It has been two weeks since the AASL conference and I am reflecting on what exactly were my take-aways from the conference, and what one thing am I going to do as a result of what I learned. I literally took away many free books and catalogs and cards from the vendors who participated -- and really enjoyed taking the time to really talk to them about what is happening in school libraries today, and tomorrow. I learned a great deal about ebooks (I need to "put on my big girl panties" and jump on this train!) and got a few ideas for funding the project. From my peers I learned about collaboration ideas, curation rather than collection, and how one person can actually affect change. As a result of the conference, I am now using Scoop it to collect articles about curation and 21st century education. (Check out Scoop.it, easy, free and informative!)
What one thing am I doing as a result of what I learned? That is the hard one, folks. Because I am in a new building and grade level, I don't have the collaborative piece here yet. So, I am trying to zero in on one teacher from each content area with whom to build a dialogue; it may lead to my team teaching, collaborating, or even just assisting with a project, but I have decided that one person can affect change, and this year that one person will be me.
