Information Power Summer Institute VI

August 9th, 2006 · 23 Comments
Information Power VI

Please reflect on the 3-day Information Power VI Summer Institute. List at least 2 insights, issues, ideas you are taking away from this institute. What have you learned from this workshop that you can put into immediate or near-future action in your library? Comment on the overall quality of the presentation and accommodations (presenter, location, food, materials, etc.) What additional information do you need on topics from this institute or other topics? What other training might be beneficial to you or others in your library?

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23 responses so far ↓

1 Lori Clark-Erickson // Aug 9, 2006 at 5:57 pm

The opportunity to meet Joyce Valenza has made my professional career more complete. I will be able to use her many ideas that were presented today.
2 Mary Jayne Jordan // Aug 9, 2006 at 10:39 pm

Hi SSLMP members,

WLA is hosting an AASL Regional Institute this fall at WLA’s conference in Gillette. It is on Collaborative Leadership. The website linked on this page will provide you with a topic outline as well as participant outcomes. Much of the information for WLA’s fall conference is incorrect in the mailed version that we received. However, updated information will be appearing on WLA’s website so keep watching. That address is http://www.wyla.org. I will be updating you tomorrow afternoon with the changes that I’m aware of, but my list is not complete so please check the website. The committee has worked hard to put together a great conference and we will all have to make some tough choices. More tomorrow–hopefully I will be migraine free!
3 Alice // Aug 10, 2006 at 10:31 am

I was extremely pleased with Joyce Valenza’s presentation. There is a lot to absorb but I really appreciated her enthusiasm her knowledge, and her presentation skills. The workshop, itself, has been well organized. The facility, itself, has been fine but the electronic access is lacking.
4 Kay Cross // Aug 10, 2006 at 10:32 am

The summer institute was motivational and provided several practical ideas to share with staff. Developing pathfinders to help students with research projeccts will be beneficial.
5 Cady Shoutis // Aug 10, 2006 at 10:33 am

Hmmm…One of the reasons I came this summer is to refocus my energy on my library media program, and this has definitely helped. (I have been both the library media specialist and the building tech person, so of course I’ve been spending a lot of time putting out techy fires! Supposedly, our tech integration specialist and tech guys are going to fill that niche.) I have been teaching on the fly too much, and want to be more organized and comprehensive in our approach.

Insights: Teachers and I already collaborate a ton, but I think we need to rework some of the assignments to avoid the “so what” factor.

Insight: Need to create library web page and do end of year reports. Want to push skills up the line to secondary.
6 Peggy Jording // Aug 10, 2006 at 10:37 am

This summer institute has really stretched my mind! I am excited to try blogging, wikis, and putting pathfinders on-line. I love the depth of learning that occurs at this conference. I hope to take this opportunity to get several teachers involved early in the year and then WOW our fellow educators at NMS.
7 Alice // Aug 10, 2006 at 10:39 am

The conference was well organized with excellent handouts. We were given tools that will be easily utilized in the media centers/classrooms. The entire conference was visionary, and set a new focus for all of us; that we’re all in transition and need to move forward. The hands on experience was good, and helped us to experience the processes. The food was very good and much appreciated. Even with the technological glitches, we still came away with an understanding and a bit of the experience needed to run with the ideas presented.
8 Mary Jayne Jordan // Aug 10, 2006 at 10:41 am

Hi Folks,

I put the web address for the AALS Leadership Institute in the website box not realizing that it would not show up as a link. Like you I’m just learning about edublogs. Anyway I wanted to make certain you could to ALA’s website and the Leadership Institute information. Here’s that address.
http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/conferencesandevents/aaslregionalinstitutes/collaboration.htm

Thanks for your patience! MJ
9 Linda, Bonnie and Julie // Aug 10, 2006 at 10:41 am

Alice’s comment – 10:39 am was actually us! Oooops!
10 Noreen // Aug 10, 2006 at 10:42 am

For ideas for the summer institute next year as far as technologies – would Casper College let more people on the system?
11 LaDonna // Aug 10, 2006 at 10:53 am

I very excited about being at Information Power. We have been exposed to such a wealth of information. Jan is such a resource to the state of Wyoming. Joyce V. show us the future on Tuesday. Chris is helping us with practical ideas for our school year.

I’m excited about Chris coming to Sheridan College on Monday and working with the SCALE group. (Sheridan County Area Library Exchange)
It will be our first offical gathering. Chris will be sharing the databases with us and exposing us to 2006-2007 school goals. If anyone is in Sheridan on Monday, Aug. 14 please join our group from 8:00 to 11:20. A special thanks to Debbie Iverson for including the Sheridan County Librarians.

I enjoy this time because it is so important to hear ideas from other librarians. It is so exciting!
12 Deb Lanthier // Aug 10, 2006 at 11:04 am

I think Information Power Summer Institute is awesome! I so appreciate the chance to network and learn. Thank you. Jan is wonderful. Hearing Joyce got me so excited. Like a groupie! It’s nice to hear that some of the ideas you are trying to implement are being done successfully other places.
13 Annn Rutherford // Aug 10, 2006 at 11:06 am

I want to thank all of you for continuing to allow me to participate in these meetings. I believe that these summer meetings are the most valuable, supportive and encouraging meetings that should happen every year.

Joyce was not only enthusiastic, but flexible and accepting of everyone. Joyce, you have nothing to appoligize for. The technology was not work, but librarians always find a way to make things work.

Thank you Jan and others for the blogs, wikis and CD’s created for all of to take along, that we might access all that we ‘forget/forgot’.

I hope all of you have a GREAT school year.
14 Mary Jayne Jordan // Aug 10, 2006 at 11:08 am

We have gained a lot of useful information in the past three days. However, it was a lot of information in a short amount of time so it became somewhat overwhelming. Having Joyce Valenza’s cd will give us the opportunity to look more in depth at the information she shared with us and how we can apply to our individual situations. Overall this has been an enlightening conference.
15 Dean Pischel // Aug 10, 2006 at 11:09 am

The abundance of new ideas and concepts and how to implement them is very beneficial to all librarians.
16 Linda and Lynda // Aug 10, 2006 at 11:12 am

Former comment was posted by us and not Mary Jayne..sorry about the confusion.
17 Ed Downes // Aug 10, 2006 at 11:15 am

The summer Info Power sessions are great “battery rechargers” We always hear such great ideas and receive such good resources. Just want to know how does one find the time to apply all to this good stuff when the everyday “mumbo jumbo” seems to invade our time. Maybe a time management problem? or Possibly library media specialist wear too many hats?
Keep up the good work. Great workshop.
18 Linda Goldman // Aug 10, 2006 at 11:18 am

This is the first time I have attended a summer WLA and I am certainly impressed. It is rare to go to a 3 day meeting and never once feeling bored (overwhelmed, yes, but never bored). So many good ideas and I think I can actually do many of them. I love the digital storytellingpossibility, among others. Seeing Joyce in person is like ordinary folks being able to see a rock star! I have read about her in SLJ , so hearing her and Feeling her enthusiam was a real shot in the arm.
The conference was well organized. Certainly no one should feel bad about the computer connectivity problems. we have ALL been there. Joyce handled it with humor and flexiblity. I liked the good healthy snacks too!
19 Julie Weitz // Aug 10, 2006 at 11:21 am

It is great to see so many school librarians here this week and has been such a wonderful time of sharing, learning, thinking. . .

Some insights:
I am not alone in feeling overwhelmed and needing to retool.
I am surrounded by a group of passionate and really sharp school librarians. What a great state! And I love the notion of being technology immigrants and natives. Boy am I an immigrant with a very large crate of baggage I no longer seem to need!
I can hardly wait to talk with my principal about the many issues we need to address at my school. My list is lengthy.

I am taking home great ideas, including adding electronic pathfinders to the library but mostly to get going with building a library web page for my school.

Jan could not have done a better job of orgainzing this gathering. It’s been
totally energizing.
20 Shelly King // Aug 13, 2006 at 11:37 pm

Every summer that I attend the Information Power class, I return home totally overwhelmed with new information and ideas to improve my library program. But for some reason this summer I have become acutely aware that I need a paradigm shift in how I teach research strategies. To become a major player in the research world, the school library/media specialist must be the leader in teaching the art of blogging, wikis, online searching, website evaluation as well as a research process because very few teachers in most districts are as knowledgeable. Wow, doesn’t that make us feel important? Well, it should! I really think we can make a difference by working with our teachers and students in these areas. The first thing I want to do is create a school research committee and include all the teachers that conduct any major research projects. Secondly, with their help, I ‘d like to revamp my library web page to include many class specific pathfinders. I’m also planning to use a blog with my 7th and 8th grade reading classes. What a great class this was to get a person fired up.
21 Mary Jayne Jordan // Aug 15, 2006 at 12:13 am

The name of the book that I mentioned is Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats: Responding to the Challenge of Online Social Cruelty, Threats and Distress by Nancy E. Willard, M.S., J.D.
She works at the Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use and the urls for her websites are http://cyberbullying.org or http://csriu.org

The following four documents can be downloaded from the first website: “Parent’s Guide to Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats” ; “CyberbullyNOT: Stopping Online Social Cruelty” ; “Cyberbullying or Cyberthreat Situation Review Process” ; and “School Actions and Options.”
22 Karen Voigt // Aug 20, 2006 at 1:02 am

This was my second Casper school library seminar. I am so impressed with the learning environments that Jan creates. This was excellent! The facility, the food, the friends and the speakers. I am sure no other state can compare with the individual attention and the exciting new ideas that we received.
I have looked at The Internation Children’s Digital Library. They have put books on the web for us to project on a screen page by page. I am planning to use When Sophie Gets Angry with my primary kids and Skeleton Man with the intermediate kids. Then I will show them how they can read more books in the computer lab or at home.
I am getting ready to set up a book discussion blog for my 6th graders to blog with my daughter’s 6th graders in Seattle.
Hope to have time to try out lots more ideas.
23 Latest Book Reviews // Nov 11, 2007 at 9:29 am

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