Learning About Feed Readers and Blogs!

Lucky Inoreader

The feed reader I selected is the Inoreader. The reasons I chose it are simple. One, it is easily accessible through the Web, iOS, Android, and Windows Phone. I believe that accessibility is crucial and not worrying about whether or not I will be able to access it from any type of device is definitely a determining factor. To be frank, I had no idea what a feed reader was and so I had never used one before. My second reason is that I don’t want to have to create accounts using programs/services, etc. for a class and just forget about it later. I am actually taking in everything that I am learning so that I may continue to use it in the future. One of the characteristics that I found useful is that it is considered the best for long-term content archiving. I don’t want to add a bunch of links on here that I will never use again. And lastly, I am a visual person. If I don’t like the way something looks, if it is not aesthetically pleasing to the eye, it will not catch my attention and I will hate working with it. Out of the other services, I felt that because this puts your files into tiles, they are more eye-catching.

Blogs to Follow

The Daring Librarian: http://www.thedaringlibrarian.com/

The Daring Librarian is ran by Gwyneth A. Jones, a blogger, Tweeter, International Ed Tech keynote speaker, trope and meme activist, creator of content, citizen of advocacy, and a resident of social media. The Daring Librarian Blog is an award winning bog. As I browsed through this blog, I liked that her blogs have no boundaries in the sense that she can blog about technology, about social media, about actual reading book lists, and even blogs about teaching. All in all, this blog is well rounded, after all it isn’t an award winning blog for nothing! The fact that it is an award winning post is part of the reason why I decided to follow this blog. When I started browsing it, I realized exactly why it is an award winning blog. It is a little gold mine of information!

No Shelf Required: http://www.noshelfrequired.com/

I love books. I have shelves full of them both at home and at work. I am the type of person who needs to read from a printed book where I can turn the pages and mark my place with either a cute little bookmark or the edge of the book jacket. When the craze about the Kindle came about, all my friends were buying them and I just sat there, wondering…WHY? You would think that I would be against encouraging the idea of No Shelf Required, but I’m not. No Shelf Required makes an interesting point. There are millions of books circulating in the world, and yet, 90% of the population is not college educated. The idea behind electronic books is a personal preference, and even though I’m not fond of them, I can’t shut them out because they are still effective. I like the approach and the idea behind No Shelf Required. As a librarian, I need to shake off my set ideas and explore the ever changing world of technology and library science. I followed this blog becaue it shows a different perspective than what my beliefs are and it makes some important points that cannot be knocked down. We must keep an open mind!

AASL Blog (Knowledge Quest): http://knowledgequest.aasl.org/

And of course, I can’t NOT add the AASL Blog, another well rounded blog that leaves no topics untouched. This blog is, I suppose, a bit more on the professional side. It touches professional topics of interests with legal standings such as intellectual freedom, collection development, advocacy/leadership, technology, professional development, etc. As a future librarian, and especially more so, practicing librarians, benefit from this blog in that they maintain themselves informed on the latest library news such as policies, programs, book information, etc. I followed this blog because it is informative and it will keep me up to date on current event issues dealing with the library world. 

A Media Specialist’s Guide to the Internet: http://mediaspecialistsguide.blogspot.com/

As a librarian in today’s time, being knowledgeable in navigating the Internet is crucial. And as the blog states… because you never know when you’ll need a cyberian! This blog provides links of sites for Authors, ESL resources, Free Resources, Grades K-5, 6-8, 9-12, Graphics, History, Infographics, Language Arts, New Teachers, PE and Health, Reference, Science, Web 2.0 Tools A-P, Web 2.0 Tools Q-Z, and World Languages. If ever, you find yourself in need of resources for a specific grade level, or topic, this blog is what you need. It contains a plethora of information that you will most definitely find useful. As librarians, we must be able to provide resources to the patrons and if a teacher comes to your library asking for information, as a librarian, we must be able to offer that help. This site will be useful! I followed this blog because I believe it is important to be Internet savvy. I feel that many times we feel frustrated when searching the web because we don't know where to look. This particular blog is especiallly helpful for that. 

School Library Journal: http://www.slj.com/slj-blog-network/#_

Another well rounded blog is the blog found in the SLJ. Ranging from news on awards, book reviews, reading projects, implementation of technology, etc., this blog is another professional blog that will definitely prove itself useful to any school librarian. My major concern, well one of the major concerns I have about becoming a librarian is creating a successful collection, and the articles found in this blog will definitely aid in that. This site allows librarians and future librarians be up to date on current events in the library world! I followed this blog for the same reason as I followed the AASL Blog, because it is informative and will keep me up to date on important librariran related news. 

 

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