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The Battle of the Books: Question Writing Workshop is a workshop that will help participants craft questions specifically for the 2025-2026 competition season. For each book completed the participants will receive 1 CTLE credit.

All Follett Destiny catalog users, join us for an interactive, hour-long guide designed for both new and returning staff on using your Follett Destiny Library System. This live session will walk you through the system and include a dedicated Q&A period to answer all of your specific questions.

All OPALS library catalog users, join John Schuster from Mediaplex for an interactive, hour-long guide designed for both new and returning staff on using your OPALS Library System. This live session will walk you through the system and include a dedicated Q&A period to answer all of your specific questions.

In a digital world driven by clicks, algorithms, influencers, and viral content, students need more than traditional source evaluation skills. They need to become digital detectives. In this asynchronous book study, participants will explore Developing Digital Detectives, from the authors of the bestselling Fact vs. Fiction, and learn practical strategies for helping students navigate today's complex information landscape.

Participants will discover how to teach students to question motives, identify patterns, evaluate evidence, and determine the credibility of information. The book study examines misinformation, disinformation, and media influence while providing tools and techniques that support media literacy, information literacy, and critical thinking in both face-to-face and digital learning environments.

Educators will also explore the connection between social-emotional learning and information literacy, helping students develop empathy, perspective-taking, and responsible decision-making when engaging with information online.

Learning Outcomes:
• Teach students to evaluate information credibility.
• Implement media literacy and critical thinking strategies.
• Examine the impact of misinformation and disinformation.
• Connect SEL competencies with information literacy instruction.
• Support responsible and informed digital citizenship.

Note: Participants will receive digital access to the book throughout the duration of the book study.

Today's educators face a growing challenge: helping students focus, engage, and thrive in a world filled with constant digital distractions. In this book study, participants will explore ZENgaged: An Educator's Guide to Teaching the Anxious Generation by Carl Hooker, while also examining key ideas and research from Jonathan Haidt's The Anxious Generation.

Rather than focusing on technology bans, this book study emphasizes practical strategies for creating balance, building student self-regulation, and fostering meaningful engagement in technology-rich learning environments. Participants will examine the impact of smartphones, social media, and digital culture on student attention, well-being, and learning, while exploring classroom-tested approaches that help students reconnect with themselves, their peers, and their learning.

Through reading, reflection, and collaborative discussion, educators will consider ways to create healthier digital habits, strengthen relationships, partner with families, and cultivate classroom environments that promote focus, resilience, and curiosity.

Learning Outcomes:


• Examine research related to student anxiety, attention, and technology use.


• Explore connections between ZENgaged and key concepts from The Anxious Generation.


• Identify strategies for promoting student focus and engagement in technology-rich classrooms.


• Develop approaches that encourage healthy digital habits and self-regulation.


• Strengthen classroom practices that foster connection, belonging, and well-being.


• Reflect on the role educators can play in helping students navigate an increasingly connected world.

This book study is designed for teachers, school librarians, counselors, instructional coaches, and school leaders who want practical tools and research-based strategies to support student well-being, engagement, and success in the digital age. Participants will

The SLS Communication Coordinators meetings are designed to be a bridge between the School Library System team and the school librarians in each of the districts and non-public schools that are members of the system. Each district has a designated Communication Coordinator who is required to attend the meetings but all members are welcome to attend. The morning (8:30 am to 11:30 am) will be the meeting and the afternoon will be a professional learning opportunity.

Book Cafe 2026-2027 Edition: Join the Quest for Exciting New Books!

This year, we are on a mission to uncover and share the best new books for our libraries and classrooms. To streamline the process, each participant will fill out a Google form for every book reviewed, making it easier to focus on crafting insightful reviews. The collected information will be featured on our blog, helping us crowdsource top book recommendations from our region and beyond!

The Details:

• Review one chapter book (over 150 pages) or two picture books to earn 1 credit hour.
• Accumulate up to 16 credit hours from October to May.
• Open to all genres for PreK-12 readers and professional development titles.

Important Notes:

• This is an entirely online and asynchronous course, with no in-person meetings.
• All hours are recorded for district Professional Learning requirements.
• Participants are responsible for procuring their own books.

For questions, contact me at hturner@ocmboces.org.

This asynchronous professional development session introduces participants to News-O-Matic, focusing on exploring the platform and navigating the essential tools that support instruction, literacy, and student engagement. This resource is available to all educators in the O²CM Region.

Through embedded videos and interactive tasks within this Google Form, you will learn how to:

• Navigate the teacher dashboard and locate key features
• Assign articles, customize questions, and build custom units
• Use student tools such as Read-to-Me, Fact versus Act, the interactive map, and accessibility settings
• Explore Active Learning lessons that provide ready-to-use instructional materials

You will watch short training videos, complete knowledge checks, and complete a hands-on task to apply what you learned. By the end, you will be prepared to guide students and colleagues in using News-O-Matic effectively to support inquiry, literacy, and engagement.

This asynchronous professional development session introduces participants to Sooth, focusing on creating an account and navigating its essential tools for research and information literacy. This website is available to all educators in the O²CM Region. Through embedded videos and interactive tasks within the Google Form, you will learn how to:

Create a Sooth account using your school email or single sign-on (SSO) Confirm your account and customize basic profile settings Explore key tools to support student research and critical thinking

You will watch short training videos, complete knowledge checks, and complete a hands-on task to apply what you learned. By the end, you will be prepared to guide students and colleagues in using Sooth effectively for inquiry and research.

Let's Get Reading with Sora is an asynchronous professional development session that introduces participants to Sora, OverDrive's digital reading platform for ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, comics, graphic novels, and read-alongs. Available to educators and students throughout the O²CM School Library System, Sora provides access to thousands of digital reading resources that can support literacy, independent reading, classroom instruction, and professional learning.

Through embedded videos and interactive tasks within this Google Form, you will learn how to:

• Log in to Sora using your school credentials or ClassLink
• Navigate the Home, Explore, Shelf, and Me sections of the platform
• Browse curated collections and search for digital reading materials
• Recognize the different types of resources available, including ebooks, audiobooks, read-alongs, magazines, and graphic novels
• Borrow, place holds on, and manage digital materials
• Add additional libraries, including public and professional development collections, to expand your reading options
• Use built-in reading tools such as bookmarks, highlighting, notes, adjustable text settings, dictionaries, and audiobook playback controls
• Explore ways to incorporate Sora into classroom instruction and encourage student reading

You will watch short training videos, complete knowledge checks, and participate in hands-on activities that allow you to explore Sora from both the educator and student perspectives. By the end of the course, you will be comfortable navigating the platform, accessing digital reading materials, utilizing its accessibility and reading features, and helping students develop a lifelong love of reading through Sora.

This asynchronous professional development session introduces participants to NoodleTools, a comprehensive research management platform that supports students throughout the entire research process, from source collection to note-taking, organization, citation creation, and final writing. This resource is available to all educators in the O²CM BOCES region.

Through embedded videos and interactive tasks within this Google Form, you will learn how to:

• Create and manage NoodleTools projects
• Understand citation styles and select appropriate citation levels
• Add and organize sources using the citation management tools
• Import citations directly from library databases into NoodleTools
• Use note cards, stacks, and tabletop views to organize research and writing
• Create and manage project inboxes for student collaboration and feedback
• Monitor student progress and provide comments throughout the research process
• Export note cards and research materials for use in Google Docs, Microsoft Word, or other writing platforms

You will watch short training videos, complete knowledge checks, and participate in hands-on activities that allow you to explore NoodleTools from both the student and educator perspectives. By the end of the course, you will be prepared to support students in developing strong research practices while using NoodleTools to streamline organization, collaboration, and feedback throughout the research process.

Libraries Light the Way: Navigating Stories, Information & AI.

Join us for a day of engaging workshops, inspiring speakers, and networking opportunities. Explore the latest trends in literature, discover innovative resources and strategies for your library, and consider how AI is shaping the ways students access, evaluate, create, and engage with information. Connect with fellow educators who share your passion for books, libraries, and empowering students to become thoughtful, informed learners.

We are thrilled to welcome Dashka Slater as our keynote speaker and Elissa Malespina as our endnote speaker. Together, they will help us explore the power of stories, the importance of information literacy, and the role school librarians and educators play in guiding students through an increasingly complex information landscape.

Apply now to present at the Greater CNY Fall Conference and join us as we celebrate the people, ideas, and resources that help libraries light the way!

Artificial intelligence is changing how students find information, write, and complete assignments. This book study explores Research in the Age of AI: Teaching Ethical, Rigorous Research in an AI-Driven World by Elissa Malespina and examines how educators can adapt research instruction to maintain academic integrity, critical thinking, and authentic student learning.

Participants will read and discuss key concepts from the book, including evaluating AI-generated information, designing meaningful research experiences, supporting ethical AI use, and assessing student thinking through reflection and conferencing. Educators will explore strategies for creating assignments that emphasize inquiry, analysis, and reasoning rather than simply producing a final product.

Through collaborative discussion and reflection, participants will consider how AI is reshaping information literacy and research practices across grade levels and content areas. The book study will also examine classroom and school policies that encourage responsible and transparent AI use.

Learning Outcomes:


• Understand the impact of AI on research and information literacy.

• Teach students to critically evaluate AI-generated and online information.

• Design research assignments that promote authentic thinking and inquiry.

• Support ethical and responsible use of AI tools in learning.

• Develop assessment practices that make student thinking visible.

• Explore policy and instructional approaches that foster academic integrity in an AI-driven world.

This book study is designed for teachers, school librarians, instructional coaches, and educational leaders seeking practical strategies for teaching research and critical thinking in today's evolving digital landscape. Participants will need to purchase this title, however, it is available via Kindle Unlimited.

Artificial intelligence is changing not only how we write, but also how we read. In this asynchronous book study, participants will explore Naomi S. Baron's Reader Bot: What Happens When AI Reads and Why It Matters and examine the growing role of AI as a reader, researcher, and information processor.

As AI tools increasingly summarize texts, answer questions, and analyze information on our behalf, important questions emerge about the future of human reading, critical thinking, and learning. Participants will investigate how AI "reads" differently from humans and consider the implications for literacy, comprehension, curiosity, and knowledge-building in schools and society.

Through reading, reflection, and discussion, educators will explore the benefits and limitations of AI-assisted reading while examining strategies that preserve deep reading, critical thinking, and student engagement. The book study will encourage participants to consider how educators can help students thoughtfully balance the convenience of AI tools with the enduring value of human reading and learning.

Learning Outcomes:

• Examine how AI processes and interprets information.

• Explore the impact of AI on reading, literacy, and learning.

• Consider the benefits and limitations of AI-assisted reading.

• Reflect on the role of deep reading in developing critical thinking and comprehension.

• Identify strategies for supporting thoughtful and ethical AI use in educational settings.

This asynchronous book study is designed for teachers, school librarians, instructional coaches, and educational leaders interested in the future of literacy, learning, and artificial intelligence.

Note: Participants will have access to the eBook via PLConnect Sora Library.

Graphic novels offer powerful opportunities to engage students in meaningful conversations about identity, culture, justice, and human experiences. In this asynchronous book study, participants will explore Building Critical Literacy and Empathy with Graphic Novels by Jason D. DeHart and discover how visual narratives can support critical thinking, empathy, and literacy development across grade levels.

Through reading, reflection, and discussion, participants will examine strategies for using graphic novels to facilitate conversations about diverse perspectives, identity, immigration, mental health, and social justice. The book provides recommended titles, author insights, and lesson ideas that help educators leverage graphic novels as tools for engagement, representation, and deeper learning.

Participants will explore how graphic novels foster critical literacy through analysis of visual and textual elements while building empathy through authentic stories and diverse perspectives.

Learning Outcomes:

• Explore the role of graphic novels in developing critical literacy and empathy.

• Identify graphic novels that support diverse perspectives and inclusive learning environments.

• Examine strategies for facilitating discussions around complex topics.

• Develop lesson ideas that integrate graphic novels across content areas.

• Strengthen students' visual literacy, critical thinking, and comprehension skills.

• Create opportunities for meaningful dialogue through literature.

This asynchronous book study is designed for teachers, school librarians, literacy specialists, and instructional leaders interested in expanding the use of graphic novels to support literacy and student engagement.

Note: Participants will receive digital access to the book through the Professional eBook Collection.

The SLS Communication Coordinators meetings are designed to be a bridge between the School Library System team and the school librarians in each of the districts and non-public schools that are members of the system. Each district has a designated Communication Coordinator who is required to attend the meetings but all members are welcome to attend.

Artificial intelligence is often presented as an inevitable force that will transform every aspect of society. But how much of what we hear about AI is reality, and how much is hype? In this asynchronous book study, participants will explore The AI Con by Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna, a thought-provoking examination of the claims, promises, and concerns surrounding artificial intelligence and the companies driving its development.

Through reading, reflection, and discussion, participants will investigate how AI is portrayed in the media, education, business, and public policy. The book challenges readers to critically examine common narratives about AI while exploring issues such as data privacy, surveillance, bias, misinformation, intellectual property, and the impact of emerging technologies on human creativity and work.

Educators will consider how AI literacy, media literacy, and critical thinking can help students and adults navigate an increasingly AI-driven world. Participants will explore strategies for evaluating claims about AI, recognizing technology hype, and engaging in informed conversations about the future of technology and society.

Learning Outcomes:
• Analyze common claims and narratives surrounding artificial intelligence.
• Examine the social, ethical, and educational implications of AI technologies.
• Explore issues related to privacy, bias, misinformation, and digital citizenship.
• Develop skills for identifying and evaluating technology hype.
• Strengthen AI literacy, media literacy, and critical thinking practices.
• Reflect on the role of educators in supporting informed and responsible technology use.

This asynchronous book study is designed for teachers, school librarians, instructional coaches, administrators, and educational leaders interested in exploring the broader impacts of artificial intelligence on education and society.

Note: Participants will receive digital access to the book th

How can educators create learning experiences that are both inclusive and engaging? In this asynchronous book study, participants will explore Playing with Purpose: Universal Design for Learning in an Age of Change by Michael Matera and John Meehan, a practical guide that combines the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) with the power of gamification to create meaningful learning experiences for all students.

Through reading, reflection, and discussion, participants will examine how UDL can move beyond theory and into everyday classroom practice. The book provides ready-to-use strategies and activities that promote student choice, engagement, accessibility, and authentic learning while supporting diverse learner needs. Participants will also explore how game-based learning and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, can be leveraged to increase motivation, creativity, and student success.

Learning Outcomes:


•Explore the principles of Universal Design for Learning and their classroom applications.


•Identify strategies for increasing student engagement through gamification and game-based learning.


•Design learning experiences that provide multiple pathways for student success.


•Examine how emerging technologies can support inclusive and meaningful learning.


•Develop practical approaches for fostering student agency, motivation, and creativity.


•Create more accessible and equitable learning environments for diverse learners.

This asynch book study is designed for teachers, school librarians, instructional coaches, special educators, and school leaders interested in creating engaging, inclusive, & learner-centered classrooms.

Note: Participants will need to purchase the title.

Join us for a transformative book study on "The Artful Read-Aloud: 10 Principles to Inspire, Engage, and Transform Learning." Authored by renowned educator and literacy expert, Rebecca Bellingham, this book offers invaluable insights and practical strategies for K-12 educators seeking to enrich their read-aloud practices.

Throughout this study, participants will explore the ten principles outlined in the book, delving into each principle's significance and practical application in the classroom. From fostering a love of reading to enhancing comprehension and critical thinking skills, the principles presented in this book are designed to inspire and engage learners of all ages.

Through lively discussions, reflective activities, and collaborative exercises, participants will have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of effective read-aloud techniques and how they can be seamlessly integrated into their teaching practice. Whether you're a seasoned educator or new to the profession, this book study promises to invigorate your approach to read-alouds and empower you to create memorable and enriching learning experiences for your students.

Note: Participants will have access to a digital copy of this title. This Book Study is completely asynchronous, allowing flexible engagement with weekly assignments. Please disregard times; provided dates are the only relevant scheduling items. Let's embark on this enriching journey together!

The SLS Communication Coordinators meetings are designed to be a bridge between the School Library System team and the school librarians in each of the districts and non-public schools that are members of the system. Each district has a designated Communication Coordinator who is required to attend the meetings but all members are welcome to attend. This is our last meeting of the year that will consist of the CC meeting, as well as a celebration of our retirees, and this years award winners

What inspires students to become lifelong readers? In this asynchronous book study, participants will explore The Joy of Reading by Donalyn Miller and Teri Lesesne, an inspiring and practical guide for creating the conditions that foster authentic, joyful reading experiences for all learners.

Drawing on decades of experience as educators and literacy advocates, the authors examine the factors that nurture a love of reading and those that unintentionally diminish it. Through reading, reflection, and discussion, participants will explore strategies for building reading engagement, supporting student choice, creating vibrant reading communities, and encouraging lifelong reading habits both in and beyond the classroom.

Participants will consider how educators, librarians, administrators, and families can work together to cultivate reading cultures that prioritize curiosity, connection, and personal growth. The book study will provide opportunities to reflect on current practices and identify ways to make reading a meaningful and rewarding part of students' lives.

Learning Outcomes:
• Explore the characteristics of joyful and engaged readers.
• Identify practices that encourage lifelong reading habits.
• Examine the role of choice, access, and reading community in student engagement.
• Develop strategies for fostering a positive reading culture.
• Reflect on instructional practices that support reading motivation and achievement.
• Create opportunities for students to experience reading as a source of enjoyment, learning, and connection.

This asynchronous book study is designed for teachers, school librarians, literacy specialists, administrators, and anyone interested in promoting a lifelong love of reading.

Note: Participants will be provided with the eBook through Sora for the duration of the book study.