[Baynet] Infopeople's "Introduction to Young Adult Literature" online course

[Linda Rodenspiel]

Since some people who may be interested in this workshop might not receive 
this notice directly, we would appreciate it if you would print and post or 
route this announcement to staff and colleagues. Thanks!


Title:  Introduction to Young Adult Literature: What to Read and How to 
Share it with Teens (online learning course)

Dates:  June 20, 2006 - July 18, 2006

To register for this workshop:  Use the online registration form at
http://infopeople.org/WS/workshop/Workshop/274


Fee:  Because of grant funding, California residents can take this course 
for the subsidized fee of $75.00. The out-of-state fee is $275.00.

You don't have to be a young adult librarian to benefit from an 
understanding of young adult (YA) literature. If you work in a library, a 
school, or any other setting teens frequent, you have the perfect 
opportunity to connect teens with books. This course will help you take 
fullest advantage of that opportunity by introducing you to the 
fundamentals of young adult literature.

Through readers advisory interviews, booktalks, collections, displays, and 
literature-based programs, you will be able to identify and provide the 
right book or genre for any teenager even ones who claim they don't like to 
read! If you encounter teens in the course of your day and need a crash 
course on what they're reading or would enjoy reading, this course will 
increase your understanding, build your confidence, and expand your 
repertoire of great reads for teens.

Workshop Description: This four-week online learning course will provide an 
overview of young adult literature with ample opportunity for exploration 
and collaboration. Throughout the course, you will be expected to 
participate actively in weekly online discussions. To further enhance these 
discussions, you will: read at least one YA book from a list provided; 
visit recommended, relevant YA Web sites; conduct an informal survey with 
at least one teen; and prepare a defense for a challenged young adult book.

The instructor will provide bibliographies, webliographies, articles, tip 
sheets, and other resources to aid in the collection and sharing of young 
adult literature.

Preliminary Course Outline: Using your web browser and your Internet 
connection, you will log in to the Infopeople online learning site and 
complete the following learning modules:

Module One: What is Young Adult Literature?
--Background
--What makes a book young adult?
--Major genres and types of young adult literature
--Major authors who write books for teens

Module Two: Developing a Collection
--Creating or adapting a collection development policy with a focus on --YA 
collections
--Selection criterialiterary elements, themes, popular interest
--Importance of teen input
--Resources to help with selection

Module Three: Connecting Teens to Books
--Readers advisory tools and techniques
--Literature-based programming
--Literature in alternate formats
--Booktalking

Module Four: Trends & Issues
--Advocacy for young adult literature
--Censorship
--Curriculum connections
--Online communities
--Publishing and reading trends
--Teen-adult crossover materials

Workshop Instructor: Cynthia MacDonald.  Cynthia MacDonald, a 
"seasoned"Infopeople trainer, manages youth services for the Fresno County 
Public Library system, where she oversees and participates in a variety of 
services to youth from birth to eighteen. She has taught Young Adult 
literature to school and public library staff and teachers, presented 
workshops on the best of youth literature and how to share it, and has seen 
two of her own children successfully through the teen years, with still has 
one more to raise at home!

Online Learning Details: This four-week course will be taught online using 
the web. When you register, you will receive a registration confirmation, 
which will include the URL to get to the course, as well as a username and 
password.

Every student proceeds through the online learning modules at his or her 
own pace. However, students should expect to commit to spending a minimum 
of 2 to 2 1/2 hours per week on this course in order to be successful. You 
can work on each module at your own pace, at any hour of the day or night. 
However, you will be expected to log in to the course each week to do that 
weeks assignment. We ask that you log in sometime during the first week of 
the course to begin the course work.

Your instructor will be available for limited consultation support for two 
weeks after the official end date of a course, and the course material will 
stay up for an additional two weeks after that, to give those who have 
fallen behind time to work independently on the course. However, you will 
be expected to accomplish the majority of the course in synchronization 
with your peers during the first four weeks.

Who Should Take This Course: : This introductory course is designed for 
individuals from the library and school communities, and anyone else who is 
interested in knowing all about young adult literature: what it is, who 
writes it, where to find it, and how to get teens to read it.

Prerequisites: This course is taught over the web. You must:

--Have an Internet connection.
--Be able to save Microsoft Word .docs or Adobe .pdf files to your computer 
and print them out. (For .doc files, a free Word Viewer is available at 
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/search.aspx?displaylang=en. Search for 
"Word Viewer." For .pdf files, a free Adobe Acrobat Reader is available at 
http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/main.html).
--Be comfortable navigating on the web and navigating back and forward on a 
website that uses frames.

System Requirements: The online learning product that Infopeople uses is 
called Angel. The following are minimum system requirements for using 
Angel. You will need access to a computer that has at least these 
specifications to participate in an online course:

Windows:
--Internet Explorer 6.0 and above, Netscape 7.1 and above, or Firefox 1.5 
and above

Macintosh:
--Mozilla 1.4 and above (which is the same engine as Netscape 7.1), Safari 
2.0 and above, or Firefox 1.5 and above
--OS X and above (OS 9 will NOT work with our online learning product)

If you are not comfortable with any of the above, please consider taking 
this course with a colleague who does meet these requirements.

To view a complete list of Infopeople workshops and for general information 
about Infopeople training opportunities, go to the main Infopeople 
Workshops page at http://infopeople.org/WS/workshop

If you have questions about registration or scheduling of workshops, please 
contact Linda Rodenspiel, the Infopeople Project Assistant, at 
assist at infopeople.org or by phone at 650-578-9685.