Before I became a Media Specialist, my online profile was minimal. I didn’t want to “tweet” and I did not want to be anyone’s “friend” on Facebook. Anytime a friend would tell me about a new website where I could check to see what information was out on the web about me, I was happy when only the most basic information appeared.
I still don’t want my personal information available to just anyone but I am seeing the benefits of creating an online presence. After joining Twitter, I found I didn’t have to read every comment made and that I could “follow” the postings of other Librarians and technology savvy people. In completing the “About Me” assignment, I also found that I can choose what I want to post and it can be a great tool to encourage my students to read by including comments on the books I have read, upcoming library events, and reading strategies for parents.
Now that I have added to my online profile for this class, I have come up with many ideas for my Media Center website including links to my favorite award winning books, a quote of the day from the students’ favorite authors and comprehension questions for the Battle of the Books competition we have within our district.
Even though this assignment has given me a different view about having an online profile, I want that profile to reflect my professional outlook and views, not my personal information. As I work on building my online profile, I am going to continue to stay away from Facebook.
I tend to put up an alias online especially on Facebook. Then only people who are my "friends" are the people who really know me and i want to keep in contact with. There are no pictures or revieiling information that a person could search for me by. That is one alternative to just abandoning use of one of these social networking sites.
ReplyDeleteI like that you want your profiles to reflect your views and professional outlook not just your personal information. It allows me to wonder and make up all of that information. :0)
I think it is great how you have thought to connect your profile with your students! I tend to think of an online profile as a negative thing, since a lot of feedback about being online seems to be negative. The thought of making a site where your students can see things like "books you have read" seems really encouraging. I teach first grade, and I know that my students would love the opportunity to look up things like that about me.
ReplyDeleteAnd like you said, we will stick with
views and things I have done, not all that personal information. Students can get to carried away with that.
I agree I am just mindful of what I put on any social networking sites because I know how easy it is for a parent,student, or administrator to search my name and find out information about me. Because I know that at some point in time they may attempt to search my name, I feel that it is important for me to create blogs and web pages. This is a way for my parents and students to find positive and accurate information about me and my love for teaching.
ReplyDeleteBut as you stated I do agree that I want these sites to represent a professional view of me, not my personal information.
Your post, and the comments of others, gave me a different perspective on maintaining an online identity. I agree that it is inevitable that people we interact with professionally will want to know more about us and will turn to online resources to search for the information. Taking the stance that maintaining an online identity is unnecessary --- as I had originally in my own blog post --- seems, now, like giving my identity away or letting others define it by default. Some people refer to it as “branding” ourselves. You come across as a media specialist who is passionate about books and your students’ love of reading. I also have those interests. I suppose that’s what this notion of connectedness is all about. I’ll likely learn more from you as we go along through cyberspace.
ReplyDelete