Monthly Archives: January 2016

Diving into the Pool

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DSCN0102Perhaps instead of a pool as the operative metaphor for jumping into blogging, the image should be a rocket launching into the blogosphere. Take your pick. Either way, joining the blog parade is an adventure, and according to our favorite love/hate resource, Wikipedia, “a new blog is being created every second of every minute of every hour of every day.” (Keen, 2008) There are many kinds of blogs populating the airwaves-or electromagnetic waves, and communication and interaction through digital writing, illustration, and reading have expanded our vision of publishing.  We all have the means to be producers of information in a Web 3.0 world.

For school librarians, blogs have dual purposes in our practice, as Judi and Karla have already shown.  Judi shared examples of award winning blogs created by school librarians to showcase and promote learning in their physical and virtual library spaces.  The combination of creative design, vivid images, and engaging text are the hallmarks of an opportunity to deliver information to school communities and beyond, in a personal way. We all can learn from these models for effective communication that highlight evidence of an active, engaged school library program.

Karla shared how blogs, and other social media are an important contribution to her professional learning as part of her PLN.  She recommended ways to get started following bloggers who are writing and sharing information about topics and issues that are critical for professional school librarianship.

School librarians depend on multiple sources of information to remain current. Along with the standard print publications, many publishers are featuring blogs on their websites to increase exposure to ideas and information in an immediate way.  School Library Journal, Knowledge Quest, Booklist Reader, VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates) have bloggers who are on top of current trends.

Interactivity in Web 2.0 and Web 3.0, has generated a fire hose of  information, and that includes bloggers of all descriptions.  When you want just a sip of the information waters, you can control your own PLN.  Try setting up an RSS feed through sites like Feedly, and Feedspot, or a number of others.  You can link your favorite blogs, websites, or other social media sites to the account, and you will have only one spot to visit to catch up on your reading.  Most blogs allow readers to subscribe to the blog through email, so that you can get notices from the blogger when a new post has been published. That works well, unless there are multiple posts each day, then you may find your email overflowing!

 For those of you who would like to venture into starting a blog for your school library, or to set up a forum to connect with other professionals to discuss contemporary issues, take some time to establish your own criteria and purpose for publishing your own work.  View multiple blogs to see which ones are exemplars that you would want to emulate. Both Judi and Karla suggested a few places to begin your search.  This should not be an impulse decision, but one for consideration and reflection.  Commitment to ongoing and timely publishing is a key to successful blogging, along with nurturing and tending the links and topics.
Explore several blog platforms before you choose one to jump into.  Blog platforms have tutorials, and templates that will help you get going, but the primary focus should be on the clarity of the purpose for your work.  Why is a blog important to your school library program? Who is your audience? Why do you want to connect with other interested professionals?  How will you maintain the content of the blog?  How will you use the blog as a bridge to other social media sites?

Jump start to blogging: Dear Blogger-a blog about blogging…

Do you have a favorite platform to share? Talk to us….

Take the plunge!

 

Links to websites:

School Library Journal: http://www.slj.com/

Knowledge Quest: http://knowledgequest.aasl.org/

Booklist Reader:http://www.booklistreader.com/

VOYA: http://www.voyamagazine.com/topics/evoya/

Feedly: https://feedly.com/i/welcome

Feedspot: http://www.feedspot.com/

Dear Blogger: http://www.dearblogger.org/blogger-or-wordpress-better

 References:

Keen, Andrew (2008). The Cult of the Amateur: How Today’s Internet Is Killing Our Culture. New York: Nicholas Brealey Publishing. Web. 24 Jan. 2016 <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog>

 Image:

Judy Kaplan Collection

 

 

This thing called “social” media

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Blogging…Tweeting…Friending…Chatting…Hashtags…@…
What is this all about and how can social media be helpful? I have debated this question with myself for a long time. I have accounts with so many different social media outlets that I cannot begin to remember them all, much less keep up with them. When I think about social media as “professional media,” it makes more sense to me.
There is a difference between social media for social purposes and social media for professional purposes. For example, I use Facebook to keep up with my personal contacts. It is a great way to know what my friends and family are doing. I use Twitter and blogs for professional learning. To my friends and family, my Twitter feed is rather boring – it is full of links to great library ideas and library humor (which doesn’t seem to have the same impact when shared with teenage boys!). To my professional contacts, I might retweet something exciting!
Where does that leave blogging? I use blogs as part of my professional learning network. There are so many great school library blogs out there, where do you start?
  • Find a few to follow and make it part of your daily routine to check in with each of them. Is there a specific day of the week the blogger posts? Add it to your calendar so it becomes part of your to-do list.
  • Start small. Find two or three bloggers that you enjoy. Get into the habit of keeping up with a few. Library Learners has a list of library blogs by state, if you want to follow someone in your area: http://librarylearners.com/tl-blogs-by-state/
  • Ask colleague which blogs they read. Browse a few and see which ones speak to you. Choose blogs were you find support or ideas that match your teaching style. Choose one that stretches you and introduces new ideas to you as well.
Do not let the idea of following blogs overwhelm you. Just like you would read the latest journal as soon as it showed up in your mailbox, make it a habit to read the latest blog post. This is the heart of “professional media.”

TASL Talks

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TASL_color_borderA number of state-level school librarian associations host blogs to share information with their membership and to promote the work of their members. The Texas Association of School Librarians (TASL) publishes such a blog and pushes it out to members and prospective members via a statewide distribution list as well as through social media channels.

TASL Talks: Legislative and Advocacy for YOU is managed by the TxASL Legislative and Advocacy Committee with “the goal of forwarding to TASL membership and school librarians across Texas useful information about school library advocacy.”

Three members of the committee, Dorcas Hand (@handdtx), Becky Calzada (@becalzada), and Susi Grissom (@SusiGrissom), facilitate the blog. In addition to their own posts, they invite and support other TASL members in posting to the blog.

Last week’s post was by Amy Marquez (@Amy_DZ1), school librarian at Marcia R. Garza Elementary in Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District in San Juan, Texas. Amy shared how a “living history museum” project responded to a request from her principal and met the needs of students. When Amy’s principal mentioned the idea of 3rd through 5th-grade students dressing up as historical figures for Halloween, Amy expanded on this idea to include students conducting research using an online database. Amy accomplished the “living history museum” project in a 30-minute per week fixed-schedule environment.

Crowdsourcing a blog is one way to ensure that fresh ideas are shared and new voices are heard. Bravo to the TASL Talks: Legislative and Advocacy for YOU leadership for making this resource effective and a constant source of professional development for TASL members and others.

TASL logo used with permission

School Library Blogs

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This month, the Building a Culture of Collaboration (BACC) co-bloggers are sharing information about school library and librarian blogs. Each of us will spotlight various blogs and bloggers and share why we think these sites are useful resources for school librarians.

Edublog-Awards-1mb7e9dEach year, Edublogs-hosted blogs in various categories are nominated for the “eddies.” (Note: BACC is hosted by Edublogs.) “The purpose of the Edublog awards is to promote and demonstrate the educational values of these social media. The best aspects include that it creates a fabulous resource for educators to use for ideas on how social media is used in different contexts, with a range of different learners. It introduces us all to new sites that we might not have found if not for the awards process.”

Congratulations to Katie Dolan and Kathy Counterman, two Texas school librarians, whose sites earned #15eddies in the “best library blog” category.

Katie Dolan is the school librarian at James Randolph Elementary (JRE) School library in the Katie Independent School District. Katie and her library program earned the top award for the best library blog. Edna Mae Fielder Elementary School Librarian Kathy Counterman, also from Katy ISD, earned the third-place best library blog award.

School librarians use their library blogs for many purposes, including promoting books, reading, and literacy events, publishing student work as well as educators’ lessons, and interacting with students, classroom teachers, administrators, parents, and the community at-large. School librarians can analyze the content of these two bloggers’ sites to get ideas to implement in their own teaching, to lively up their own library blogs, or to get ideas for starting a school library blog in 2016.

#15eddies graphic used with permission