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AASL NEWS
For Immediate Release
January 30, 1999
Contact: Steven Hofmann
Phone: 312-280-4389
Fax: 312-664-7459

AASL announces 1999 ICONnect ICPrize winners

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) has announced five ICONnect ICPrize for Collaboration Through Technology winners for 1999. The announcement was made January 30 at the American Library Association's Midwinter Meeting in Philadelphia, Penn.

The annual ICPrize is awarded as part of AASL's ICONnect technology initiative. Prior to 1999, the ICPrize was known as the ICONnect Mini-Grant. The new name reflects the true nature of the prize. The I and C represent the basic elements of the ICPrize: Information, Integration, Innovation, Curriculum, Collaboration and Connection--all integral parts of an ICPrize-winning curriculum unit.

Each ICPrize recipient will receive $1,000 to be used toward the purchase of technology for use in the library media center or to support travel to attend a state or national conference. The applying school library media specialist was required to be an ALA/AASL member and to collaborate with a teacher on the curriculum project submitted. The curriculum project had to include the use of Internet resources.

The recipients and their projects are:

Patricia J. Hare, school library media specialist; Margene Ryberg, Doug Ficker, Jeff Davis, Doug Fay, Mary Beth Martin and Gayley Hautzenroeder, participating teachers - Northwest High School, Cincinnati, Ohio.

In an end-of-the-year, cross-curriculum unit entitled "Community," Math, English, BioScience, Civics, and Fine Arts were integrated and the curriculum taught in thematic units. Groups of five students chose an incorporated community in the Greater Cincinnati area to research. Students presented historical information, social institutions and services, relevant statistics, environmental and science concerns, and any fine arts opportunities of their community. Each team presented their findings in a 20-minute multimedia presentation plus a written analysis.

Michelle Kowalsky, school library media specialist; Victoria Erla, participating teacher - Wayne Valley High School, Wayne, N.J.

All students like to go on vacation, but if given the choice, will they go to a foreign country? In this unit students chose a Spanish-speaking country and planned a vacation to that country using a fictitious budget of $5,000. After researching information on cultural and historical sties, transportation, currency exchange, food and lodging, and other items, students planned their itinerary, budgeted their expenses, planned their routes, and wrote in their "journal" as they went on their personalized excursion.

Patience Lea McGuire, school library media specialist; Suzanne Arevalo, Cindy Erickson, Elizabeth Martinez, Elizabeth Minjarez and Viola Moreno, participating teachers - Eduardo Villarreal Elementary School, San Antonio, Tex.

First grade teachers collaborating with the school library media specialist developed an environmental science unit, "Hug the Earth." They jointly planned to furnish fact-finding centers with information on the earth's environment. Include were selections readable by early readers, and also more difficult sources, valuable because of illustrations. Students used the information they found to produce fact-based drawings and writings about human interaction with land, air and water. Students then formulated and enacted sound environment practices for classrooms, for the school community, and for their homes. Student work and photos of student environmental projects may be accessed on the school's website http://www.nisd.net/johnww/Subjects/Science/enviroment/hug_the_earth.htm.

Shayne Russell, library media specialist - Mt. Laurel Hartford School, Mt. Laurel, N.J.; Diane Hallisey, library media specialists - Plymouth River School, Hingham, Mass.; Suzy Calvert, Gifted & Talented teacher - Maxwell Hill Gifted Center, Beckley, W.Va.; Moacyr Santizo, 2nd Grade Bilingual teacher - Potter Road Elementary School, Framingham, Mass.

Four teachers introduced a multidisciplinary study of Native Americans to students at their respective schools using video they filmed at an archaeological site in Arizona. The Big 6 was presented in an archaeological context prior to students selecting topics relating to today's Pueblo Indians, their ancestors, and archaeology, to research using print, online, CD-ROM, and human resources. Final projects included models, artwork, interviews, and written reports reflecting an understanding of the chosen topic and Pueblo culture. Scanners, digital cameras, and HTML editors were used to combine content from the four schools into a collaborative website http://www.voicenet.com/~srussell/Casa.html.

Constance Vidor, librarian; Ellen Baru, technology coordinator; Ted Boesky, Social Studies teacher - The Cathedral School, New York, N.Y.

To introduce a study of the Renaissance in Europe, students wrote essays describing an imaginary time travel experience in which they saw a specific place, encountered a person, and observed a meal and some clothing typical of the period. Students used the World Wide Web and library books to do their research and wrote their reports in entertaining narrative format on the computer in two-column newspaper form. This research experience gave students a glimpse of some aspects of the Renaissance period to arouse their curiosity for the ensuing unit of study.

Members of the 1999 ICONnect ICPrize Subcommittee were Judy Lira (chair), Pam Spencer, Elizabeth Miller, Allison Kaplan, Mary Anne Parks, Cathy Berner and Suzy Hawley.

Information about the ICONnect technology initiative is available via the Internet. ICONnect information packets are also available by mail from AASL. To request an information packet, call 800-545-2433, ext. 4386, or e-mail ICONnect@ala.org.

AASL is a division of the American Library Association.

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