Social Networking

Through this experience I definitely increased my presence on Twitter. I am still much more of a lurker than tweeter, however I see benefits to Twitter that I did not see before. In the past, I have shied away from Twitter due the negative atmosphere that seems to be highlighted and propagated by some. There is so much more! I started following the following people January 23, 2019 unless otherwise stated.

Authors:
J.K. Rowling @jk_rowling
Several years ago, I began following J.K. Rowling due to her quick wit, political savviness, and general bad assery. She often posts articles about her charity and writing. I shared her musing on writing with my fourth-grade class and teammates. I previewed the answers to make sure that they were appropriate before sharing them. Rowling’s twitter posts are inspiring. https://www.jkrowling.com/answers/

John Green @johngreen
John Green is hilarious. While many of his tweets are about his charity, two of the them that I found most helpful were a link to CrashCourse and a link to a PBS video. CrashCourse has an informative and entertaining video about idioms that I shared with my classes. There are so many topics to explore. My teammate and I use them with our kids.

https://www.youtube.com/user/crashcourse

Each year, our fourth graders read Chasing Vermeer in the Spring. This year I learned about a PBS video that was new to me through John Green. The painting that is featured in the book is the same painting featured in the video! Students were fascinated by new technology is helping us understand paintings that are 300 years old.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHb5nMUC2Es

Angie Thomas @angiethomas
I started following Angie Thomas after hearing her speak in Austin, TX on February 15th. She is very active on social media and often writes about her experiences. I like that she retweets other authors like Ally Carter. She is humble and spot on with her observations. Her tweets keep me connected with teenagers and young adults in a way that I could not on my own.

Teacher:
Paul W. Hankins @paulwhankins
Paul Hankins is a public-school teacher that I started following on January 23rd. Through following him on Twitter I have learned about so many books! My teammate must be getting tired of hearing about them and I share them with the librarian at my school as well.

Librarian:
John Schu @mrschureads
When I started following John Schu in January, I had no idea what a rabbit hole in to which I would be following him. His Twitter feed keeps me up to date with what is happening in the Scholastic world. Every book he has shown, that I’ve been able to get my hands on, is fabulous. My students are veracious readers and he keeps me one step ahead of them.

Professors:
Dr. Lesesne @ProfessorNana
The articles are my favorite part of Dr. Lesene’s Twitter feed. Her links to relevant information in the reading world keep me connected. They remind me of important parts of my job that at times get lost with the day to day grind. The article that she linked about 40 Book Challenge was a great reminder that the purpose of the project is to encourage students to read outside their comfort zones. https://bookwhisperer.com/2014/08/12/the-40-book-challenge-revisited/

 

Dr. Perry @kperry
Dr. Perry’s feed reminds me of the importance of illustrations. While I’ve always been drawn to creative things, sketchnoting is new to me. My students are reading Chasing Vermeer and I’m encouraging them to doodle in the margins as we read and annotate the book. Each student receives a copy of the book to keep and they love the concept of writing in the book. While I’m just putting my toe in the water, I have been inspired. I have also been inspired to be more organized and move beyond a million random post-its.

Literary Organization:
YALSA @yalsa
The amazing lists make this one a must follow! I had no idea there were so many incredible lists and book suggestions. My students and teammates love the list of challenged books. They couldn’t believe that Skippy Jon Jones makes the list. Following @yalsa inspires me to read books outside of my typical reads as it does with students. This will be a helpful source when I am buying books for a school library. The programming ideas are fresh and help me think outside the box.

Publisher:
Random House @randomhousekids
Finding out about new books before my students is always a plus. It gives me street cred! Keeping up with the latest news from Random House is easy now that I follow their feed. Wonder is one of our Readalouds and students enjoyed learning that it was on the best seller list for seven years.

Twitter is not a form of social media that I use often in my personal life, Pinterest is my go-to. After this assignment, I see the value in following a variety of people and organizations in my professional life. In the future, it would be useful to set up a Twitter account for the library as a way to share information with the community. Links to articles and the ability to retweet posts make it an efficient way to share information. Twitter connects readers to authors giving them a window into the writer’s life. There is so much information available; I felt like following individuals and organizations helped me sift through the information overload.