It seems that the older I get and the more I develop my role as a library media specialist, the border between my life and my work becomes increasingly seamless. Whether I’m at school or at home, my main goals are the same: to learn, to discover and to nurture connections—between ideas, people, places, etc.—to collaborate with others towards the achievement of a common goal, to develop a sense of purpose, to create steps to realize that purpose, and to find the resources I need to complete those steps. I am always working, but I am also always living—as a researcher, a teacher, a learner, and a friend. This seamlessness between home and school, work and play, personal and professional is the type of relationship I hope to empower my students to develop in their own lives. Through modeling of my passion for my work, I hope to inspire students to become lifelong, independent learners who live to work because their work is also their play. And, as I am discovering through the NYCWP Institute, one way I can begin to accomplish this goal is to use social networking tools to create a vibrant learning community— one in which all members of the school community can explore and share their passions and curiosities with one another in a safe, supportive educational environment. Ultimately, I hope the social network I initiate for my school is an interactive space that all users take ownership of—an online community we will all feel comfortable calling our “home.”
My desire to create the most dynamic, collaborative, and supportive social network as possible leads me to ask the following essential question, which I will attempt to answer through my Tumblr exhibit: How can I best use social networking tools to accomplish my personal and professional goals?
Deacs84: “Social networks takes the barely motivated and turns them into activists.”
about 4 hours ago · Reply · View Tweet
I just stumbled upon this quote and it eloquently captures what I hope a social network will do for my school—turn all of my school community members into active learners who are excited to collaborate with one another, connect with one another, and search for resources that will help them find answers to whatever inquiries they may have.
— Tweet from Deacs84—found on Summize.com
