Notes+from+Midwinter

Here are Wendy Stephens' notes (with little edits from Joyce) from the Midwinter All-Committee meeting


 * Members attending:** Joyce Valenza, Wendy Stephens
 * Guests:** Diane Chen, Alice Yucht, Kathy Lehman, Floyd Pentlin (Board Liaison)

We will have some summer meeting conflicts. Joyce will be at NECC. Can our Taskforce work from a distance using 2.0 tools? We have a Ning and this wiki already established. Can we do Skyke conferences, SL meetings, etc.?

Professional development will be a critical component of our efforts. Our membership must be able to use these tools before they model them. (Alice and Joyce disagreed on whether you //must// learn before you use. Can we use and learn simultaneously?)
 * 2.0 and AASL:**

Alice expressed concerns about not having RSS feeds for AASL press releases on the AASL blog. Discussion on this subject was planned for Monday Council meeting.

Everyone agreed on the importance of PD!
 * Ideas for Professional Development:**
 * Videos similar to [|Common Craft]
 * [|23 Things] (CSLA) types of activities supported by state associations. Enhance these learning tools with applications. Examples might include: wiki pathfinders and reading lists, lit circle and research blogs, etc.
 * Investigate an EdTechTalk show for TLs?
 * Clearinghouse for resources like http://lib20.pbwiki.com/techcamp-flickr, Atomic Learning
 * List of 20 Twitter-using librarians to follow (for the purpose of quickly developing a community) Joyce will work on the list and on our Twitter page.
 * Alice volunteered to chat with the AASL Professional Development committee


 * AASL meeting must change and model 2.0 possibilities.**
 * Should we stream/webcast important/popular speakers and events? (NECC does this with sponsorship.)
 * Virtual version of Exploratorium should archive this content and create dialog.
 * Expand possibilities
 * More effective (longer) distribution of handouts
 * Great opportunities for participation: back channel and //unconference//: using tools like Twitter/Twittercamp, Skype, and wikis
 * We need to connect with the AASL 09 Conference Planning Committee ASAP


 * Second Life/ Virtual Environments**
 * We are hoping Lisa and Robin will share their knowledge.
 * Julie Walker asked us to help her look into [|Whyville.]
 * Creation of a Virtual AASL Display in Second Life on ALA Island
 * Connections to resources, blogs, etc in the virtual display.
 * Understanding that the core of any virtual environment is it's community, how can we build AASL Community in Second Life?
 * Further research into upcoming closed MUVE systems.


 * Problems with school administrators demand some action.**
 * Support document or letter of rationale? (See drafting space for examples.)
 * Problems Chris noted re school culture
 * Possibilities vs. vision
 * Create talking points for filtering issues and intellectual freedom
 * Collection of research/references/case studies supporting objectives