School News

School news can be an interesting and fun way for students to get involved in the production and technology side of the media center.  I have seen different school news program and all of them have been a successful.

The program that I am most familiar with and learned about school news is through my mentor, Amanda White, who is the media specialist at Peachtree City Elementary.  She talked with me about the school news and how great of a program it is.  Amanda holds interviews at the end of the year for upcoming fourth and fifth grade students.  These students are taught during a one week training in the summer, that she teaches, and students are taught how to operate equipment and what their role will be either with helping produce the news to speaking.  The news is broadcasted on the live circuit throughout the school, every morning.  The students are fully in charge of the school news and take pride in their work and taking ownership in their work.  Amanda helps run the program smoothly every morning, but will sit back and be available if the students need her assistance.  I think that this is one of the best school news programs I have seen in the schools.

The school news is broadcasted every morning and will conduct the pledge, inform students of the lunch choices, and then will also inform students and teachers of any changes in the schedule or any other information that needs to be shared.  School programs, such as Accelerated Reader, book fairs, school festivals, and fundraisers are discussed also.  There are other programs that are put into place like character trait of the month and word of the week.  Students share definitions and guest speakers will come onto the news to help with the character trait.

Being in different schools over the last 5 or so years, I have seen many different news or announcement programs.  I have seen where students conduct the announcements over the intercom, where school news is broadcasted over a live circuit, and where there is nothing at all. It is interesting to see how different schools go about integrating school news into their schools and daily routines.  I think it can be an awesome avenue for students and can help them become familiar with using technology and building confidence in their speaking abilities.

Social Networking Sites

 Social Networking Sites, which is also known as SNS’s, is a website that facilitates a group people who can share interest, information, activities, and are able to make real life connections with other users.  The process involves users completing profiles with include information about the user, as well as, some of the social links they use.  Each Social Networking website operates a little differently, but the majority of the guidelines and general aspects are the very similar.  Some SNS’s allow their users to create posts, blogs, upload images and videos, send private messages, and allow their users to use instant messaging services.

There are many Social Networking sites available for internet users today.  The first Social Networking site was first created in the late 1990’s.  Since then, there has been a vast creation of social networking sites, with each site operating and pertaining to different interests and groups.  Some of the most popular SNS’s available today are Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google +, Myspace, Linkedin, and CafeMom.

One of the most popular educational SNS’s is Edmodo.  Edmodo is a recent social network that allows teachers, parents, and students to view information about their class.  It is basically a website that allow teachers to have a “virtual classroom.”  Through Edmodo, teachers can posts assignments, add and delete material for students to use as guides or complete assignments, teacher and students can create posts and ask questions about certain aspects of class, as well as, students have the opportunity to collaborate and share ideas with other students in the classroom.  I personally think Edmodo is a wonderful social network for all parties to enjoy in an educational setting.  It gives teachers, parents, and students to the opportunity to get involved in the classroom and to ensure their student in being successful.

At the school I am at, our county does firewall most social networking sites, such as Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter.  However, the county has allowed for Edmodo to be viewable, which is understandable since it is an educational website.  I think that certain SNS’s should be blocked at school, just for the main reason of being liable for any potential “wrong doings” that students can run into.  I also think that certain SNS’s should be limited to certain ages.  For the past couple of years, I have had more and more of my third graders who have developed Facebook pages.  Some of them have been “banned” from using the site, due to bullying and inappropriate language.  If a child and/or minor is using a SNS, I believe they should be monitored and guided through the process.  However, if SNS’s are used in a proper setting and there is proper guidance and monitoring throughout the process, I think SNS’s are a great tool for teacher, students, and parents to use.

Social Media and the Media Center

From my reading and research, I think the media center is a very good place to incorporate social media into education. In my classroom, I personally have an issue with students getting on Twitter to socialize with their friends. I have yet to see one of my students using Twitter for a truly educational purpose. However, Twitter is allowed at our school to pass on scholarship information from our guidance department. Since Twitter is allowed at my school, I can see its value in certain situations like the guidance office or the media center. However, I have found no value for it in my business courses at this time. Facebook and MySpace are not allowed at my school and have been blocked for the most part. However, students do find a way to get around this block sometimes. Youtube is also allowed at my school and the only thing I have seen my students use it for are videos of fights and other meaningless videos. I have not used Youtube for my business classes at this point either.

From the media center stand point however, I can see Twitter and Facebook being valuable to get students together and collaborating and communicating about books and media center events. This gives lovers of the library a forum to use to discuss books and find out about ones they have not read. They can find out about upcoming events in the media center too and give input about these things. This allows for the use of social media in a positive way at the educational level and does not prevent them from getting their work done in class, which is the problem I have had with social media in my classroom. With the right conversations and postings from the media specialist, students can respond and feel like they have a say in upcoming events and about what books are the best in any given genre.

With social media there are issues to consider like bullying and safety. These are topics that could be covered in the media center to help students better understand how social media works and how it can be used in negative ways. This could possibly help some student’s better deal with a bad situation if they are aware that it happens and there are available resources to help them out in a bad situation.

With social media playing such an important role in society, I think the media center could be an excellent place to use it for the benefit of the library and those that love books!

LMC Web pages and Websites

Media Center Web pages and Websites

Web pages and websites are an open view into the media center and school's world.  These can be an imperative part of a media center program.  When searching media center's web pages and sites I came across many well designed and updated pages and sites, but unfortunately for every successful one I found there were at least three that were not updated and lacked good information.  

Here is a list of helpful information that I believe all good web pages and media center sites should have:

• School name and address
• Media specialist's name and contact information
• Media center hours
• Separate pages for policies and procedures (i.e.: hours of operation, circulation policy, etc)
• Helpful links which include the districts home link, a link to the school website, and other links such as homework help and educational websites
• Other information about special programs the media center participates in or upcoming events 

I believe that a successful media center web page should include descriptions about links and other information listed.  My thinking is that if someone who has no clue what a media center is or what a media specialist does should be able to go onto the site and learn as much as they can about that media center and how it operates.

Here is a list of important things to keep in mine while creating a website.

• Audience- you have to understand who will be viewing and using your website before you can effectively create one.  If your site is for younger students and their parents the site will be geared for them, but if your students are older and they will be viewing it, you should make sure that the information is appropriate for them.  
• Update regularly- I have been looking at many media center web pages and it bothers me when the site has not been updated or lacks simple information.  I understand that taking care of a web page is time consuming and that media specialists are being pulled all different ways, but the Internet is one of those avenues that everyone can view and get information from.  With out world being 24/7 it is important to keep this important part of the media center up to date.  Collaborating with others can make it easier to keep the site updated.  You can also recruit students to help with the site.  
• Link descriptions- There are many sites that provide helpful links for parents and students, but the links have no description or explanation of what they can be used for.  If links are provided, it is helpful to have explanations or descriptions available because this will only make those links more apt to be used.
• Surveys and feedback- Sending out a survey about what should be on the website would be great way to learn about your audience and what they are expecting.  Parents, teachers, and students are there to help with the creating of the page and will be more apt to using the site if they know the information they need and want is provided.  Feedback and comments can be given throughout the year to ensure that site is doing its job.  

Websites and web pages can be a great way to communicate and share information about what is happening in the media center.  With our world revolving around the Internet and students becoming familiar with working on the Internet, it only makes sense to create websites and web pages that are user friendly and that provide helpful and useful information.  

Building a School Media Web Page

When building a school web page, there are two things to keep in mind. First, think like a media specialist, and decide what your patrons need. Not all media web pages need to contain the same material. An elementary school media center web page would need to include materials which are slightly different than would a middle school or high school.  Secondly, think like a web designer. Your media web page must be an extension of your physical media center. Your page should be  user friendly, informative, and accessible to meet the needs of all students and teachers. This includes your web accessibility for your impaired students as well. Since students may access the page at home, it should also be a good idea to include information for parents. 

Items You May Want to Include

                                                       - Online catalogs

                                                       -Reference resources and assistance

                                                       -Curriculum connections

                                                       -Literacy connections 

                                                       - Information about the media center

                                                       - Highlights of new material

                                                       -Calendar of activities

                                                       -Video tutorials

                              

                                          

                                                          Media Web Page Do's

                                                       -Make website easy to navigate

                                                       -Follow copyright guidelines 

                                                       -Use age appropriate material 

                                                       -Keep information up-to-date

                                                       -Include a Help and/or Feedback Section

                                                       -Label everything clearly

                                                       Media Web Page Don'ts 

                                                     -Don't use to many graphics

                                                     -Don't forget to be clear and concise 

                                                     -Don't ignore web Accessibility rules

                                                     -Don't make forget your target audience

                                                     

                                     

References:

   Baumbach, D., Brewer, S., and Refroe, M. (2004). What should be on a school library web page?, Vol. 32, No. 1. Learning and leading with technology retrieved from: http://www.gorhamschools.org/~winstonb/pdf_files/SLMC_website_article.pdf 

  Walbert, D., Best practices in school library website design. Learn NC.  retrieved from"  http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/969