1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
In the first talk, Goff discusses growing a mindset of play and shares tips, ideas, strategies, and examples of the various online and unplugged activities and programs she’s hosted as a librarian for different levels of students from elementary to high school. This should be a fun time for those with big budgets, no budgets, lots or little space, bright-eyed wunderkinds, and grouchy students. Absolutely no experience with coding at all is necessary (but she’ll show you it’s not such a scary thing). From bingo games and movie nights to Makey Makey and Sphero, there is something for every student to enjoy. The second presentation shares examples for reaching neophytes and nerds beyond the classroom: the tech savvy and late adopters. Technology discussion groups can fill that gap. Since everything is better over a cup of coffee, Vernon Area Public Library’s Computers & Coffee offers senior citizens a safe, comfortable place to discuss, learn, and practice technology skills. Nerds with Beer, which meets at a local bar, connects Millennial community members for lively discussion about technology trends. Speakers demonstrate the benefits of monthly technology discussion groups, attendance statistics, evaluating ROI, and how these programs could be implemented at your library, big or small. Walk away with the tools to start these discussion groups in your community. Public libraries have made significant strides toward providing free cybersecurity-related outreach and education for adults, but many lag behind in reaching teens, who instead turn to camps, classes, and after-school programs for the same content. In this third presentation, Markman addresses game-based and privacy security education for teens and shares his experience and lessons learned as a 2018 Global Minecraft Mentor utilizing the Minecraft Education Edition platform to introduce security topics to a new generation of library users. He compares this new learning ecosystem to past efforts and future opportunities for a “gamified” library learning landscape.
