Blogs and Blog Readers

Out of all the blog readers available, I chose to use Bloglovin because it had a catchy name amongst other things.   It seems really easy to use.  You search for popular blogs based on categories or you can also narrow it down to popular posts on blogs of different categories.  A user can link this blog reader to their Facebook account as well.  Bloglovin is quick to read because it gives just a quick look at the picture/post for each post.  This saves time of not having to scroll thru the entire posts for each blog. 

 

Little Brown Book Publishing

 http://www.bloglovin.com/link/blog?blog=6311753&link=aHR0cDovL3BhZ2UycnNzLmNvbS81MzNmYjkyYTc0ZWFiOWNkMTM5NTU3MTliMWI5ZTFjNA&frame=1&frame_type=b

For obvious reasons, I love this blog.  They produce some great books and keeping up with the blog will keep readers up to date on what’s being published and when.

Banned Books

http://www.bloglovin.com/frame?blog=6681995&group=0&frame_type=b&link=aHR0cDovL2Jhbm5lZGJvb2tzY2hhbGxlbmdlLmJsb2dzcG90LmNvbS8&frame=1&click=0&user=0

This is a great way for librarians and readers to read or discover information pertaining to banned books.  Some of these blogs have need ideas for discussions and activities to share. 

Book Displays

http://www.bloglovin.com/link/blog?blog=8773487&link=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5mbGlja3IuY29tL2dyb3Vwcy9ib29rZGlzcGxheXMv&frame=1&frame_type=b

This blog is dedicated to people display designs of book displays.  I think this is a great asset to have when you need something inspirational or if you can display some great works as well.

Library Stuff

http://www.bloglovin.com/frame?blog=1448497&group=0&frame_type=b&link=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5saWJyYXJ5c3R1ZmYubmV0Lw&frame=1&click=0&user=0

Staying current on anything library related is extremely important.  Why not use this blog as a way to do just that?  Anything to allow us librarians to work smarter, not harder is a great tool to have.

Library of Clean Reads

http://www.bloglovin.com/link/blog?blog=3527626&link=aHR0cDovL2xpYnJhcnlvZmNsZWFucmVhZHMuYmxvZ3Nwb3QuY29tLw&frame=1&frame_type=b

This blog reviews books, both fiction and non-fiction for anything that might be inappropriate.  Working in a public library leads to risk when some of these books are not necessarily at the right placement.  We need to be careful and aware of what’s in our library.

Here’s another blog reader-  www.tumblr.com

You can follow another one of my blogs at http://aggiedeanna.tumblr.com/

Gig ‘Em

 

Where Teens Seek Online Privacy Advice

Lenhart, A., Madden, M., Cortesi, S., Gasser, U., & Smith, A. (2013). Where teens seek online privacy advice. Pew Internet and American Life Project, 1, 1-17. Retrieved September 16, 2013 from http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Where-Teens-Seek-Privacy-Advice.aspx


Online privacy is a huge topic whether you are a parent or a teenager.  But who do teens ask for advice when online privacy is concerned.  This report describes the findings from phone surveys of 802 parents and 802 teenagers. 

Many teens rely on themselves to figure out to how to manage their privacy on media accounts.  What the survey highlighted was when they actually needed to seek other input, who would they turn to?

The findings:

   

 

My response to article:

I was surprised to see the percentage of teens that turned to their parents for advice.  Knowing that a large portion of teens have the "I can do it myself," issue, I would have assumed that the percentage would have been quite lower.  I had not even thought of teacher as being a response for who they asked.  This is definitely a topic that needs to be addressed as a parent as well as an educator.  I think these numbers will shift with higher percentages of teens seeking outside help due to all the increase in social media. 

17 pages   

Organizers

There are a variety of organizational tools available for people to choose from.  A lot of these tools available are also free for the subscribers.  Remember the Milk, Workflowy, Wunderlist, Evernote and Pinterest are some of these free tools.  Out of these tools, some would definitely work well with school age children with teaching them to organize their daily lives more efficiently. 

Remember the Milk is a simple organizing tool to create tasks.  While simple in style, it serves the needs of its users.  This tool allows the users to create tasks and lists.  Remember the Milk also allows for prioritizing the tasks and one of the best features in having a reoccurring task.  A student could use this tool by placing assignments on the list and prioritizing them by importance.  AR points for reading can be on the list and the weekly, monthly or even yearly reminders can help a student stay on track.  Research papers and other large projects can also be used in the same manner. 

Workflowy is another iTunes ap that helps one make simple lists.  Students can create lists of to do’s as well as due dates.  It also allows one to work collaboratively with others including research.  Students can take notes such as journals in this program.  It basically looks like a huge bulleted list that can be modified to your liking.  It is simple and sweet. 

Wunderlist is also a free organizer tool.  You are able to create lists with reminders of due date or times of events.  This would be really useful for not only the young but also the aging, like me, who tend to forget things if we are not reminded.  Students will also be able to share their lists which could definitely be useful when doing projects in a group setting.  When doing research, students can add the site information to go back to the article or video for a later time.  Wunderlist is also available in Amazon, Etsy and other shopping sites.  Students can use this tool with projects to develop budgets and also share them with the members of the group.  To top it off, this tool is also offered as an ap to phones and media devices and sincs with the programs on a personal computer.   In my opinion, this tool would work the best for students.  It is everywhere online or incorporated into the most frequented websites.

                Evernote is a neat way of keeping up with all the paperwork and clutter.  It is a program in which you can take notes with or scan/copy notes into a digital copy and store for a later time.  These notes can be divided into different sections to correlate with the different classes the students take.  Lectures can be recorded and slowed down for those students who need some extra processing time or ability to add more to their written notes.  You can also use Evernote in place of carrying around the class textbook if it is not already available online.  This program is great for students to use daily and to stay more organized.  This is definitely a great help to the teacher as well.           

Pinterest is a great tool that students can use in a variety of ways.  Students can use Pinterest to create story boards for their electives, history and definitely their English classes.  There are still many conflicts when trying to assign collaborative work with school aged children.  Pinterest allows for them to work collaboratively without physically having to be together at the same setting.    Student can also use Pinterest to create projects.  This would not cost the students money with supplies that ordinary projects would require.  Student could also get ideas from the other Pinterest posts as well as make comments or constructive criticism about other projects. 

 This is my Pinterest reading board.  Enjoy

 

TWITTER

There is so much access to information in the world wide web.  Wouldn't it be great to not have to filter through it all but rely on some sources to help you with certain topics?  The following is a list of some of the people that I follow to stay up to date on a variety of information.  I attached some of my favorite tweets along with the link so you can see for yourself.  ENJOY :)

Linda Braun  @lbraun2000

An eloquent argument for NOT sharing all of those cute photos of your kids online.

https://twitter.com/lbraun2000/status/375768200719237120

This is something that I am guilty about.  I always post pictures of my children.  Although I try to be mindful to make sure they are in good taste, you can never be too sure.

4 Resources For Finding STEM Grants For Your School

https://twitter.com/lbraun2000/status/375596717632401409

This could be a very important resource for teacher or grant writers for schools.   

 

Tony Vincent @tonyvincent

100 math apps for iOS are pinned here:

https://twitter.com/tonyvincent/status/375634674132860929

This is a great resource for those of us who use applications in your classroom. At Sharyland ISD, we have implemented the BYOD-Bring Your Own Device.  We will definitely be looking into these apps. 

Buffy Hamilton         @buffyjhamilton

The Cost of Censorship in Libraries: 10 Years Under the Children’s Internet Protection Act

https://twitter.com/buffyjhamilton/status/375799031538008065

There are two sides to every argument.  Does the good outweigh the bad?  Interesting to note how the implement of the CIPA law sometimes does a lot of harm as well.

The Daring Librarian  @GwynethJones

10 Google BEST Docs Tips For Teachers As They Go Back To School

https://twitter.com/GwynethJones/status/375059774184128512

Teacher always need free resources and tips.  Anything to make our lives easier.

Jim Lerman       @jimlerman

Why we have our best ideas in the shower: The science of creativity - - The Buffer Blog

https://twitter.com/jimlerman/status/375378491900170240

This happens to me all the time.  I get most of my ideas, although not always great, in the shower.  I thought it was interesting.

Why No Silver Bullet Can Fix Public Education in America | Education on GOOD

https://twitter.com/jimlerman/status/374032884526772224

This is another post that I feel strongly about.  People seem to think that “fixing” teachers would fix the problem with our education.  What the world doesn’t understand is that there are many factors to education besides the teacher.

Kathy Schrock             @kathyschrock

I am waiting to see what information she can share with her followers. 

Pros and Cons to Facebook for Libraries

Some form of media will continue to be in our lives.  Right now Facebook seems to be in everyone’s technology.  Schools are not the exception.  When looking at the selection of school libraries using Facebook, it seems like college and/or universities use Facebook the most.  Out of the public schools, the high schools tend to use it as well.  Those public K-12 schools that use Facebook do not seem to have many posts or followers. 

There is plenty of information to be posted on these pages.  Librarians post information about newly acquired books to the circulation, book talks or blogs, Author visits and any other pertinent information about the library.  Unfortunately, I do not see many comments.  It could be that the sight answers most questions that students may ask or it could be that students do not bother to look at the page.

There are many advantages of having a Facebook account for the library.  For instance, most school students have a Facebook account.  It would be easy access to get information about the library.  People can post pictures of their favorite books with comments or quotes from selected literary works.  It is instantly accessible and has many users. 

It seems as though people feel that Facebook is more of a way to get in touch with friends, not necessarily schools or work.  People need to be 13 years old to have an account.  There is not really a way to filter the content being posted.  The librarian would have to read over every comment and post to ensure nothing inappropriate would be shared.  There are too many variables that are all the responsibility of the library.