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Social media is one of the main sources of communication for parents and students. It is a one stop shop for staying connected with friends, family, news, and interest. Today, educators are finding creative ways to involve and inform parents about the education of students and these platforms are an excellent way to reach many people at once. In addition, these social networks are also a great way to make school “cool”, stay relevant, and make real world connections with students.
While searching “school libraries” in Facebook, the first feed I received was related to pages I currently follow. Some of which include the districts in my city, local school pages, and local school librarians. Some popular posts in Facebook include pictures of students reading, photos of book recommendations, pictures of students participating in events in the library, school spirit week event photos, pictures of the A.R. class of the week for each school in the district, and several posts sharing information for parents. As an elementary educator, some of the advantages I see when using Facebook is a tool that can be used to reach many people. It is a popular platform for educators to use to share all types of information related to education. However, although popular, one disadvantage is that it is not a social media website trending with younger generations.
Twitter is used for microblogging. As an educator and future librarian, this would be a great tool to share reminders, brief informative tweets, and engaging discussions. I recently started following some very influential Twitter accounts on education technology. I found that they shared information that is useful for educators and parents as well. Tweets are relatively short due to the 280 word limit, but these account users provide helpful links to additional information related to what they shared. Use the bookmark I created on Padlet below to access links to some tweets I found helpful.
Instagram is also a fun way to share photos and create hashtags to organize and categorize photos, videos, and reels. In the classroom, this tool can be used to share search photos related to a project, use photos for vocabulary visuals, use images and videos as an inspiring writing prompt, share student work, share reading recommendations, and many more creative ways.
As I reflect on my exploration of these social networks, I find that they are all useful in their own way. They provide easy opportunities to connect with students and families. It is all a matter of getting to know your community to find which are more suitable for your needs and the needs of your school.
Social media certainly plays an important role in staying relevant today. The various platforms bring something a little different to the table depending on your community and purpose.
Hello Deyanira,
I appreciate you sharing all your findings on the different social media platforms discussed in this module. I also feel that Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are excellent tools to promote and enhance the library services in our learning community. I will look into the different accounts your suggested💕.