AASL Announces 1998 ICONnect Mini-Grant Winners

[Steven Hofmann <shofmann@ALA.ORG>]

AASL Announces 1998 ICONnect Mini-Grant Winners

Five mini-grants to support the use of Internet technology in the
school library media program were announced Jan. 10 by the American
Association of School Librarians (AASL), a division of the American
Library Association (ALA).

The mini-grants were awarded as part of AASL's ICONnect technology
initiative. This was the third year of the mini-grant awards. The
recipients were announced during the 1998 ALA Midwinter Meeting in
New Orleans.

Each mini-grant recipient received $1,000 to be used toward the
purchase of technology for use in the library media center or to
support travel for the team to attend a state or national conference.
The applying school library media specialist was required to be an
ALA/AASL member and to collaborate with a teacher on the curriculum
project submitted.  The curriculum project had to include the use of
Internet resources.

The recipients and their projects are:

* Jo Ann Wahrman, school library media specialist; Sharon Palmquist,
participating teacher - Goodland High School, Goodland, Kan.
Examining common characteristics of assassinations throughout history
can be a bridge to understanding events in Julius Caesar. By
researching different victims of assassination, student groups
learned his/her background, why this person was targeted, how and by
whom the assassination was carried out, and what impact the person's
death had on history. Using journalism techniques, students shared
their information and, through discussion afterward, made
generalizations about motives and results of assassinations as well
as types of victims and the morally complex roles of assassins.

* Constance Vidor, librarian; Ellen Baru, technology coordinator;
John Lawes, social studies teacher - The Cathedral School, New York,
N.Y.
As a culmination of their study of the ancient Roman Empire, the
sixth-grade students used books, CD-ROM disks, and a variety of
pre-selected Web sites to research different types of ancient Roman
people, including slaves, gladiators, bath attendants, cooks,
senators, actors, architects, farmers, aristocratic women and others.
The final product was a Hyperstudio stack in which each student
assumed a role and shared information about his or her life.

* Nelda Brangwin, school library media specialist; Christine Hauser,
first grade teacher - Cherry Valley Elementary School, Duvall, Wash.
As a part of the first grade social studies unit, students are
introduced to different cultures. When studying Japan, students
exchanged drawings of favorite foods, holidays, favorite toys and
families with students in Oanan Elementary School in Tsukuba City,
Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. A "big book" was written on Japan, and the
unit culminated with a Web page housed on each school's Internet home
page: "A Day in the Life of a First Grader in Washington State" and
"A Day in the Life of a First Grader in Japan."

* Shelby Bivens, library/media specialist; David Mittel, language
arts teacher - Kyrene Middle School, Tempe, Ariz.
The unit was developed as a research and presentation project.
Students researched favorite authors and read their books.
Afterwards, students organized their information into a storyboard
and used PowerPoint software to develop a presentation with included
text, downloaded Internet graphics and special effects. Students
shared their author studies with students from other language arts
classes. This project increased students' understanding of various
uses of technology which included Internet and CD-ROM searches.
Students also improved skills in writing, research, public speaking
and using technology for presentations.

* Carolyn Karis, school library media specialist; Elizabeth Wade,
French class teacher - Urban School of San Francisco.
The Francophone African study unit culminated in oral French
presentations that provided high school French students with context
for reading francophone African literature. Students researched
individual countries to gain background in the history and culture of
former French colonies in Africa. The students used French and English
Internet resources, CD-ROM disks, books and videos.  This project
increased students' cultural awareness and their comprehension of the
richness of francophone literature, their communication skills, their
critical use of information resources and their French-speaking
abilities.

Members of the 1998 ICONnect Mini-Grants Subcommittee were Judy Lira
(chair), Pam Spencer, Elizabeth Miller, Allison Kaplan, Mary Anne
Parks, Cathy Berner and Suzy Hawley.

Application guidelines and evaluation criteria for the 1999 ICONnect
mini-grants will be available this spring. Information about the
ICONnect technology initiative is available via the Internet at
http://www.ala.org/ICONN. ICONnect information packets are also
available by mail from the AASL. To request one call 800-545-2433,
ext. 1396, or e-mail ICONnect@ala.org.

posted by:
Steven Hofmann
Coordinator of Communications
American Association of School Librarians
a division of the American Library Association
50 E. Huron St.
Chicago, IL 60611
800-545-2433 ext. 4389
shofmann@ala.org

The mission of AASL is to advocate excellence, facilitate change, and
develop leaders in the school library media field.

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