Blogs and Blog Readers
Blogs are an ever present part of the web, but keeping track of all of your favorite blogs can be a challenge. Luckily, there are Blog RSS Readers to make keeping track of all of your blogs manageable. This website, by Zapier, was a great insight into the world of RSS readers and the pros and cons of popular blog readers used today.
After researching the suggested readers, I decided to go with Feedly. I chose Feedly because I appreciated several aspects of the reader. You can't beat the price of free, it is very easy to use, and I loved how it gave me suggestions of other blogs to follow when I put in links. I also liked that Feedly worked seamlessly with most social media sites.
Armed with my new blog reader, I was now on the search for school library blogs to follow. The first blog I found was Library Learners. I was drawn in immediately to all the posts about library centers for different months of the years. As a first year librarian, I would love to implement library centers and this blog will be beneficial in giving me ideas and helping me get started on this goal. The blog is bright, cheerful, and welcoming. I am looking forward to reading posts from this blog!
The second school library blog I found was Great Kid Books. This blog's purpose is to review different newly released children's books. What makes this book review unique is the inclusion of pages of illustrations from the book and even links to YouTube videos about the book! After reading some of these reviews, I have some new children's books to add to my elementary library.
The Library Voice was the next school library blog that I found on my search. This blog caught my eye with Valentine's Day STEM projects and global virtual projects to use in my library. One of the other most recent posts was about PebbleGo, which is a research database that I love to use with my students, so I was intrigued to see what I could learn from this blog about a database I already love to use.
The next school library blog I found to follow was the Absolutely True Adventures of a School Librarian. Nikki, the school librarian from which the adventures arrive from, describes herself as "passionate about 1:1 Digital Initiatives, collaboration with other education professionals, and assisting students in becoming well informed, critically thinking digital citizens". This description was the hook I needed to explore more. What I found was a wealth of technological information about tools that I can use in the library classroom with my students from WeVideo and the Do Ink App. I am excited to see what new technologies Nikki will feature next!
Library Media Tech Talk is the fifth school library blog I found on my search. The most recent post on this blog is about refocusing for the new year and establishing goals for the semester. I knew this was the right blog for me to follow when several of my goals were the same as the bloggers! I also appreciated that there was a vlog (video log), which is something I would love to try.
Tumblr is a great way to get into blogging or microblogging about topics you are interested in. I recently started my own Tumblr page about libraries, books, and writing. Check it out here!
Zapier. (2017, July 27). The 12 Best RSS Reader Apps to Follow Your Favorite Blogs, Sites, and Feeds. Retrieved January 18, 2018 from https://zapier.com/blog/best-rss-feed-reader-apps/
After researching the suggested readers, I decided to go with Feedly. I chose Feedly because I appreciated several aspects of the reader. You can't beat the price of free, it is very easy to use, and I loved how it gave me suggestions of other blogs to follow when I put in links. I also liked that Feedly worked seamlessly with most social media sites.
Armed with my new blog reader, I was now on the search for school library blogs to follow. The first blog I found was Library Learners. I was drawn in immediately to all the posts about library centers for different months of the years. As a first year librarian, I would love to implement library centers and this blog will be beneficial in giving me ideas and helping me get started on this goal. The blog is bright, cheerful, and welcoming. I am looking forward to reading posts from this blog!
The second school library blog I found was Great Kid Books. This blog's purpose is to review different newly released children's books. What makes this book review unique is the inclusion of pages of illustrations from the book and even links to YouTube videos about the book! After reading some of these reviews, I have some new children's books to add to my elementary library.
The Library Voice was the next school library blog that I found on my search. This blog caught my eye with Valentine's Day STEM projects and global virtual projects to use in my library. One of the other most recent posts was about PebbleGo, which is a research database that I love to use with my students, so I was intrigued to see what I could learn from this blog about a database I already love to use.
The next school library blog I found to follow was the Absolutely True Adventures of a School Librarian. Nikki, the school librarian from which the adventures arrive from, describes herself as "passionate about 1:1 Digital Initiatives, collaboration with other education professionals, and assisting students in becoming well informed, critically thinking digital citizens". This description was the hook I needed to explore more. What I found was a wealth of technological information about tools that I can use in the library classroom with my students from WeVideo and the Do Ink App. I am excited to see what new technologies Nikki will feature next!
Library Media Tech Talk is the fifth school library blog I found on my search. The most recent post on this blog is about refocusing for the new year and establishing goals for the semester. I knew this was the right blog for me to follow when several of my goals were the same as the bloggers! I also appreciated that there was a vlog (video log), which is something I would love to try.
Tumblr is a great way to get into blogging or microblogging about topics you are interested in. I recently started my own Tumblr page about libraries, books, and writing. Check it out here!
Zapier. (2017, July 27). The 12 Best RSS Reader Apps to Follow Your Favorite Blogs, Sites, and Feeds. Retrieved January 18, 2018 from https://zapier.com/blog/best-rss-feed-reader-apps/
Hello Michelle,
ReplyDeleteFirst, I really like the name of your blog!!! Secondly, I really enjoyed your diverse selection of blogs. We both selected Library Learners and it contains information about creation of activities that keep students actively engaged. I enjoyed looking at your selection of Great Kid Book because it allows you to specify searches for book reviews based upon age, reading levels, and/or grade levels. I absolutely love Library Media Tech Talk because it focuses on collaborations between teachers and librarians to enhance students’ learning experiences. It allows provides you with collaborative lessons and how the lessons were successfully implemented.