My social media journey began with Facebook. Back in 2007, I finally accepted an invitation to join Facebook. I had no real idea of what it was, but I thought I might as well check it out. I admit it, I like Facebook. I keep it for personal interactions, and to date, I haven't had any bad experiences with it. Facebook has allowed me to reconnect with old friends and to make new new friends from around the world. For a long time, this was my only connection with social media.
In the last year or so though, I have become much more involved in social media and I have really started to see its use in my professional life as well as just for fun. My first step was to begin blogging. I had thought about blogging for awhile, but I could never think of anything to blog about. I just didn't think my life was that interesting :) I then thought that I could write about books, so I started to do that. It is a small blog, but I liked figuring out how to blog and learning that I did have something to say. I don't really expect many people to read my blogs; it is a way to get my thoughts out and to reflect on what is going on in my life - personally and professionally. My next step was linked to my blog on books. I discovered that there are sites out there where people gather to talk about books! How amazing is that! I now expanded my social media life to include Goodreads. This was still all on a personal level; I had yet to realize the power of social media to help me in my professional life. That all changed when I discovered Twitter.
For the longest time I avoided Twitter because I don't really care what Justin Bieber has for breakfast or even where he's going on tour next. I also didn't think that anyone would care what I have for breakfast. Then, another teacher at school showed me how Twitter could be used for professional development. It was like a whole new world was opened to me. I now use Twitter regularly to learn about new trends in digital literacy, how other librarians are doing things, what new books are being released, and so many other things. Twitter has completely changed my professional development. I am not responsible for my own learning and I have changed so much as a teacher and a librarian because of Twitter.
I have been an active user of Twitter for over a year now, and I highly recommend it. I now also recommend Pinterest. When I first heard about Pinterest I thought it was just a place to post cute pictures, but it is so much more than that. There are thousands of pins on education, and so many excellent ideas. It was through Pinterest that I learned how to create a QR Code and how I can use them to move my teaching forward.
Although there are still many teachers who are uncertain about the benefits of technology and social media, but I have become a big fan. There is still a lot out there for me to learn, but I can really see how all these sites and tools can help me, and other teachers, to move forward and to be able to meet students where they are. Maybe we'll even be able to teach the students something new. Wouldn't that be exciting!
