Over the past week I’ve been reading about teens and technology and about the media’s handling of major news events. A theme running through the reading I’ve been doing is that critical thinking is an important part of what adults and teens need to do in order to make good technology decisions. For example:
A few days ago I posted about why it is important to give teens a chance to have fun while learning. In that post I mentioned that in my work I was finding that there didn’t seem to be a “next big thing” to get excited about. It’s true, I am still looking for that next big thing, but that’s not to say there aren’t some good new tools that I’ve discovered that are great for you and teens to know about. These include:
Explore the Universe of Teen Reading! YALSA’s offering a fantastic full-day preconference before ALA Annual Conference. Come to Genre Galaxy: Explore the Universe of Teen Reading and meet popular YA authors, including Holly Black, Cecil Castelucci, David Lubar, and Dom Testa! Discover new ways to reach teens with books, including literacy activities, program ideas and collection development. Tickets start at $195 for YALSA members and include lunch. Interested? Register online (you don’t have to register for ALA Annual to attend this preconference).
Advance Your Career with YALSA! In uncertain economic times, it’s important to think about your professional goals and make sure you’re in a good position to meet them. Join YALSA for the half-day preconference Moving Up the YA Career Ladder, where we’ll discuss career options for young adult librarians, tips for transitioning into management or other careers, writing effective resumes and CVs, and finding your management style. Tickets cost $129 and include refreshments. Interested? Register online (you don’t have to register for ALA Annual to attend this preconference).
After the jump, details on other special YALSA events at ALA Annual Conference, Operation TBD and Support Teen Lit Day, the WrestleMania Reading Challenge winners, the ALA/YALSA Election, and the Great Ideas contest.
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Hope springs eternal. Doesn’t It?
For the past several weeks I’ve been feeling extremely positive about recent media and research reports demonstrating the positive impact on teens of social networking. The Berkman Center for Internet and Society report released last month on social networks as safe spaces, and the earlier MacArthur report on the positive implications of social networking on learning, buoyed my spirits.
But then, Tuesday arrived, and the web was buzzing with the words of Lady Greenfield - Professor of synaptic pharmacology at Lincoln college, Oxford, and Director of the Royal Institution - about the negative impact of social networking on brains. I actually didn’t want to read the press about what Greenfield was saying, because I didn’t want to lose my hopes. But, I knew, in order to be educated about the topic I needed to read. So, I did. (more…)