Marco Torres closing speaker at AASL 2009 national conference
Melissa B. Jones
AASL Communications Specialist
(312) 280-4381
NEWS
For Immediate Release
November 25, 2008
CHICAGO - The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) announced that Marco Torres will deliver the closing remarks for its 14th National Conference & Exhibition. The National Conference, "Rev up learning @ your library," will be held Nov. 5-8, 2009, in Charlotte, N.C.
Torres will close a four-day conference dedicated solely to the needs of school library media specialists. He is an internationally renowned speaker, filmmaker and author of a wide variety of digital content. A high school social studies teacher in San Fernando, Calif., Torres is focused on helping students become engaged in learning and acquire the skills they need to thrive in our 21st-century digital culture.
Torres was named the 2006 California Teacher of Year. He serves on the board of the George Lucas Educational Foundation. Torres sees digital media as the tools of liberation for people who have lived in comparatively disadvantaged situations; he views the Internet as the stage on which digital media content is and will continue to be published for a global audience hungry to hear the voices of our neighborhoods.
Ann Marie Pipkin, AASL National Conference 2009 Committee co-chair, said, "Marco Torres helps students empower themselves by harnessing the potential of new digital multimedia to tell their stories. His ability to help guide educators in how to fit this type of multimedia production into the 'high stakes' environment is a credit to his remarkable talent and is an inspiration to all. The work of his students is an example of how we all need to begin thinking about engaging our students and understanding their different learning styles and interests."
AASL president Ann M. Martin added, "Hear Marco Torres extend the concept of utilizing the whole brain in our work with students. He will inspire us with ways to infuse our students' right brain dispositions into research products that inspire, engage and stimulate students."
The AASL 14th National Conference & Exhibition, "Rev up learning @ your library," is the only national conference dedicated solely to the needs of school library media specialists and their roles as educational leaders. AASL National Conference will feature 10 preconferences, numerous concurrent sessions, more than 200 exhibiting companies, educational and school tours, a storytelling festival and special appearances by award-winning authors. For more information on AASL's 14th National Conference & Exhibition, visit
http://www.ala.org/aasl/charlotte.
The American Association of School Librarians,
www.aasl.org, a division of the American Library Association (ALA), promotes the improvement and extension of library media 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 media field.
