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AASL NEWS
For Immediate Release
January 13, 2001
Contact: Steven Hofmann
Phone: 312-280-4389
Fax: 312-664-7459

AASL announces 2001 ICONnect ICPrize winners

The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) has announced five ICONnect ICPrize for Collaboration Through Technology winners for 2001. The announcement was made January 13, 2001 at the American Library Association's Midwinter Meeting in Washington, D.C.

The ICPrize is awarded as part of AASL's ICONnect technology initiative. Prior to 1999, the ICPrize was known as the ICONnect Mini-Grant. The current name reflects the true nature of the prize. The I and C represent the basic elements of the ICPrize: Information, Integration, Innovation, Curriculum, Collaboration and Connection--all integral parts of an ICPrize-winning curriculum unit.

ICPrize recipients receive $1,000 toward the purchase of technology for their library media center or to support travel to attend a state or national conference. To apply for the award, the school's library media specialist was required to be a personal member of ALA/AASL and 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:

Betsy Barnett, school library media specialist; Pete Conrad, participating teacher – Eads (Colo.) High School; "Kiowa County: A Retrospective at the Dawn of a New Millennium"

Students in an English class selected a building, business, person, event or concept associated with their rural community of less than 1,000 people, and then conducted interviews and research, and wrote a 10-page research paper and 1,000-word newspaper article on their topic. The newspaper articles were published as a millennium series in the Kiowa County Press, and will be posted on the newspaper's Web site. Students also donated their videotaped interviews, collected artifacts, notes, research papers and published works to the archives of the Kiowa County Museum. Subject areas: Language Arts, Information Literacy, Technology and History. Grade levels: 11, 12.

Susan L. Evans, school library media specialist; JoAnn Reynolds, participating teacher – F. Niel Postlethwait Middle School, Camden, Del.; "The Game of Real Life"

"The Game of Real Life" was the culminating unit for a three-year program in the Family and Consumer Sciences curriculum for sixth, seventh and eighth grade students. Students explored career options and participated in activities based on possible career choices. After preparing a preliminary chart to assist in their "job selection," students went online to determine their starting salary, based on salary information from the Occupational Handbook, and then planned a monthly budget. Students projected various future life events such as purchasing a car, renting and furnishing an apartment, and finally, hosting a housewarming party. Students prepared a menu, shopping list and created invitations to the party. Subject areas: Family and Consumer Science, but integrates all core subject areas. Grade level: 8.

Courtney Kaczka, school library media specialist; Anne Oakes, Tanya Chiavola, Sharon Gue and Sandy Mears, participating teachers – Townsend (Del.) Elementary School; "Campaigning for a Candidate"

This unit works to build a foundation for lifelong involvement in the democratic process. Students participated in readings and discussions to build a basic understanding of the role of the President, the voting process, political issues and campaigning. A critical view of "persuasive media" was presented and the students critiqued campaign commercials. "Campaign teams" were assigned candidates whom they investigated, then developed multimedia presentations, commercials and brochures. A mock election was held as the culminating activity. Content area: Social Studies. Grade level: 3.

Sandy Kelly, school library media specialist; Jane Hermann, Liz Perry, Carolyn Platt and Wendy Stack, participating teachers – Carlisle (Mass.) Public School; "Olympics RAP"

"Olympics RAP" was a month-long interdisciplinary unit simulating the process by which a site for the Olympic Games is chosen. During the course of the project, students learned about the culture and lore, climate and geography of a range of countries representing six continents. They then assembled a Research Activity Packet (RAP) of information about their country. The information in their packet was then used to prepare and present a proposal to host the Olympic Games. A group of judges "awarded" the Summer and Winter Olympics to the two countries making the most effective presentations. Content areas: Social Studies, Science, Math and English Language Arts. Grade levels: 6.

Theresa Michelson, school library media specialist; Julie Erlinger, participating teacher – Urbana (Ill.) High School; "Lesson Before Dying"

Before reading Ernest Gaines' A Lesson Before Dying, ninth grade English students used print and Internet resources to research people and events related to the historical and cultural aspects of the novel's late 1940s rural Louisiana setting. Working in pairs, students assumed the roles of reporters working in the 1940's and wrote a minimum of three articles devoted to their topic. The articles then appeared in a "newspaper" similar to ones published at the time the book's setting. The final product, created with a desktop publishing program, contained a news story, an editorial and a feature article. Content areas: Literature, American History and Social Studies. Grade level: 9-12.

Members of the 2001 ICONnect ICPrize Subcommittee were Sharon Coatney (chair), Oak Hill School (Overland Park, Kan.); Allison Kaplan, Education Resource Center, University of Delaware (Newark); Judy Lira, High Plains Regional Library System (Greeley, Colo.); Mary Anne Parks, MSD Washington Township Schools (Indianapolis, Ind.); Pam Spencer (Virginia Beach, Va.); Ken Stewart, Blue Valley High School (Stilwell, Kan.); and J. Linda Williams, Anne Arundel County Public Schools (Annapolis, Md.).

Information about the ICONnect technology initiative is available via the Internet.

The ICONnect technology initiative receives financial support from Follett Library Resources, The Gale Group, Brodart Books and Brodart Automation, Grolier Publishing, Linworth Publishing, Media Flex-CERF, and Sagebrush Corporation.

AASL is a division of the American Library Association.

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