The impact of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram on the Library Media Center
When I explored "school library" on my facebook, I immediately learned that my current district's primary school has a library Facebook for the parents to keep up with reading programs and the activities their students are completing in school. I was surprised to see that this page is almost up to date, the current year being so hectic no post is made yet, and it celebrates their accomplishments. Other districts use their library Facebook accounts in bigger cities use their facebook to connect with authors and have their students interact with reading in different ways. One hosted an international "dot day" and had a virtual meet with an author to promote students use of the phrase "make your mark."
Most of the interactions are from parents, even on the library Facebook accounts for secondary grade levels. This makes me wonder of the impact a library Facebook account truly has on their students. Many middle school students do not have Facebook accounts, and in High School most only have it once their parent either gives them permission, or they need it to help run a school related page. The relevancy of a Facebook account really applies mostly to the adults in the lives of the students that it is centered around. Great tool for libraries if they want to reach out to parents.
Some of the best ways to find current and relevant educational practices, or the next new thing, is to search Twitter. I've been a part of the educational twitter community since I had the privilege of attended TCEA a few years ago, but I'm not very active. I do, however, follow quite a few educational people. I was excited to explore more. I feel like Twitter is a great resource for educating yourself on new methods, but I know a lot of my middle school students do not use Twitter.
The following are some of my conclusions about the people we had to explore in my digital tech class:
Kathy : One of the cool things about Schrock is the amount of tech she includes in her twitter posts. I also love the idea of taking risks (below) with students. Schrock shares blogs and articles about things she is passionate about, and most of them are extremely useful.
Linda W. Braun: My favorite thing in Braun's profile is that she is a teen advocator. I love an educator who recognizes that teenagers need someone to advocate for them. Her posts truly give a voice to teenagers, which is important because it shows them that their opinions and ideas are heard.
Alan November: November hasn't tweeted much since June, so I had to scroll back and stumbled upon a few informative but political posts from election time. I do know that he is a decorated common core author, which doesn't really apply to Texas (who, as we know, has to separate themselves from the rest of the country) but his points were relevant. A lot of his best posts date back to the beginning of the Pandemic when digital learning was at a precipice. I feel that those tweets are truly useful.
Gwenyth Jones: Do you ever see someone's online presence and feel like they're someone you could vibe with? That's me and my reaction to Jones' twitter account. I didn't want to share her most recent post, but decided to do it anyway, because the teachers on my campus are bitmoji obsessed. A few years ago my team teacher and I were featured on our district's tech facebook talking all things bitmoji, which led us to teaching bitmoji in our "triple G" (tech) session, and I loved that Jones is still talking bitmoji. It keeps it relevant for students because their teachers use them. It's fun and funky and personally helps my students identify my assignments from the other 8th grade teachers'. Jones' tweets are inspirational, moving, full of book love, and clearly defined as a space where she appreciates her students. I love her twitter.
Jim Lerman: I don't think I'm a fan of the way Lerman posts. His topics are extremely relevant, informative, and educational, but I don't like the idea of being redirected in every single post to his personal "scoop it" page because the layout reminds me of a mix between twitter and padlet. I do like his content, but not the way you access it. I really love when popular educational social media influencers continue to post innovative google content. I work at a G-Suite campus, but our instructional technologists have been absorbed by curriculum, so we don't really have the different lessons, tech bites, and mini PD sessions we used to have. Tips like this (below) are fun to share with my team.
Aisha Christa Atkinson: This twitter user wasn't listed in my assignment, but I felt it relevant to share. Atkinson, whom I first discovered on Instagram, is a huge advocate for ELLs, students with special needs, and teachers. I love the tips and tricks she shares, along with the articles she feels are relevant to our day and age. She also shares great tech tips (below).
Alice Keeler: Where do I start? I followed Keeler years ago at the suggestion of a peer at TCEA, and have loved all of the amazing Google content ever since. Keeler constantly shares tips and tricks for the Google educational world, and I love every minute of it.
Instagram:
I adore Instagram! I've had it for years, all the way back when it was the little brown "polaroid" icon on your iPhone 4. It's such a great tool. I follow SO many educational people on that social media site. I post about my dogs, my life, my classroom, books I read. I post 'le rare' selfie, but most of the time I'm browsing resources. I've found bulletin board suggestions through the hashtags, YA suggestions to read and suggest to my students, and fellow librarians/ELA teachers.
Instagram can have it's crazy, just like every other social media, but when it comes to communication with students, it's better than Twitter and Facebook. Both T and F are relevant to adults, but Instagram is where student traffic lies (well, that and TikTok). They get so excited to know they can follow you (if you're public and it's school appropriate). I do not follow my students back, but they're allowed to see the pride I take in the different facets of my life. They've noted I'm a book nerd, and that I love my chihuahua and chiweenie, and that I'm "cringy"--but that's okay. They're engaged.
I've seen teachers post homework reminders there (before remind.com became a big thing). I've used it in the past to promote fun things our school clubs are doing. It's a wonderful resource.
Overgram is fun to use, but there are other apps that have free features (that you do not have to buy) if you're willing to sit through an ad or two before you save. Picsart is a great app to add special effects and resize your photo. Another one that lets you add a photo on top of a photo is Pixlr, where you can set it to double exposure and put a watermark or second photo on top and fade it into your photo (all for free!).
If you'd like to follow me: https://www.instagram.com/MsSReads314/
Whytnee, finding the library facebook page must have been really exciting for you. I think it's probably super helpful. I kind of agree with how you feel about Lerman's posts redirecting you to his Scoop it page. To me, it felt busy (almost overwhelming).
Hi Whytnee, thanks for sharing other individuals that you follow on Twitter. I am fairly new to Twitter but look forward to following Aisha and Alice and seeing what other posts they have. What educator does not love an advocate for students or learning more more about Google? Also, just like you I really enjoy using Instagram. I find that it is the easiest form of social media to use for me to use personally. Thanks for sharing.