Library Strand

#1 Workshop Description

This hands-on workshop will give participants an opportunity to engage with and explore immersive technologies. From virtual reality headsets to augmented reality displays – how is the American School of Bombay leveraging this technology to connect with and support all learners?

#2 Workshop Description

Artificial Intelligence has begun to disrupt industries previously untouched by the evolution of technology. With AI generated artwork winning competitions, to machine learning written text submitted to magazines – how else might this begin impacting libraries and librarians? Is AI simply a disruptor or can it be leveraged as a powerful ally?

Presenter Bio

Born in the United States and raised overseas, Alexander Johnson is a true third culture kid and third generation international educator. He has a background in Computer Science, and a Masters in Educational Leadership. Working for over a decade in schools as a technology integrationist, design teacher and most recently, as the EdTech Coordinator at the American School of Bombay. A member of the Apple Distinguished Educator class of 2017 – an experienced presenter and workshop leader who has shared his learning at conferences in five countries.

Workshop Description

All libraries operate based on the financial decisions of the leadership and management. The librarian spearheads the procurement of resources while looking at finance/funds/ vendor and resource acquisition.

Through this workshop, participants will become financially literate when the Librarian spearheads the purchase of resources. This workshop will empower you to help teachers and students with the resources they need and also make leadership and management trust you as a reliable financial manager for resources.

Presenter Bio

Anil Mane is the Head Librarian at Edubridge International School. A humble learner open to seeking/learning the best new pragmatic approaches and ideas to apply to student learning. Also, an aspirational learner to be a better version every day and in every way!

Workshop Description

Join us as we delve into the Question Formulation Technique (QFT), a protocol for supporting students in all subject areas developed at the Right Question Institute. By sharing this technique with students, educators can ensure that their ability to ask questions will open doors to further understanding. 

Presenter Bio

Barbara Bowman and Marion Whisnant work at the American International School of Chennai across all three school sections. They have worked in several places around the world, including Vietnam, Peru, China, and Morocco and have nearly twenty years of experience working in school libraries. They both have advanced degrees in information science/school librarianship and look forward to exploring the question formulation technique in this workshop.

Marion Whisnant .

Workshop Description

The art of storytelling is the ability to build a visual narrative in a way that stimulates the imagination for the listener and transforms hearts and minds. The main objective of this session is to learn different tech-related strategies and ideas to create dynamic stories.

Through this session, participants will explore various tech tools and digital applications to enhance the storyteller’s craft, while creatively magnifying the imagination for the listener.

Presenter Bio

Devanshi Joshi works as an Asst. Educational Technology and iCommons Specialist at the American School of Bombay. Passionate about integrating technology in the classroom, she collaborates with teachers across divisions and subject areas to enhance meaningful learning experiences for students. She also teaches digital citizenship to students across grades K-5 which helps them become responsible and ethical digital consumers and content creators. She is a Google Certified Educator (Level 2) and Apple Teacher.

Workshop Description

Through this workshop, participants will get a glimpse of different writing activities you can conduct with primary and secondary school students for your library classes. And, how you can use this opportunity to create a community of writers with the parents and teachers. Through an open discussion, we will discuss the role of a librarian, and share ideas, mindset on various topics like – need of a curriculum, collaboration, and other roles that librarians must play and why that is the need of the hour.

Presenter Bio

Gizelle Rodrigues is a Library Educator at the American School of Bombay for the past 16 years. She is one of the Associate Heads of Read Bloom Books where she envisions building literacy in India through reading and writing. She believes that one’s creativity always shines through when you tie reading and writing.
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Heeru Bhojwani has been an iCommons Specialist/Librarian at the American School of Bombay for over 22 years. She is the co-founder of the Liferarian Association. Her articles have been published in Knowledge Quest Article and IBO Blog, describing her belief in supporting the community of librarians, and she has been an Advisor to the School Library Association – First Newsletter – SLAI Scoop FINAL (SLAIndia Newsletter) Vol.1 Issue 1 Oct (002). 2019.
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Workshop Description

Through this workshop, participants will learn new ways to highlight the library and make it an active hub of learning. We will discuss various events and activities librarians that can implement to help students shine.

Presenter Bio

My name is Ketki Bedekar. I am associated with Podar ORT International School from last 4 years as a teacher librarian. One thing that I love about my job is that it provides ample opportunities to explore various technological tools. I have also facilitated sessions on Library Curriculum and Digital Citizenship. I also manage accounts and coursework for “Liferarian Association”. I am open-minded and like to keep myself updated all the time.

Workshop Description

Libraries thrive in the simultaneity of silence & student voice. While silence lends itself to a contemplative creative churning, library is also the space for students to stay with their questions, and at times lend their voices to those questions, unhindered. The workshop will look at how the two blend beautifully into creating a space where students can express fearlessly, with authenticity and purpose, through a range of forms that includes writing, art, design, film and photography.

Presenter Bio

With a background in Social Communications, Kirti Kaul has worked for over fifteen years across film/ television, publishing and the education sector. Currently she leads the Library-Led Programs as the Research & Resources Facilitator at Shiv Nadar School, Noida.She also teaches Film for the IB Diploma Programme.
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Workshop Description

Through this workshop, participants with access to Follett Destiny Discover Library System will learn/review how to create attractive, user-friendly Destiny Discover K- 12 collections. Participants will learn how to add print and digital resources such as websites, books, eBooks, videos, and documents saved on your computer to the collections. Also, learn how to add collaborators, including students and/or teachers, to quickly share the resource collection.

This will be a hands-on workshop.

Presenter Bio

Milly Pannunzio has over 25 years of experience in international K-12 schools in Brazil. She is currently the head of the library at Dhirubhai Ambani International School in Mumbai. During her career, she has developed and implemented strong library programs and curriculums based on the AASL Shared Foundations and ISTE standards to develop research, digital citizenship skills, and an appreciation for reading.
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Workshop Description

Exploring the author’s world with Nalini Sorensen.

Presenter Bio

Nalini Sorensen is an award-winning children’s author, who loves spending time with children and looking at the world through the wonder of their eyes. She believes that life is too short to not laugh, and seems to always attract highly humorous situations in her real life.
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Workshop Description

This interactive workshop has been designed for librarians who have taken up a librarianship role in the International school recently. Participants will explore the complex research process and learn how to guide the research process systematically in order to conduct a constructive and independent research assignment in school.

Harvard Project Zero’s visible thinking routines and few other strategies will be touched upon as a tool box to scaffold the development of these skills.

Participants will be challenged to consider when and how they will explicitly teach individual research skills and inspire students to complete independent research projects. The session aims at collaborative discussion and group work. The participants will create the bubble unit for teaching and learning through research and guided inquiry.

Take away: Participants will understand the complex research process and become more confident in teaching and guiding the students to enrich student learning through research.

Presenter Bio

Ngawang Tenzin is a self-motivated teacher librarian who is passionate about promoting the love of reading amongst children and truly believes in contributing to lifelong learning by inculcating Information Literacy Skills amongst students. He understands all three IB programmes (PYP/MYP/DP) and actively promotes academic honesty, and supports student research. A friendly, communicative, open-minded team player with more than 20 years of experience in International School Librarianship, specialising in IB school Librarianship and a TOK facilitator.

Workshop Description

Through this workshop, the presenter will share her experience on how she involves students in building a space that represents their voice and choice. The objective is to expose students to participate in Library work through specific responsibilities. This co-planning results in a co-creation of the library while building life skills like teamwork, planning and time management and empowering students.

Presenter Bio

Preeti Tressler is the Research and Resource Facilitator at Shiv Nadar School and is responsible for curating the library collection and organising engagements that support student reading and language skills. She works closely with English teachers. She is a part of the school publications team.

Workshop Description

Through this workshop, participants will learn and discuss together about Cyber Security and Creating Content.

Presenter Bios

Ragvendra Gadage (AV Events Manager, American School Of Bombay) is a creative thinker and content creator and loves exploring innovations in the field of technology and audio-visual. He has been working as a part of the Audio-Visual team at the American School of Bombay for the past 9 years. His areas of expertise cover cinematography and video editing. He has explored various disciplines within the content-creating mix and has a vast range of experience working on wedding films, corporate videos, music concerts & events. One of his passions is providing AV expertise to educators and creatives who use technology for integrated experiences in their learning spaces.

Christopher D’souza ( Visual Production Manager & Communications Team, American School of Bombay & NYIP Photographer). Christopher is the Visual Production Manager at the American School of Bombay. Creative and Innovative ideas needed in this dry and monotonous media field are prominent in this artist’s work. Christopher D’souza has been working in the field of Media for over 12 years and at ASB for nine years. Whether it be video editing, photography, cinematography, designing, visual effects, event management, technical troubleshooting, or anything related to Audiovisual media, He can get the job done perfectly. He has created various videos for the American School of Bombay over the past years. He has a growing thirst for knowledge in the media field and looks to improve his skills with every project. He enjoys sharing his knowledge and ideas to help people improve their Audio visual skills. Christopher plans to support schools to evolve using Media as a powerful tool for learning, equipping others to be self-sufficient and knowledgeable about basic Media standards, and supporting a better future in Personal Development.

Workshop Description

Are you looking for new ways to engage your learners in reading? Do you wish for a way to make reading more exciting in your class?

There’s much more to reading aloud than reciting words from a page. It’s a meaningful experience for learners of all ages, and refining it is the key to nurturing love and passion for language, stories and building literacy.

Through this workshop, participants will learn and discuss the most effective ways to cultivate a love of reading in children using the power of a read-aloud.

Presenter Bio

Rozmeen Saifee has been a passionate Teacher Librarian since 2013, always ready to explore, learn and share. Pursuing her Master’s Degree in English Literature, reading has always been her passion, and storytelling – is her forte. Therefore, planning, teaching, and evaluating reading or writing instructions for learners has been her main interest. Having curated a PYP library of more than 15,000 resources, she has the expertise to run an effective and meaningful Reading Program for children.

Workshop Description

Research skills are being used daily, not just by educators or scholars but young minds who begin their academic journey at the tender age of three.

Through this workshop, participants will learn about the purpose and process of research. Participants will learn how to scaffold the research process for young learners.

Presenter Bio

Ruchi Mahale is the PYP Information and Media Literacy teacher at Oberoi International School, JVLR. She designs and implements research processes for students from nursery to grade 5. She has customised a research model which caters to her school community, and through this conference, she wishes to extend her knowledge and support to her fellow librarians and educators.

Workshop Description

In this session we will share and take part in some fun library activities to promote books and authors and explore reading identities and habits. We will share different types of quizzes, interactive games and activities that you can adapt for your library, your students and age group. Come and have fun and have some game slide decks to take away and adapt for your students.

Presenter Bio

Sarah Pickles is the Elementary iCommons Media Specialist at ASB. She has a Masters in Teacher Librarianship and a Masters in Educational Technology, but her main passion is children’s books. Formerly a classroom teacher, this is her seventh year as a Librarian, but she knows she still has a lot to learn. This is her second year in India and she adores living in Mumbai and travelling around India. She has previously taught at schools in the UK, Nigeria, Togo, Ghana and Indonesia. Originally from England, she has also lived in the United States and Japan. She is passionate about ensuring a diverse collection for a diverse cohort of students at the American School of Bombay. She is an Apple Distinguished Educator, a Google Certified Teacher and a Seesaw Ambassador. Along with being a librarian, Sarah enjoys teaching Digital Citizenship, Information Literacy and collaborating with students and helping them use tech to learn, create and to share their learning.

Workshop Description

Why do libraries matter? How does your collection represent your patrons? What is your role in maintaining a collection? This workshop will explore these questions and more as we take a deeper look into what it means to have a fluid collection in order to truly meet the needs of our library patrons.

Presenter Bios

Wendy Guyer has been in India with her partner and two children since 2014, while also calling Asheville, North Carolina her other home. With a master’s degree in library and information sciences, Wendy has 19 years of experience teaching prekindergarten through grade 7 in the classroom and in the library settings. She currently serves as the elementary school librarian at the American Embassy School in New Delhi.

Reading is certainly a favorite hobby, and recommending books to younger readers is also one of her favorite ways to interact with students. Her own favorite books as a child include A Chair for My Mother, Go, Dog. Go!, and any Nancy Drew mystery.

Dr. Chris Fazenbaker (Faze) has over 20 years of educational experience both in the classroom as a Spanish teacher and as a librarian. Faze has a master’s degree in Library Science and Information Technology and is currently the middle school and high school librarian at the American Embassy School in New Delhi. Faze is a big supporter of reading and the belief of cultivating the love of reading in others; everyone should have access to books.

Faze grew up in a household in which reading was valued. With frequent visits to the local library and spending personal money on books, a love of reading was fostered at a very early age. Her favorite place to read is in nature with an amazing view.