Over the past couple of weeks, I, along with Lisa (@nobleknits2) and Diana (@MZMollyTL), have been undergoing an inquiry concerning Tumblr. In my first blog about this all I had done was browse through Tumblr to try to get some ideas about if and how Tumblr could be useful in ensuring student success. After browsing the site on our own, Lisa, Diana and I each blogged about our experience. This was a really great learning experience for me. I had been exploring Tumblr from a personal perspective and how it could help me, and reading both Lisa and Diana's blogs helped me to see it from other perspectives.
Reading Lisa's blog made me think about who was using Tumblr. In her words, "it quickly became clear to me that the kids who really loved Tumblr were my visual kids – the ones who are always sketching or doing something creative with their photos – but also some of my storytellers." What a great insight. I hadn't thought about which students would most benefit from Tumblr, but it is a key questions, and having thought about it, I started thinking of it as another tool that could engage students in the library.The interactivity of Tumblr is a great way to encourage communication in the library. So often, communication is a one way street, but for students to be engaged, they need to feel that their voices are actually being heard, and being able to respond to Tumblr posts is one way for students to let the library staff know what the students both want and need.
Diana's thoughtful blog about her process helped me to consider my process and how I learn best. I especially liked her comment about diving right in.
- By being reluctant to dive in thoroughly and join Tumblr, I denied myself some ways of knowing it that just browsing cannot provide. I'd dismiss a gaming expert who had never played a video game before (and there are people out there like that) and the same principle applies to me - I should've tried it directly, even if it meant deleting my account after a week.
My next step is to dive right in. It's time to decide how to use Tumblr. I already have Pinterest, and Twitter and this blog, so what is the purpose of Tumblr? Why do I need it? How will it help my students? Where to go next?
Sarah - I really like your last questions - I'm beginning to think that after the break, I need to take this to my students, and see what they think. I'd like to encourage my book club students to try a "like, try, why" kind of thing, and see what happens with that. Let's keep figuring out next step. Thanks for blogging about what you learned from our writing - I may tumble about that. I appreciate the way we can keep pushing each other's thinking.
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