Easily integrate technology into your library with YALSA’s winter online course

CHICAGO - Technology is part of the everyday life experience for most teens — and by integrating it with standard teen services, librarians can better serve and support teens’ learning needs. Find out how in Connect, Create, Collaborate: Support Teen Needs with Technology, a new online course offered in winter 2012 by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). The self-paced course takes place Feb. 6 to March 19 and costs $149 for YALSA members, $195 for ALA members, and $215 for nonmembers.

Students in the course will:

• Learn how teen use of technology, even social use of technology, supports successful adolescent development and learning.
• Understand how to advocate with administrators, colleagues, parents and community members for full support of teen library technology integration.
• Know how to integrate technology in order to support a variety of traditional teen library services and functions, including collection development, readers' advisory, homework support and programming.
• Get ideas on how to involve teens in the process of integrating technology into the full range of programs and services provided by the library.

This class will be taught by Linda Braun, former YALSA president and educational technology consultant with LEO: Libraries & Educators Online. Braun provides training and consulting to schools, libraries and other educational institutions on how to integrate technology successfully into their services.

Discounts are available for groups of ten or more, and all YALSA e-courses are available for licensing; contact Eve Gaus at egaus@ala.org or 1 (800) 545-2433, ext. 5293, for more information.

For more information on YALSA’s online courses, please visit www.ala.org/yalsa/onlinecourses. Registration for the course will close on Feb. 1.

For more than 50 years, YALSA has been the world leader in selecting books, videos and audiobooks for teens. For more information about these awards or for additional lists of recommended reading, go to www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists. For more information about YALSA, please contact us via e-mail, yalsa@ala.org, or by phone, at 1 (800) 545-2433 ext. 4390.