AASL eCOLLAB just got better with two added webinars for AASL member access

For Immediate Release
Tue, 04/09/2013

Contact:

Jennifer R Habley

Manager, Web Communications

American Association of School Librarians (AASL)

800-545-2433 ext.4383

jhabley@ala.org

CHICAGO - The archives of the recent webinars, “PBS LearningMedia™ Launches Blended Literacy Lessons” and “A School Librarian’s Role in Preventing Sexting & Cyberbullying” are now available online as a part of the American Association of School Librarian’s (AASL) professional development repository, eCOLLABAASL members and eCOLLAB subscribers can view the archives at www.ala.org/aasl/ecollab.

In “PBS LearningMedia™ Launches Blended Literacy Lessons,” presenters Carol Studebaker, Charlotte Hodges and Carolyn Jacobs provide an in-depth look at middle school literacy tools now available from PBS LearningMedia™.  The Inspiring Middle School Literacy collection, produced by WGBH and funded by the Walmart Foundation, is designed to enhance the literacy skills of struggling readers in grades 5–8. Each lesson, available at no cost on PBS LearningMedia™ website, uses videos, interactive activities, note taking, reading and writing to present students with an engaging science, social studies, mathematics or English language arts topic.

Presented by Laurie Nathan from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) and hosted by AASL, “A School Librarian’s Role in Preventing Sexting & Cyberbullying,” addresses ongoing Internet safety issues affecting children, including cyberbullying and sexting.  During the webinar media stories and statistics were shared to illustrate the prevalence of sexting and cyberbullying incidents occurring among tweens and teens across the United States.  Nathan also introduced the free and easily implemented safety resources available from NetSmartz Workshop to help teach children, tweens and teens how to stay safer online and avoid precarious situations.

AASL members can access the webinars via eCOLLABby logging into the AASL website using their ALA-provided website login.  Nonmembers who wish to view the webinar and other archived professional development can receive access to eCOLLAB resources with an annual subscription of $199 per year.

eCOLLAB | Your eLearning Laboratory: Content Collaboration Community, a repository of AASL professional development, provides members and subscribers with a central location to find and manage their e-learning as well as to connect with others in the learning community. eCOLLAB contains webcasts, podcasts and resources from various AASL professional development events, as well as access to a read-only version of the latest issue of Knowledge Quest. To begin utilizing eCOLLAB or to subscribe, visit www.ala.org/aasl/ecollab.

The American Association of School Librarians, www.aasl.org, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), promotes the improvement and extension of library services in elementary and secondary schools as a means of strengthening the total education program. Its mission is to advocate excellence, facilitate change and develop leaders in the school library field.