Using Social Media

 The Power of Social Media in the School Setting

It's time to embrace that social media is here to stay and should be embraced in the school setting. Although it can sometimes be seen as intrusive and detrimental, when used appropriately and with purpose, it can help guide educators to reach students and all school patrons. Let's use social media outlets to communicate and collaborate effectively with the new generation of students who have the internet and apps a their finger tips. 

As an avid participant of various social media apps myself, I thought I had enough experience with the bells and whistles about the use of these types of apps. I have been wrong and see how much more can be done to incorporate utilizing social media in the school setting. It does not need to be a constant struggle to try to evade it; rather social media should be used as supplemental forms of communication and instruction. 

Facebook

As a social media site, Facebook was what first came to my mind. Although it is not as popular with students, I strongly believe that it can be instrumental in showcasing the library services offered. It is also a great site to use to promote school events that may be important to share with the larger school community. I looked through various school library pages and quickly noticed the difference between those that were successful and those that were lacking. The key is being consistent. As long as it is kept up with, it can be a great tool to use to communicate with and keep users connected to the whereabouts of the campus. 

School librarians can use Facebook by showcasing school activities, upcoming school and library events, digital makerspace and in-house activities, and book fairs. Additionally, I saw some great examples of school library pages who used videos created by actual students that were used to promote library services and inform on school events. The pages that promoted student work were the ones that I noticed had the most interaction between parents, community members, and the school librarians. 

Twitter

I was not too familiar with Twitter, but had heard many of my students discuss about it. I was always curious about it, but it didn't seem as interesting to me as some of the other apps and sites. I have to say, that since I downloaded Twitter, I have gravitated more towards it. Looking through it, I can see how it can be a great tool to help advocate for the library services and literacy. Many innovative educators have used it as a means to showcase events, important articles, movements, and even reading lists. I feel like Twitter can be used to promote library services, but may be limited in how it is used with students. These are some of the profiles I looked at:

Kathy Schrock- @kathyschrock- She has a direct link to her site, where you learn that she is clearly passionate about the use of technology to teach and learn. In her Twitter profile, she shares how-to videos, articles, and recommendations to different sites what could be used. Additionally, she advocates for educators to support each other and offers advice and clarification. This is one of those tweets...

https://twitter.com/kathyschrock/status/1566174637695934464?s=20&t=53Qy9qnaQZLgSzHcY0g6Rw

Linda Braun- @lbraun2000- Linda Braun is not as active on her Twitter account, but she does promote different webinars and events that may be of interest to educators. She also provides a direct link to leonline.com, which is a company specializing in training, consulting, evaluation, and planning with learning institutions, and which she is Principal of. She also promotes different articles and I particularly enjoyed the following from The New York Times: https://twitter.com/lbraun2000/status/1369001178231545857?s=20&t=53Qy9qnaQZLgSzHcY0g6Rw

Gwyneth Jones- @GwynethJones- She is very active on her profile. She tweets different quotes, promotes books, and movements, particularly those pertaining to librarians and intellectual freedom. Additionally, I noticed that some of her tweets had many user comments and interactions. She profile is easy to get pulled in to and this is one of her tweets which drew me in: https://twitter.com/GwynethJones/status/1567468314930053122?s=20&t=53Qy9qnaQZLgSzHcY0g6Rw'

Jim Lerman- @jimlerman- Jim Lerman's profile promotes STEM readiness, technology, and innovation. He shares articles from The New York Times for educators. He does provide a direct link to Scoop.it, which has a variety of topics you can read about, but can seen rather busy and overwhelming. This is one of his tweets I found interesting: https://twitter.com/jimlerman/status/1565757750373715971?s=20&t=53Qy9qnaQZLgSzHcY0g6Rw

Instagram

I have had Instagram for a few years, but definitely need to work on utilizing it more to promote literacy and teaching. I love the idea of using videos or reels to promote books, lessons, templates, resources, and the list goes on and on. Additionally, I was able to find different school librarians who share their experiences and book recommendations. I have also heard many of my students who have expressed that they have also found goodreads from reels on Instagram. Although I am still learning, I feel like Instagram is an inviting and expanding social media platform that should be used to promote school library programs, literacy, teaching, and learning. 

The following is a video and a photo I shared on my Instagram:

Video

Photo- My Next Read

Dive into these social media platforms and look for educators, librarians, and professional organizations. You will be amazed at how influential these platforms can be to share ideas, promote your library, and school with the community.

Looking at Blogs and Blog Readers

 Looking at Blogs and Blog Readers

Blogs, blogs, and more blogs! Information is everywhere and at our fingertips! With so much available, it can be rather difficult to keep track of everything. Wouldn't it be wonderful for you to find a site which will allow you to keep track of numerous blogs at the same time? There is! Blog Readers are the key which will maintain the integrity, of what may otherwise be blogger's chaos. Blog Readers provide a way of tracking your daily blogging reads in an organized, and easy to navigate, fashion. 

Although I am improving, my experience with blogging and Blog Readers has been pretty much under the radar. I knew what blogs were, but did not know about Blog Readers, and I have to say that it all felt very overwhelming for me. When I found a blog that I enjoyed reading, I would bookmark it and for one reason or other, hardly ever went back to it. I think it was the hassle of trying to look through all of the bookmarks I had. When I came across an article titled, "6 Best Free RSS Feed Readers" by Lindsey Liedke, I became excited to finally immerse myself in a not-so-chaotic blogging world. 

Upon reading her various Blog Reader recommendations, I was stuck between two. To me, Feedly and Inoreader seemed like two great choices. I decided to try Inoreader first. I created an account and quickly realized that it was not the one for me. I felt overwhelmed. What I should have done was look for a quick tutorial, but I thought it would be more inviting and user friendly. Additionally, I quickly noticed that some of the material was more for adult readers, which is something to think about when looking for articles or when searching for blogs. 

I then turned to my gut feeling and to give Feedly a try. I loved that Feedly looked clean to me. It just made sense to me. I also loved the idea that it allows you to share content with others and to create notes, which is something that is really important to me. I also found it very easy to look for blogs that I would be interested in and quickly began to look through them. Other features include: ability to link to DropBox which can provide backup for saved articles, connect to Twitter, with the upgraded version, and other interesting features. All of the Blog Readers I read about offer great features which may allow you view the content directly on a computer or from a handheld device, as well as ways to personalize, categorize, and markup. 

These are some of the sources that I added to my Feedly:

1. YALSAblog- This is the official blog for Young Adult Library Services Association. It provides timely information about emerging and new practices for library services for and with teens, to explore practices in related fields relevant to teen services, to raise awareness about appropriate tools that can be utilized with and for teens. I decided to follow this blog in order to keep current with YALSA information.

2. A Fuse #8 Production- Sponsored by School Library Journal and written by Betsy Bird, who is a New York Public Library's Youth Materials Collection Specialist, it is a youth literature blog. This blog contains numerous articles, book reviews, comments, related articles, and numerous tools that can be used with and for teens. I followed this blog because I found that I enjoy reading articles published by School Library Journal.

3. The Incredibly True Adventures of a School Librarian- This blog is by Nikki Robertson who was a ISTE Librarian Network President. Her posts include suggestions that school librarians can use when starting the school year. Additionally, she includes resources for events like Banned Book Week and activities to meet those events that can be used with student in the library. I followed her blog because it seems interesting, relatable, and she has innovative ideas that can inspire other librarians. 

4. Elementary Librarian- This site and blog is a resource for elementary school librarians. This is a community were librarians can connect and learn off of each other. It was created by a certified K-12 librarian in 2012. It allows librarians to shares lesson plans, resources, and ideas which can be used. I followed this blog because I have not had experience at the elementary level and feel like I would benefit by being a part of this community. Additionally, it has various interviews with elementary school librarians which are interesting. 

5. The Daring Librarian- This award winning blog site is by Gwyneth Jones, a Google Certified Innovator & Ambassador, a PBS / MPT American Graduate Champion of Change, PBS, NTTI, & MPT Teacher of the Year. Her writings have been featured by numerous publishings. She makes great suggestions for technology tools, reading lists, and ways to make you classroom or library inviting and innovative. I follow this blog because it has great ideas and I feel will be a great asset as a school librarian to know about new features in technology.

I am very excited to continue searching and growing, in an organized way, as a information specialist. If you would like to visit my Tumblr site, click on the link! Let's share fun ideas about reading and technology!

*Find the article by Lindsay Liekda here. 6 Best Free RSS Feed Readers You will not be disappointed! She shares great tips and suggestions to the best free Blog Readers.