is so often lost in our test driven curriculum. I was also excited to learn tips and ideas on how to run a Family Reading Night in my library. Learning about what Google is and can do for you was another great course that really peaked my interest and makes me want to learn more.
I found all of my instructors to be knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. The courses were relevant and the 45 minute time slots to be appropriate for the content.