Preparing for FAME Conference Attendance--Choosing Concurrent Sessions

​So, you are about to attend your first FAME Conference.  You are excited!  You have comfy shoes, a sweater, your personal device is charged, your business cards and stickers are ready to go in your bag with lip balm, bottle of water, and now what?
Have you taken a look at the conference session?  Do you know where and who you are going to see?  What will you learn?
As FAME is the only professional development conference within the state of Florida for Library Media Specialists, it is important that we make the most of our time while attending so that we can bring value back to our programs and schools.  It is our opportunity to interface with vendors, network with peers, and explore our universe in a LMS friendly space.  So, again…. Who are you interested in learn from and about what?
Currently, I am interested in improving my knowledge in the areas of technology usage, literacy, collection development, and overall program improvement.  As I try to maximize my learning at FAME, here are the sessions that I will be attending and why:

Technology Usage

1. Coding: Leading Our Students to Embrace This New Literacy
                Kimberly Martin-Howell is not afraid to try new things and if she is true to her motto—“Fail Forward”—failing is ok as long as you try to fix your mistakes and learn from them.  In her session, she will share her experience with teaching coding, resources, and her insights.  I am excited to attend this session and I hope I can find 5 extra minutes to connect with her as well.

​Extra Credit:  read her blog post:  Sparking Creativity through Coding.
 
2. Mine(craft)ing For Knowledge – Using Gaming to Engage Students
                Elizabeth Zdrodowski, our incoming President-Elect of FAME, shares her experience with implementing Mindcraft.edu into collaborative lessons with subject area teachers. 
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Extra Credit:  Follow her blog, or read her latest blog post for the Nerdy Book Club here.
 
3. One Note Revolution
                The instructional technology team from Osceola County School District, Scott Kauffman, Brent Foondle, and Chris Kocher will be presenting this session on the Office 365 product, One Note.  Excellent information will be presented and tailored to media specialists’ usage of this product.  A must attend session.

Collection Development

4a. New Release Elementary Books Your Students will Love
4b. New Release Secondary Books Your Students will Love
                Leslie Bermal, the representative from Junior Library Guild, will be sharing booktalks about soon-to-be released titles for fall and winter 2016.  Leslie is a great book talker and I LOVE HER DOOR PRIZES because Leslie loves media specialists and books.  I don’t usually recommend vendor presentations, but Leslie knows her books.

​Extra Credit:  Read more from Leslie here.
 
5.  Finding the Best New Books
                Debbie Tanner’s session is a must for new media specialists.  Collection development is not an easy task when attempting to identify the best new books for your school’s collection. Debbie will be sharing the “how to find” tips and tricks and sharing a few ideas on how to develop a network of contacts who can help you find the best new books.

Literacy

6. Have Fun and Engage Kids in Literacy
                Nancy Penchev will be sharing the literacy programs that she employs at her elementary school.  Her ideas and tips are easily adaptable for older audiences as well.  If you are new to developing literacy events, this session is a must attend for you.  I just enjoy Nancy’s enthusiasm for literacy.

Extra Credit:  Read more from Nancy on her website, Technology is a Tool, Not a Learning Outcome.
 
7. You are right to do it!  The Technology Florida Standards
                Michelle Cates and David Voytek will demonstrate how to apply technology standards to library projects that are infused with technology usage, offering suggestions for software and websites for student usage.  Yes, we teach in the media center and yes, we use standards.  Are you showing that your program has a standards based performance?

​Extra Credit:  Michelle is a regular presenter of webinars on floridalibrarytraining.com, a cooperative project funded by the Library Services and Technology Act from the Institute of Museum and Library Serves. Wonderful trainings offered by some of the best professionals in our field.  Check it out!

Program Development and Improvement

8. Advocate for Libraries:  Join the Florida Power Library Schools Family
                Nancy Teger, an SLJ Mover and Shaker 2008, and a program professor for Nova Southeastern University and central figure in the development of the Florida Power Library Initiative.  This session is about applying to become a Florida Power Library.  She will be providing tips, insights, and examples from portfolio development to preparing for a site visit. 

Extra Credit:  Nancy will be available in the vendor hall at the professional development booth throughout the conference.  Stop by and speak with her.
 
9. Making Your Library Epic:  Creating Innovative Spaces for Student Learning
                Diana Rendina is a person who is central in the tide of advocates for the maker space movement.  She serves as a media specialist at a magnet school that employs a STEM curriculum and has transformed her media center to a space central to her school’s culture. Practical tips and inspiration.

Extra Credit:  Visit Diana’s website, http://www.renovatedlearning.com
 
10. What Everyone Ought to Know About Managing Your Media Specialist Evaluation
                Presented by yours truly…. This session which is a part of the principals’ track, but no less open to all conference attendees may change the course of your professional practice or how you are perceived by your administrator.  Media specialist are often the red headed step children of the evaluation system in their county of employment.  Not all counties have evaluations tailored to the LMS.  Where do I fit in and how do I convey my professional practice to my administrators?  The tips are here. 

Extra Credit:  Come visit me on the exhibition floor at the professional development booth and learn more about FAME’s Legislative Committee and Advocating for our profession.
 
These are my ten must attend sessions.  Whatever you choose to attend, make conference attendance worth every penny and plan what you will take back to your programs.