"What strategies, tools, resources and networks can you implement to maintain your explorations and development? What are some of the ways that educators and professionals are connecting and sharing their learning? What can you do during this class and after it is over to maintain your connections and networks, to further develop your knowledge, experience and skills?"
- Inquiry Project 2, LIBE 477B, UBC
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| Image from pixabay.com |
I had heard that Twitter is a great place for teacher-librarians to connect, so I started my exploration by googling the word ‘Twitter’. Britannica informed me that as of July, Twitter is now known as X (2023). It went on to define X/Twitter as an “online social media platform and microblogging service that distributes short messages of no more than 280 characters.”
Friedman says X/Twitter can become "a way to participate in education-focused conversations and idea sharing with other educators" (2020). He goes on to quote Meighen as saying X/Twitter is "where you have more conversations about ideas" compared to other social media networks. I agree that discussing ideas about education is a great form of professional development.
Similarly, Anderson finds X/Twitter valuable because it allows him to create a Personal Learning Network (PLN) where
he can ask questions and share resources with many people who are interested in
the same things he is interested in (2011). Since a teacher-librarian is often
the only person doing that specific job in their workplace, I can see how helpful
it would be to be part of a network of other people who are passionate about school
libraries.
Next, I headed over to X to create my very own account. I was assigned a name, @LauraRobin13353, that I will be changing to something more professional shortly.
As I explored X, I followed accounts. Following an account makes posts from that account automatically pop up on my feed. I used an article by Sullivan for some initial teacher-librarian account recommendations and found others by looking at who the recommended TLs followed. I also found some local teacher-librarian resources. Here’s a list of six accounts I followed:
- @shannonmmiller – Professional account by Shannon McClintock Miller, the author of our textbook
- @FuseEight - The account of Betsy Bird, a blogging, authoring, podcasting librarian from Illinois.
- @ISTEofficial – ISTE is home to a passionate community of global educators who use technology to revolutionize learning.
- @JrLibraryGuild - A collection development service providing libraries with the best new-release books for children and young adults.
- @VTLA39 – The Vancouver Teacher-Librarians' Association is a chapter of the BCTLA.
- @BCTLA - British Columbia Teacher-Librarians -a specialist association of the BCTF, dedicated to supporting school library programs for the children of BC.
I haven’t posted anything on X yet. I’m a little intimidated to do so, because all the accounts I followed seem so put together and I still feel very new and unsure. I will probably lurk around the edges for awhile, reading other people’s posts and figuring out the program before actually posting anything. I also need to come up with a better name!
Works Cited:
Anderson, Steven. "The Twitter Toolbox for Educators." Teacher Librarian, vol 39 (1), October 2011, pp. 27-30. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/magazines/twitter-toolbox-educators/docview/902627349/se-2.
Britannica. "X." Encyclopedia Britannica, Oct. 12, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Twitter
Friedman, Jordan. “Using Social Media for Teacher Professional Development.” Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 23 June 2022. www.hmhco.com/blog/using-social-media-for-teacher-professional-development.
Sullivan, Brittany. "10 school librarians to follow on Twitter." On Our Minds Scholastic, Dec. 15, 2014. https://oomscholasticblog.com/post/10-school-librarians-follow-twitter#.
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Hi Laura!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing what you have learned about X! I know quite a few people use that platform though I also have found it be a lot of information to sift through with the amount of posts that are available. While I don't have an account, I think I may make one as another form of professional development I can tap into :)
I get the sense that you have to 'find your people' on Twitter for it to be a useful form of professional development. There's SO MUCH on there and I'm brand new, but my reading says that if you 1 - find good people posting about topics you are interested in 2 - comment, engage, and interact with their posts, you can create a very valuable community for yourself.
DeleteI connect with your feeling of intimidation of sharing on social media. I have some really personal reasons for this as well - but its impacted me sharing professionally as well! I used to share a lot more. This course has inspired me to try X (Twitter) again or restart a professional account on Instagram (which I have done, but am still nervous to use!) - I'd like to be someone who shares my ideas more online. As a librarian - I'm sharing ideas and resources with people all day long. But I freeze up online.
ReplyDeleteHow did you feel the first time you had to post on Canvas as part of one of these online course? I completely overthought those first few posts (and still do, at times), but experience and regularity has made it much easier for me to hit the PUBLISH button. I'm definitely an introvert, and having my opinions out there in writing for everyone to see and refer to is not always a comfortable feeling.
DeleteI appreciate the approach you took with this post. Rather than just listing what you could do to further your ICT skills, you modelled how to do so. You suggested a good list of initial X accounts to follow. As a result, you not only furthered your own learning but helped those who read your post do so too.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing. I don't currently have an account on that platform although I hear lots of people find it to be a great resource. It does seem very intimidating and overwhelming and I admire your bravery for jumping in. Do you use any other social media platforms for professional learning? There are so many now that it's hard to keep up with them all. Do you have a favourite?
ReplyDeleteI don't have any other professional social media accounts. The whole concept of having personal and professional accounts on multiple platforms is something I don't entirely have my head around yet. It seems impossible to keep up with them all! My personal Facebook account (with a couple of professional bits mixed in) is my favourite. I do have Instagram and Tiktok, but I don't post anything there.
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