Your 2018 AASL Social Media Superstars!

By Cathy Jo Nelson, Social Media Recognition Chair on 04/30/2018 • ( 0 )

AASL Social Media Superstars honors school library professionals who enrich the profession and its work on behalf of students by sharing information, expertise, ideas, encouragement, dialog and inspiration widely via a variety of social media channels. After reviewing all of the endorsements left by peers and the original nominations, the Social Media Recognition Committee is proud to announce the following 2018 Social Media Superstars!

Advocacy Ambassador: Ashley Cooksey

Ashley Cooksey is the Library Media Specialist at Batesville School District in Arkansas. She works tirelessly to advocate for our profession on local, state and national levels. Ashley understands and leverages the power of connected librarianship to share the power and potential of librarianship with others. Ashley’s writing for Knowledge Quest often highlights utilizing social media to share your story with others.

@AshleyCooksey2 | Instagram | Snapchat | YouTube | Knowledge Quest Contributions

Leadership Luminary: Shannon McClintock Miller

Shannon McClintock Miller, Future Ready Librarian Spokesperson, teacher librarian, speaker, consultant, and author – is a true leader in the field. At national and international presentations, Shannon demonstrates leadership not only among her peers, but also to administrators, community members, and corporations. Her global connections and desire to share information among school librarians are displayed through posts to multiple platforms. Shannon leads by example with her posts on the Future Ready Librarians Facebook Group, which she manages. She encourages connections among school librarians by facilitating conversations on Twitter. Her Instagram posts take followers on virtual learning trips around the world. Her blog, The Library Voice, shares educator tips, book recommendations, professional connections, and technology tips, as well as sharing the accomplishments of other school librarians. Shannon’s leadership doesn’t stop with her social media posts. She encourages sharing and growth among school librarians and doesn’t hesitate to answer questions and facilitate connections.

The Library Voice (blog) | LinkedIn Profile | @shannonmmiller | Facebook Future Ready Librarians Group | Instagram

Program Pioneer: Nikki Robertson

Nikki is a veteran educator, school librarian, Instructional Technology Facilitator and ISTE Librarians Network President Elect. Nikki is passionate about 1:1 Digital Initiatives, collaboration with other education professionals, and assisting students in becoming well informed, critically thinking digital citizens. Nikki is the co founder of the first EdCamp Atlanta and has also collaborated in the creation of and moderation of national and global professional development opportunities designed specifically for the unique needs of school librarians, including #TLChat LIVE! Twitter Chat Sessions, and TL News Night. Nikki’s new book, Connected Librarians: Tap Social Media to Enhance Professional Development and Student Learning has recently been published. Nikki is also the recipient of several honors, including an ASLA Ann Marie Pipkin Technology Award and the AASL Bound to Stay Bound Grant.

The Absolutely True Adventures of a School Librarian | @NikkiDRobertson | Nikki Robertson on Facebook | Library By Nikki (Pinterest) | @NikkiRobertson (instagram)

Sensational Student Voice: Chelsea Sims

Chelsea Sims is a teacher-librarian at South East Junior High School in Iowa City, Iowa. She believes the best way to advocate for strong school libraries is to show how students are growing because of their school libraries. Whether that growth comes from creativity and collaboration in the makerspace, critical thinking throughout the research process, or through reading, our libraries are about one thing: students. Nominator Mike Keller-Wilson says, “she uses social media to highlight student creations, student initiatives, and the perspectives of students of diverse backgrounds. Her work on social media consistently displays students’ creations in the makerspace, whether they are LEGOs, 3D printed designs, cardboard creations, coding projects, or anything that students have put time and effort into.” Chelsea uses her library Twitter and Instagram to amplify the work of students. Says nominator Kaitlyn Berwald, “If someone else’s voice isn’t being heard she will help them speak out. If students do something awesome she will write a post online about what they made.”

@SEJHLibrary | Instagram | Youtube | Pinterest | Webpage

Social Justice Defender: Jennifer LaGarde

Jennifer LaGarde is a lifelong educator and learner who currently presents all over the country, writes regularly for professional publications, consults and collaborates with other librarians and educators, and has initiated programs such as #30SECONDBOOKTALK and #2jennsbookclub. Jennifer’s nominator says that Jennifer “shares inspiration, wisdom, and new ideas with the entire school library community on a non-stop basis on Twitter, her blog, Facebook groups and more. She has incredible empathy for at-risk students and regularly offers ideas and calls to action for the library’s essential role in serving students in poverty. Her voice is always one of passion and compassion. She challenges us to rethink old ideas whenever they interfere with the prime goal of serving and educating our students.”

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Tech Troubadour: Heather Moorefield-Lang

Dr. Moorefield-Lang is an associate professor in the School of Library and Information Science at the University of South Carolina. She has had a tremendous influence on tech leadership and integration in school librarianship and ed tech. As a founding member of AASL’s Best Websites for Teaching and Learning, as active creator and producer of two YouTube channels, and as a foundational member of the maker movement, Heather has built a lengthy and important list of professional contributions on the evaluation and selection of high quality tech resources that help teachers and school librarians create rich learning opportunities for their students. Through her Twitter profile @actinginthelib, her website Tech Fifteen, and her YouTube channels for Tech Fifteen and Research Xpress, she exposes librarians and educators everywhere to new, innovative, and emerging technologies and library programming trends, most notably, technology and makerspaces. Her reputation and expertise make her a known “go-to” in the field of school librarianship.

@actinginthelib | Tech Fifteen | Youtube Tech Fifteen | Youtube Research Xpress

The Committee thanks all who participated by submitting a nomination or leaving an endorsement. All the nominees were outstanding and all were seriously considered for recognition. Let our finalists inspire you today!

Social Media Recognition Committee
Cathy Jo Nelson, Chair
Marifran DeMaine Liz Dodds
Laura Hartley Connie Hollin
Michelle Luhtala Andy Plemmons
Pam Harland, Board Liaison Jen Habley, Staff Liaison