In 2017, Facebook isn't the social media choice for students. They consider it the social media of their parents time. I don't blame them; I'm almost twice the age of some of my students and I am an avid Facebook user. But when it comes to using both Facebook and Twitter for the library, they are equally important and useful in getting information to everyone, both parents and teachers, as well as students of all ages.
When researching how school libraries use Facebook, the first thing I noticed was the small amount of likes for their pages, versus a number of followers on Twitter. I looked specifically at high school libraries and saw that most used Facebook to advertise library and school events, reminders and requests for students. Bookfairs, summer job opportunities, and reminders to turn in books for the year were all seen on the Facebook feeds. There was actually very little about new books, book reviews, new technology, or reading initiatives. Facebook was used as a billboard for events and not usually for resources or research. Although the Facebook pages I reviewed surprised me by their lack of book and technology news, Facebook is still the best way to get information to parents and older teachers. Facebook is part of their daily life because it was really the first social media outlet for everyone once they dropped their requirement for a college e-mail. Now Facebook is where proud parents post every snapshot of their child and plan high school reunions. It is much more social than Twitter, which allows for more professional collaboration and research to be shared.
Twitter: the social media outlet that connects professionals with research. When browsing the feeds of today's Ed Tech leaders, I noticed a few big things. Number one was that the majority of their feeds were reviews of new technology, practical application of technology in classrooms and beyond, and collaborative posts with YASLA or other library organizations. David Warlick's Twitter feed was more personal in nature and very political, which deterred me immediately. Gwyneth Jones used her Twitter not only to share tech news, but also to show the world what her students are doing in her library. Jim Lerman has an obvious love for collaboration, eBooks, and robots as seen in his tweets. Kathy Schrock is in love with virtual reality and 3D printing. Linda Braun shared articles on plagiarism, coding, and retweeted numerous tweets asking for people to write their politicians about library funding. Twitter is the way to reach students, period. They use Twitter socially, but with the right direction, they can be guided to follow educational Twitters, like ones set up or libraries and schools, to not only stay on top of things coming up, but to also see the successes of their classmates and their school.
To summarize, social media is the way people of all ages connect with the world. As librarians and educators, we must embrace it and use it. From sharing the news of the library to sharing articles about up and coming technology and resources, posting and tweeting are not only a great resource, but a requirement in 2017.
Leslie,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the politics on Twitter. Whenever I notice that a person tweets a lot of political viewpoints on Twitter or even shares political views on Facebook I am turned off whether it is a friend, celebrity, or another professional. To me, this is something we really need to think about when we create social media accounts for our libraries, schools, and classrooms. We need to be sure to keep all political bias, even as small as local school board elections, off of our school social media accounts. Social media is not going anywhere and it is our responsibility as educators to keep up with the times and have social media accounts for our libraries, schools, and even classrooms.
Leslie,
ReplyDeleteI felt the same way about David Warlick. I have no problem with people's political views, but it is disheartening when you're trying to find information that is relative to the library, the library world, and/or technology... especially on social media.