Spend four nights learning to use technology to connect with teens

CHICAGO — ALA TechSource announces a unique new workshop, Using Social Media and Mobile Technology to Engage Teens with Jennifer LaGarde. This event will give participants the opportunity to spend an hour a night for four nights learning with a social media and teen service expert.

Today’s teenagers and college students live, work, study and communicate in a world where social media and mobile technology are ubiquitous. Emerging research even suggests that students’ brains are developing differently as a result of their connected, technology-driven world. Even tech-savvy librarians can feel challenged reaching out to this age group using these tools. In this week-long workshop Jennifer LaGarde will show you how to engage with teens by “speaking their language,” using technology to connect with young adults on their own level. You’ll also learn how you can harness social media and mobile technology to build innovative library programming and instruction.

This workshop will take place during the week of Nov. 12, with each of the four 60-minute sessions starting at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time. Attendees will be given brief readings and activities which can be completed either during or after the event.

Topics include:

• Day 1: Connecting with Today’s Learners
  • How today’s learners are different
  • An overview of the tools you can use to connect with them
  • Self-assessment: Where do you and your library currently stand with this population and your outreach to them?
• Day 2: Social Media Tools
  • Introducing social media tools
  • “Play time” with social media
  • How to engage and stay current
• Day 3: Mobile Apps
  • Overview of mobile technology—Android, Apple, and others
  • How teens and college students use their mobile devices and apps
  • How libraries are using mobile apps to connect with teens
  • Staying current with apps
• Day 4: Tying it All Together
  • Building programs and library instruction based around social media and mobile
  • Using social media and mobile technology as tools for assessment
  • Using social media and mobile technology as tools for library marketing and advocacy

Registration for this ALA TechSource Workshop is available on the ALA Store at both individual and group rates. The workshop takes place at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time/6:30 p.m. Central time/5:30 p.m. Mountain time/4:30 p.m. Pacific time on Nov. 12-15 . Each session will last 60 minutes.

Jennifer LaGarde is the lead librarian for New Hanover Schools and the teacher librarian at Myrtle Grove Middle School in Wilmington, N.C. She is also a National Board Certified School Librarian. The Advocacy and Governance chair for the North Carolina School Library Media Association (NCSLMA), she was a founding member of NCSLMA's Young Adult Book Award and co-manages the NCSLMA website. In 2011 she was awarded the "I Love My Librarian Award" by ALA, Carnegie Corporation of New York and The New York Times and was also named a Mover & Shaker by Library Journal. Author of the blog The Adventures of Library Girl, she proves you don’t have to be a superhero to teach middle school, but having a cape sure helps.

ALA TechSource Workshops are designed to give you and your staff the opportunity to participate in a hands‐on learning experience that will help you make the best technology decisions for your library.

ALA TechSource is a publishing imprint of the American Library Association. ALA TechSource publishes Library Technology Reports and the ALA TechSource Blog.

ALA Store purchases fund advocacy, awareness, and accreditation programs for library professionals worldwide.