AASL Exec Director elected as vice chair of P21

Good news. From American Libraries Direct:

"CHICAGO – Julie Walker, executive director of the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), has been elected to serve as vice chair of the Strategic Council of The Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21).

Prior to serving as executive director of AASL, Walker held the post of director of library and media services for the Round Rock (Texas) Independent School District. During her tenure at AASL, her association was responsible for publishing new learning standards and guidelines for school library media specialists, including the most recent "Standards for the 21st-Century Learner" and "Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs." She will also be directing the completion of AASL's strategic plan, with the goal of achieving universal recognition of school library media specialists as indispensable educational leaders. Her association has also been a strong advocate for funding for school libraries and staffing them with certified school library media specialists.

Walker works extensively in promoting information literacy - the ability to find and use information - as an essential skill for lifelong learning. She currently serves on the National Education Advisory Board of Cable in the Classroom and the Advisory Committee for the Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries. Walker is also a past-Chair of the Alliance for Curriculum Reform, a group of organizations committed to improving curriculum, instruction and assessment in P-12 schools.

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills is a national advocacy organization focused on infusing 21st Century skills into education. It brings together the business community, education leaders and policymakers to define a powerful vision for 21st century education to ensure every child’s success as citizens and workers in the 21st century. It also encourages schools, districts, and states to advocate for the infusion of 21st century skills into education and provides tools and resources to help facilitate and drive change."

FTC resources

ALA Chicago Conference exhibits included the FTC - Federal Trade Commission. Here are some of the consumer protection resources they promoted that are worth including in Information Literacy lesson plans:

• Homeowner consumer information - consumer protection and counseling. See FTC Money Matters website at http://ftc.gov/MoneyMatters
• YouAreHere - a site for kids to learn how to be smart shoppers. The site is geared for 5th through 8th grade students and can complement lessons in critical thinking, writing, language arts, media literacy, business, civics, and social studies. Here is a sampling of topics covered in the virtual mall: Shuman’s Shoes (Lesson: Ads and Endorsements), Gr8 Gadgets (Lesson: False or Misleading Ads), Pizza Pizza Pizza (Lesson: Competition), and Triple Cold Creamery (Lesson: Mergers). The teacher and parent section includes a variety of ways for you to promote the site to students. Order free posters and bookmarks, copy and paste images (like above) or html for webpage buttons for linking to the site.
  
• CURE-IOUS: be skeptical of websites hawking cures for cancer and such. Bookmark http://ftc.gov/curious
• Bookmark on "6 Signs that your Scholarship is $unk" - scholarship scams
  

Gaming in Libraries Resource from ALA

Here's a comprehensive guide to gaming and literacy in libraries (or games in libraries!) from the American Library Association website. It covers all sorts of games from simple board games to the most sophisticated online role-playing games.

There is a great video introduction to the site by Beth Gallaway, the head of Information Goddess Consulting and a consultant to the project.

One of the participants is Christopher Harris, Coordinator of the School Library System of the Genesee Valley Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES).

Here is the introductory statement from the site.

What is the Connection Between Literacy and Gaming?

More about the gaming and literacy connection can be found on the Literacy 101 page, and each model program has literacy components as well.

As new technologies, tools and toys have burgeoned over the last 20 years so has our understanding of what constitutes literacy. Libraries of all types have provided collections, programs and services in support of these traditional literacy skills for centuries. Today, concepts of literacy include digital, information and communication technology (ICT), media, programming, and visual.

Reading and understanding information is still vital, but so is evaluating and thinking critically in the multiple literacies just listed.

Libraries of all types promote the development of these literacy skills in numerous ways: information literacy classes in colleges and universities, gaming programs to promote problem solving and the development of higher order thinking skills, and services that improve technical and literary fluency. Regardless of the type of service libraries may provide, they are all important in strengthening these multiple literacies. Gaming in its various forms presents an additional service that supports and strengthens these literacies.

Information Literacy for K-16 Settings

http://www.csulb.edu/~lfarmer/infolitwebstyle.htm
This metasite uses the Big6 framework to list websites that help K-16 settings to teach information literacy skills.