Facebook
In my review of school library Facebook pages, it appears
that the primary audience for this social media platform is largely made up of
parents and teachers. Though not as
popular with teens currently, there are still benefits for school libraries in
maintaining a presence on Facebook. One
of the main benefits I see is that of keeping parents informed about what is
going on in the library. It is great
place to post reminders about book fairs, visiting authors, or special library
events such as Read Across America. It
is also a great place to post information about reading lists, book reviews,
and your reading promotion programs. Links
to helpful resources, volunteer information, and, of course, lots of pictures
are some other things that would be helpful in promoting the library.
Twitter
I have had a Twitter account for several years now, and
though I am still merely a “follower” not a “tweeter”, I love the feeling of
community that Twitter provides. It
reminds me of the feeling I get in church when a number of people say “Amen” to
a thought-provoking comment made by the minister. There is a comfort in knowing that others,
who I do not know, share a similar way of thinking. That is not say we all think alike but rather
that we share a common goal. The people
I follow on Twitter are, for the most part, all connected to education in one
way or another. They are teachers,
authors, speakers, activists, publishers, etc. and I love their willingness to
share their thoughts, knowledge, and expertise in the hopes of making education
better for all. For me, there are two
big disadvantages to Twitter. First, I
am often overwhelmed by the number of tweets I receive. I want to read everything but can’t because
there are not enough hours in the day for me to read everything, not matter how
short, and still get my work done. The
second is that I lose track of time. It
is easy to pass several hours without even realizing it just clicking and reading
and watching.
I have found Twitter to be a valuable resource for learning
about current trends in education, new books that are being published, new
technologies, and ideas.
Here are some
recent tweets that I have found useful.
K-12 Educator's Guide to Podcasting https://t.co/dUUlZscX3b pic.twitter.com/7uvVkESwuQ— Jim Lerman (@jimlerman) May 24, 2020
Top 30 Tools for Digital Storytelling | Tech & Learning https://t.co/Gy2W0coXgn pic.twitter.com/5tZPNBIdV9— Jim Lerman (@jimlerman) June 5, 2020
I have had my Instagram for a number of years but up until
now have only used it for creative inspiration for hobbies such as gardening and
home décor. For this assignment, I
started looking at and following some teachers and librarians in hopes of finding
great ideas for teaching and learning.
To be honest, most of what I found was related to displays and art projects. I did not find a lot of information about how
teachers are incorporating Instagram into the curriculum. I found the article “10 Surprising Ways to Use
Instagram in the Classroom” by Hannah Hudson more helpful than just searching
Instagram itself. I think one way that
Instagram could be used to create a positive school environment is to have an account
where students and teachers can post pictures of uplifting quotes, brag on work
well done, or pictures of thought-provoking books they have read, really
anything that promotes a positive vibe and creates a sense of community. When I was teaching, at the beginning of each
year, I always asked students to write a journal entry about what they did over
the summer. I think this activity could
modified as a visual journal entry where students post pictures of what they
did over the summer with brief captions in lieu of writing in a journal and
drawing a picture. I also think
Instagram could be used by high school art students as a place to collect
photos of things they find inspiring, such as interesting color palettes or
patterns or things in nature.
References:
Hudson, Hannah. (2016). 10 surprising ways to use Instagram
in the classroom. We Are Teachers.Com.
Schrock, Kathy. (2020). June 2020: Summer passion projects
for students. Discovery Education
https://blog.discoveryeducation.com/blog/2020/05/18/passionprojects/
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