by Deborah Zeman, Coppell High School
https://ccnull.de/foto/meet-clubhouse-the-voice-only-social-media-app/1038705
Lizenz: CC-BY 2.0 Marco Verch
The last year of Covid has thrown a wrench into everything: everyday life, connecting, collaborating, you name it. As an edtech librarian, I’ve been searching for ways to collaborate more with librarians in the same boat as me: trying to build a collaborative partnership with teachers while in a remote setting. It hasn't been easy, until now. Over the past few months, I have been playing around with the Clubhouse app.
You might be thinking to yourself, “Oh great, another app to add to my already overloaded plate. What IS this thing called Clubhouse?" It is an audio-only social media platform where users can listen in to discussions or panels, start conversations, and network with other like-minded professionals.
At first when I joined, I was skeptical. Clubhouse reminded me of another audio platform that I wasn’t super set on. However, I decided to give Clubhouse a shot. After a couple of weeks of maneuvering around, making connections, listening in to panels, I discovered it was definitely a place to create a space for librarians, whether academic, public and school. For myself, I joined clubs that are all about books, such as What Are You Reading?, Diverse Shelves, Entrepreneurs on Etsy, and Education Innovation to name a few. I’ve joined chats over edtech, diverse books, young adult fiction, and even chats with Elon Musk and Ashton Kutcher. In some I have jumped up on stage and joined the discussion; during most, however, I just listen and learn. The sky is truly the limit on Clubhouse.
I made a lot of connections with other professionals in the edtech world, however, my search for fellow librarians was coming up empty. My original search came up with maybe fifteen other librarians but no librarian groups. As I became more frustrated I thought to myself, “Wait, why can’t I build a Librarians’ Clubhouse, one where librarians can discuss topics from advocacy to connecting with patrons, to favorite tech tools and books genres?” From there, with a little help from Twitter & Facebook, It’s Not Just Books & Bonbons librarians’ Clubhouse was born. (The idea for the name will come in a later post.)
First stop - Monica Burns’ blog. This helped a lot. Here are some of her best tips to get started on the app:
- First, download the Clubhouse app to get on the waitlist or reach out to a friend for an invite. (NEED to have an iPhone. Android app is coming soon!)
- Next, follow educators on the platform by searching for keywords related to your area of interest.
- Then, listen in to rooms on different subjects to get a feel for how the app works.
- Finally, check your notifications and set an intention for using the app.
These tips helped me find my way around the app and guided me with starting up a librarians’ Clubhouse. Monica started a clubhouse specifically for edtech tips. She offers weekly edtech tip chats on Mondays, 7pm EST & Thursdays, 7pm EST. I always discover some new tips that help with getting around on Clubhouse.
Tisha Poncio, my best friend and design guru, created some very helpful infographics to get started!
The first chat started out small, which was OK. We were new, not everyone was able to join. We were just getting our feet wet. We just got together to chat. Some people jumped in and stayed, some moved on, which is OK. There are no expectations. If people like what they hear, they will stay!
As the weeks have rolled on, and the It’s Not Just Books & Bonbons Clubhouse was approved, the group has grown. We have made connections with librarians from all over the world, including academic and public librarians. Each week we discuss collaboration, connecting with patrons and stakeholders, successes, and failures. And like Vegas, what happens in Clubhouse, stays in Clubhouse. If you want to learn more about the It’s Not Just Books & Bonbons Clubhouse, reach out to me on Twitter & I’ll send you an invite!
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