If I was counting, I would say that this is probably blog #5 in the history of blogs I've started since I was a teenager. From Xanga to Live Journal to Dead Journal (those angsty teen years) and of course multiple Blogger blogs (thanks Google!) Although most of those had nothing much to add to the world, I'm hoping this one does.
Creating blogs comes naturally, but reading blogs? It's always been a challenge to keep up with the different blogs I've found over the years. Sure, it's easy to bookmark them, but let's be honest, how many of you actually remember to check your bookmarks? I know I have a problem with "bookmarking and forgetting." Somehow I missed the memo on RSS Feed Readers. These are the perfect way to keep up with all of the websites, blogs, and news sites you follow without having to click through each one or remembering the names of the different blogs.
There are so many Feed Readers out there now, but I've chosen a couple below that I found in my searches.
1. Feedly
I especially liked the attractive and easy-to-use interface for this one. There are three paid options, including professional accounts, but there is also a free version for those who are using it for personal purposes. One of the coolest things about Feedly is Leo, their little AI engine who does an incredible job of flagging exactly what you're looking for based on your input. There is also a mobile app that comes with a free account. The free version allows you up to 100 feeds and three folders to organize them in. One of my favorite features on Feedly is bookmarking posts that I want to read for later. I choose to create an account with Feedly.
2. Feedbro
Feedbro is a stand-alone Google extension. If you are someone who uses extensions on Chrome, this might be the RSS Feed Reader for you. It offers multiple viewing modes, including full articles, headlines, and magazine and newspaper formats. You can customize your viewing mode to your liking. It includes social media plug-ins so you can share articles and links straight from the extension. Feedbro also allows you to tag articles and search tags for easier retrieval. There's a drag-and-drop feature, a cool feature is that it shows the article's age and it can organize based on the age so you know how recent a post is.
Once you create an account, the fun part is adding y our favorite websites, blogs, and newsletters to it. I've listed some of the websites and blogs that I've added to my Feedly account. Check them out!
This is a blog that is focused on using technology in classrooms. He posts about current technological trends and how they affect the classroom. He includes great ways to use various apps for immediate use. If you're looking for ways to add technology to your lesson plans or just learn about how technology is changing the education landscape, this is a great blog to follow.
2. Association for Library Services for Children
As a student of Library Sciences who plans to be a school librarian by 2024, this blog is an excellent way of keeping up with the world of kids' library services. You can read about current trends in the library world, what's happening with children's books and publishing, as well as what fellow librarians are up to around the country.
This blog is written by Shannon McClinktock Miller, the author of one of my current textbooks. She has been in the school library world for about twelve years and has a wealth of knowledge to share. The book that she wrote with William Bass called Leading from the Library Helping Your School Community Thrive in the Digital Age has been a very informative read so far, and I have no doubt that her blog will be as well.
As librarians, we all want to promote the importance of the library in our schools. Unfortunately, we may not all be the best at marketing ourselves. This blog's goal is to provide ideas and share knowledge for promoting your library. I'm looking forward to diving in and learning some creative ways to advocate library services.
This one is for you Tumblr fans. I'm pretty new to Tumblr, although I certainly grew up in its heyday. ArchivLibrarianist posts some informative articles about what's happening in the Texas school library world, which is quite relevant to me. I'm still getting familiar with navigating Tumblr, but this page is definitely worth checking out.
Hope you enjoy my suggestions! Don't be shy; drop a comment or question!
"Ditch that textbook" is a perfect blog to follow for tech ideas! Thank you for the reminder of his existence. I'm new to Tumblr so I appreciate the suggestion of "ArchivLibrarianist". Anything to keep up-to-date on Texas tech and libraries.
ReplyDeleteHi Asma,
ReplyDeleteI love the blogs that you included in this post! "Ditch That Textbook," and "Super Library Marketing" seem like they would be very useful to librarians. I saved them to my library bookmarks folder! Thanks!