RUTH GOES BACK TO SCHOOL

Week 30 - Professional Online Social Networks

OK, here’s the thing… I have a slightly addictive personality and when something as appealing as social media comes along, I’m all in. I love the funnies, I love the learning, I relish the mind-blowingness of it all, I’m appalled at people’s spelling and grammar, and get a lump in my throat at beautiful stories of courage and love. I adore sitting head to head with my teenage daughter scrolling through, laughing at all the comings and goings of family and friends, and I delight in the excitement of finding a new idea or resource that will engage the kids at school. I love the feeling that the world is not that huge after all, and that 24/7 there are people out there, that I may have never met, who can teach me, inspire me, connect, affirm and encourage. Of course, there’s a downside to this addiction to my phone, laptop and ipad, and that is that I have become, in the last few years, eminently distractible! This is not good, particularly when trying to write a blog post about social media and having to check it ALL out - purely for the purposes of my learning, of course!

We are a pretty connected school. As Kathy Cassidy says in the video Using Social Media in the Classroom, today’s children have used digital tools at home all their lives, so it doesn’t make sense to not let our digital natives use them at school, allowing for collaboration, connection and reflection.

Earlier this year, our principal, created a Facebook page, on which we share events that are going on at school, weekly newsletters, and celebrations of achievements. It’s interesting to note that in only a few months, with very little promotion, it already has almost 600 followers. If only our school blogs could garner such an audience so quickly. The senior management team debated the establishment of the page for some time, but it does appear to be a very effective way of connecting with parents, strengthening the home-school partnership.

I have begun to create a Facebook page for my school library. My intention is to share with parents the myriad of wonderful ideas and resources that are out there to support them as they support their children to read. This is to encourage a strong reading culture both within our school and at home, which really is my reason for being. I’ve felt stifled in the past when it comes to communicating with parents about things like the summer reading slide. Facebook gives me the platform I need.

In order to connect with the children, I have a blog. I use it to promote new books and inform the kids about competitions, events, and interesting things that relate to reading. The children comment, and send book reviews, and sometimes teachers ask their students to visit the library blog as part of their homework. Even so, there are still children who are surprised when I talk about my blog, which of course, tells me there’s more I could do to promote the library blog. I do love writing it, but without an audience, and without that connection, it is pointless.

In terms of my own professional learning, social media provides a great source of ideas and resources for use in my practice. I’m part of a New Zealand librarians’ listserv which is a fantastic place to learn, share, encourage and find enlightenment, whether it be someone wanting a copy of a missing page, book recommendations for kids or a class with particular needs, or a template for a strategic plan for the library. No request is met with silence - in fact, sometimes it all gets a bit much and I need to switch off the ‘noise’.

Or, of course there is Pinterest, which for me, for a while, was the crack cocaine of the internet! Full to bursting with creativity and amazingness! (Yes, I know that I am making up words - it's a brave new world!) And I’ve dabbled with Twitter, but to be honest, I’m very much a lurker here. What I find so interesting about Twitter is that it forces the mind to concentrate the message to a mere 140 characters, just like texts of old. We want instantly digestible, bite sized bits. Less is more! Or is it more is more? More access to the world, more connections, more personalised learning, more sharing. If only there was more time...

And the best thing about social media is that I CAN be a connected, lifelong learner, surrounded by what Kim Sivick in the video Connected Educators, calls passionate educators, even from the comfort of my sofa, learning in my own time, at my own pace, about the things that I want to learn about. As Melhuish (2013) noted, effective adult learning hinges on how much learners have agency over their own learning. With social media, I can take control.