Thing 14: Bitmoji Fun

Bitmoji Fun

In an effort to break the stereotype of a boring old conservative librarian, I thought I should try creating a Bitmoji for myself.  Also, I use emoji's often in my text messages (and sometimes emails), so why not expand on the cute visuals with my communication, right?

I like the way the Daring Librarian has used them to enhance her signage in the library with her themed Bitmoji's.  If I were working at the elementary level, some of this signage could be helpful to students that are not yet reading or have learning disabilities.  When I worked in a special education classroom, we had picture exchange cards that our students could use to indicate what they wanted - very helpful for kids that were not talking or reading.  They also had PEC schedules so they knew ahead of time what activity was coming next.  If the teachers had a cartoon image of themselves, the students could know even more about what was going to happen that day and with whom. This may not sound like a big deal, but to children with autism, it can mean the difference between a calm understanding child or one who will become extremely distraught if the sequence of events is not what he/she expected.

So, I will use my new Bitmoji image with some of the signs that use in my library, my library newsletter, and on my updated bookmarks that I use for usernames and passwords to the district databases.  The Back to School Bookmarks by Tiffany Whitehead were inspiring with the Bitmoji images and QR code.  I am definitely excited to add my Bitmoji image to the library webpage as well - it could use a few nerdy cartoon images of me with books or promoting library services.

Unfortunately, I cannot download the Chrome Extension for Bitmoji on my school laptop so I will have to use it from my home computer or my iPad.  I had no trouble using it on my phone - seems like it is meant for this device.  Anyway, it will be fun to use these images of myself to relay a message to friends.  If I can get it to work with my Remind App for the book club, that will be great, but it wasn't going through when I experimented just now (could not search for the image I needed).  I don't like having to login everytime I want to use Bitmoji - that will definitely prevent me from using it on a regular basis (much easier to use with text messages).

I realize that Snapchat is connected to Bitmoji and it looked like there were some very fun (silly) ways to use Bitmoji with photos.  I especially liked the Booksnaps and would like to experiment with that - as a librarian, this is a graphic way to highlight parts of the text that you want to share.  I would need to connect with students on Snapchat first.  Right now I have no "friends" on the service to send a "snap" to.  I have never been comfortable taking selfies & it seems like that is part of the fun here.  I probably sound as old as I am right now (in my 50's)!!

I used my phone to create my image in Bitmoji - quite easy and surprisingly specific with every facial feature. Here are a few Bitmoji's with my image.  I think they look like a slightly younger & prettier version of myself, but I am okay with that 😉  The glasses were PERFECT.  If you wanted a Bitmoji to make you look like an older person, you may not find a good representation offered.