NECC Conference Delivers the Goods

If there was ever a tech show not to miss, it was the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) in Seattle, June 29 to July 2. School librarians took center stage, soaking up new ways to include technology into their curriculums and sampling the latest Web-based programs and handheld gizmos.

Why the increased attention on school librarians? Because the conference organizers, the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), have recognized the growing importance of media specialists as technology leaders, and they went out of their way to woo them. First on the agenda, ISTE officials created a School Librarian Special Interest Group (SIG) to help attendees better network. Until now, ISTE had only formed SIGs for teachers, administrators, technology coordinators, and other educators.

Although this year's turnout was slightly down, school librarian attendance at the nation's largest educational technology conference held steady—some 375 media specialists traveled to the show this year, and their numbers are expected to grow, say ISTE officials.

With program offerings tailored to meet their needs, school librarians felt right at home. Seminars were filled with media specialists eager to learn everything from Web-based curriculum mapping and digital storytelling to just keeping up with the rapid advances in technology. Kathy Schrock, a technology administrator at Nauset Public Schools in Orleans, MA, taught librarians ways to include information literacy across the curriculum. Her Web site, Planting the Seed of Change (kathyschrock.net/planting) offers many research and evaluation tools, and a wealth of information to help media specialists become better teachers. Judith Kantor, a media specialist at the Corinne A. Seeds University Elementary School, the laboratory school for UCLA's graduate school of Education and Information Studies, promoted an institute for educators called Creating a Thinking Curriculum (www.ues.gseis.ucla.edu). Over the course of four months, school librarians and other participants will learn how to integrate information literacy and technology skills into their lessons, while fostering critical thinking and improved communication.

Librarians packed in to hear Gloria Dennis, a library specialist at the Houston Independent School District, give sample lessons on how school library instruction, combined with state and national standards, enhances student achievement. (To view the lessons, go to www.hisdlibraryservices.org) In a rare opportunity, School Library Journal brought together media specialists, teachers, administrators, and technology coordinators to share their insights on ways to boost student achievement. (For more details, see "The Power of Partnerships," pp. 54–56).

NECC also featured the release of "Learning for the 21st Century," from the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, a report that the Department of Education hopes will show educators how to weave together information literacy skills with other basic skills, such as reading and math. (For a copy of the report, go to www.21stcenturyskills.org/downloads/P21_Report.pdf.)