Participatory Culture and Learning: Knowledge Quest September/October 2012

Participatory Culture & Learning | American Association of School Librarians (AASL) via kwout

I’m delighted to share that the September/October 2012 issue of AASL’s Knowledge Quest is now available; I had the tremendous honor of co-editing this issue with my good friend and colleague Ernie Cox.  The issue’s theme, participatory culture and learning, is one that has been central to my work in recent years and as most of you know, a lens of practice and thinking that is close to my heart.  We hope that our readers will be as enthralled as Ernie and I are with the quality and diversity of articles; a talented range of practitioners and scholars who work in librarianship as well as related fields have contributed rich, thoughtful, inspiring, and provocative articles to this issue.  Not only am I honored to serve as co-editor with Ernie, but I’m also thrilled to have co-written an article with four of my Media 21 students for this issue.  Many thanks to Kristiena Shafer, Jordan Grandt, Bethany Roper, and Jacob Morgan who gave up a slice of their summer to co-compose our collaborative article.

Here are a few links of interest for those who may be waiting on their print issue to arrive in the mailbox , who may be looking forward to accessing the issue later this fall through their library databases, or who want to access additional resources and content independent of the print issue:

• The table of contents in PDF format--what a lineup!
• Mine and Ernie’s Guest Editor column
• Mine and Ernie’s podcast for the issue–we had tremendous fun sharing and thinking aloud with Editor Markisan Naso!
• View additional resources and opportunities for learning related to this issue by clicking on the journal page

A heartfelt thank you to all of our authors, Ernie, Markisan, and the entire AASL KQ team who worked diligently to help us take this issue from abstract musings that began in the early spring with mine and Ernie’s marathon Skype session to reality this fall.  Whether you are a librarian, classroom teacher, student, parent, administrator, or community member, I hope the issue will expand your thinking about the possibilities for participatory sites of culture and learning in schools and libraries.

AASL 2011 Learning Commons

AASL 2011 Learning Commons – home via kwout

The Learning Commons

The AASL Learning Commons 2011 (formerly the Bloggers’ Café in Charlotte 2009) will be a space for starting, continuing, and sharing conversations for learning.   Whether you are attending in person or participating from afar, everyone is invited to connect and contribute to these conversations for learning about a diverse range of topics and issues in librarianship.  The Learning Commons is a physical and virtual space not only to share and celebrate your passions but also for discovering new ones.

What can you do at the Learning Commons?

• Host a discussion on any topic of choice related to librarianship
• Create and host a “Birds of Feather” session
• Present a “best practice” for related to one or more of our roles as teacher, instructional partner, information specialist, program administrator, or leader
• Teach a skill
• Learn a skill
• Expand on your Exploratorium poster
• Expand on your concurrent session
• Invent a new type of unsession
• Host a gadget petting zoo
• Unplug and host a roundtable or panel discussion on a hot or controversial topic
• Present or co-present with virtual friends via Skype

Join our Learning Commons wiki, http://aasl2011learningcommons.wikispaces.com/ , the space where you can sign up to present or facilitate a face to face, virtual, or hybrid session; presenters will also be creating pages and sharing resources for their presentation.  We encourage you to present or facilitate a discussion on any topic related to librarianship whether it be a traditional area of librarianship, such as storytelling, or a contemporary focus, such as gaming.  With presenter permission, we’ll be streaming as many of these sessions as possible.

The Learning Commons will be located in the lower level mezzanine; take the escalator down from the main registration area to access the Learning Commons. Signage will be provided to direct as you to the Learning Commons. See you in Minneapolis!

“Where There’s a Widget, There’s a Way”: The Video

Sign Up to Present at the AASL 2009 Bloggers’ Café

Are you attending the 2009 AASL National Conference in Charlotte, NC?  If so, please consider being part of  the bloggers’ café!

What is a bloggers’ café?

Have something to share, but for whatever reason you are not scheduled for a concurrent session? Consider signing up to present your stuff at our Bloggers’ Café! Presentation equipment and Internet connection will be available.

Want to take a comfortable break from the conference hubbub? Stop by and listen as your colleagues share their ideas at the Bloggers’ Café.

Use the time to:

• Host a discussion
• Create a Birds of a Feather session
• Present your best ideas
• Expand on your Exploratorium poster
• Expand on your concurrent session
• Teach a skill
• Other?

Sign up now by visiting http://aaslbloggerscafe.wikispaces.com/!