Live blogging from a conference when you’re not actually there is not as crazy as it seems- thanks to the Internet of course! Again and again I wonder how “they” ever did it anything my BFF the internet!
Here are five fun things I’ve learned while NOT attending a conference:
- Graphic Novels are taking over the world. The fact that a graphic novel won the Odyssey (Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka) and the Newbery (Jerry Craft’s New Kid) and a Printz Honor (Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Meby Mariko Tamaki, illustrated by Rosemary Valero-O’Connell)is so unprecedentedly awesome. Hopefully this can show to all the teachers, educators, students (myself) out there that graphic novels are REAL literature with so, so many benefits!
- It is important to think critically. Yes, my favorite song of all-time is EVERYTHING IS AWESOME but I need to remember it might not always be awesome! #critlib is the latest hashtag I am following after Midwinter (and hopefully joining in on some Twitter Chats). It is important to scrutinize everything when looking at sources and technology. I need to remember that this is very important when working with children, because these are the habits we are passing on to them!
- Forward Together is an awesome initiative that looks at making ALA better- https://forwardtogether.ala.org/index.php/about-forward-together/member-engagement-opportunities.
- Librarians have the power to change the brain by teaching new skills. I need to find more resources from the presentation: “Toxic Stress, Early Brain Development, and What Libraries Can Do to Support Young Children Experiencing Adverse Childhood Conditions.”
- There needs to be a way to instantly ship local food places. The donuts, the meat, the Reading Terminal. That is what the Internet is yet to fanangle. Someone figure it out please!!