Transliteracy takes center stage at AASL’s 2012 Fall Forum

CHICAGO — Gain a deeper understanding of transliteracy during AASL’s 2012 Fall Forum, Transliteracy and the School Library Program, taking place Oct. 12-13, 2012, in Greenville, S.C. Kristin Fontichiaro and R. David Lankes will join media studies scholar Henry Jenkins, in providing a comprehensive overview of the importance of participatory culture in education. Their presentations will be simultaneously broadcast to participating satellite sites in Doylestown, Pa.; Homestead, Pa.; Richardson, Texas; and San Jose, Calif. For more information, including how to register, can be found on the Fall Forum website.

During the two-day institute, Jenkins will share his extensive expertise on participatory culture and help school librarians establish themselves as leaders when collaborating with teachers to plan and teach new media literacies to students. Jenkins will directly engage with attendees to develop strategies that effectively integrate these skills into subject areas across the curriculum and outline how to best use online social networking tools to reinforce student learning.

Fontichiaro will work with Fall Forum attendees to deconstruct the concept of transliteracy into smaller, more manageable facets. With Fontichiaro’s guidance, attendees will build a definition of transliteracy and a supporting vocabulary that will help school librarians better connect curricula to the multimedia world of their students. She will focus on the inquiry and rigor of assignments and how to collaboratively work with teachers to empower students with transliteracy skills. Fontichairo’s breakout session will help school librarians be able to assess their use of transliterate skills and understand when they have done a good job of building a library that is at the center of participatory culture within the school.

Lankes' portion of the institute will further elaborate on the collaborative nature of transliteracy. He will advise attendees on how to advocate for and highlight the relevance of school librarians in an environment of ever-changing educational priorities. Lankes will guide attendees through building community engagement and cultivating administrators, especially school boards, as well as the school community. His “world café” style breakout session will lead attendees through a series of questions, each giving attendees useful messaging to take back to their school community to start the shift toward a participatory culture.

The AASL Fall Forum is a multi-day national institute focused on one topic of importance to the profession. Transliteracy and the School Library Program will be held Oct. 12-13, 2012, in Greenville, S.C., with satellite sites in Doylestown, Pa.; Homestead, Pa.; Richardson, Texas; and San Jose, Calif.

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.