Paige Johnson headlines AASL's Fall Forum Opening Session

CHICAGO – Paige Johnson, global manager of K-12 education for Intel's Corporate Affairs Group, will give the keynote at the American Association of School Librarian's (AASL) Fall Forum 2010. The institute, "In Focus: The Essentials for 21st-Century Learning," will be held Nov. 5-6, 2010 in Portland, Ore. More information can be found at www.ala.org/aasl/fallforum. The Opening Session is sponsored by Follett Software.  

Johnson will discuss the challenge of 21st-century reform from the perspective of the workforce and students. She will help attendees understand why corporations are interested in 21st-century education. She will also encourage school librarians to make learning more personalized to include students that may become overwhelmed by the more rigorous standards.

The immediate past chair of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21), Johnson holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology from Willamette University and a Masters Degree in Science Education from Portland State University. She has almost two decades of experience successfully envisioning, launching, scaling and evaluating education programs. She sees technology as a critical tool to access, organize and analyze information and to communicate and collaborate with others to create  innovations that add value to people's lives – and is a focal point, aligning experts from all fields toward her vision of 21st-century teaching and learning.

Johnson is responsible for the Intel® Teach Program, a worldwide professional development initiative that helps educators integrate computer technology effectively in their schools. She serves on the Steering Committee of the National Assessment Governing Board on Technological Literacy. She has also served for three years on the International Society of Technology and Education's (ISTE) advisory board for the NETS standards.

The Fall Forum occurs in the years that AASL does not host a National Conference. For more information about the 2010 Fall Forum and to register, visit the AASL Web site at www.ala.org/aasl/fallforum. Attendees will receive a price break for registering before Oct. 4. Rates on or before Oct. 5 are: AASL members, $289; ALA members, $339; Non-members, $404.

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.