Is it yours?

This quick little Merspi vodcast will help students clarify when and where they need to reference their work and provides tips on how to do this.

Handy links to websites that help are also provided, but here’s an update: the SLASA link has since been password protected, so after students have watched the video, you can direct students to Neil’s toolbox or to another online citation tool.

The vodcast is available via the VCE Advantage link on the merspi front page,  directly from the merspi YouTube channel and through FUSE for all schools – search for it by title

This vodcast is ideal for an introduction to referencing for all students.

So you’ve heard about the Australian Parliamentary Inquiry into School Libraries and Teacher-Librarians in 21st Century Australia?

Here’s a chance to showcase your library’s initiatives, share your ideas, and be involved in the conversation led by SLAV’s Reference Group responding to the Inquiry.

The School Library Association of Victoria (SLAV) has established a  Ning community: School libraries achieving results.

And you’re invited. To join go to the Ning community here.

Another fantastic video from the VCE Advantage vodcast series, in which Bethany Leong takes students through the State Library newspaper database online. She also  looks at Press Display, Google News Archive searching and even Trove – for those with a need for articles ranging back to the 1800s.

Great for all students to know about – they can’t all make it into the State Library of Victoria but they can all access these resources. Show them and show the teachers.

The vodcast is available via the VCE Advantage link on the merspi front page,  directly from the merspi YouTube channel and through FUSE for all schools – search for it by title

Today, Christine Wilson from Braemar College shares her thoughts on the recent SLAV conference and a few new ideas to follow up.

The SLAV Conference  Communicate, collaborate, create: and think critically!  was held at the MCG on Friday 29 July.  What I took away from the day is firstly that the special guest presenter,  Joyce Valenza, is incredible.   Joyce is inspiring, motivating and a wonderful advocate for teacher librarianship and school libraries. Participating in the conference was for me a very affirming experience.  Thank you Joyce. 

My “to do” list from the conference is extensive.  Where to start?  Go back over my notes and Joyce’s wiki.  Act on the referrals to teaching staff about great online resources that Joyce informed us about.  The wiki that Joyce prepared for the conference is a goldmine. 

My next action is to update my library blog. I have to get some new widgets. Then  move on to  investigate using QR codes.  Of course I must brief  my colleagues on the conference  at our next faculty meeting.
One aspect I did enjoy was that attendees got to participate online via Twitter  #slavconf11 and backchannel  on TodaysMeet as well as contributing to the SLAV Ideas  Book. The SLAV Ideas Book allowed us to hear interesting things that other people are doing in their school libraries.  

Using my iPad I found it easy to follow what was happening in the room and online.  The technology worked beautifully.  This conference was a truly connected, collaborative and creative experience.  Well  done, SLAV.
 
Christine Wilson, Braemar College Learning Area Leader – MNIRC.

Any thoughts or great ideas from the day from any other participants – whether on site or watching the feed from miles away?

Have a look at this fabulous Question Generator.

What a wonderful resource to inspire thinking and inquiry in your classroom or library.
It is part of the new SLAV FUSE digital resource, WE SOLVE it! Inquiry online.

Students can choose an avatar, manipulate the 3D models, use the question generator and explore selected web 2.0 applications to:

• formulate questions
• build background knowledge
• collaborate with peers and teachers
• digitally create and publish their own work.

You can learn more about using this engaging, interactive, web 2.0-based site by coming along to a hands-on workshop conducted by Kaye Hunter, primary teacher-librarian, author of Open the door to inquiry and content manager for WE SOLVE it! Inquiry online.
These workshops are on 12 or 19 September at the Statewide Resource Centre, Carlton.

See the SLAV website for registration details.

The School Library Association of Victoria acknowledges that students of today should be creators of ideas, not just consumers of information!
So SLAV presents 2 hands-on workshops on 22 August or 1 September to challenge teachers and teacher-librarians with the questions:
“Are your students equipped to publish in an online environment?” and more specifically, “Are you confident to support them with the knowledge and skills to make informed decisions when publishing their materials online?”
These workshops offer:

• hands-on experience with a range of web 2.0, screencasting, collaboration and presentation tools
• information to support cybersafety, digital copyright and intellectual property concepts
• strategies for collaborative planning for authentic, research-based tasks which have a real world application

See the SLAV website for registration details.

Dramatic changes are going to continue to take place in education because of the web. It is providing incredible new opportunities for educators to explore their own interests and passions, build personal learning networks, and have a significant impact on their students, schools and own careers.

This exclusive hands-on, free workshop led by Steve Hargadon will explore these trends and help you, as the ‘lead learner’, build educational resources for you, your colleagues and your students.

Steve is the author of Educational networking: the important role web 2.0 will play in education and a leading facilitator of education conferences and social media.

Get in early for this workshop presented by the State Library of Victoria.

Tuesday 30 August 2011, 8:30am – 4:00pm

More details and booking contacts on the SLV website.

Supported by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.