Blogs and Blog Readers 101

 

The question I was asking is: What is a Blog Reader? The answer-Blog Readers simply allow you to keep all your favorite blog post in one spot instead of having to remember to go visit the individual websites on a daily basis.  After further exploration I found that there were several Blog Readers to choose from. Bloglovin’, Feedly, Bloglines, NewsBlur, Digg Reader, and Newsvibe are a few of the ones I went to.  I liked Bloglovin' and found it fairly easy to use. I also liked both Feedly and Digg Reader, they were also easy to use, which was a plus for me.  For me, Bloglines was a bit difficult for me to navigate through. I had the same issues with NewsBlur, but thought Newsvibe was okay. I liked Feedly a lot, it had so many blogs to choose from, I found Digg Reader easy for me to use as well.  I created my Blog Reader using Bloglovin'. This Blog Reader is user friendly and allows the user to navigate the many blogs that can be added for a later time.  The Blog Reader, Bloglovin', has a friendly feed that allows me to read any updates from my favorite bloggers that I happen to be following.  If I wanted to add a blog, it gave me that option and was easily added.  I searched Bloglovin' and found some awesome blogs and added them to my feed along with some new ones that I added along the way.  I'm actually starting to enjoy navigating these blogs and having a place like Bloglovin' where I can collect the information and get back to it when I have time. 

 Below are the five blogs I choose to follow:

The first of five blog's I choose to follow was The Cool Cat Teacher blog http://www.coolcatteacher.com/.  I loved the name, but also found it of interest because it deals with technology and how librarians and teachers can effectively use technology and the Internet for education.  I think librarians need to stay on the cutting edge of what's new technology wise.

The second blog I looked at, was the suggested School Library Display blog.  I've since added this to Bloglovin', the link is: http://schoollibrarydisplays.blogspot.com/ This blog allows the reader to navigate through useful information regarding creative ideas on promoting books, and displays in the library. I think this is a great place to pick up display ideas, I liked the pictures of the different ideas.

 The third blog that caught my attention was The Booklist Reader http://www.booklistreader.com/Besides getting ideas for books to add to students’ reading lists, this site featured blogs from librarians, teachers, and more. It also included book awards, audiobooks, booklists and children's literature. The fourth blog was Children's Literature Book Club http://childlitbookclub.blogspot.com/ I love the idea of students and adults meeting to create crafty and easy book clubs for everyone to enjoy. This is something that I've had students do that participate in our afterschool book club, I really liked this blog.  The fifth and final blog I looked at was The Daring Librarian  http://www.thedaringlibrarian.com/ Gwyneth Jones blog is just funny and POSITIVE!  I love her style and her post.  I think it's just good to go to her blog to put a smile on your face and some positive ideas. She is committed to being a positive change agent within school community, district, state, and nation. 

  Here's a link to my very beginning stage Tumblr (keep in mind, it's a work in progress)

http://msneedtoread.tumblr.com/

 

Teens, Social Media, & Technology

 

Social media has taken over the lives of teenagers.  In the report: Teens, Social Media, & Technology Overview 2015- Smartphones facilitate shifts in communication landscape for teens, it discusses what social media platforms teenagers, ages 13-17 are using and how they are accessing it. Smartphones were the undisputed choice of teens.  The phone as a means of communication lost its initial function many years ago. The inception of the change in the way phones are used started in the 1980s, when answering machines were introduced, as supplements to the traditional landline phone.  Once cell phones overtook the market, we were able to text our friends and even play games. Today, the number of teens using smartphones for everything technology has skyrocketed. The process of communication has gone to an unprecedented level. The relation between smartphones, teenagers, and social media has contributed to it, as well.  According to Pew, teenage girls (13-17) are most apt to use "visually-oriented" social media platforms such as Tumblr or Pinterest. Boys are more likely to own gaming consoles and play video games - 91% of boys say they own consoles; just 71% of girls say that have or have access to one. Girls send and receive more texts (40 per day). They're more likely to use Snapchat. And girls are a little bit more likely to use anonymous apps. Only 11% of teens use these currently - 13% of girls, and 8% of boys.

  

 

Page count: 48

Lenhart, A. (Ed.). (2015, April). Teens, Social Media & Technology Overview 
     2015. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/09/
     teens-social-media-technology-2015/ 

Tweet,Tweet Twitter

This weeks blog is about Twitter, another window to the world.  Twitter is an on-line social networking service that allows users to tweet.  With twitter you can post "tweets" which are words, videos', pictures, and links to other information. You can follow people you are interested in, as well as have followers (people who follow you).
As an educator and library science student, I want to have as many opportunities to expand my professional knowledge base. Since I created a Twitter account I could not think of a better way to get started than by following some of the biggest names in education technology and library media specialists. Take a look at what they are posting:

Kathy Schrock @kathyshrock
No more140 character limit on DM's in Twitter.  Good news for those I DM with, but still not turning on DM's for everyone ! :-)

Linda Braun    @lbraun2000
Some of these "new" roles are fascinating knowledgeworks.org/exploring-future

Tony Vincent   @tonyvincent
Short video with some reasons why Chromebooks are great for students:  youtube.com/watch?v=6GL0w

Buffy Hamilton @buffyjhamilton
I need a remote control for my coffee machine.

The Daring Librarian @GwynethJones
8 Tips for the Care & Feeding of the Reluctant Tech User #PicMonkeySmarts #EDUSpin

Jim Lerman     @jimlerman
Free Technology for Teachers: Eight Alternatives to Google Image Search by Richard Byrne sco.It/7asGCP

We live in a technology based world, social media is the new way to stay up-to-date. Like it or not we must get on board, or get left behind.