Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram
I must admit, I started using Facebook when I was in high school. As soon as I became a teacher, I started following a lot of teachers on social media who really knew what they were doing. They posted on classroom decor and how to use technology in the classrooms. I believe I used it more in 2020 when we really needed to change our classroom to an online version. Ever since I started the librarian program, I wanted to see what other librarians were doing. I’ve been a member of some private groups that allow you to join after answering some questions. These are different from pages, which just allow anyone to like or follow. One of the groups is titled Learning Librarians, and they share a lot of great information and also ask a lot of questions that others answer. There are so many great groups to join and so much great help out there.
For this assignment, I went ahead and searched the term “school library pages” and was so happy to see so many options. Now, I don’t know if it filters to what I search or the area I live in, but it did give me many schools that are close to where I live. I immediately started following these pages, and then started digging deeper into their page.
One of the first pages I believe had a lot of great information was the Region One ESC Library Services page. This is for the whole region in South Texas and it shares some great things that are happening around the different library cities. It can be some summer reading programs or newsletters. It’s a place that shares what many libraries are doing and a way to advertise the different programs. I think this is a great way for everyone to see what is happening around all the nearby cities. This page has about 731 followers, which is not a lot, but it is a pretty good amount.
Next, I found the Mcallen Public Library, which has 20K followers. This library page is also advertising different events like the South Texas Book Festival or a summer reading challenge event. This library is so pretty inside and I went to visit last week and they had so many events going on, especially for the little ones. By posting on social media, families are able to see what literacy activities they are able to do with their family. This is a great advantage, especially in the summer when mom’s want to do some sort of activities with their littles. I do see people like, share, and do make comments on some activities. The only disadvantage I see is that everything is public, which means people can always put anything they want as comments and such.
Overall, I think Facebook's popularity is not going away. Aspiring librarians or already librarians can look into these pages to get some ideas that they can also put into their libraries. I created a Facebook page so that I can post some library related information. I will definitely create a page when I do become a librarian to post information about reading hours, checking out books, the Bookfair, literacy nights, and so much more.
Here is my link:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093401483878&mibextid=LQQJ4d
I’ve had a Twitter since college, but I honestly stopped using it. I recently created one during the pandemic to once again get some information on what other teachers were doing when it came to online learning. I must admit, I feel that Facebook and Instagram were more appealing and Twitter was less appealing to me. But, I still would go in every so often to check out some stuff. I went ahead and followed some great names in educational technology and loved so many great ideas they shared.
Gwyneth Jones
@GwynethJones
The Daring Librarian is totally herself. She posts tweets about various topics especially about the impact of technology in the world or promoting some reads. Her feed has some great humor in it and great quotes as well. By scrolling through her page, one can see that she is active a lot. I think that allows her to have 32.2K Followers.
Fav author @susanmboyer is coming out with a NEW SERIES & it's wonderful! Mystery, Action, Suspense, Sandy Beaches, & a whole Lotta Charm! Pre-order today! #bigtroubleonsullivansisland #Disclaimer Was gifted a digital #ARC book for my unbiased preview. #TitleChat pic.twitter.com/kUXmwqex2B
— Gwyneth Jones (@GwynethJones) April 6, 2023
For this tweet, @GwynethJones is talking about a new book.
Jim Lerman
@jimlerman
Jim Lerman’s bio says Architect of Ideas & Implementation :: Educator, Designer, Author, Speaker, Project Director. This certainly describes his tweets. The tweets truly show education and technology in one.
On Tech A.I.: How to use image-making tools :: NY Times https://t.co/wxxJcy6pyd pic.twitter.com/s0n9fhLHQe
— Jim Lerman (@jimlerman) June 10, 2023
In this tweet, @jimlerman is showing a great image- making tool. The link takes you straight to a page that shows how to use A. I. image-making tools.
Overall, Twitter has so many great ideas and research information that can be looked at. Students probably know how to use Twitter more than some of us do, and when shown how to use it appropriately for research it will serve as a great advantage. The only disadvantage I believe is that it is a little harder to manage than Facebook or Instagram.
Instagram
I’ve been using Instagram for a while now. I created a professional account and started posting library related material there. Of all social media, Instagram is my absolute favorite. Once again, when we had to start virtual learning, I started following so many teaching accounts who shared so many great ideas. Till this day, I still find some great ways of teaching certain material or classroom decor. Some advantages Instagram has is that you can save certain posts and go back to all your saved items. It also allows users to create “highlights” based on the stories they have posted. The stories get deleted within 24 hours, but once saved into the “highlights” section they are always on your main page to see. This is a great way to store different information into topic folders. For example, I have books, quotes, and lessons. The only disadvantage I can think of is that this is social media. Once an account is public, anyone can see this. Although I do have permission to post some students, I am always careful and still cover their faces with some sort of picture, just to be extra careful.
Here is my Instagram account where I have created story highlights, a video, and pictures with text.
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