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

Introduction to Young Adult Literature:
What to Read and How to Share it with Teens

(An Infopeople Online Learning Course)

June 20, 2006-July 18, 2006

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 dont 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 criteria, literary 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

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.

Course Start: This 4-week-long online learning course starts on June 20, 2006.