K-12

Cat McIlroy (she/her)

Librarian, Sexsmith Secondary School

Information literacy has always been a part of librarians' vernacular, but because students are facing an increasingly endless abyss of digital information and misinformation, it is now librarians' responsibility to show them how to navigate.

Cat will discuss how librarians can help high school students become information and digitally literate. The session will include ways to partner with teachers, engage with students in-person and virtually, and the methods to make things relevant and fun.

Presentation by Harper Collins at Alberta Library Conference

Three years ago, our library wanted to get involved with makerspaces, but we faced some unique challenges. How can a library have a makerspace when the majority of clients cannot access the physical library? What can the library do to excite our remote users about emerging technologies that can be used in their classrooms? Our solution was to create a different kind of makerspace – a space with no space, no place, no walls. Come and learn how we adapted the idea of a makerspace to meet our clients’ needs.

This session will have you engaging in various education games suitable for both the classroom and for public library programming for school-age children. Challenges from grades 3 – 12 will be presented that ignite students’ natural drive to problem-solve and can be used to teach core academic subjects which already embed competencies and provide many cross-curricular connections. 

The Online Reference Centre is an outstanding resource for K-12 students, staff, and parents offering professionally vetted databases mapped to all areas of the Alberta curriculum. Public library staff now have access to the ORC as well, enabling them to deliver better service and homework help for their young patrons. Come to this session and learn the basics of the ORC and everything it has to offer! FOLIO: The What and How