Name: Level Up ʻAmaʻama Escape: Where Culture, STEM, and Game Design Power Up Student Inquiry
Start: 2026-08-06T12:50:00-1000
End: 2026-08-06T13:50:00-1000

The 2026 Hawaii School Library Conference, centered on the theme "Think. Create. Share. Grow." invites school library professionals to dive deep into the four domains of the AASL Standards Framework for Learners. This theme is a call to action, emphasizing the pivotal role school librarians play in empowering students to become ethical, critical, and collaborative citizens in the digital age.

What to Expect

Through engaging keynotes, hands-on workshops, and collaborative sessions, we will explore practical strategies to:

🧠 Think (Inquire & Analyze): Equip students with the critical thinking and research skills necessary to navigate complex information landscapes, evaluate sources, and become proficient users and creators of knowledge.
💡 Create (Design & Construct): Foster innovation and digital literacy by integrating tools and practices that encourage learners to design solutions, construct new understandings, and express their ideas creatively.
🤝 Share (Collaborate & Connect): Highlight the importance of the library as a hub for collaboration, ethical digital citizenship, and connection, promoting respectful dialogue and the responsible sharing of ideas and resources within the school and global community.
🌱 Grow (Explore & Engage): Focus on the personal and professional development of both students and librarians, championing a mindset of continuous learning, adaptation, and reflective practice that fuels lifelong literacy and intellectual growth.

Join us in celebrating the vital work of Hawaii’s school librarians as we collectively cultivate the future-ready learner by embedding these essential domains into every facet of the school library program.

Level Up ʻAmaʻama Escape: Where Culture, STEM, and Game Design Power Up Student Inquiry

Thursday August 6, 2026 12:50pm - 1:50pm HST

Piinaio Ballroom 1

Dive into a dynamic learning journey where culture, inquiry, STEM, and game design collide. This session highlights how 6th graders at Kamehameha Schools investigated the decline of the ʻAmaʻama (Hawaiian striped mullet) through mo‘olelo, kilo observations, field studies, interviews, historical documents, and scientific data. Their research became the backbone of a student‑designed hybrid board/digital game that blends ʻike kūpuna with cutting‑edge tools—including AI for custom chatbots, coding platforms for digital mini-games, 3D modeling for custom game components, and media production for storytelling.

You’ll explore practical strategies for guiding students through authentic, place‑based inquiry and helping them synthesize diverse primary sources into meaningful, community‑centered products. The project demonstrates how school librarians can champion interdisciplinary learning that places culture at the forefront while embracing emerging technologies.

And yes—you’ll get dedicated time to play the game. Experience firsthand how research, STEM, and cutting edge technology can level up student engagement, cultural connections and inspire the next generation of environmental stewards.

Speakers

Patricia Louis

School Library Media Specialist, Kamehameha Elementary School - Kapālama

Veteran educator and librarian with 30+ years of experience as a practicing school librarian and over a decade working with Native Hawaiian communities. She has dedicated her career to integrating technology into educational practices. Currently focused on integrating game based learning... Read More →

Thursday August 6, 2026 12:50pm - 1:50pm HST
Piinaio Ballroom 1

Breakout

2026 Hawaii School Library Conference

Patricia Louis

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