Social Media

 Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

Searching through Facebook I started looking through the elementary, middle, and high school library pages and I can honestly say that I was impressed with some pages and disappointed with others. The postings of some of the library pages consisted of videos teaching the students/parents how to navigate apps where students can find books to read online. There were also postings about virtual classrooms the students could visit to read books. One page that I really enjoyed posted pictures of books shelves that were decorated to celebrate/ remember special days like 9/11, Grandparents day, and 16 de Septiembre. The shelves were not only decorated but also contained books that pertained to that special day. I was surprised that many of the posts had few to no comments or likes.

• Advantages- Some advantages of using Facebook to promote the library are that you can keep the community updated with information about events happening in the school and school library, promote the love of reading by posting videos of read-alouds of books, and to make the students feel that the library hasn't gone anywhere and like in this situation where the students are learning virtually they will see that the library is getting prepared for their return when they can finally step into the library and check out books once again. 
• Disadvantages- Some disadvantages of using Facebook to promote the library are that not many parents are technology savvy and don't use social media. Depending on the community your school has many parents to have access to the internet. Also, social media is geared for older students so the younger students don't have the same advantage. Another disadvantage is that Facebook isn't as popular as it used to be so many people aren't using it anymore.

                                 

Kathy Schrock (@kathyschrock)- Kathy tweets information about possible conferences she might be presenting in and also provides information about different technology that she uses and technology she thinks is very useful.

Kathy's Toolbox

 

Linda Braun (@lbraun2000)- Linda tweets about helping the youth and retweets much useful information about learning and librarianship.

School Library Journal

 

Alan November (@globaleraner)- Alan tweets empowering videos, online learning videos, and information, and learning podcasts.

Podcast

Gwyneth Jones (@GwynethJones)- Gwyneth tweets about online books, live google meet help desk for students and tech tips.

Books

Jim Lerman (@jimlerman)- Jim tweets about distance learning, apps, networking tips, video conferencing, and technology reviews.

Video Conferencing

Instagram is a great social media app that teachers and librarians use to gain great ideas from other people who use the app. You can use this in the library to take pictures or videos of books being read or activities that are being done in the classroom or library. It can also be used to share resources or even just to share words of encouragement. Like many of the other social media apps, there are advantages and disadvantages of using social media as a form of communication with parents and students. A disadvantage would be that many parents wouldn't know how to use Instagram and they would be confused. An advantage would be that there are many cool features you can use like highlights and you can also add annotations to the picture itself. 

Instagram Link: Books

Instagram link: Library

Blogs and Blog Readers

Feed Readers and Blogs

This is the first time that I have heard about feed readers. When I saw the different feed readers, I felt a bit overwhelmed, so I decided to start in the begging and find the definition of a feed reader. A feed reader is a site to gather and display web feeds from various websites in one convenient place. So I decided to go through a few feed readers, and this is the information that I found on each.

• Feedly is best for providing a clean and simple interface. It is a perfect solution for the casual reader who wants to see all of their websites in one place. Feedly offers many features that the reader will enjoy and also provides mobile access for Android and iOS. The basic plan is free, and it allows you to follow up to 100 sources, but if you want unlimited sources and categories, the fee is $64.92 a year.

• NewsBlur is best for filtering out content you are not interested in. It lets you share your favorite stories on either social media or inside of NewsBlur. You can subscribe up to 64 different feeds and save stories to read or access in the future. NewsBlur is free for up to 64 sites, or you can upgrade for a premium account for $36 a year.

• Inoreader is best for free searching and saving your content permanently. You can follow an unlimited number of feeds and even do searches without paying. You can group your feeds in folders to stay organized and use tags to separate articles. Once you sign up, you are guided to a tutorial video that shows you how to use the major features of the app. Inoreader is free with ads for unlimited subscriptions, but if you want the started plan, which gives you ad-free reading, it will cost $14.99 a year.

• The Old Reader is best for sharing content with friends and receiving recommendations. This is a great way to discover new blogs, sites, and channels to follow and you can share your favorites with your friends. You can subscribe to as many as 100 feeds with ads for free but if you want the premium account you can get up to 500 subscriptions, one year of storage for $25 a year.

• Bloglovin' is best for discovering popular lifestyle content. It is designed more like a social media site, for example, Pinterest. It has a clean, modern, and focused design. Bloglovin' also lets you create your own personal collections of content and publish your own blog. The best part of this blog is that is is free.

The feed reader that I decided to use and liked the most was feedly. I selected feedly because of its simple and clean interface. Feedly is a great solution for casual users and where you can find all of your websites in one place.

Link to The 10 Best Free RSS Reader Apps

Top 5 blogs I follow

1.) Librarian's Quest

• This blog is a place where students, educators, and parents can exchange and express views about the best of books, new technologies, and libraries. I followed this blog because it allows people to express, give their views, and get ideas on important topics that are about books, technology, and libraries.

2.) A Media Specialist's Guide to the Internet

• This blog is written by multiple experienced educators, provides resources for Grades K-12, and as well as specialized resources for different subjects and content areas. I followed this blog because there are many resources that I liked that I can use in my classroom.

3.) Great Kid Books

• This blog is a site to help parents learn about great books for their kid's ages 4-14. It provides summaries and information for a variety of books. I followed this blog because parents can go and read summaries on different variety of books that students will enjoy.

4.) Technology for Teachers and Students

• This blog provides a variety of videos that teachers and students can use to learn about the different technology is being used for online learning. I followed this blog because I am still learning about technology and it has very helpful resources.

5.) EdTechReview

• EdTechReview (ETR) is a community blog that is spreading awareness on education technology and making it easy for educators and learners to adopt and implement technology in education through News, Trends & Insights, Data & Statistics, Product Reviews, Resources, Events, Training, and Consultation on Education Technology.

Here is my Tumblr: Librarian in Training